Am I eating too much fruit? Not losing weight :(

[Marushka82]

Hi everyone, I'm hoping someone here could help me answer the question of why I'm not losing weight (and always feel hungry!).
I currently weigh 11 st (70 kgs) but ideally would like to get rid of 11 pounds. My weight seems to be stuck and fluctuates between 68-70kgs (and has been like that for at least a year). I don't feel overweight, but I used to be slimmer (before DD) and just want to feel better about my shape.
I exercise (usually a mix of HIIT, weights, some cardio, but not too much unless I go for a run) usually 3-4 times a week for about 40 mins (can only do evenings after DD goes to bed)
I don't smoke, barely ever drink alcohol (I'd say once a month), barely ever (less than once in two months) get a takeaway. I don't eat out, cook all my lunches (bar an occasional sushi from Wasabi once every fortnight) and dinners from scratch. Don't keep any sweets at home and I don't really eat any sugary snacks/fizzy drinks etc.
I would say I eat clean and healthy most of the time with an occasional treat once in a while. Yet I'm not losing weight and feel like I'm hungry all the time so feel like snacking at work (doesn't help we're not too busy at the moment, I don't do a lot of snacking when busy!).

I usually have:
Breakfast: overnight oats with chia seeds, almond/cashew/coconut milk and some berries (plus 1 Tbsp honey or agave for sweetness) or smoothie (usually banana plus some frozen fruit and almond milk) -
with homemade granola (1/3 cup). On Sat/Sun I'd have some boiled or scrambled eggs, rye bread and avo instead :D Love my eggs and avo!
Snack: carrots and houmous (about 1 heaped Tbsp so it's not like I'm pigging out!) or cucumber and cottage cheese
Lunch: usually a salad made at home: e.g. roasted sweet potato, spinach, tomatoes, avocado, some black beans, a bit of olive oil or I'll have a salad with brown rice, edamame, spinach, avo and smoked salmon with a tamari dressing. That kind of stuff.
Snack: greek yoghurt with berries and honey usually
Dinner: either some made turkey meatballs with tomato sauce and wholemeal pasta or turkey chilli with avo and brown rice or some salmon and prawn curry with mange tout and courgette etc.
Snack (I am starving after exercising): sometimes greek yoghurt with berries, sometimes banana with peanut butter, sometimes apple.

I can see from this that I might be eating too much fruit.
I also drink lots of water and green tea (no black tea and only occasionally coffee). Where am I going wrong? I'm tempted to see a nutritionist/dietitian but scared I'll spend money to hear I need to eat wholemeal rather than white carbs, no processed food, no sugar etc, which is something I already know

I'd be grateful for any feedback, I'm getting sick and tired of reading stories of people who give up one thing and miraculously lose weight!

Eating foods high in good fat isn't a problem, but you're eating a lot of calories even if it is all healthy stuff. A calorie is still a calorie whether it comes from a mars bar or a strawberry.
Count every last thing you eat on my fitness pal and I bet you'll be shocked at how many calories you're having.
When I'm losing weight I can eat whatever I want but have to stick religiously to 1450 calories per day. If I go over that at all then I maintain my weight or gain weight.

Oh and definitely cut down on your carbs a bit. I only have one meal with carbs in it per day, and I stick to a small portion. The only fruit I have now are berries or a small amount of apple. Things like bananas are very good for you but not when you are trying to lose weight as they are full of carbs.
Try stick to green veg mainly as they are a lot less calorific and carbs than things like carrots and sweet potato

NotJanine thanks, I like a lot of the recipes!
I question their portion sizes though as this recipe uses a whole avocado and 200g of chickpeas! www.fitnaturally.co.uk/recipes/the-best-buddha-bowl/

Surely that's a ton of calories?

I'm going to try and up my protein intake, reduce fruit and avocado, and reduce carbs and see what happens.

So, what would be a good breakfast then?

Scrambled eggs with veggies and rye bread (or skip rye bread)?
Salad with chicken and quinoa for lunch?
No rice/pasta with dinner? Or at least reduced amounts?

Please share with me what you eat! I've been eating like this for a long time so it'll take a moment to overhaul my diet but I'm willing to try :D

Teddy when you say green veg what do you have in mind? Broccoli, spinach, kale, green beans? Mange tout?

I'll be having courgette pasta with garlic prawns and broccoli for dinner - how does that sound?

Broccoli is a good one as it's filling but far less carby than something like sweet potato.
Things like spinach and kale can be eaten by the bucket load.
What I eat in a day:
Breakfast - protein yogurt with chia seeds and strawberries. Half an apple dipped in 1tbsp almond butter. 1 light babybel cheese.

Lunch - 1 egg, half a tin of beans, mushrooms and 1 rasher of bacon.

Snack - chocolate bar or nakd bar.

Dinner - spag Bol with spiralized courgette instead of pasta. Or chilli without any rice (the kidney beans and peppers are carby enough) or stir fry without noodles or rice but with tons of veg and protein.

Snack - options hot chocoate and a handful of nuts.

I also drink about 3 litres of water each day and only have alcohol twice a week (usually just a couple of gins and slimline tonic).

Not going to lie but I do sometimes feel a bit hungry and my diet definitely isn't perfect but it's helped me to lose 1.5 pounds per week without fail and I barely do any exercise

Your dinner sounds spot on!

Teddy, thanks for sharing!

When you say protein yoghurt for breakfast do you mean any specific yoghurt or is it just greek yoghurt with chia and strawberries added?

And for lunch, what beans do you have?

Have you actually counted the calories in your food? It's healthy but I can see a lot of high calorie foods in there and it may just be a case of too many calories in, even if they are healthy. Have you tried my fitness pal?

Have you said how old you are? I used to be able to drop weight overnight but not since I turned about 42/3. I wouldn't lose weight on your diet - I'd put it on! Don't cut out avocado - fats are good for you. Cut right back on any carbs and eat your evening meal as early as possible - 5pm if you can manage it and then not a morsel til breakfast. Dieting is brutal!!

Oh yeah and heavy weights too. None of this cardio rubbish!!

Maybe try eating smaller dinner portions and see if that has any bearing.

It's the individual Arla protein yogurts I have. Occasionally have full fat Greek yogurt instead but prefer the Arla ones personally.
And as for the beans it's just the half size tins of baked beans (reduced sugar and salt ones) as find they go best with the bacon, egg and mushrooms.
Other lunches I sometimes have are a salad made with spinach leaves, half an avocado, prawns, tofu, seeds and cucumber.
Or an omelette with ham, mushroom and tomato.

I'm the same weight as you at 5 6 and I am overweight - I have been low carbing for a few weeks but I have a really healthy appetite and it didn't make a difference.

But I've had a breakthrough this week by low carbing still, and calorie counting (I use my fitness pal, just for convenience). I've lost 4lb in a week and I am sooo chuffed. I feel like u can stick to it too it's not been too painful.

Your diet sounds awesomely healthy but I do think calorie counting will help

Good luck

I think more protein will help you feel less hungry - I'm totally in thrall to the Louise Parker method for the pure and simple reason that I don't ever feel hungry, which is the protein she adds into every meal.

But I'd also ask your age? Because I'm 46 and perimenopausal and NONE of my wee tricks to drop a pound here and there are working any more...

You can do high carb and low fat and you'd lose or low carb high fat and lose weight...but you're doing carbs and fat, so unless you're going to calorie count, you do have to pick one or the other.

apples yes, I used to with an app called NutraCheck, but I found it so time consuming, especially at dinnertimes, that I gave up. I just downloaded Myfitnesspal and will start again!
trucking I use weights (4-5 kgs) and do a lot of workouts with lunges, squats, etc. Not that much cardio, more weights/bodyweight routines with some HIIT thrown in.
5 pm is when I finish work so 6pm for dinner is more manageable.
Also, I'm 35, have one DD and I'm also on the pill (so maybe some weight is water retention, who knows?)

Teddy thanks, I tried these yoghurts before but my only worry with them is added sugar and sweetener as I generally try to avoid these added to foods.
Your lunch sounds good! Do you get the prawns already cooked or fresh and cook them yourself?

You might be under eating, especially if you work out quite hard at the gym.

Google reverse dieting, two of my friends got Into fantastic shape/ great definition with that!

Maybe try some weights at the gym? (Actual free weights not 4/5kg) doing less reps and getting in some strength work.

Get a pt to give you advice so your safe but building muscle is a great way to look toned and the more muscle you have the more calories you burn 24/7

Lonny could you tell me a bit more about Louise Parker? I had a look at a number of Amazon reviews of her book and they are quite mixed - I just don't want to waste money on another miracle book!

Oh I know, I only bought it because a friend left a magazine at my house. I never buy women's mags for exactly those reasons! That said the 'method' book is only £10 on amazon.

There's some 'woo' stuff (which I'm doing nonetheless); 7 hours sleep (lack of sleep increases a hormone which increases weight), having time away from screens every day, being a bit more mindful.

10,000 steps a day, every day plus at least 15 mins other exercise, with a HIIT flavour/muscle sculpting.

Then three meals + 2 snacks a day, loads of recipes, all of which seem to me to be low or no carb, high protein, decent amount of good fat. Lots of oat bran for bircher or porridge, lots and lots of leaves and veg, lots of pulses. I'm really, really liking the food and have to say I'm never hungry.

Lonny thank you! I have bought so many of these books over the years and just don't want to be disappointed!
10,000 steps a day would mean I either need a pedometer or a fitbit, right? I might give it a try after payday :D

Primaryboodle Most fruit is semi digested anyway (think of melon as a starter) and needs to be eaten alone so that you benefit from the goodness, otherwise it rots in your gut when eaten as dessert of a normal meal (except bananas which are starchy). I used to have IBS before I began eating it on its own, I do think it needs to be combined with seeds or nuts in a smoothie though.

I make my own for breakfast they're yum!

10,000 steps is around 5 miles. So if you can work out the distance of somewhere you could walk to and from near your house that covers 5 miles then you wouldn't need to bother with a Fitbit

What stands out for me is how many snacks you eat. Three meals plus three snacks a day is too much (unless they were really really low calorie snacks, or really tiny meals.)

Teddy - yikes! 5 miles of walking per day? Not sure when and how I could fit that in, on weekend maybe? I cycle to work and exercise 3-4 times a week (sometimes manage up to 5 times) but there is no way I could walk 5 miles every day... how do you fit that in?

BigYellowJumper - I do realise this! I think that because I have quite a lot of fruit the blood sugar levels spike up and make me more hungry? It's also boredom snacking as when I'm busy at work I'm happy to go without so many snacks.

I'm going to try and eat fewer carbs and more protein - hopefully it will fill me up!