What are you all eating in a day to ensure you lose weight?

[HankAndThePoodle]

I don't think I am eating enough. I am currently stuck at 16stone 12 and and on quite a low dose of semaglutide as the suppression effects are working very well for me. Most days I don't have breakfast because I don't really like eating in the morning. Then I have eggs with rice cakes for lunch, a snack in the afternoon and meat and veg for tea in various forms. I don't think I am eating enough because the weight should be falling off me and its not moving at all.

drinking 2 litres of water a day so I could up that.

I am pretty sedentary movement wise because I am recovering from a back injury but I am trying to walk as much as I can.

I have never managed to stick to healthy eating for this long and feel a massive sense of relief that the food noise has been eliminated as I have realised how much of my time pre jab was spent thinking about food.

I am just really desperate to shift this weight and have been stuck at this weight for weeks. I am perfectly happy to lose 1-2 lbs a week but its currently not moving at all!

When I was in the loosing phase, I ate -500 off my TDEE. I reduced carbs and increased protein and made sure I was drinking lots of fluid.

It's a myth that not eating enough will stop you losing weight. Are you tracking calories? I had the smallest serving of Risotto yesterday, when I added everything in it accurately it was over 600 calories. If you go on a tdee calculator, check your maintenance calories and deduct 500 calories. 500 calorie deficit will be 3500 kcal a week, which is 1lb. You'd need a 1000 calorie deficit a day to lose 2lb a week. Privilege proteins to keep your muscle mass.

Most days I eat the same as it keeps things simple, 2 eggs with low fat mayo, 3 rice crackers. A fiber 1 bar.
Then most evenings I eat home made chilli with rice/jacket potato/wrap etc for dinner with low fat cheese. I can't understand how that would be over my cals, but next time I make a batch of chilli I will weigh everything and put it through MFP to ensure its not accidentally got loads more than I realised.
Its packed full of veg, low fat mince and 2 cans of beans so loads of fibre. I am trying so hard to stay motivated but I have been stuck on the same weight for weeks.

It doesn't seem like a lot of food, but you might want to check how much rice/noodles you have and the weight of the jacket potatoes..

I'm 5ft1 and at my weight and age my maintenance calories( to stay on my overweight bmi!) are 1491. Which means that to lose 1lb a week, I can't eat more than 991 kcal a day... this is nothing and depressingly hard to do. Without mounjaro, it's just not sustainable...

If you're not losing then the most likely explanation is that you're overestimating your TDEE or underestimating your calorie intake. You need to recalculate your TDEE based on being largely sedentary at the moment and track everything in MFP or similar to check your calories. It's boring but it works. Keep an eye on your macros, too - what you describe sounds quite high in carbs and low in protein.

I try to eat 500-700 calories below my TDEE. Sometimes eat more if I've done a lot of exercise and I'm very hungry. Can't do a 20 mile day hike on 1800 calories! I focus on high protein and high fibre. If you've no clue about calories and portion sizes it can be eye opening to track them even for a little bit.

Typical day for me at the moment

Breakfast:
2 eggs, homemade sourdough, mushrooms or
Greek yoghurt, berries, chia seeds, granola

Lunch:
Homemade green veg soup (peas, edamame, spinach, broccoli) with chicken or
Caesar salad with chicken (homemade dressing with greek yoghurt base and I add a variety of leaves and veg rather than just romaine)

Dinner:
Chicken kofta, grilled veggies, salad, sweet potato or
Turkey and aubergine curry, roasted cauliflower, grain mix

Even though I used to eat pretty similar my portions were way off and I didn't think twice about oil or butter etc.

It's the portion sizes. I though I was eating average, normal portions but when I weighed and calculated also all oils, sauces etc - I really needed to eat about 1/3 of that and had been miscalculating my calories respectively.

Absolutely echo everyone above, also I was in a similar situation of not losing for a few weeks, I found this article on another MN thread and found it interesting and reassuring;
https://www.secondnature.io/guides/mind/motivation/weight-loss-plateaus-explained
And after a few weeks I’ve started losing again, hope it helps 😊

I’m 58 and 5 feet 4. I’m eating 1440 kcals per day, including 130g protein, and drinking up to about 4 litres fluid throughout the day. I’m losing about 1kg per week, and that’s fine with me.

It may be that your metabolism needs a reset. Are you sleeping enough ? Have you had a thyroid check ? How’s your gut health ? You may need a probiotic and a gentle laxative. Can you do some chair based exercises maybe some light weights ?

Hi OP,

I also don’t think I’m eating much (see below). I don’t see how I could eat any less unless I go really low calorie eg 600 cals a day. But I also am not losing. I’m currently 12 st 4 lbs and seem to be stuck there. It may just be a plateau. Suddenly, and for no reason at all it seems to me, things start to move. Have you considered raising your dose of weight loss injection? Keep on trucking eh?

B. Nothing

L. One egg on one slice of toast.

D. Small roast dinner, 2 dessert spoons of apple crumble and cream, 1 small glass of wine, 4 jellie babies.

Definitely under 1000 calories.

I had a weight loss plateau for 4 MONTHS April to July! Then suddenly started losing 1 lb a week again. I did raise my MJ dose very slightly though, so I’m not sure if that had something to do with it.

Now stopped losing again, though eating less than before!

Thanks for the link. I’ll read it later.

I think plateaus are pretty normal, I didn't lose anything for a month and then 5 lbs came off in a week. Eating more food won't make you lose weight. I'd give it a couple more weeks, you'll probably see that woosh that people talk about in that time.

One idea I had:

Maybe during a plateau use this time to just relax or chill a bit ? Forget about weight loss for a while - focus on other things. Don’t increase calories but don’t reduce calories further either? Don’t fight your body in other words. Maybe it’s adjusting to the new normal and needs a bit of time. Think of it as mini-maintenance phases along the way. Which might even mean the final maintenance phase is easier. Also maybe just stop weighing for a month, or only weigh every couple of weeks?

If you are eating below your TDEE then it could be that you are losing fat but retaining water or gaining muscle. If it is more than a couple of weeks then you are eating your TDeE or higher as you lose weight your TDEE falls. My TDEE has dropped 400kcals since I started as I am nearly 4 stone lighter. My losing calories are now 1350 compared to nearly 1800 which is a whole meal less per day. Shifting the last stone is crap!

Op that’s not how weight loss works, it is not the more you eat the more you lose. It’s the opposite, the less you eat, the more you lose. So it would feel you’re way over your cals, prob the cheese, beans, mince, mayo etc, all adding up to too many, it doesn’t feel a lot as it’s not in small portions or low cal stuff.

sorry and to add, if you eat more you will gain more.

@ScoffingWaters2000 I read your linked article now! I think it mirrors alot of my thoughts.

It says regular plateaus are part of the journey and are healthy.

I think plateaus might be particularly stubborn nearer “set points”. I think my set point range is probably around 12 stone 10 lbs to 14 stone these days. I think my long plateau happened at 12 stone 10 lbs. Now I am at 12 stone 4 lbs and have stopped losing weight again - another plateau. My goal weight is 11 stone 7 lbs.

Apparently we can change our set point but people think it can take from 1 to several years 😮! I don’t know if there is evidence that Mounjaro and weight loss injections can help with this, but it stands to reason that - over time - they might.

@ThePinkCushionPin I think I posted that in May when I had plateaued for the first time and since then have had 2 more ‘stalls’/ plateaus, I’ve realised that they’ve all been weights that I was for long periods of time in the last 20 years, I was stuck on 12 and a half stone for 6 weeks (I was around this weight for most of my 40s) and recently I’m stuck (or so it seems) at 11 and a half stone, again I was this weight for a long time in earlier life too. It’s like my body is remembering and trying to settle at these remembered weights! Intriguing

Is it not more likely it’s more about your mind and how much you consume? I mean if we look at the weight losses on the drugs, it would make the whole set point theory redundant.

Well I disagree. Weight loss journeys are never linear, like, ever 😁. Even peeps on WLI have plateaus. So I would say it’s normal - and more important healthy - on any weight reduction journey.

Of course (my view) if you batter your body into submission I guess you could lose weight every week - as you would if you were starving on a desert island. 🏝️ But there will be consequences for your physical and mental health.

It’s very hard. We (all) want to be slim and healthy. But slim is not the same as healthy. Years ago I had a friend who went on a coffee and cigarette diet. She got thin for sure. But looked like Morccia Adams on a bad day. Then put all the weight back on anyway 🤷‍♀️

Honestly I don't stick to a plan, I just try to cut back on the snacks and wine. Eat what the kids are having but on a smaller plate, and it seems to keep the weight slowly moving down.

I’m sorry I think you misunderstood, likely I wasn’t clear. I was not suggesting plateaus were not normal or than weight loss was linear, I was refering to the whole set point theory that basically says irrelevant of how little you eat your body stays to some random weight. Which I think is evidenced as bunkum.

In my experience it makes no difference what I eat as long as the number of calories each day is in sufficient deficit.
I don’t eat what most people would say was a healthy diet.
This is for varied reasons from disability to simple preference.
I have lost about eight stones.
Some days I just eat toast and biscuits. Depends what I fancy.

Ok @Thelankyone I still kinda disagree though. I believe we have a vague but nonetheless real genetic and social (based on food we were brought up with and currently eat) set point. I think it’s been scientifically researched how the body will fight (too much) calorific reduction if it deems it detrimental to homeostasis or health, eg by reducing metabolism. I don’t think that’s, er, “bunkum” . Always love how MN so pleasant and polite in the way they preeent their differing views 🤷‍♀️

Anyway, OP, I hope this thread has been helpful 🙌.

How do you think she's gaining muscle when she's barely able to walk due to a back injury? How do you think muscle is made?