Help! I can't lose weight!

[only1malteaser]

I have been trying for about 3 months to lose weight, I am doing all the right things, exercise and eating healthy, about 1200 calories a day. I have lost no weight and have had my thyroid checked to be sure.
When I was pg with ds2 I was very ill and lost lots of weight but when I started eating normally again put on lots of weight and it's like my body is scared to part with the blubber now!
Any ideas how I can kick start it?

What are you eating at the moment. IMO its what you eat rather than number of calories that makes a difference.

Try this for 2 weeks without any cheating:

Only eat lean protein, and vegetables. So chicken/turkey breast, lean beef (but not every day), fish, fat free dairy, eggs plus lots of vegetables. Protein with every meal or snack. Eat 1200 calories a day comprising of 3 meals and 2-3 snacks.

If you have to drink diet drinks limit them to one a day. Look for fat free dairy thats low in lactose eg low lactose milk, greek yoghurt, cottage cheese.

Hi, thanks, I am vegetarian so that makes it a bit more difficult, I follow the tesco veggie diet so I know I am eating properly, each meal consists of 350 calories and is well balanced and 150 calorie snack. I stick to the plan but maybe on a weekend will have a wee treat.
I'm getting a bit disheartened with it all to be honest but don't want to fall off the wagon!

How overweight are you? And are you exercising?

5'4" and weigh about 11 and half stone I walk to school with the kids and then power walk the long way home for about 40 mins (all up hill while pushing a pram) I then do 10 mins boxing and 10 mins hula hoop on wii fit followed by tricep and bicep exercises (with a pineapple because I can't find my weights)!
I never had a problem with my weight and lost it very quickly after having ds1 but have since had ds2 (3) and dd (2) and can't shift it.

You probably need to ditch weekend treat, be certain that you are sticking to your eating plan and maybe introduce some weights/resistance exercise. Building a bit of muscle will almost certainly help.
If you're sure that the food side of things is pretty much in hand then you'll need to up the exercise level.

I joined 'myfitnesspal' after seeing a link on mn. I thought I ate really well, always cook from scratch, plenty of veg, avoiding fatty foods etc, but the odd little treat can really tip things over the edge I've discovered. It's also made me more aware of how much exercise I have to do if I want those little treats.

I don't doubt the tesco diet veggie plan is well balanced, but I still stand by what I said before - its not necessarily about calories.

To kickstart eat protein at each meal and and don't eat carbs - other than those found in dairy & legumes/pulses). I strongly recommend the south beach diet book, works well for vegetarians. Try phase 1 of the south beach plan for 2 weeks without any treats and see if that helps.

Its hard not to have treats at weekend, but I didn't really loose weight unless the treats were very small and part of 1200 calories.

BTW I disagree with Jeremyvile - I think you are doing enough exercise to loose weight. Weight loss is 80% what you eat and 20% exercise.

Maintaining excess weight at 1200 cals a day suggests low metabolism. Increasing muscle mass will help with that.

jeremyvile - True, but maintaining that weight with that amount of exercise and number of calories suggests to me the wrong sort of food. Building muscles does help with metabolism but will also lead to some weight gain which the OP might not be happy with.

Personally if I did a diet plan for 3-4 weeks and I didn't loose weight (at least 1lb a week, each week) I'd be looking to change what I was eating as its hard to stick to and clearly not helping weight loss efforts.

I have the same problem as you. Although i have lost 2.7 st since Oct 2009 (i kid you not!) I am also veggie and also gluten free. I do have PCOS so i know it will be slow but i am pissed off with it . Having said that i haven't put any on.

My initial kick start was done by following this to the letter.

I also exercise alot, a typical day is

walk for between 2-4 hours at a rate of 3.5 miles per hour over all terrain.

I skip for 15 minutes

I hula with a weighted hula for 10 mins

I cycle for 4-5 miles x3-4 per week

i run for 3-4 miles 2-3 times per week.

plus all the 'normal' stuff like housework, which is hard as i have 15 rooms that are hoovered every single day and washed 2-3 per week.

Pre pregnacy i was a perfect size 8 with no fat on me and i didn't do half as much as i do now but i did work for 14 hours every day.

I feel your pain as it really winds me up, that i just can't shift the extra weight.

i also forgot to add that i tried the tesco diet recently for 8 weeks and i lost nothing more than 2.5lbs in first week then i lost nothing more but did put those 2.5lbs back on.

I cancelled my membership.

I would say that you're not eating enough, try upping your calorie intake to 1400 for a week or two and see if that helps. I know it sounds crazy, but IMO it works.

Eat less than 20g of carbohydrates a day, otherwise eat what you like, and drink a lot of water. You WILL lose weight I promise.

I did tesco diets... I signed up for 6 months, but did totals plan (so basically I ate whatever I wanted provided kept to 15 totals a day). I lost each week for first couple of months and then plateaued for several weeks - once I'd lost 2 stone. I then switched to low carb/low fat and started loosing again even though the number of calories was the same or perhaps even more that before.

morethanyoubargainfor I think harder for some vegetarians to loose weight as they naturally eat more carbohydrates and some people find it hard to loose with this sort of diet. I also have PCOS, and I loose weight quickest on low GI/GL/low carb diet. I can maintain weight even if I eat a lot, but only if its a lot of protein and veggies. I would immediately gain if its a lot of carbs.

jareth although sometimes eating more calories can help, I'd be very surprised if this was the answer in this case, 1200 is not "starvation". More calories are ok but only if they are of the right thing - see above.

foreveronadiet, thanks for that but i am not sure about the carbs thing as i am gluten free. Have looked at low GI before and there really isn't much i can eat!!

morethanyoubargainfor what do you eat in a normal day?

I agree with theDudesmummy - if after 3 months the tesco diet plan is not yielding results trying sticking to under 20g of carbs a day is a good idea.

Low GI works very well with gluten free. The tesco low GI diet might not suggest things that you can eat but low GI principles work very well with a gluten free diet.

I thought the body uses around 1300 calories a day, even if you stay in bed all day? 1200 is very low...

Agree with low carbs but its quite hard as a veggie.

If you go onto MyFitnessPal you can input your current weight and how much you want to lose per week and it will tell you how many calories and fat you can eat per day to lose that amount of weight. I agree with the others that you may not be eating enough. Also the calorie counter and exercise log is a great motivator

Low carb is workable as a vegetarian. I followed the Rose Elliott low carb veggie diet with success until my gallbladder played up.

i had surgery to remove it at the end of last year and went back to low carbing at the start of the year. I lost one stone and stalled for a couple of months. I lost all motivation and returned to carb hell.

After some thought I am now doing the 4 hour body plan. It is restrictive and repetitive but I like it :) Lots of veggies, lentils and beans.

I would strongly recommend what foreverondiet says about increasing protein and cutting carbs.

foreveronadiet, (sorry for highjack 1Maltesers )

Breakfast: Yoghut/fruit/gluten free porridge

Lunch: jacket pot/three bean chilli/eat natural bar & fruit.

Dinner: lentil and cannellini bean quiche, new pots, carrots & aspasragus/ steamed salmon, carrots, butternut squash, peas/sun dried tomatoe and spinach quiche and mixed salad.

evening: fruit adn nut mix/ pumpkin seeds/ occasion choc (AF week mainly )/ cassava crisps.

Foreveronadiet - In terms of energy in/energy out there is no such thing as the wrong sort of food. And I say that as a commited low carber!

Healthwise it matters, and different eating plans will suit different people for all sorts of reasons but ultimately if your body burns 2000 cals a day and you eat 2000 cals a day, you'll maintain. Your body doesnt care whether thats from lean meat, fresh frut and salads or a large big mac meal and a pack of jaffa cakes.

There's a whole industry that needs to tell us its more complicated than that. But its really not (in almost all cases).

Ok thanks guys, some good advice.
My general diet is as follows:
Breakfast: 50g museli with skimmed or semi milk and a banana

Lunch: wholemeal pitta with humous, salad and few slices of cucumber, sometimes a fruseli if still hungry

Dinner: Bean and sweetcorn stew and a piece of fruit

Evening snack: Fruseli or fruit or couple of crackers

Looked up the fitness pal and will give it a try, I really don't want to cut out carbs but will try and cut down, that may be the answer but this is the same diet I followed after having ds1 and lost the weight no problem

I had given up trying to lose weight as I have had years and years, just as you describe, of healthy eating with no weight loss but recently have cut down on carbohydrates and have started to see a bit of weight loss :)

On the front page of my professional journal last week the main article was "Is Healthy Eating Fuelling Obesity" citing more and more evidence suggesting the high carb low-fat diets recommended for years may be part of the problem. I do think increasing protein and reducing carbs may help you as foreverona diet said.

I agree diet is basically healthy but cutting back on carbs (rather than cutting out, very hard for veggie) may give you a boost - ideas to tweak things a bit.

breakfast - greek yoghurt with 25g muesli and berries (can use frozen) or omelette if you eat eggs. I have 2 egg omelette and 100g yoghurt each morning.
lunch - big bowl salad with houmous or cottage cheese.
dinner - soup (with veggies and pulses), tofu salad / tofu stirfry
snacks - nuts or yoghurt (ie some protein and low(ish) carbs. Limit fruit to 1 piece a day and limit bananas to once a week.