Its not happening - what on earth am I doing wrong?

[bacon]

I just cant believe it! I eat small meals, I dont snack, I have an excellent diet, lower carbs, tons of fish, no alcohol and I exercise but its not shifting!!!

Come on what more can I do? I have made so many changes since christmas but I believe in long life changes so not starving myself or silly diets that mean I'll put it all back on.

my rowing is improving but I cant add anymore time to it due to time committments and exhaustion. I was doing the shred but was getting board with it and no way can I do it everyday with family/business committments

My lifestyle against my 'fat' friends is fantastic yet nothing is happening - there must be something wrong. I am food satisified and notice how full I get now so inside I can notice it. Really since christmas I should of lost a stone. I feel so embarressed and ashamed that I'm blobby (2 stone overweight and small frame).

Why oh why, I must be doing something wrong???

I'm sorry to hear that you are having so little luck when you are working so hard for it!

What do you eat? Apart from fish? I found that when I lost weight, I was having a ridiculously high amount of fresh veg (shredded cabbage with a hint of olive oil and lemon juice was a favourite and other filing vegetable salads) and hardly any bread or starchy carbs like rice and potatoes. I had lots of lentils + beans and fruit.

What exercise do you do?

You are going to have to list typical day's food, including portion sizes and exercise each week to get any constructive advice I think...

Have you tried logging your all food on "my fitness pal"? This gives a good indication of whether you're eating a balanced diet and doesn't just look at calories. I find it really helpful.

My diet is based around a normal diet, could be spag bol (tiny amount of wholewheat pasta) salmon with roasted med veg, omlettes, roast dinners, lamb tangine, butterbeans with toms & feta - all homemade from scratch, small portions and smaller carbs.

Pudding - low fat plain yogurt with sugar subsitute, odd small cake now and again, 1 biscuit now and again so not every day.

With limited time I do half hour concept 2 rowering machine/kettle bells class, walking, odd run. but it is ad-hoc.

Surely, there should of been a few Ibs from just sensible eating?

I use "my fitness pal" but no way can I do this everyday, I have so much work to do in the evening due to being a partner in construction business. I have used it in the past and there are deficets.

My exercise plan could be x2 a week and x4 the week after so not enough.

I also have a concept 2 rower and a kettle bell, great, aren't they? Sounds like you are doing plenty of exercise. Could you try incorporating HIT training in your rowing and running? I tried HIT on the rower myself, but I wasn't very good at it, I must admit.

Are you only tracking weight loss from what you weigh on the scales? Perhaps you are building muscle, which weighs more than fat?

What you eat sounds great. If you are not losing weight, then I guess what you ate before wasn't so bad and perhaps you are not that overweight. The most dramatic weight loss is usually achieved if you go from a really bad diet to a really good one. My MIL lost lots of weight very quickly when she started Slimming World, but she did eat a large bag of sweets every day before.

I eat quite sensibly myself, but have put on weight recently regardless. When I did lose weight, as mentioned before, it was because I mainly ate vegetables. I practically filled up on raw carrots and cabbage and steamed broccoli and cauliflower (all cheap and filing) so I just couldn't eat anything else after. Perhaps you could substitute even more of your intake on non-veg with veg? It really is hard to not lose weight if you eat LOADS of fresh veg and don't add much else ;) Also double our water intake, and drink it before meals.

Check in on the recent Dr Briffa chat here- lots of inspiration there.

How much water do you drink?

It sounds like your doing all the right things, sorry to hear you're not having much luck :(

It can be a case of trial and error, could you perhaps cut out your puddings/yogurts for a week/2 weeks and see if there is any change in your weight? Dairy can be a real bugger, as lactose is a sugar, so low fat doesn't necessarily mean better for you.

Thanks all for getting back to me as I'm starting to lose the will.

Well I am 5'3" and 11.5stone - should be 9ish. I look obsese I dont carry it at all well. I was never stick thin but slim. my arms are might fat and my belly is enormous! I am a pudding.

misscph1973 yes I've doing HIT on rower as I went on the forum and asked for help and they recommended it. My regime isnt good enough but its time and pressure, by the time I stretch and shower I just dont have much time. I agree my diet has been good but portions were too big and spoiling myself, we used to drink so much wine too. So I thought just doing these two things would make a difference.

I dont drink water - mainly weak squash and couple of coffees.

Perhaps I should try cutting dairy?

Come and join my low carb Bootcamp. I'm 5ft 2 and was 11 stone 5 lbs at the beginning of Feb. By the end of April I was down to 9 stone 13, which I have maintained since then. I'm on a push to lose the next half stone now.

You are, IMVHO, eating/drinking too many carbs to be able to lose weight.

oh also, BIWI makes a very good point on her thread, avoid fruit. it packed full of sugar. doesn't matter if its 'natural' sugar. it's still sugar.

yep, hardly eat fruit these days but hasnt made an once of difference. My carbs are low (much lower than used to consume) - perhaps still too many? Have read loads via Zoe Harcombe and some much info on the net.

Not sure what the Bootcamp entails? I am struggling for time. That is a fantastic weight lose BIWItheBold I should be there!

What type of carbs are you eating? Lentil and beans are good, I don't eat any bread/wheat based products, and substitute these for things like puy lentils or kidney beans.

Give the cutting dairy out a go.

If you cut out carb and you cut out dairy, what do people eat for breakfast?

i eat eggs with some smoked salmon and half a large mushroom. very high protein and keeps you full for ages

eggs, bacon, black coffee.

I usually have scrambled eggs with added egg whites that I get from the supermarket.

I eat mostly eggs for breakfast - boiled, poached, scrambled or as an omelette. Very occasionally I have bacon and eggs (although I try to keep the amount of bacon I eat to a minimum, as it is processed). On days when I have a 6.45 am appointment at the gym, I have some Total Full Fat Greek yoghurt with a bit of vanilla extract.

Here is the latest Bootcamp thread, which starts with the rules, so you can see what it's all about

Even though I understand the carbs I feel as though its impossible for me to cut them out so I am concentrating on lower carbs. I do have cereal in the morning or porridge. Mainly salad & fish for lunch.

Why do you feel that, bacon?

I'd suggest going back to My Fitness Pal. It takes me 5 minutes a day max to log what I've eaten, and it's really helped me to think before I eat.

You don't drink water at all? Maybe you should try some! I don't know about the weak squash, I am not a fan of soft drinks myself.

I do totally understand that you find it difficult to even think about cutting out carbs, I do, I don't think I could live without bread, but I do try to reduce it (a lot). I also do not want to cut out fruit, as I really enjoy and and there is so much more in it than sugar.

Could you have porridge just made with water? That's what I do.

I recently read The 4 Hour Body by Timothy Ferriss, great read, although he is very extreme, it really motivated me to cut down on dairy and white carbs. The exercise advice is very good, he is a big fan of the kettle bell. Try reading it, it's very inspiring and funny, although I wouldn't do a lot of what he does (like immerse myself in ice water for 20 min!).

Maybe you should do a juice fast once a week, just for a day. I have not tried it myself, but I would really like to. My mother had great success with it many years ago.

Hi, I know you are short on time but you need to pay as much attention as possible to your diet and exercise.

Portion control can be a problem for a lot of people and it's only when you start to weigh your food that you realise what a portion actually means.

Looking at the food you eat, even if it is made from scratch, some of it potentially looks high cal but that depends of course on how it's made and how much you eat. So "spag bol" if made with full fat mince, "roast dinners" if it includes roast potatoes, gravy, Yorkshire pudding etc, skin on meat and so on. Your exercise needs to be regular and of good intensity. Best of luck.

Another fan of the 4hour body over here, have been following the points for over a year now, the diet he talks about has become the norm for myself and OH now. Totally agree about the ice water though, brrrrrrrrrrrr! Kettle bells are a great exercise investment too.

bacon, could you give up the cereal? IMVHO cereal is a crime against the body - totally manufactured invented product.