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Weight loss chat

A space to talk openly about weight loss journeys and challenges. Mumsnet hasn't checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. You may wish to speak to a medical professional before starting any diet.

Original poster

Why oh why am I gaining not losing?!

160 replies

Bluesheep8 · 11/02/2019 20:00

Average day looks like this:

Either a couple of bananas OR a smoothie made with frozen fruit, fat free yoghurt, banana and skimmed milk.

Lunch is turkey or tuna salad OR weightwatchers soup or homemade soup with 4 ryvitas and laughing cow light.

Dinner is something like homemade chilli made with lean mince and lentils with cauli rice or homemade spag bol made the same way with spiralised bns. A weighed portion (40g) of reduced fat cheese.
At least 3l of water, a 20 min fast walk at lunchtime and 20 mins at least on the treadmill most nights. Yet I'm GAINING weight! How? Why? Help!!!Confused

OP posts:
cathyandclare · 13/02/2019 09:55

I confess I have a coffee or three before 12 and I do use a splash of milk. I try and leave it 12 hours without anything apart from water/ mint tea.

Original poster
Bluesheep8 · 13/02/2019 10:49

cathyandclare great, thanks for clarifying. I'll still have a couple of coffees with s milk then. Done that this morning and sticking to herbal tea and water til lunchtime.

OP posts:
AngelaStorm73 · 13/02/2019 16:44

Could be water retention?

Focalpoint · 13/02/2019 18:22

Are you drinking any alcohol?

WhoTFIsAlanBrazil · 13/02/2019 18:57

It would take more than a few minutes on the treadmill to gain significant muscle tbh.

WhoTFIsAlanBrazil · 13/02/2019 18:58

Sorry I didn't mean to sound negative, just trying to stick to facts Blush

Original poster
Bluesheep8 · 13/02/2019 19:07

whotf you're right! No way it can be muscle. I haven't been doing enough for long enough for that.
focalpoint Yes. Wine at the weekend. Have always done so without it affecting my weight, honestly! Even continued with weekend wine on the long long road to losing the initial 5.5 stone.Blush

OP posts:
halfwitpicker · 13/02/2019 19:12

Are you actually hungry for breakfast? If not, don't eat it. You could do 16:8 instead? Lower carb in the 8 hour window?

I'm the same height as you and can't go above 1400 cals without gaining - sad but true.

Original poster
Bluesheep8 · 13/02/2019 19:32

No, not really hungry for breakfast. I was taking the smoothie or fruit to work and having it around 10am. I leave the house at 7am.

OP posts:
Original poster
Bluesheep8 · 13/02/2019 19:35

Ok so today I've eaten:

2 coffees with s milk
4 herbal teas

Turkey salad with reduced fat dressing

Peppered mackerel, 4 small new potatoes and salad, 1 hardboiled egg. again with reduced fat dressing.

OP posts:
Original poster
Bluesheep8 · 13/02/2019 19:37

And to be honest, there are many days where I eat like that OR have homemade chilli with cauli rice.

OP posts:
halfwitpicker · 13/02/2019 19:53

I can't see how you would not lose on that!

Only thing I'd say is don't have reduced fat- have full fat instead, it's more filling.

thenightsky · 13/02/2019 19:55

You sound similar to me. Except I'm 10 years older. I can't go over 1200 calories or I gain. Its bloody depressing. I've put on nearly 2 stone in the last 2 years.

Original poster
Bluesheep8 · 14/02/2019 06:05

thenightsky it's so unfair isn't it? I weighed 15 stone when I was 26, got down to 10 stone, then 9 stone 7 and maintained for YEARS. Now this! And I work in an office full of people who eat cake and biscuits all day. One of those offices where cake is taken into the office for birthdays (or any occasion really) I took cake for my own birthday and didn't eat any! Like I said, not fair!Confused

OP posts:
Blobby10 · 14/02/2019 09:08

40g of cheese?!!!!! I have less than 25g and its 100 calories - admittedly its the normal stuff but 40g on top of a meal sounds a huge amount. I would advise you to start weighing and measuring everything you eat then record it on MFP.

By the way, even if you are walking really briskly for 20 minutes you probably wont burn more than 70-80 calories. Walking burns around 50-70 cals a mile whilst running can burn up to 100 cals a mile. These are rough estimates based on what I saw when using a heart rate monitor (amongst other research). It sounds like you may be thinking you are doing more exercise than you actually are.

agirlhasnonameX · 14/02/2019 10:03

The more calories you cut the more you will have to cut over time and the more you use your exercise bike the more you'll have to use it, until you reach a point where you will be consuming next to nothing and having to burn loads of calories just to lose weight.
If I was you I'd set my calories just a little higher, but have a more balanced split between carbs, fat and protein and do resistance training instead of the bike and measure yourself rather than weigh.

Original poster
Bluesheep8 · 14/02/2019 10:22

agirlhas you could be right there. I may well have messed up my metabolism over time.

OP posts:
Original poster
Bluesheep8 · 14/02/2019 11:04

Re the 40g of cheese, it's a portion size that has stuck in my head from ww propoints. It's grated over homemade chilli made with veg and lentils or with lean mined beef and lentils (so that the mince is halved iyswim) and served with cauli rice.

OP posts:
Original poster
Bluesheep8 · 15/02/2019 06:05

Oops, typo-it's 30g! Weekly weigh day today and.....I've stayed the same Confused

OP posts:
UnperfectLife · 15/02/2019 06:39

Just weighed myself- stayed exactly the same this week. Annoying. I did 5 long, hungry days of very self-disciplined 1200 calories, but at the beginning of the week had had 2 blow out days.... Result: no weight loss whatsoever....

ivykaty44 · 15/02/2019 06:58

There is a lot of dairy, I d ditch the smoothly, yougurt and milk.

Eat fruit for breakfast don’t blend it, stick to one banana a day

Make a big batch of homemade soup and use stick not milk, if you want it thick as a tin or half a tin of chickpeas before blending

Make popcorn and add a small amount of seasoning or eat natural- have two cups as a snack if you feel peckish

Losing weight is 80% food and 20% exercise, up the exercise for health, reducing cholesterol, reducing the risk of heart disease and keeping depression out and staying healthy

ivykaty44 · 15/02/2019 06:59

Stock not stick..

ivykaty44 · 15/02/2019 07:05

My friend is on a diet and I was invited for supper it was chilli done slim club style, delicious but she put 2 and a half portion sizes on her plate 😔 and cat understand why she’s not losing weight. I’d eat a jyst mire than a third of what she eats on a normal day. I serve a chopped tomat, cucumber and onion salad with chilli or curry - so that a third of your plate is vegetables

Blobby10 · 15/02/2019 10:21

@UnperfectLife that's exactly what I do too!! Eat properly/sensibly/within calorie goals for 5 days then completely lose the plot for the other two and undo all my hard work., I've given up trying to lose weight - my darling body seems to resist, resist resist until it suddenly drops half a stone after 3 months of trying. Unfortunately it does the same upwards and I gain half a stone very suddenly Sad

I know that to lose the weight I need to be very disciplined for 7 days a week for at least 3 months. I don't want it enough to do that as I know it will make me miserable so focus on building my muscle strength through weight training 4 days a week and (hopefully) cardio for 2 of the remaining 3 days. If my blooming hormones will ever allow me to stop feeling so exhausted!

halfwitpicker · 15/02/2019 12:56

Instead of the grated cheese on the chilli have cottage cheese on the side instead. Lower fat, higher protein.

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