Where am I going wrong? Gaining weight

[Lovemusic33]

I’m reasonably fit and healthy, I go to the gym and eat a balanced diet. A year ago I was able to eat pretty much what I wanted without gaining weight, I was a size ten and around 9 stone, had a flat stomach and although I worked hard at maintaining my weight (going to the gym, walking a lot)I felt pretty good. A year on and I gained a little bit, took a few months off the gym. Went back to the gym after Christmas, I go 4-5 times a week and I can’t shift the weight, I’m watching what I eat, stopped buying unhealthy food (no chocolate in the house), having smaller meals etc... but I can’t seem to get the weight off.

My average food in a day is...
Breakfast - one weetabix with a spoon full of yoghurt and half a banana.
Snack (after the gym)- cup of tea and 2 go ahead biscuits.
Lunch- ham and salad sandwich on brown seeded bread and a satsuma.
Dinner- salmon, leaks and broccoli, some fat free yoghurt.

If I get hungry in the evening I have a handful of almonds of a couple satsumas.

I’m burning between 350-450cals at the gym.

I know I probably need to cut down the carbs but I’m finding hard to find things that fill me up which means I’m getting hungry in the evening.

I want to fit into my size 10 clothes from last summer.

I am in the process of losing a stone to get from a 12 back to a 10. The only thing that works for me is staying away from bready carbs- I don’t eat any bread, wraps, pastry, cake or biscuit type foods. I have cut out biscuits completely (this makes me very sad) and this has really helped.

At the end of the day it has to be calories in vs calories out- maybe try logging on my fitness pal for a week just to get an idea of what has the hidden calories that’s is causing you not to maintain the weight you want?

Thanks fluffy, I think I will try and cut out the bread, I have cut out potatoes, just feels like I’m running out of things I can eat 🤣
The go-ahead biscuits were to compensate my loss of chocolate (really struggling with no chocolate).
I will try logging what I eat.

Protein will fill you better than carbs. Up the protein, ditch the carbs. It will fall off you.

Can I ask how old u are ? I was like that. Started peri menopausal and the weight just went on no matter what I did. I’m 43

I’m 37, been having major issues with my periods, am coming of the pill to see if that helps (also might help with the weight). I don’t usually find it this hard to keep weight off, usually falls off when I’m going to the gym most days.

I normally have an options 40 calorie hot chocolate when I really fancy something sweet.

I would be STARVING if I ate what you're eating. Make sure you are eating enough for you as well.
Definitely up the protein. There's not much veg in your diet too, you have less than 5 fruit and veg in that plan.

Nuts are also really high calorie, though they are good for you. I'd maybe swap them out for some low cal, high quantity veg to fill you up a bit, see if it makes a difference.

I'd replace the go ahead biscuits with something else personally too. I'd be so hungry after them, they're not very filling, and it's quite a bit of sugar too I imagine? What about some cheese and celery sticks or carrot batons or something.

Also I know myself I can eat like this mon-fri but then ruin it for myself with alcohol or 'just a couple' of treats at the weekend. Are you definitely just eating what you said too? Or are you just having one biscuit at work, and then the kids leftovers, and then a glass of coke etc etc.

Get your thyroid checked. You may have an under active thyroid xx

sleep I usually eat a lot of veg, that’s just what I have eaten today. I tend to have twice as much veg with a meal instead of carbs (potatoes or rice). I have the occasional treat at the weekend but I don’t pig out, yesterday I had a ice cream, weekend before we went out ant ate cake. I can’t remember the last time I had a take away or pinged out. Last year I was able to pig out at the weekends and not gain.

Have a read about Insulin resistance. Dr Jason Fung is a good place to start.

I'm another one who would be starving. Your diet is all carbs tbh

You need more fat, more protein, more veg

I have the occasional treat at the weekend but I don’t pig out, yesterday I had a ice cream,

^

OK. This is where your problem lies.

What exactly are the weekend treats?

managedmis my weekend treats are not huge, as I said above, it maybe a ice cream or a piece of cake, not a huge take away or anything.

The food in my OP was just what I ate yesterday, it’s not what I eat everyday, some days I have no carbs, some days I eat more protein (I eat a lot of chicken and fish). I can’t eat as much fat as I am dairy intolerant, the ice cream I had made me unwell but was worth it 🤣, I can only eat a small amount of dairy, maybe a small amount of yoghurt or cheese. I don’t eat much red meat because it’s expensive.
I do eat a lot of veg, when I’m working I take a lunch box which contains carrot and cucumber sticks, seafood sticks and some fruit (no carbs).

Fruit = carbs. Carrots are high in sugar so = carbs.

Fat doesn’t have to come from dairy. Olive oil on a salad/your protein works too.

Hmm, well, a small treat like that shouldn't send you way off track.

It sounds brutal but you might have to stick to what seems like a very small number of cals I. E 1400 per day or something.

Also, be careful with almonds - they're great for you but really high calorie.

Have you tried cutting out lactose altogether?

I have a severe lactose intolerance and find that if I eat anything with lactose in it, my body weight goes up significantly as my body starts holding on to more water. It wreaks havoc on my attempts to lose weight.

There’s lactose free milk, cheese, yoghurt etc available in most supermarkets now, so it’s a lot easier to go completely lactose free than it used to be. Might be worth a try?

Crazzzy I haven’t, maybe i should? Dairy seems to make me very bloated (by the evening I look pregnant), cutting it down has helped a little so maybe it’s worth cutting it out completely. I have switched to almond milk but am still eating yoghurt.

Seeded bread is actually the most fattening bread you can get, so could be a contributor. Best switch to wholemeal.

Also, go-ahead biscuits are still biscuits, no matter how the brand tries to convince you otherwise.

For me what worked and helped me go from 9 stone 3 to 8stone 1 > eat plenty of vegetables with your main meals. Infact don't skimp at all with your main meals and then you wont need to snack as much. Grapes and cucumber were my godsends.

Example day:

*2 Weetabix for breakfast OR two slice brown bread toast.
*Grilled 'fry up' for lunch (slim sausages) and reduced sugar beans and eggs cooked in microwave (40 sec in a cup). Grilled bacon.
OR tuna and mixed beans salad with cucumber (tuna in brine not oil)
*Gamon steak and baked potato for dinner with lots of salad.
OR Stirfry (with chicken or lean beef) cooked with water/ soy sauce (no oil or sause) rice with it is fine - as long as brown or basmati.
*Grapes as a snack. And more grapes. Occasional apple too.

Sounds like cutting out lactose would definitely be worth a shot. Even if it doesn’t help with weightloss, you’ll probably feel a lot better for it.

Also keep an eye on pre-prepared foods. I wouldn’t be surprised for example if those Go Ahead biscuits have lactose in them. Sometimes it’s even added as a baking ingredient 😣

Up protein
Less carbs
Tonnes of water

Water aids weight loss. Helps you feel fuller if you drink a glass before a meal too.

I use 21 day fix portion tubs. Fabulous. No measuring. Just whack it in the tub and it's done. I've lost a good deal of body fat and am at a healthy weight.

I have approx 1600 cals a day:
3 cups of veg a day (not peas or sweetcorn as they're mostly carbs)

2 cups of fruit a day (aside from banana - 1 banana equals 2 portions of fruit)

4 tubs of protein - equal to about 8 eggs

2 tubs of carbs - equal to about 2 slices of bread

1 tub of healthy fats - about 30g of cheddar cheese or 4 tbsp of hummus

1 tub of seeds/dressings - 8 olives or nuts and seeds of your choice

10 glasses of water a day (on the presumption that 1 cup is 200ml)

If I'm still hungry I'll eat another tub of protein. I allow myself a daily treat (some biscuits maybe, some chocolate - I'd go mad without).
I also exercise 4 times a week with a combination of HIIT and weights.
I also have a cheat day every week.

I was told seeded bread is better as it fills you up for longer? It doesn’t seem to fill me up, nothing does. I don’t eat bread every day, maybe 2 or 3 times a week.

I will cut out the biscuits, I would rather have a cube of chocolate. I have a sweet tooth and crave something sweet, fruit just doesn’t cut it.

I eat loads of veg with my main meal, love veg so I have it instead of potatoes.

I think the evenings are where I slip up, we eat dinner too early (as kids are hungry) and then around 8pm I feel hungry. I try and snack on fruit, nuts and veg but sometimes I still feel starving. I have stopped buying any crisps, chocolate, biscuits etc.., so there’s none in the house for me to binge on. Hopefully I will see a difference soon. I’m deffently getting bloated and I look huge by the evening (I look pretty good and flat in the morning).

Omg don't take pure chocolate, I remember the slimming world syns and chocolate was through the roof. But you know those mini milkyways - they are only like 3 syns or something (pretty low) so I would recommend those. Maybe the nouget stuff isn't as fatty as chocolate or something. Who knows. But in comparison, one belvita breakfast biscuit (plain) was 7.5 syns so it just goes to show that some of these healthy biccys, aren't.

Evenings were my weak point too, I think fat free yogurt were something I turned too quite a bit. But if dairy goes for you…
Probably best to just try eat big meals. Apparently savory rice packs (dry rice) are pretty low on syns too so maybe half a pack of that. And cold meat was syn free.

Tea I followed slimming world for a while and lost nothing. I’m not a fan of theirs, most of the food is high in sugar and low in fat, so a Milky Way is low in sync but in fact it’s pretty high in sugar, a square or 2 of dark chocolate probably contains a lot less sugar. I think sugar is my problem.

Teaforthewin - that’s a fab loss and sounds like a healthy, sustainable way of eating.
Do you mind telling me how long it took you to lose the weight?
Thank you