Please tell me honestly... what is going on?

[Holly19]

So i realised recently that i had piled on 2 stone since my wedding and my poor husband must be thinking this isn't what i signed up for (joke!!)

My weight a month ago was 12st 11lbs and i am 5ft 3 so it is just far far too heavy!

Over the last month I have done the following to try and shift some weight.

Firstly i started the Exante meal replacement saches. I was having one for breakfast and one for lunch with a low cal dinner. Two weeks of that and the scales did not budge. I wondered, as i have PCOS and am insulin resistant, if maybe there was too much sugar in them so i switched to macro/cal counting with low carb.

The last two weeks i have done a minimum of 45 mins cardio 5 x a week at the gym + a weekly body pump class. Stuck to low carb meals had no take aways, no cakes in the office, no wine and upped my water intake.

My weight 1 month later is 12st 12lbs - 1+ HEAVIER!

Please help me - what am i doing wrong. I use my fitness pal and i am totally honest about what i eat. I sometimes don't stick to 30g or under of carbs but max is 45g carb a day which is still meant to be low carb.

I just dont get it. I am ready to cry.

In the past spinning always worked for me. Why isnt it now :(

I second ditching cardio and concentrating on building muscle by doing weights. I have pcos (currently in remission) and cardio does zilch in terms of fat burning for me. I can relate to the article upthread as I experienced similar, attended all these gym classes for months, Zumba, combat etc and saw no difference to my weight or shape. None at all.

As soon as I started doing weights, bingo! Results came through straight away and are continuing now, three years later. It just gets better and better.

I can’t agree more with adverse effects of over exercising on insulin resistance. Cortisol which results from overworking yourself can majorly mess with weight loss. So, through the experience, I have arrived at doing no more than two weights sessions a week (don’t do another one until completely recovered and soreness gone completely), maybe replaced with a spin class or yoga occasionally. This regime has actually helped me lose weight and keep it off (while low carbing).

So yeah, tone your intensity down, add relaxation techniques, work on improving your sleep. This is miles more effective than running your body to exhaustion through being over zealous. As crazy as it sounds, it can be counter productive for people to exercise too much.

Don't forget that muscle weighs more than fat!

Calories in v calories out. It's so boring but works. Any kind of low carb / fasting diet is simply cutting calories.

The statement above is factually incorrect. Low carb and particularly fasting affect hormone levels in the body, all scientifically documented in laboratory settings, e.g. Jason Fung’s research among others. Fasting makes insulin drop and remain low whereas normally, it remains elevated throughout the day in an insulin resistant person. Insulin blocks fat burning and facilitates fat cell growth. Other hormones also experience changes which can be highly beneficial, beyond weight loss. OP, I highly recommend Jason Fung’s books and research, it was an eye opener for me.

So low carb or fasting aren’t simply cutting calories. It may be a side effect of this approach, but it isn’t the main benefit or the reason why these ‘diets’ work. It is a very interesting in-depth subject which involves a lot of physiology, biochemistry etc. Fascinating indeed.

@TescosFinest thank you that was really insightful!

I recommend reading the Obesity Code, it's all about the insulin response. I'm 5ft 4 and have gone from 12st 6 to 10st 11 in 12 weeks through intermittent fasting. Only 6lbs to go until I'm a healthy weight and I've found it super easy. Prior to that it had taken me over a year to lose a stone by trying to count calories.

Thank you for the article mary! :)

So the last three days as an example of what i have been eating:

Tuesday
B - Natural yoghurt with 6 raspberries
L - Skinless chicken thigh x 2 with 8 cherry toms and some cucumber
D - Fajita chicken (chicken breast strips with old el paso fajita seasoning, peppers and onions) with lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, beetroot
Snack - 8 almonds

Wednesday
B - 2 x boiled eggs
L - 3 x chicken sausages with 8 cherry toms and some cucumber
D - Gammon steak with roasted Mediterranean veg

Thursday
B - 2 x boiled eggs and spinach
L - 3 x chicken sausages with roasted Mediterranean veg
D - Smoked haddock with green beans and brocolli
snack (to get my cals up) - grenade carb killer bar

Tomorrow i will probably have yoghurt and berries for breakfast, tuna salad for lunch and another steak for dinner with salad

I weigh the yoghurt- 40g i dont weigh the cucumber, green beans or brocolli but i do count out exact amount of raspberries and cherry toms.

I drink lots of water and peppermint tea. i have one or two coffees with milk in he morning but i always track the milk in my calories.

The grenade bar i had just now because I am going to the gym straight after work and needed to eat something before I went.

You're not eating enough by the sounds of things. How many calories is this? Are you using MFP?

From what you've posted, this isn't sustainable. The most important thing about diet and exercise is that you're able to sustain it for long periods of time to get long term results.

I'd up your calories. If staying low carb, up your healthy fats. Focus on real food and start building in strength training.

I'd definitely add more fat. Butter on your veg, cream in sauces, cheese on your salad. Full fat dairy will make you feel satisfied and won't cause weight gain.

Well, you're definitely low carbing! Yes to more fat as per oyster babe. Fry that spinach in budder

What's the Grenade bar, BTW?

What's your diet like at the weekend?