Can anyone explain to me where I’m going wrong please?

[StudentHelp]

I piled on the weight due to a medication I was taking for my migraines. I’m talking 3 stone in around 5 months and a combination of not moving as much (due to pain), eating more comfort food and being engrossed in studies ended up with me at 188lbs. I was going to the gym still but usually only 3 times a week and would often struggle with long walks as I’d be knackered by the afternoon due to the meds so I’ve stopped them.

I started taking the gym more seriously in from November through to January and lost around 12lbs going 5-6 times a week, I was sometimes burning 900 calories and sometimes only 200 but I was going and that was the main thing. I was also walking to/from uni (3 miles) when the weather permitted.

Anyway, fast forward to lockdown and 2 weeks ago I weighed in at 180lb which upset me so I upped the workouts and continued counting all calories. MFP recommended 1340 to lose weight and I’ve been eating around 1600-2000 but making sure I burn atleast an extra 4000 calories through workouts each week so I’ve been earning them back, I think? This is not including a daily walk.

I’m getting stronger and more toned, moving up the resistance bands I’m using and doing more sets of exercises but I’ve weighed myself today and I’m 182lb. Is it because I had clothes, Apple Watch etc on and I’ve drank 2 litres of water already? Should I re-weigh myself in the morning before eating? Are the calculations made by my watch wildly out and I’m over eating?

I just feel like no matter what I do I’ll always be heavy. My BMI is almost 27. I’m 5 foot 9 and my clothes are getting loose (I still fit into a size 10-12 jeans but my busy is 32HH so top size varies) but I’m just not shifting the weight, and I should be, because I’m overweight!

I’m not in denial, I am weighing everything, the butter on a bagel, any oats I use, my veggies, any dipping sauces, everything!

What else can I do?

@I0NA
I think it's because there's lots of conflicting advice online for what to eat and what not to eat and I've always been really busy and not had much time to look into it.
I think I worry about reading the wrong stuff and I've listened to the girl I live with but she has very disorder eating and will cry if she's eaten 'too much' sugar even if they're natural sugars and won't eat lots of food due to them being "bad".

She's veggie so I guess I looked to her for guidance before I met my boyfriend.

I guess i don't actually have an excuse and should just dedicate some time to reading up on it and looking for ideas.

She told me nuts were too fatty and fruit and carrots were too sugary and that made sense to me as I restrict some veggies for my pigs due to being higher sugar, for example.

Well now is a good time.

Just set yourself some realistic targets . You don’t need to do 5 new meals a week if you don’t want to. One is just fine.

Then In a month you will have 4 new meals. Lots of things can be chilled or frozen to do another meal. That might be 8 meals a month.

Sadly your body will pile on weight if you eat too much sugar / carbs , whether they are “ natural “ or not. Did you do A level biology ?

Weight loss is at least 80% food and only 20% exercise yet you are trying to do it through exercise.

Yep, agree with that. Over half of my weight loss was achieved with virtually no exercise. I started lifting moderate weights after I'd lost around three stones. I only started competition training very recently.

@I0NA
Yes, I did A level biology and I'm in the 3rd year of my degree. I don't know why I have such a massive gap in my knowledge, I know I sound so stupid.

I use Noom, and for some reason find it better than MFP. Noom gives you back 1/2 your exercise calories.

MFP is super generous with the exercise calories.

I gained 3 pounds in lockdown. A few extra biscuits, another bowl of cereal before bed, and more sitting than normal meant pounds came fast, so I am back on noom.

You sound neither pathetic, nor fucked up It's not easy. I went to a weight loss group to help me understand portion size.

I'm a clever woman so ..... how did I get to be six stones overweight in the first place? It happens. Don't beat yourself up. Focus on what you can do about it. And ..... if you can replace your chocolate with a healthy protein — at least some of the days — that would help. Chocolate is nice (apparently: I'm not keen) but it is purely for pleasure, rather than having much going on in the way of nutritional value. How about keeping it for a weekend treat?

She told me nuts were too fatty and fruit and carrots were too sugary and that made sense to me as I restrict some veggies for my pigs due to being higher sugar, for example.

I agree about the nuts - they’re brilliant for you if you want to maintain weight and build muscle but not great for weight loss as they are very high in calories. But carrots are definitely not too sugary - unless you’re a rabbit. Which you’re not. Most fruit and veg can be eaten in abundance even if you’re trying to lose weight - the only exceptions I can think of are avocados and maybe bananas as they’re fairly calorie high as fruit goes.

I know how about all the relevant things in terms of calorie deficit, lipid mobilisation and how adipose tissue works. I know that I've got a huge stomach and I'm now at a higher risk of health issues.

I just don't know what to eat that I can eat and I'll enjoy. I've been trying and I'll try harder. It's just every time I've tried over the last few weeks I feel overwhelmed.

Hello OP. Sorry to hear about your migraines - is there an element of stress involved with this?

We're about the same height. I'm 5 foot 9.5. My stats came out rather different to yours though. I'm no expert but am confused how your BMR can be so high as that is the amount of calories you'd burn if you were in a coma. Mine is 1472 (tdeecalculator.net/). I'm way more sedentary than you and my TDEE is 1766 which would maintain my current weight. So to lose weight, i'm eating between 1200 and 1300. I do exercise (not a huge amount) and I don't log it or eat the calories as I guess that it might be included in the TDEE calculations.

Is that amount of exercise usual for you? Is it excessive?

I'm wondering about your mood. You seem quite distressed right now and i'm wondering if now is the best time to be focusing on this? Is it even contributing to your migraines?
Beating yourself up is counterproductive because you'll just feel more stressed than ever and even worse about yourself and why are you trying to lose weight in the first place? There's so much going on at the moment, of course you're going to feel more stressed than usual, can you bring the pressure about your weight down a little? I'm a bit worried for you.

@StudentHelp you're not stupid. I struggled with it and I know that I'm not stupid (well, not often). Take it slowly and it'll happen.

A PP has suggested Noom. I haven't used that but it's worth a look.

That’s why I’ve been eating more but exercising to stay within the 1340, is that correct?

Sadly no. Calorie estimates burned in exercises are usually VERY optimistic.

Stay within your calories and don’t eat exercise calories. But still exercise.
It’ll fall off you. It’s just physics.

You don’t sound stupid, lots of educated adults don’t know much about human nutrition. But you can learn. And you have the basic science background, which should help.

See, you even knew that carrots have quite a lot of carbs, lots of people don’t know that.

Right now you have time off your course, you are away from your Bf and your social life. You are open to learning and trying new things. You Have ( I assume ) decent cooking and food storage facilities at your parents house. Most veg is freely available in the shops right now.

Everything is in your favour. Yes you can achieve your weight loss goals.

But you can also learn to cook 4 or 5 decent dishes, so you can invite your friends round for meals

You can get used to eating wider range of foods, so it will be easier to eat out with your friends.

You can set up healthy eating habits for life, that will reduce your chances of many chronic diseases.

This time could be a gift for you.

@MonsteraCheeseplant
I had remembered the sedentary value and my BMR is actually 1655 using the link you posted. I realised that earlier which may have been part of the issue.

And yes, they do think the migraines are stress related. It all started when I started university and I've been to the doctor about a dozen times but not a lot helped. I've got a support plan for university though and i was getting much better.

I'll have a look at Noom and I'll stick to 1300 calories.

Listen to @I0NA She speaks the truth

Thanks everyone, I’ve calmed down a bit.
It makes more sense now I’ve thought about it. My BMR would be to maintain my current weight which I don’t want to do, I need to eat less.

If I eat back some of my exercise calories that will slow my progress and could also prevent it if my watch has estimated too generously.

I should eat 1300 calories and anything I burn is a bonus on top of that and I should lose weight providing I limit carby foods and sugars.

It doesn’t matter whether I eat new foods or not as long as I eat healthily and any new foods I try should be a bonus. It doesn’t have to be stressful as long as I’m sensible.

And I should just keep progressing and pushing myself with exercise.

Is that all correct?
I’ve managed half an hour of work which isn’t great as I have deadlines and I’m now off to walk the dog

By bonus I mean an extra deficit so I won’t eat it back

@StudentHelp Yep, that will do the trick perfectly

@NiceLegsShameAboutTheFace

Thank you!
Now I need to have dinner (haven’t had anything since my breakfast)! And plan some meals for the next week or so.

I feel much better after I got out for a walk.

Yes you’ve got this.

@PlanDeRaccordement

Thank you!
Think I just got bogged down with the whole lockdown situation and panicked about having to try new food which is stressful for me. I also really struggle being in, like many others.

I do need more variety but I’m going to increase what I do like (that’s healthy) in my diet first

Whatever you do, don’t stop eating your chocolate treat. It’s good for stress as the cocoa lowers blood pressure and the flavins improve mood. I hope your migraines get better as well.

Whatever you do, don’t stop eating your chocolate treat. It’s good for stress as the cocoa lowers blood pressure and the flavins improve mood. I hope your migraines get better as well

This is a nice theory although I’m not sure if it’s true. I wish it were 🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫

If you're regularly getting your HR up to 180 that's part of your problem - you're training in the aerobic/anaerobic zone all the tine where your body is burning carbs. To burn fat you need to spend mire tine training in a much lower HR zone.

@FrangipaniBlue
So should I be aiming for more like 140 as fat burn is around 70% of maximum heart rate, isn’t it?

Just checked my Apple Watch stats and my resting heart rate is 59 on average and walking 104. My average for the last couple of workouts was 166 but that includes whenever I’ve rested for 1/2 mins between sets.