Unable to lose weight however hard I try!

[Ido]

Hi all.

Feeling pretty sorry for myself today and was hoping to find some like minded people to help me feel like I’m not alone.

I have a few medical conditions, included in the list is PCOS, fatty liver disease and mobility issues so I am sure these contribute to me not being able to lose weight but it seems no matter what I try I can’t lose a single pound. I’ve stayed the same weight for years, which is obese, I can add the pounds easily and if I do ‘the right things’ can lose those extra pounds but never get under this particular number on the scales.

I have done everything the doctors have suggested, have gotten information from a nutritionalist and done everything suggested, I’ve tried calorie counting, intermittently fasting, gluten free, veggie....the list goes on.

But what has really upset me today is seeing people lose weight so easily, changing their diet, a little bit of exercise and the pounds drop off, or seeing people stuff their face with home-baked treats or massive calorie filled meals and being stick thin. It just all seems so unfair.
I’m getting to the point where I hate food and I think about it constantly and beat myself up about what I’m having/should be having...it’s exhausting!

Well that feels better to get that all out, I’m hoping I’m not alone in this feeling.

I'm chronically unwell and on many tablets that cause weight gain (I used this as an excuse for years). I'm morbidly obese. For the last 3 weeks I've been calorie counting and have lost 10lbs so far. If you eat less than you burn, then you will lose weight. Even if it's slow and steady it will come off.

Food scales have really helped me. I've weighed, measured and logged every single calorie for the last 3 weeks and it's really paid off. Calorie counting will work, as long as you're honest with yourself and weigh out all your food.

Good luck!

Wow that’s amazing! Well done you!

Can I ask what sort of things you have been eating and what calories you are sticking to per day?
I have tried eating less and more healthy but to not avail, however I’ve not actually calorie counted so maybe that will help!

That sounds like hard work OP, no wonder you're getting fed up. It's all about portion control imo. Serve up whatever you'd normally eat but only two thirds and just move more. Brisk walking is enough. Cutting out any snacks and alcohol will help. I lost 4 stone doing this.

It's awful isn't it. I once went crazy on exercise...I literally did ten gym classes a week...didn't change me at all. Then I'd hear someone say something like, oh I went swimming once a week and lost two stone!

Fallingiguanas- that’s a good point, maybe my portion control isn’t the best, that’s something easy to do so will definitely try that.

Formerbabe - it’s heartbreaking when you do so much exercise or diet wise thinking it will make a difference and it changes nothing isn’t it. Life can be so unfair!

@Ido I've been eating between 1,200 to 1,400 calories a day (I'm only 5 foot 2 and I started at 20 stone 5 lbs.

I've been eating the same as I was before really, just much smaller portion sizes and weighing and logging everything. I have IBD, so my diet has to remain pretty boring and biege unfortunately.

For example, today I'll have:
Breakfast - 40g of cornflakes with semi-skimmed milk
Lunch - 2 slices of white toast with butter
Dinner - 150g of homemade chips in an air fryer, chicken breast seasoned with Nando's seasoning and leek

Also to add, due to health issues, I'm shielding and unable to exercise. The 10lbs I've lost in the last 3 weeks is purely down to food changes

Have you ever cut carbs? With PCOS that the only thing that works for me.

If you're not making a note in some way of what you're eating then this is where you're going wrong

Find out your BMI. Then your BMR and use the Harris Benedict formula. You need your TDEE. There's calculators online so read up about it and do the calculation

This will hide you a calorie amount for the day - your maintenance calories. And then you can work out how many calories you need to eat in a day to lose

Use MFP or nutricjeck to record what you eat in a day. Measure stuff out , don't guess . And you will lose weight guaranteed. Because that's science!

How much do you need to lose?

Weight and count everything for a fortnight. It may be that you’re taking in more calories than you realise.

Oh op! You are not alone.

I have just watched my husband give up beer and crisps in the evening and lose close to three stone with ease.

Here I am, trying every bloody thing going and I just can’t shift the weight. I don’t need people to tell me what I should be doing. I have read so many books, I feel like the weight loss guru. Just can’t lose it myself!

Throwaway - that’s so great, well done you! To be fair I eat quite plain so that sounds ideal to me 😂

Justgoingforanap - yes I agree, I lost weight before with cutting carbs, I’ve done the same this time but to no avail

Chipstickcharlie- I am definitely going to look into all of that, thank you for the help 😊

Billbaileysmum - yes I think you may be right. I’m going to download MFP

Atomsaway - thank god I am not alone!! I’m sorry you are going through it too, I’m exactly the same, I could give you all the tips needed but can’t seem to apply it to myself

Chipstickcharlie - ideally 3 stone but would be happy with 2 stone

I’m type one diabetic so inject insulin which is terrible for weight gain.

I’d tried all sorts.

BUT

You can lose weight. I was convinced my diabetes was holding me back - and it probably did to a certain extent - but brutally honest calorie counting has done the trick.

It’s been really hard. I personally believe that weight loss IS hard.

I’ve lost a stone and a half since May 4. It’s felt agonisingly slow at times but I’m getting there. You can too.

@Ido

Have you tried the ketogenic diet?

What you describe is a classic reaction to a heavy carbohydrate diet - PCOS, FLD and inflamed joints. Your body sounds like it is in a constant state of inflammation, and the only way for you to lose weight and improve your health is to reduce the inflammation.

Despite the fact that keto is billed as a fad diet these days, it was infact started as a therapeutic diet for epilepsy, and is now really really popular with some doctors to treat the conditions you describe.

Here are some things to browse:

[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1334192/ study on pcos]]

another study on PCOS and keto

reasonable summary of the inflammation aspect

article showing the link between PCOS and NAFLD and diet

I've put on a lot of weight in lockdown. My fitbit showed that I was burning 3000 calories less than before per week. Then I started eating probably 3000 calories more than I normally would by way of boredom.
I'm back at work now and although I am moving more I know the only way to really lose it is to keep track of what I'm eating. You can't outrun the fork

Definitely download mfp. Track calories, but also other nutrients, especially fibre.

I find if I'm trying to eat enough fibre without going over my calories I automatically eat healthily, because the only things that have decent amounts of fibre without loads of calories are healthy.

Are you able to do any consistent exercise OP? Most of weight loss is to do with what you eat, to start off with, calorie counting and weighing portions is essential to get a feel for what a 400 calorie lunch looks like.

But also, walking a mile burns approx 100 calories, if you consistently walked just 1 extra mile a day and didn't change what you ate, that would be 3000 calories (nearly 1lb) burnt.

Too many people go all in with unsustainable intensive exercise which is hard to maintain and painful, but extra, consistent, low impact exercise like walking will really help.

OP I definitely feel how you feel.

I am obese, calorie counting works for me. It's a bit tedious, but I do find it incredibly easy and but very freeing as I can eat and drink literally anything as long as I'm within my calories. Chocolate, crisps, alcohol, bread. I also eat a lot of veg as I like it but as PP say you really don't have to.

Before I had my son I lost about 2-3 stone this way. I've never been a waif but I was a healthy weight and a size 10-12, and felt like a million dollars.

I've tried low carb, high protein, eating healthily, intermittent fasting, but calorie counting is the only thing I can stick to.

This thread has given me a bit of a kick up the bum actually. I'll go and weigh my breakfast!

Sorry for the silence!

I’m not currently able to much exercise but I am walking with my children more and trying to get out and about so I’m guessing that’s better than nothing, however it’s not making any difference to weight loss.

I think the general consensus is right, calorie counting is the way forward and seems to be what works for people so I think that’s where I need to start

Have you read the obesity code by Jason Fung? It tackles the issues of insulin resistance and hormones and really resonated with me. I am not a faster but I have really reduced my carbs to less than 100g a day and 1700 cals and I have gone from 22st to 15.5 using this. I know that quite a few people with PCOS have had modest success with low carb. It might be worth a try!

not all Kcals are equal. Post up an average days food.

I also feel massively frustrated about working hard to lose weight, losing almost nothing, while others make seemingly minor changes and lose pounds instantly.
I don't eat cake or biscuits, I eat a slice of bread maybe once a week, don't eat pasta or rice, avoid potatoes, don't eat chocolate or sweets, don't drink fizzy drinks apart from a small tonic.
I'm not at the moment, but I can spend weeks eating around 1,000 calories a day and be lucky to lose a couple of pounds.
I do have a very sedentary job and don't get a lot of exercise.
But still!
I find it soul destroying.
If I deviate from the above I gain weight instantly. And actually I really need to get back on the wagon because recently I've been drinking more and less careful about avoiding carbs and I can feel the weight is coming back on.
I do need to be more active, but aside from that I don't know what I can do. I look at the kind of normal healthy diets that crop up in magazines promising you'll 'drop a dress size in two weeks' and think 'well that's twice the calories I eat!'
I just don't know what's wrong with me, but on bad days it's incredibly depressing. I really struggle with being hungry and sticking to very low calories diets for weeks on end is hard in itself without dealing with the lack of pay-off.
Maybe I need to go back to the doctor.

I should add I'm also PCOS - although peri menopausal now.
And I don't eat meat (very occasionally fish).
And My Fitness Pal is really handy for seeing how much you're eating - also for the macros info which reveals you're probably eating more carbs than you realise.
I used it when I was trying to do Fast 800 but it's really depressing seeing how little food amounts to 300 calories.

I have an under active thyroid, and GP will only prescribe enough thyroxine to keep me at bottom of normal band. I am also chronically asthmatic and so excercise outside with pollen high is not good. I used to go to gym twice a week and swim but have not been able since lockdown. I have put on 16 lbs since lockdown. I also have a bad back and walking more than about 400m hurts my back. The more weight I gain the less far I can walk. I just can't wait for gyms to open again so I can swim. I have eaten Crunchies every day in lock down. I have become addicted to them. I don't eat large portions or lots of good though. I don't even like cake. I know my problem is due to lack of swimming that keeps weight in check and help me with flexibility too. Going through menopause also made me put on over a stone. It made me need more thyroxine but GP only tests once each year so by time of blood test it showed I needed more but only got 25mcg more which is smallest increment possible.