HELP!!

[GravyTrain123]

I need some help/advice to lose weight.

So I put on about 4 stone whilst pregnant 😩😭 and I cannot shift it!! I started dieting when baby was about 3 months old and managed to lose 5lbs in just over a week. NOW NOTHING.

My typical day...

8am - Smoothie (home made, just fruit and two table spoons of fat free yoghurt)

12:30 - soup or some sort of salad (usually chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and probably about a table spoon of low fat mayo or sweet chilli sauce)

3pm - a piece of fruit (banana or a handful of raspberries that sort of thing)

6pm - normally some sort of meat and veg if having carbs I keep it to a minimal ie. 1/4 carbs 1/4 meat 1/2 veg. Like tonight I’m having steak, sweet potato and veg.

Obviously it varies a little, for example if the other half is having chilli con carne (home made) I’ll have the chilli but have it with veg instead of rice.

I walk around 3/4 days a week for around an hour each time and do 2/3 higher intensity work outs depending on the amount of walking. So normally do 5/6 days of exercise a week.

And juggling a baby, so exercise time is limited with my partner doing 12 hour shifts, it is nice to have a sit down sometimes when the baby is napping 😂

Can anyone help me as to where I might be going wrong?!?! I’m not eating massive portions I have the odd treat as do most people (I might go out for a meal once every other week and probably eat a bit more than I should, but not enough to stop me losing weight considering I’m eating well the rest of the time!)

How long has it been that you've been on the diet? I know you say since baby was 3 months but how old is s/he now? It's really common to get posts on here saying 'I've been living off lettuce leaves and exercising 6 hours a day why aren't I losing more weight' (I exaggerate slightly), but it turns out on further inquiry the poster has only been doing this for 2 weeks or similar. The reality is that (properly managed, sustainable, non crash-diet) weight loss does take time and tends to go in peaks and flat-lines, so you reach a certain weight, stay the same for a few weeks, then drop suddenly, then stay the same again for a while. And random natural fluctuations such as water retention, time of the month or constipation can mask weight loss or make you think you've actually gained weight at times!

Have you calculated your total daily energy expenditure and then kept a really honest food diary (using MyFitnessPal or similar) over a couple of weeks to check whether you are really eating significantly under your calorie requirements, and/or whether there are any hidden 'calorie bombs' that are sabotaging you. When I first started I was planning out my meals carefully enough but mentally not counting the odd biscuit here and there, or bits of leftovers snaffled from DH's plate or the DC, and these can add up if it's everyday. Not 'counting' drinks like wine, milky coffees, sugary soft drinks can be another one. Also are you really sure on your portion sizes - have you tried weighing just occasionally to check your eye isn't out - again i thought I was fine here but when I checked I was serving myself the same sizes as my DH who is very tall and lean and needs many more calories a day than I do - recommended serving sizes often do look tiny to me still!

If you've checked all of this and are still stuck, you might want to investigate changing your diet plan and trying something like low carb or intermittent fasting/5:2, both of which seem to work well at stubborn weight loss. Personally I believe these work in just the same way as simple calorie restriction but they seem to be more sustainable/effective because you change the way you eat as well as just the amount? At the very least doing something like the low-carb boot-camp might trigger a bit of loss which would be motivational?

She’s 8 months! So I’ve given it a good go!

I’ve never had issues with dieting before, I managed to lose 5 stone before, kept it off for 3 years and then as soon as I got pregnant I ballooned!! This baby weight just wants to stay put! 😂

I’ve done low carb, I count calories, do a food diary. I count everything including drinks! I often add on a few at the end of the day just incase my calculations are wrong 😂😂

I did have one pretty bad month with birthdays ect so ate/drank more but that was when she was about 5 months so still 3 months on! Life!

I think the majority of the issue is not being at work. My job is constantly on my feet, when I got pregnant I then had to work in an office. I’m guessing that’s why my body piled it on because I was so used to moving about all day!

Are you breastfeeding? I know it is supposed to be easy to lose weight when BF, but I found the absolute opposite. I really struggled to lose a few measly pounds of baby weight in the first year after DS was born, then once I quit BF I lost two stone in five months. It was like my body was finally ready to let go of baby-nourishing fat stores or something! So that might be a possible answer.

Or, alternatively, how confident are you really with your portion sizes? Are you eyeballing it and assuming your portion is small enough or actually weighing? I typically eat pretty healthily, but I am awful for underestimating how much I'm eating. I don't weigh celery or anything daft, but I do tend to weigh stuff like cheese or nuts because about 500 calories worth resembles a dainty snack to my greedy eyes

I’d switch back to more natural full fat produce. Your body just doesn’t recognize what to do with the artificial low fat stuff. Weight loss is a long game. Eat healthy as close to nature as possible (spelt flour etc) and be patient.
Add in a bit of cardio?