Where am I going wrong?

[Foghornleghorn99]

Current weight loss is 2lbs in 2 weeks.
Im walking upto 15 miles a week @ 1.5hs a time
Swimming x2 a week -50 lengths of a full size pool
Food is 80% good, having tuna/han salads, chicken veg story try. Naughty things a day are small bite/ handful of choc, 1 slice of bread (seeded), alcohol every other day but only 1 glass of wine/fizz
... but only 2lbs gone.
What am I doing wrong?

@Foghornleghorn99, I could have written your post a fortnight ago. But I have been 100% good this week and it has paid off. It’s frustrating, as I am not enjoying the deprivation. And years ago I would have been able to lose weight with 85% good diet.

Try a week of no alcohol, no choc etc. it will speed things up. You will feel more motivated to continue when you see the lbs falling away.

I’ve given up nuts as I think they are my downfall.

What are you actually eating? Can you give us a list?

definitely buy the blue tooth scale, something that coordinates with your watch/fitness tracker etc.
really a peace of mind when it indicates; muscle mass up, water up, etc.
then you know why your fat loss isn't showing up.
cardio has been a game changer for me. not sure if your walking and swimming is fast pace vs leisurely.

Mostly dust and air

But really, for example yesterday.

B half a grapefruit with stevia; black tea
MT black coffee with vanilla flavour stevia
L lean mince with spices/ stock cube and cabbage
D Fresh large prawns cooked with tomatoes and konjac noodles
Snack: cut up apple microwaved with cinnamon and stevia (and sometimes a small amount of cottage cheese)

I am doing this for 3-4 weeks. Then will add in eggs and nuts and pulses, olive oil, oily fish - but nuts are my downfall so maybe not nuts until I sort out my scoffing of them.

I also have breakfast as late as I can and go to bed early so I don’t eat. I’m in a lockdown area so I want to make the most of the flexibility I have being stuck at home before Christmas comes.

I’ll also add in some oats too.

Fruit stewed/poached with stevia and vanilla /cinnamon is lovely

I find organisation is key. I need to have the things ready to eat for the next meal or I fall back to toast/biscuits/crisps/cereal which the DCs have (they really healthy but teenage boys can afford to eat a lot )

Tonight I will poach a chicken breast in stock cube and water, shred it and then tomorrow I can reheat it for lunch with chopped up celery added into the water. And lots of pepper.

Tomorrow evening I will have white fish or small lean fillet steak and grilled asparagus and lemon juice.

Breakfast tomorrow will be grapefruit again. And after dinner treat will be poached strawberries with stevia and vanilla.

I’m not enjoying it. But I am enjoying seeing the scales go down. Also my stomach is protruding less. I had bad depression earlier in the year and this weight loss is helping me feel better. Like I care about myself and I am worth working hard for.

I am also brisk walking 30-45 mins every day rain or shine. At the same time each evening after work so it’s become a habit and the family expects me to be out/unavailable then.

No alcohol, no bread, no snacking, no treats. You are almost wasting your time exercising (from a weight loss perspective, obviously great for your fitness!)

I'm losing on average 3/4lb a week but I'm doing 16:8 and my "lunch" is a weight loss shake so I'm eating v low calories and no carbs. This is because I have a specific weight loss short term goal. If you're picking at chocolate, houmous etc you could easily be eating 5/600 extra calories a day.

Grapefruit is not a good breakfast. Just won't fill you at all, the sugar will
give you an insulin spike and make you hungry mid morning . Try eggs or oats instead, you'll be off to a much better start. Good luck!

Are you calorie counting though??
If you have stopped losing then you are eating too many calories to create a deficit. You really need to be strict about this. You can't just guess.

Thanks for all the replies.
I know I'm self sabotaging and undoing any good work by scoffing.
Food is the first and last thing I think about every day. Its like my happy drug, but I know I need to stop. I'm working at home and I just can't help myself. I grab a handful of something, anything every hour or so. I love food but it's a vicious circle of eating, getting fed up coz I'm over weight and hate the way I look, so I eat and so it goes on.
I need to stick to the rule that if I can't quantify it, I dont eat it. You cannot accurately measure a handful of anything. Today is a new day and I'm having my 3 dinners, no snacking. Today will be B x2 poached eggs plus x 2 slices ham. L tuna with lettuce carrots and a few sprinkles of bacon bits topping D I'm eating out with a friend but will most likely be salad. Drinks in the day will be tea with almond milk (no sugars in milk or tea) and water. No exercise today. I'm going to.buy the bluetooth scales when I get paid. My goal is to lose 2 stone, tone up and feel Comfortable and great in a pair of daisy dukes next summer. I need to keep visualising my goal

Also going to calorie count everything and record what I eat. I'm the biggest I have ever been, this has to change. Even some of my family members have started to comment on my weight and I've never had weight issues until now. Just made a cuppa and naturally drifted to the cupboard to grab a handful of anything - but resisted.i will not snack

@Susannahmoody - current examples of my foods are
B x2 poached eggs with x2 slices packet ham
L tuna mixed in low fat salad cream with salad (lettuce and carrots, few bacon bit toppings) if no tuna then x2 slices ham or pre cooked chicken slices
D - chicken/steak stir fry ie the meat with beansprouts, endamane beans, cabbage, red onion in a small amount of stir fry sauce. Chicken is oven baked. I used the light oil spray to cook the veg in a wok. Or I have ny lunch option again if no stir fry.
Thoughts on my food intake ? Too many/too little calories?

Can I encourage you to eat more protein. It sounds to me that your body is crying out for some real food. Give it a decent portion of protein first and then back fill with fat and carbs last.

I’d say it’s quite low in calories. There are few carbohydrates in there and there doesn’t seem to be much fat either. Is there any point in trying to eat low carb when you keep grabbing handfuls of carby food anyway? You’re not going to get into ketosis if that’s what you’re trying to achieve. And it doesn’t seem like a sustainable eating plan for you either. Some people do really well on low carb but for others (including me) it’s totally unsustainable.

I suggest that you calculate your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). There’s loads of calculators online. Then reduce that by say 20%. If you’re more active, your TDEE is higher, so if you can do a good amount of walking every day, you can eat more food. You can decide whether you want to go low carb or not but from what you say it’s not sounding like something that would work for you (as you’re constantly tempted to eat the foods you can’t). As long as you are in a calorie deficit you will lose weight though.

Finally, remember that you are actually losing weight now. I’m not sure why you feel that it should come off super-fast because presumably it took a while for you to gain it. A pound a week is absolutely fine and it adds up really quickly. You would lose your 2 stone in just over 6 months.

Remember that 95% of people who go on a restrictive diet will regain all the weight quickly because the diet is not one they can keep up long-term. That’s especially true for quick fixes like shake diets. If you want to get the weight off for good, you need to change the way you eat permanently. If you can’t see yourself being able to eat the way you do forever, find something that you can do. For most people, this will involve eating carbs and some sweet treats, just in moderation.

@justanotherneighinparadise

Can I encourage you to eat more protein. It sounds to me that your body is crying out for some real food. Give it a decent portion of protein first and then back fill with fat and carbs last.

I mean, I’d say protein is the one thing this diet is NOT lacking! Eggs, ham, tuna and chicken. The problem is that there isn’t much else for energy. Low carb diets get most of the energy from fat and a normal diet would include carbs for energy. This one has neither fat nor carbs so would leave someone very hungry.

Hi OP, it's a bit difficult to comment on your day without knowing what you're aiming for in terms of food plan. Are you calorie counting? How many calories a day? If you can't articulate that clearly, then that could be part of be the issue.
I'd also say that if snacking is a problem for you then it's not going to be sustainable to have a meal plan with no snacking. You will crack eventually! So maybe have a think how you can incorporate some healthy snacks so that you have a plan if/when you get the urge. Things like carrot sticks, apple slices, button mushrooms etc.
You really can do this! Your body is not a weird special one that won't lose weight under the right conditions

I think you should make your peace with losing 1lb per week. Eat in a shorter window so you aren't constantly battling in your mind. For example, start eating at 11am and finish at 7pm. Outside of those hours just tell yourself that the kitchen is closed. Less decisions to make on food that way. Incorporate healthy fats and base meals around protein to sustain you. Take measurements - not all progress is seen on the scales. If you embrace 1lb weightloss per week between now and Christmas imagine how happy you'll feel in December!
Regard the exercise as healthy for your heart and a way to tone, rather than as a weightloss tool. Otherwise, you'll resent it and be tempted to subconsciously eat back your exercise calories.
Imagine how good it is for your liver to have 6 days alcohol free too. Lots of positives in 1lb per week weightloss!

Two pounds in 3 weeks is fantastic.
Pick up a pound of butter and it'll help you realise what you've lost.
Weight fluctuates, a lot, water weight from inflammation, glycogen stores, a heavy meal, toilet issues all affect the scales but none of that's fat.
You really need to start counting calories and figure out what's the point you can eat enough to fuel your body & not feel hungry or crave food. It takes time and research and lots of patience but you have already laid down the ground work.

I follow Team RH, I've lots to lose and after more than 3 months I've lost a stone and I'm delighted. No food is off limits once it fits in my macros. I'm eating 2400 calories and never felt better mentally towards my weight issues.

Subbing sugar with stevia doesn’t give you a sugar spike as it has no carbs. Stevia has changed my life...

Saying that, I agree with @Ohwhatbliss - I’m extreme low carb and low fat atm. The grapefruit doesn’t satisfy me - but it keeps me going until first real ‘meal’. I’m on just protein and low carb veg. I’ll add in oats / eggs in a couple of weeks. But by then I will have lost 6-8lb and I will be very motivated to continue and I will have better habits. So adding in eggs, oats, diff veg, salmon etc will feel like a treat. And I will be full easily.

One caveat I should have said is I have dietician /medical support so not everyone could /should do what I’m doing. I also take multi vitamin and magnesium each day.

OP your diet sounds good. I think you need to be 100% good though. 1lb a week is excellent and your exercise is admirable. You’ll be at your goal in no time

Pressed post too soon. Try to focus on your goal of next summer. How confident you will feel in those daisy dukes. No time to look back. It’s already dropping off so you are doing the right thing and succeeding right now. Keep it up and you will be closer every day to your goal - have some but not

Someone told me pickles / gherkins are good diet snacks but I haven’t checked the sugar level.

Protein is the macro that fills you up and stops you from bingeing which the OP admitted she did recently. She did that because she’s HUNGRY.