One year into my Unsuccessful diet (food diary included)

[weightloss21]

I'm looking for advice on where to go next as I feel I have hit a brick wall and not sure what else to try.

I'll try and make this as short but informative as possible.

I have always struggled with my weight. From last January I decided to track my food more carefully and start intermittent fasting by not eating breakfast and having black coffee instead. Within this time I have done the strict keto diet but didn't lose any weight.

Instead of going over every diet I have tried etc I will just write down my food diary more recently. Snacks can be from 0-3 per day and / means or.

More recently:
Pre - 2nd lockdown - work full time 5 days a week, on my feet all day job.
Breakfast = black coffee
Lunch = nothing/apple/babybell
Dinner = soup/stew/jacket potato/salad/meat&veg
Weekends = roast/spag bol/pasta etc - higher carb food

2nd lockdown - wfh sitting down most of the day. Upped exercise to 2/3 days a week (at home) either exercise bike or HIIT.
Breakfast = black coffee
Lunch = Salad/omlette/soup
Dinner = meat & veg/ fish & veg/ salad/ soup
Snacks = fruit/cup of tea,coffee,hot choc/babybell/boiled egg

Since last Monday (25th Jan) - reduced eggs as was eating a lot before.
Breakfast = black coffee
Lunch = Protein shake
Dinner = meat,fish & veg/ salad/soup
Snacks = apple,orange/sugar free jelly/teaspoon of peanut butter/cup of tea,coffee

I have a cheat meal once a week which usually consists of something like = lasagne/cottage pie/pizza/pasta and bowl of ice cream and a choc bar eg twix, mars bar etc

Since last January I haven't lost any weight. The first lockdown I didn't have a cheat meal but it didn't seem to make a difference (or I was losing it and then putting it back on).

My current meal plan isn't working so I am not sure where to go from here. Please do you have any suggestions/share your food diaries as I am at my wits end!!

7.2g per 40ml serving (assuming that's what you have). I'd also assume you're having milk with it. Below is how much sugar is roughly in 240ml of milk - you'd want to double this for the average serving of milk with a protein shake.

I have mine with water and 2 scoops which is what they have worked out the nutritional info on so I just stick to that.

I used to have almond milk with tea/coffee but didn't like it much and as I hardly drink them I just stick with cows milk now.

I’d seriously consider trying to do something more like porridge or eggs on wholemeal toast for breakfast, salad with protein or soup for lunch and a proper dinner with protein and veg/salad and even carbs!

I was thinking of having porridge for breakfast as I used to love that and it is so filling!

Cooking can be fun even on a diet btw, which doesn't matter to you because you are now on none.

I think I tend to have pre-pared food as foods being off-limits has ruined cooking for me and for me there's nothing fun about preparing food/eating, so finding recipes that are healthy to cook will hopefully help me mentally too by enjoying the cooking part and then the eating part.

Which foods are off limits and on what basis?

Eating healthier versions of things you like is a great way to go long term.

Yeah, what was off limits? It's always hard when you think you can't have something so there should be no off limits, just limits

Which foods are off limits and on what basis?

Mainly things like potatoes, pasta, rice. Too many fats and oils. Or things like cheese and cream which is high in calories although keto followers love these.
Meat, fish,eggs and most veg are fine.

And just based on what other diets have said are good and bad to be honest.

Once again, I would suggest SW or WW. They are based on healthy options, nothing is "off limits", and they encourage you to cook rather than eat convenience foods.

I really think that following a plan like that could help you get back in touch with food as a good thing, not something to fear.

@SchrodingersImmigrant

Yeah, what was off limits? It's always hard when you think you can't have something so there should be no off limits, just limits

Definitely. For things that aren’t the best for me but I love, I either have a normal portion less often or a small portion more regularly.

Crisps are a big weakness for me so I don’t have them in the house. When I want some, I walk to the shop, buy one packet (even though that’s not the best value for money) and really enjoy them. In the context of a mostly healthy diet, a few less healthy meals or snacks won’t matter.

Ha. I am having spaghetti for dinner tonight.😁

Yeah. I think what happened to you is that you mixed too many and now you are having other issues. Diets are like alcohol. Stick with one or two, don't mix more, otherwise you will end up with a hangover.
Your hangi6ver is disordered eating.
Forget what all the diets said, listen to the posters here with experience of ED and get yourself better and healthier. You will get to a good place, don't worry

Pretty much every dinner here has pasta, rice or potatoes.

I totally agree that all the mix and match diets means you’re trying to exclude so much that you’re not left with anything to eat! All the things you’ve decided are bad can be part of a healthy, balanced diet.

Once again, I would suggest SW or WW. They are based on healthy options, nothing is "off limits", and they encourage you to cook rather than eat convenience foods.

I do agree. It also helps to have another person checking on what I am eating and where I am going wrong to guide me.

When I want some, I walk to the shop, buy one packet (even though that’s not the best value for money) and really enjoy them.

I do like that idea. I definitely tend to have all or nothing type of thing but I would feel less guilty if I was walking to get it too.

And yes I definitely agree that I've mixed and matched my diets. In my opinion, I was taking information from each diet and forming my own from their advice but as you guys say everything becomes off-limits and it becomes even more unhealthy.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to give their kind advice. I honestly came on here for diet ideas and what foods I need to cut out etc and didn't think I would be going away trying to eat more calories/food groups

And yes I definitely agree that I've mixed and matched my diets.

You mixed and mismatched😁
Everyone makes mistakes, just take care of yourself

There are lot of misconceptions about pasta (yes the white kind) - it is in fact a slow release carb because of it’s gluten content. You’re stomach works fairly hard to digest it and so it keeps you full for a long time. Cold pasta doesn’t release as many calories as warm which is good to know but the difference is fairly negligible I suppose.

Potatoes are also not a diet killer as long as you don’t peel them and cover them in fat.

Plain rice is also fine (a significant proportion of the world’s population eat huge quantities without gaining weight...)

Once again, I would suggest SW or WW. They are based on healthy options, nothing is "off limits", and they encourage you to cook rather than eat convenience foods

Sorry but I totally disagree, both these programmes are faddy diets which have a whole business model designed around people failing and coming back time and again. A diet that says you can eat as many “point free” foods as you want isn’t helpful, there are many threads on here about people who overeat on these free foods and don’t understand why they haven’t lost weight. Many threads from people on these programmes for years yo-yo-ing back and forth

Thank you.

And I always think about countries that are typically healthier and they eat diets with potatoes, rice, pasta or bread. I guess it's what we put on them that makes the difference!

I have also heard bad things about WW and SW so I will need to look at them both but to be honest my view is so distorted that I wouldn't really know what is healthy and what isn't right now.

You’re stomach works fairly hard to digest it and so it keeps you full for a long time.

That's it. I love spaghetti. fucking LOVE spaghetti, doesn't matter the topping, and now, because I am losing weight, I started doing half and half with courgetti. It's actually lovely and I will keep it even after weightloss because it's light, but I don't understand how someone can keep dfull on JUST courgetti. Do they eat like 5 of them? Black magic.

I agree with @ShirleyPhallus these diets teach you absolutely nothing about healthy nutrition. Are really restrictive, and create food shame and guilt.

Healthy weight loss is NOT ‘sinning’ medications or being allowed unlimited amounts of pasta, rice, potatoes and lean meat. There are people that really suffer with eating disorders after using these diets and it’s absolutely disgraceful.

Not to mention the fact a Cadbury’s creme egg is massivley less ‘sins’ than a superfood (avocado). It doesn’t promote the consumption of healthy fats at all.

Healthy weight loss is looking at your tdee and eating within a calorie deficit.

And understanding that one full on day isn’t going to damage your weight loss.

And that you can lose weight eating whatever you want.

A PP mentioned PCOS - I do think that you ought to get your GP to test you for that as well as thyroid and VIt D - if you have PCOS you are likely to be insulin resistant which will make weight loss harder and increase your risk of diabetes.

I second the advice on trying to get help from the dietician attached to your GP practice so you can begin to eat healthily now before you mess up your metabolism permanently with an ED. I spent years with anorexia and now find it almost impossible to lose weight.

I calorie count using My Fitness Pal. I don't exercise.

I'm only 5f1 and have 1300 cals a day. I've just moved from obese to overweight. I'm 47 and losing weight is harder than when I was younger.

I'm losing 1-2lb a week with one cheat day and no food is out of bounds. I am very strict though about weighing and measuring (this is a call back to my WW days when I was a Gold member).

www.weightlossresources.co.uk/body_weight/insulin-resistance.htm
Hi OP, I'm sorry you are having such difficulties at the moment. Please read the article I've linked to. It explains how insulin resistance can be at the root of many problems and cause metabolic changes which make it difficult to lose weight. It also talks about linked sleep issues.
I really struggled to lose weight at 113 kgs and I think this was my issue. The Fast 800 plan is very good at tackling this. I don't follow it, but have pulled together something based on the principles that works for me and I'm now losing a kg per week.
Keto / low carb can also address insulation resistance, but you can't have any 'cheat' days.
While I think there's lots of merit in gut biome health, it's not going to help with the amount of weight you want to lose.
Whatever plan you decide to follow, if insulin resistance is an issue for you, and it sounds like it is, you have to look at what you eat as well as how much of it you eat. So you will need to cut out fizzy drinks, squash, processed foods, probably bread, pasta and rice and concentrate on unprocessed meats, fats, vegetables, fruit.
I hope this is helpful to you. Your post resonated so much with me and how I struggled to lose weight on seemingly tiny calories. I'm 29kg down now and losing steadily each week.
Good luck

@alphaechokiwi yeah. Please read the thread. I mean OP at one point said she eats so little she loses periods. You know. Maybe another restrictive diet is not the best thing to recommend?

Please be mindful. This is why people look at that fiet a scult. Kind of mlmy...

@SchrodingersImmigrant I have read the full thread and I'm sorry if you think I'm suggesting a restrictive regime, I'm really not and that wasn't what I wanted to suggest to to the OP. I'm certainly not on one myself and any time I followed one I failed miserably.
The OP is clearly struggling and if she is not losing weight on a small amount of calories it indicates a metabolic issue. And in obese people it's very often insulin resistance / metabolic syndrome. And if this can be addressed, it will make losing weight much easier as well as vastly improve her all round health.
I should of course have suggested seeing your GP when that's possible OP, although they are often not helpful with weight issues. They can however run some bloods to check this out and look at some other possibilities.

Ww and slimming world have their faults op. But it might get to out of the ready meal and shake rut.. sounds like you need to explore and enjoy fresh food again. When I read your post first, I didn't realise your treats were instead of food. What about a weekly veg box or something. Do you like cooking? Sorry if you've already said above.

Op I would actually recommend you start eating your maintenance cals for a few weeks and then start restricting.
It’s not good to be eating so little. Your body will most likely be used to it.