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!!

How much water are your drinking? Also are you taking loads of fizzy drinks. For me, water intake makes a huge difference. Plus cutting diet fizzy was a game changer.

@weightloss21

This is bit confusing. I didn't catch if you are actually weighting out the food. If not then that's your problem.

I was weighing it out but now I weigh it out less as I don't really need to as I can look on the packets.

Eg. My protein shake - 2 scoops with water = 200kcals which is already calculated for me.
If I have a chicken breast and salad I will look on the back of the packet and see how much a chicken breast is and then round it up just in case. My salad I do guestimate using MFP but I look on the packet and know it is approximately correct. If I have an extra lettuce leaf I don't panic because I can't see how that will ruin my diet.

Are you cooking anything or do you eat all pre prepared? Because if it's the latter you do need to listen to pp talking about the bacteria in your digestive system. Pre packed food is often not that great for it.

Also lettuce, as in iceberg is glorified water😁 It's nice sometimes, but throw in some dark leaves like rocket and cress and oh my! Game changer in salad flavour!

I understand that to lose weight you probably need to eat less but starvation (I.e. 500 Calories!!) is just going to lead to binging (like the ‘cheat’ days). That’s a simple biological mechanism when the body just gets too annoyed with receiving insufficient energy. Are you tired on the basis of what you are eating? I wouldn’t be able to function.

You just need a consistent diet of healthy food for long term, sustained weight loss. Not to eat less than a toddler and expect to be able to function properly.

I agree about taking it back to eating 3 healthy meals a day with everything in moderation - I do think I have gone wrong by cutting things out and starving myself thinking I would lose weight that way.

How much water are your drinking? Also are you taking loads of fizzy drinks. For me, water intake makes a huge difference. Plus cutting diet fizzy was a game changer.

I probably don't drink enough water to be honest so that's one thing I will do starting from today. I don't drink many fizzy drinks but someone said they lost weight by drinking lots of diet coke and I was thinking of trying it [lush] I obviously won't now.

Try shortening your IF eating window. I tried 16:8 and it did nothing for me. I can eat a lot in 8 hours and always more than I think I do. This year I’ve started giving myself a 1 hour eating window so 23:1. My diet sounds pretty much the same as yours and I don’t eat more than about 1500-1600 calories. I couldn’t eat any more than that in 1 hour. It suits me better not to eat for the rest of the day and the weight is falling off.

@weightloss21

I agree about taking it back to eating 3 healthy meals a day with everything in moderation - I do think I have gone wrong by cutting things out and starving myself thinking I would lose weight that way.

I think that's the bets way. Take a break from it all and do some reading for example. I mean honestly, your "cheat day" isn't even cheat day if you eat only that. I would starve on 2 slices of pizza, kitkat and cornetto🤷🏻

You need, veg, veg, veg. Just get healthier eating and then see what will be best for you. Like this I think you are just turning around in a circle.
And look into fermented fruits and good yogurts. They are great for digestive system and overall health

Calories on packets / MyFitnessPal etc are an average and can be out by 40%.

You need to up your general movement too

Are you cooking anything or do you eat all pre prepared?

I am eating a lot pre-pared because it is easier to track calories. I do think about this a lot - what would be better- eating things that are pre-prepared and getting the calories accurate or cooking from scratch which is obviously healthier but maybe getting the calories wrong.

@diamondpony80

Try shortening your IF eating window. I tried 16:8 and it did nothing for me. I can eat a lot in 8 hours and always more than I think I do. This year I’ve started giving myself a 1 hour eating window so 23:1. My diet sounds pretty much the same as yours and I don’t eat more than about 1500-1600 calories. I couldn’t eat any more than that in 1 hour. It suits me better not to eat for the rest of the day and the weight is falling off.

Please don't do this. This is very disordered eating no wonder the weight is falling off it's what I did when I was anorexic

@weightloss21

Are you cooking anything or do you eat all pre prepared?

I am eating a lot pre-pared because it is easier to track calories. I do think about this a lot - what would be better- eating things that are pre-prepared and getting the calories accurate or cooking from scratch which is obviously healthier but maybe getting the calories wrong.

I am sorry but I have to disagree here. It's very easy to track calories if you cook. It's pita first week but you get very quickly used to fridge-scale-pan system. It took me a week or two if I remember correctly. Lots of hissy fits first few days😂

Are you tired on the basis of what you are eating? I wouldn’t be able to function.

Yes, it's a vicious cycle as I am always tired. I try and aim for 20mins of exercise a day as well as walking but I get home and I'm too tired so then I feel guilty the next day and eat less to make up for it but then I'm too tired to exercise again.
At the moment I am exercising in the mornings but once I am back in work full time I will have to go back to doing it in the evenings again which doesn't happen.

I don't think you're eating enough

You are definitely trying to combine ALL the diets and not getting the benefits of any of them!!!

Pick one approach and stick with it properly. Make healthy choices at the supermarket meal but try to enjoy food again instead of seeing it completely as the enemy and something that's dangerous.

Eat better food in sensible quantities, build your energy, build your nutrients (ditch the sugar free jelly!) and exercise because you have energy.

Maybe try playing your meal then literally take 1/3 off the plate into Tupperware for lunch tomorrow!??

But more honestly than that I think you've got a complete twisted view of food from your past / so long on various diets and would really benefit from counselling to try to unpick it all.

@weightloss21

I agree about taking it back to eating 3 healthy meals a day with everything in moderation - I do think I have gone wrong by cutting things out and starving myself thinking I would lose weight that way.

I've tried every diet going and never sustained them for long or lost more than half a stone. For the past 9 months I've just been calorie counting. Not all the time! I basically took November and December off and gained a bit and I've had cheat days and holidays (camping in the U.K. in the summer before anyone asks) but I've realised that this us the ONLY way I'm going to lose weight and sustain it. I don't want to eat shakes instead of meals or skip meals or give up carbs. It's all miserable and unnatural and 'rules'. Just work out what you like eating and find ways to make it lower calorie and stick to your calorie allowance over the week and you'll lose weight.

Pre prepared is what's doing it. It's already broken down so easier to absorb. Look up available calories - Giles Yeo talks eloquently about it. Home cooked gut friendly food will get the weight straight off I bet.

Hugh fearnley whittingstall's new book explains it all nicely

If you were having chicken breast and salad/ egg omelet/a tin of soup - how much would you have of each?

Well I would never have a can of soup as a can of eg Heinz tomato soup is 29g of Carbs and that’s more that I aim to eat in a whole day.

Chicken breast - I’d have a whole small one or half a large one . With lots of seasoning.

Salad - if you mean salad leaves I’d have a whole plate full with cucumber and celery. I’d watch the number of tomatoes as they have carbs.

Omlette - I’d have with cheese and lots of low carb veg like spinach , mushrooms and courgettes.

I would drink a protein shake either as they have about 6 g carbs and I’d rather have a tasty filling meal for that many carbs.

And I’d not have a pasta meal like Lasagne or spaghetti bolognaise as that’s all’s too may carbs.

So yes, I would probably gain weight eating as many carbs as you. Especially if you add snacks like a banana on top.

I wouldn’t drink a protein shake

I think you need to go right back to basics.

Put your height, weight, age and activity level into a TDEE calculator.

Your goal is to eat 500 calories a day less than your maintenance number.

You have to weigh all food if you want to count calories others it's all a guessing game.

The food that you eat should include foods from all groups but focus on protein and good fats which are filling and take more time to digest. Carbs should be complex like whole grains rather than processed like white bread or chocolate.

Fruit shouldn't be unlimited as it's full of sugar, go for berries which are lower in sugar and full of vitamins and anti oxidants.

Veg is your friend, you can have loads of it so you don't feel hungry and it gives you fibre, vitamins, iron and lots of other good stuff.

One of my favourite lunches is a warm salad. I take whatever I have in the veg drawer - mushrooms, baby corn, green beans, asparagus, broccoli, mange trout, sugar snap peas..... steam it for 3-4 mins in the microwave. Add a tsp of real butter, salt, pepper and 3 slices of wafer thin chicken or ham that's been sliced into strips.

1/2 cup of green beans is 20 calories, the other veg is about the same. You can have an absolutely huge portion for under 200 calories.

If you want omelette that's fine, in fact it's great eggs are a super food but again bulk them out with veg.

2 medium eggs is 130 calories, add in spring onions, chilli and bell pepper with a little hot sauce for a spicy twist or mushrooms, onion and wafer thin ham for a more classic choice.

Weight loss is 80% about your food but exercise always helps so aim for 3 x 30 minutes of getting your heart rate up. Our Parks have a couch to fitness program on YouTube you can do in your living room, Lesley Sansone walk with Lesley program on YouTube is also good.

And 1.5-2 litres of water a day. If you feel hungry, have a glass of water first.

I spent years being overweight, ricocheting from one diet to another.
When I finally lost the weight it was down to simple healthy eating, in sensible portions, every day, combined with exercise. And I've kept it off for five years and counting.
No gimmicks, no "eating windows", no prepackaged stuff, no "cheat day", etc. Eating less and moving more really does work - it just doesn't make anyone any money, does it.
The key, for me, was realising and then accepting that I was eating too much, not doing enough exercise, and there was no magic bullet.

I'm definitely going to focus more on nutrition and cooking from scratch rather than skipping meals or seeing them as the enemy.

I will definitely read those books you recommend thank you.

allCodenameVillanelle

How did you work out how many calories you need? And do you stick to them or go under?

My calories allowance on MFP is 1200 but I try not to go over 800 so I can use them on my cheat meal.

@FusionChefGeoff

You are definitely trying to combine ALL the diets and not getting the benefits of any of them!!!

Pick one approach and stick with it properly. Make healthy choices at the supermarket meal but try to enjoy food again instead of seeing it completely as the enemy and something that's dangerous.

Eat better food in sensible quantities, build your energy, build your nutrients (ditch the sugar free jelly!) and exercise because you have energy.

Maybe try playing your meal then literally take 1/3 off the plate into Tupperware for lunch tomorrow!??

But more honestly than that I think you've got a complete twisted view of food from your past / so long on various diets and would really benefit from counselling to try to unpick it all.

Agreed! That's a good advice too

Though I have to admit that I have that low cal jelly once a forthnight or so because I like it🙈

My calories allowance on MFP is 1200 but I try not to go over 800 so I can use them on my cheat meal.

That doesn’t make sense. Your “cheat meal” is still only 1400 that day. You’re cutting 400 calories for six days to eat an extra 200.

My calories allowance on MFP is 1200 but I try not to go over 800 so I can use them on my cheat meal.

That's just too low. I do similar and credit it to one day, but I am nowhere near as low as you are.

There are tdee calculators online, check few (i found taht i got slightly different numbers because there are so many) and see what they say