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!!

Deal with any emotional issues that underlie your eating patterns. Patterns that include both overeating and restricting.

OP are your legs bigger than the rest of you? If so Google lipoedema - I have this and it is a condition where the fat on your legs becomes abnormal and doesn’t respond to diet or exercise. It can be caused by puberty, pregnancy or menopause or the contraceptive pill and is also genetic. I have 2.5-3L of abnormal fat on each leg which I’m hoping to have removed soon, but for now trying to lose as much normal fat as possible.

Do you track your calories on an app? Can you share a screenshot of a typical day?

I'm hoping there's just something you've been missing and you're really wrong with your calories and it'll be an easy fix for you if you can figure it what it is you we're counting wrong.

A 1500/day diet based on healthy whole foods would be easy to stick to and wouldn't leave you lacking in energy.

Hi OP, I use my fitness pal to track my calories. I used it to lose 1.5stone a few months ago and now use it to stay on track.

I will give you some My Fitness Pal advice, it absolutely only works if you weigh your food, guessing portion sizes does not work in any on this app (even though it's possible, you are not getting a true picture) it is time consuming for the first few weeks but once most of your food has been added once the app remembers and remembers the quantity you last had so it becomes very quick to edit.

The other tip is your have the renter everything, I put in every chewing gum, even mint, even water. So if you have a glass of squash it goes on the app, if you have a celery stick it's goes in the app, you get the idea 🙂.

you really are underestimating how many calories you are consuming, I also don't believe in diets or restricting food/labelling food as 'good' or 'treats'. I don't deny myself anything but I do put anything that goes in my mouth in the app. I then can decide whether to take the 'hit' of extra calories, do some exercise to burn off the extra or have a smaller supper.

Good luck with getting to the bottom of this, I'm sure you will work out why you aren't losing weight. Sometimes it's just a case of stepping back, being really honest with yourself and re-evaluating.

Out of interest what Pizza do you have?

OP are your legs bigger than the rest of you? If so Google lipoedema

I would say my bottom half is bigger but I have an unusual body shape as my waist is quite small compared to other people of any size and then I have quite big boobs too. But my arms are not slim so I don't think I have what you have - it sounds horrible that you can't get rid of it the fat though!

Fucking hell these threads are depressing. I’ll admit I’ve not read the whole thread as i couldn’t handle seeing any more of the wanker posters piling on to lambast the poor OP for eating A WHOLE TIN OF SOUP .
OP it is possible that you’re underestimating how many calories you’re eating. However you’d have to be really quite severely underestimating to not be losing anything. Likewise one proper meal a week at your height and weight is not going to make the difference between losing anything at all and not. Assuming you’re being honest on here/with yourself OP, I’d go to the GP and get a blood test, get your thyroid checked, get your iron levels checked (as this might be the tiredness and more energy is never a bad thing!). And for the love of god ignore the sanctimonious twats acting like eating a 3-egg omelette is akin to eating half the Cadbury’s factory. For fuck’s sake 🙄

Do you track your calories on an app? Can you share a screenshot of a typical day?

Wed:
Lunch = protein shake
Dinner = roast chicken with mixed veg
Snack = cup of coffee, peanut butter

Thurs:
Lunch = protein shake
Dinner = tuna and salad with a tablespoon of salad cream
Snack = cup of tea, apple

Fri:
Lunch = protein shake
Dinner = tomato soup
Snack = orange, peanut butter

Out of interest what Pizza do you have?

I have ham and pineapple thin crust pizza - usually Asda's own as I like them but will have other brands if it's not there.

I've not read the full thread.

But, on previous diets I would stop losing weight if I wasn't eating enough. Weird.

I would add in a few chunks of cheese, some cashew nuts, crackers and I would lose again.

It strikes me that you are hardly eating anything at all. You must feel rotten (or at least I would). Perhaps try a little more and see if that has an impact

OP I don't see any drinks on your food list? Teas, coffees with milk add up. No alcohol?

But, on previous diets I would stop losing weight if I wasn't eating enough. Weird.

I am going to give eating a bit more a go (which sounds really counterproductive) but the past year I have just been eating less and less and it's getting to a point if I eat any less then I'm not going to be able to sustain it.

OP I don't see any drinks on your food list? Teas, coffees with milk add up. No alcohol?

I have black coffee in the morning and don't drink alcohol. And my teas and coffees are in with my snacks which have milk and 2 sugars which I should have put in my OP.

So if you have a glass of squash it goes on the app,

I've never put squash on there so I will start doing things like that to make sure I am doing it correctly.

@weightloss21

OP I don't see any drinks on your food list? Teas, coffees with milk add up. No alcohol?

I have black coffee in the morning and don't drink alcohol. And my teas and coffees are in with my snacks which have milk and 2 sugars which I should have put in my OP.

Ah. So you're partly low-carbing, but also having tea with milk and two sugars?

You are certainly not low-carbing!

I mentioned SW and WW because they can be a really good way to focus on a health balance of foods each day. And needing to weigh and log everything shows you what you're really eating and drinking.

Wait, you also don't include the squash you drink?!

You are certainly not low-carbing!

No I don't do low carb. I did keto at the beginning of last year but that was to put my body into ketosis but I stopped after four months of no weightloss.

I now stay under 30g of carbs a day and then have a high carb meal on my cheat meal.

Wait, you also don't include the squash you drink?!

No but I will start doing so. I typically only drink water or black coffee and will have a squash drink maybe once or twice a month

@HelloThereMeHearties

Wait, you also don't include the squash you drink?!

Tbf that's like 3 calories or something. Unless op drinks whole squash concentrate bottle a day, it's a negligible. I am not arsed to put that too tbh. Mainly because mine is like 0.03 cal because I just colour water with it🙈

Mainly because mine is like 0.03 cal because I just colour water with it

I think I need to start doing this more as I tend to forget to drink enough water but if it was a bit flavoured then I might be more tempted.

I think posters should stop woth diet advoce so OP doesn't keep in a circle of 7 diet hells of "do that!" "Omg no your insulin" "but calories..." "Well that's obsolete"...

Just stop it all and learn to eat proper food. 😁

@weightloss21

Mainly because mine is like 0.03 cal because I just colour water with it

I think I need to start doing this more as I tend to forget to drink enough water but if it was a bit flavoured then I might be more tempted.

Yeah, I hate strong squash. My dh laughs at me when he sees me put so little. It adds taste😁 note this isn't for diet or anything. I just don't like more than a lid of swuash in a pint of water.

I agree with a pp that you seem to be following all approaches and none. Every suggestion that is made you say you’ll give it a whirl. Insulin resistance may be a factor for you. Please don’t see a “nutritionist” it is an unregulated term and means nothing, if you see anyone for dietary advice make it a dietician.

Wait, you also don't include the squash you drink?

Unless you're drinking bottles of it a day, no need. Imo because the calories in it are so low it's creeping toward a negative behaviour. I remember at slimming world when I used to go the leader saying to count flu sachets as winter approaches. I get that they contain calories also, but counting medications is too far, I'd put squash and it's negligible calories in that bracket too.

OP it's very clear what your issue is. It's your sugar intake.

Protein Shakes - average 30g of sugar a shake
Tin of soup - 18g of sugar, a tin

• sugar in your tea Peanut butter - 1.5g per tablespoon

The average person should have no more than 30g a day. Your protein shake is your daily sugar allowance!!!

Cut down on the sugar ad you'll see results . It'll also increase your energy levels.

www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/how-does-sugar-in-our-diet-affect-our-health/

@Cloudybeanie I absolutely agree.

I think if you’re going to look at calorie counting you need to look at your TDEE and increase your NEAT. How many steps do you manage to get in outside of your exercise? The more calories you can burn with NEAT the better so basically get in as many steps as you can. As soon as I started doing 15,000 steps a day rather than 10,000 my weight loss went up.