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!!

As someone who had anorexia when I was younger, I find your whole attitude to food/ dieting really troubling. Added to the fact you don’t have regular periods without your cheat meal. If you don’t already have an eating disorder you are well on your way to one. Please speak to someone about this. I would recommend counselling to get you back on track. And forget ‘dieting’ for now. Just look at NHS healthy eating recommendations and follow them for a while so you can see what healthy meals really look like. No calorie counting or eating windows, just eat a balanced diet (which should include carby foods such as pasta/ potatoes/ rice each day. If you don’t seek help with your mindset you could be setting yourself up for a lifetime of problems.

@weightloss21

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.

Op I ended up in hospital with an eating disorder doing shit like this.

Seriously, ignore 99% of the advice on this thread and for the few months concentrate on eating three meals and three snacks a day.

Healthy balanced meals with carbs, protein and fat.

Then when your body has recovered you can take a realistic look at your diet. I would also advise seeing a nutritionist.

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"...
Agree I do fall into this trap myself sometimes. When you read about diets they always make it sound like not only is their advice the best, but that any other diet will probably kill you and destroy the planet. Combined with the OPs problems losing weight it's not surprising if she ends up confused about what to do.

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

How would I find the sugar info for my protein shake. I thought it only had around 2g not 30g!

[quote unbotheredbutbewildered]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/[/quote]
I agree.

OP, you say you're not low carbing, then you say you tired keto (which is essentially low carb), and then that you don't have more than 30g of carbs a day. But, quite clearly, you do. Sugar, milk, squash, all carbs.

I will repeat it again. Can we stop with the diet advice.

You are not helping!

If you are genuinely eating that few calories then you need to go to a doctor. You lose weight when you eat less than your calories burnt.

500 calories is extremely unhealthy and not recommended at all however you will lose something eating that before hitting a wall. I had anorexia and lost weight alarmingly fast before eventually hitting a wall because my body was used to eating very little but by this time I had lost a large amount of body fat. Are you weighing food out? If you are and are genuinely eating 500-1200 calories then you need to see a doctor.

I don’t know how old you are but at that height and weight your BMR (the amount of calories your body will burn just lying in bed all day) should be around 1800-1900 so there’s something wrong if you’re eating that little.

OP, you say you're not low carbing, then you say you tired keto (which is essentially low carb), and then that you don't have more than 30g of carbs a day. But, quite clearly, you do. Sugar, milk, squash, all carbs.

I said I stopped doing keto - when I was doing it I didn't have sugar, cows milk, certain fruits etc.

Now I don't do it - so I do have cows milk 2/3 x a week and squash 1/2 x a month. So even if I was doing keto (which I'm not) it shouldn't kick me out of ketosis but I am not doing that anyway so I don't track it for that reason.

Do you enjoy cooking @weightloss21?

Op I’d ask for this thread to be deleted and start one about getting support for a healthy attitude to eating.

There are a lot of red flags here.

I had anorexia and lost weight alarmingly fast before eventually hitting a wall because my body was used to eating very little but by this time I had lost a large amount of body fat.

I know lots of people who go on these fad diets and lose weight really quickly but then put it all straight back on again as soon as they start eating normally. But I don't seem to lose it initially. I would obviously hate to have anorexia though so I know things could be a lot worse.

@PurpleDaisies

Op I’d ask for this thread to be deleted and start one about getting support for a healthy attitude to eating.

There are a lot of red flags here.

Yup. I will happily share my tips on how to throw random veg and spice on a pan😁 No cals, no carbs, no nothing except food ideas. That could be a nice thread!

@weightloss21

I had anorexia and lost weight alarmingly fast before eventually hitting a wall because my body was used to eating very little but by this time I had lost a large amount of body fat.

I know lots of people who go on these fad diets and lose weight really quickly but then put it all straight back on again as soon as they start eating normally. But I don't seem to lose it initially. I would obviously hate to have anorexia though so I know things could be a lot worse.

Yes that happened to me. I lost half of my body weight and then put it all back on plus more. But my point is if you are genuinely eating that little there’s something going on and you need checking with a doctor. When I was unwell I didn’t eat particularly healthily but because I was eating so few calories I was still losing weight. So either you’re not eating as few calories as you’re saying you are or there’s something going on with your body.

I know you said you’d hate to have anorexia but from what you’ve wrote on here you don’t have a healthy attitude towards food. Eating 500-1200 calories a day isn’t a healthy and it really is an extremely slippery slope.

I agree with everyone on the calories estaimtes

I’d also be interested to see what you’re doing HIIT wise. You say a few times per week but are you actually burning any calories in these / going at your absolute Max / tracking heart rate etc? I think HIIT is amazing but if you’re not committed to ruining yourself with it then it’s basically just a short work out of a few squats and half push ups which isn’t going to do anything for fitness.

Have you thought about lifting heavy weights? That would be a good approach or at least decent body weight workouts and then you’ll start building muscle.

@weightloss21 I don't think you should train yourself and your mind to think certain foods are bad. Everything in moderation. I would stop focusing so much on this for now and maybe research a bit.

I would suggest looking into intuitive eating, stop depriving yourself, we need carbs too. I remember reading somewhere that you might not be giving your body enough nutrition and as a result it will hold onto everything it can and also start shutting down certain bodily functions (such as a period - Victoria's supermodels have often reported this), you need to nourish your body not just deprive it and then binge once a week - the chances are your body might also be holding onto what you have on your cheat day as it doesn't get some of the nutrients through the week.

I'm not an expert and still navigating this myself but I'm trying to really learn a sustainable way to loose and maintain and view it as a realistic lifestyle rather than deprive myself of stuff and then have it all fall to pieces when I'm my target weight and start eating normally.

I would suggest looking at abbey sharp on YouTube. She talks about intuitive eating a lot.

Yup. I will happily share my tips on how to throw random veg and spice on a pan😁
No cals, no carbs, no nothing except food ideas. That could be a nice thread!

I will come to that thread! It’s how I lost my lockdown one weight and keeps me feeling really healthy. I love to cook and I love veggies which really helps.

So if you don't know how many carbs are in your protein shake, how do you know how many calories it is?!

I am so confused by everything you've typed. To be honest with you, I think that when you were doing Keto you were eating more carbs than you realised. I also think you're eating more carbs and calories than you realise now.

As others have said, maybe start a new thread for advice on healthy eating and how to get a healthier relationship with food.

I very much like Michael Mosely's recipes. The food is very tasty. I use his books, and count all my cals on my fitness pal, to either lose when I need to, or maintain my weight the rest of the time. But proper calorie counting and sticking to the Mediterranean diet principles are what make this work for me.

@weightloss21

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

How would I find the sugar info for my protein shake. I thought it only had around 2g not 30g!

proteinworld.com/products/the-slender-blend

For example ^

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.

Cow’s milk (whole, 2%, and skim): 12 grams
Unsweetened rice milk: 13 grams
Unsweetened oat milk: 5 grams
Unsweetened coconut milk: 3 grams
Sweetened coconut milk: 6 grams (sugar added)
Unsweetened almond milk: 0 grams
Almond milk: 15 grams (sugar added)

Also, often they don't consider artificial sweeteners in their breakdowns and those can be just as bad for bloating/weight gain. There are other brands that are lower sugar content but they have sweetener instead and/or have other hidden additives.

When I drank protein shakes (and exercised 3hrs a day - competitive swimmer) I actually gained weight. Protein shakes don't work for everyone.

Dieting and healthy eating is about finding what is good for you. Work out what is best for your body by cutting down on one thing at a time (e.g. cutting down sugar, or cutting down carbs) and go from there.

So, for example I did;
2 weeks on low carbs. Didn't lose any weight
2 weeks on little sugar. Lost a bit of weight but not much
2 weeks with no dairy. Lost a tonne of weight (But was unhappy with milk alternatives so very quickly gave that up!)

You'll figure it out - just don't go to extremes to do it

Yup. I will happily share my tips on how to throw random veg and spice on a pan😁
No cals, no carbs, no nothing except food ideas. That could be a nice thread!

This would be a nice idea. Someone asked if I enjoy cooking which I did but so many things are off-limits now that it has become un-fun. I was never taught to cook properly so a lot of it was me teaching myself which probably doesn't help.

you need to nourish your body not just deprive it and then binge once a week - the chances are your body might also be holding onto what you have on your cheat day as it doesn't get some of the nutrients through the week.

I do wonder if my body is holding onto the calories as I know people who eat twice as much as me and lose weight. I do agree that eating for nutrition seems to be the best approach.

What things are off limits? What do you enjoy eating?

So if you don't know how many carbs are in your protein shake, how do you know how many calories it is?!

I just read the back of it where it says two scoops with water = .....

I am so confused by everything you've typed. To be honest with you, I think that when you were doing Keto you were eating more carbs than you realised. I also think you're eating more carbs and calories than you realise now.

When I was doing keto I was following dietdoctor meal plans where they calculate the carbs and calories for you which is why I liked it as it was easy to follow.

This thread is full of so much conflicting advice, and I think the OP is confusing herself enough. I think you need to get back to basics and fuel your body properly with healthy options and proper meals not avoiding meals to try and cut calories to save for a cheat day that’s actually absolutely fine in terms of calories. 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! Fruit for snacks and the odd ice cream or chocolate bar if you fancy it and it fits your daily calorie allowance. You might gain a little to begin with if you have been eating so little bit give it a few weeks then start making adjustments if you need to. You need to get out of the quick fix mindset and try and get to a point where healthier choices is more natural but you don’t feel guilty for having a pizza. You can eat normal food and lose weight.

Oh and ignore those saying 3 eggs is too big for an omelette. It’s really not.

Low carb bootcamp on here, OP. It'll change your life.

This would be a nice idea. Someone asked if I enjoy cooking which I did but so many things are off-limits now that it has become un-fun. I was never taught to cook properly so a lot of it was me teaching myself which probably doesn't help.

I improve a lot and 99% of time it's edible. Mum never let us help in a kitchen...

Cooking can be fun even on a diet btw, which doesn't matter to you because you are now on none. Nothing is really of limits, just within limits. Bit of x and bit of y and loads of veg. I don't deepfry though, but even that can be in just not that often.
All food can be glorious and part of normal eating😁