Not losing!

[Bairnsmum05]

5 weeks of a lower calorie diet and no weight loss. I am eating way less than I did and moving way more however apart from a 3 pound shift, that is it!. I am following a 1500 calorie a day diet, measuring and weighing all foods and trying to limit processed food and simple carbs. I've never done this type of diet before so not sure if I'm doing it correctly. I'd appreciate some advice before I run to the Pringles!!

I cant help but have the same issue. 4 weeks, 1.5lbs weight loss, and I am logging everything and walking way more than I was. No idea whats happening. Maybe someone has some ideas.

@TwirpingBird so demoralising isn't it 😔 I know I'd lose weight on keto but can't stomach all the protein.

I have never dieted before so I have gone for what my sister has had great success with. I am trying to lose baby weight, so only about 10lbs, mostly belly flab. I dont really want to 'diet'. I want to eat healthier and keep it up permanently. I find how I am eating with the calorie counting is sustainable long term. I just wish it shifted things faster. I am burning about 1900 calories a day and taking in about 1400. It should be doing something. You are right. Very demoralising.

Have you checked your tdee on some calculators? It's not 100% but it's pretty there. Then you take off 500 a day from that. Unless it's tooooooo low. That wouldn't be good for you!

Can you share what you eat in a day? Like screenshot from an app? Plenty of smart people here so they will help you.

Following as I’m in the same situation and want to know what others suggest!

Note that January and begining of February seems to be cursed for everyone😁 You are not alone

Ignore calories.
Remove all processed sugars from your diet.

I have many stones to lose. I'm on 1300 calories on MFP (& usually have about 1000)- was consuming probably triple that including a lot of alcohol. Have been on calorie controlled plan since Jan - I've lost over a stone but have noticed that if I spend calories on junky snacks or carbs there's not much loss. And that's with doing 14k steps a day. Although I am 43 & it's definitely harder as I'm older.

It's impossible to remove ALL refined sugar and still be able to eat somewhat normally...
It's also unnecessary.

That said, eating LESS of refined sugar is always good and doable

You’ve lost 3lbs in 5 weeks - that would be over 2 stone across the year if you continued to lose at the same rate. How much do you have to lose?

I have around 2-3 stones to lose. I have always lost easily with SW but can't get motivated for that and want a long term plan of healthy eating. I checked my Tdee and it says 1800 which seems too much!! Today I had frozen fruit, Greek yoghurt and weetabix, chicken salad and an apple the dinner was more chicken with stir fry vegetables. Snack of chocolate bar and a costa latte. Hundreds less calories than I have been eating of late 😊

Tdee 1800 isn't too much. That's what your body uses (approximately). Take 500 off and that should be a half a kilo a week. If you don't mind slower, you can do smaller deficit. It's fine to go slow😁

Try to swap some sweets for fruit, switch some heavy bkts for more veg etc. Don't just diet, use it to change the habits a bit so when you get to your weight, you don't get back up.
And look into fermented food😁 Blessing for the digestive system and low cal tasty snacks full of vitamins. Win win.

Chocolate bar and a latte - there's your problem.

Trying IF and cutting out snacks. Maybe up your exercise, you can't completely out exercise a bad diet but it helps. You need your heart rate up to get into fat burn so walking doesn't always cut it.

I have 2-3 stone to lose too and this is what I'm doing.

Yesterday I ate porridge and fruit for breakfast with oat milk, a salmon and veg egg noodle stir fry (with my own stir fry sauce at 24 calories), and pinch of nom jambalaya for dinner, with just an orange for a snack in the afternoon, and 2 cups of coffee, one with 2 sugars. I did 11,000 steps. Thats a normal day. I have changed my while diet from heaps of bread and mayo and cheese to none of it.

There is no way I am not losing any weight because of 2 sugars in a coffee. I dont get it

Thanks for the advice. I get what you mean about the chocolate and coffee but as this food stuff was allowed on SW its hard to get my head around the fact that I can't have this even although it's within my calorie count.

just popping on to say actually a 3 pound loss in 5 weeks is a good and sustainable loss, like pp said it will amount to 2 stone over the year. And it will be much more likely to stay off than if you were starving yourself and cutting out all your enjoyable foods, as then in a few months, after say 2lb a week loss, you are way more likely to just binge and put everything back on plus more. This is why so so many of us are serial yoyo dieters. This year i’ve finally realised a slow and steady weight loss , without too many restrictions, is the best way to go, aiming for 1/2lb -1lb a week. Just keep at it for another month and reassess then. In my opinion, you absolutely don’t need to cut out thd chocolate- it’s something you enjoy and you’re having it in small sensible portions so it’s doing no harm! yes if you cut it out you might lose a little quicker, but like i said a few weeks down the line you are more likely to just have a huge chocolate binge and cancel out any loss and even give up the diet entirely!

just keep going you’re doing well!!

@Bairnsmum05

Thanks for the advice. I get what you mean about the chocolate and coffee but as this food stuff was allowed on SW its hard to get my head around the fact that I can't have this even although it's within my calorie count.

You can have it.

I lost 4 stone in 6 months last year, and I ate chocolate every day. Usually a creme egg or a malteaser bunny.

That said I would avoid a Costa latte as it's just a waste of sugars.

Is your TDEE is 1800 then you should be eating 1300 a day, unless that's below you BMR. If it's below your BMR then eat that instead. How tall are you OP?

Have you ever thought about intermittent fasting? Was great for me though took some getting used to. I know eat lunch at 12pm, usually a massive salad with loads of roast veg and protein, then a snack at 4, then dinner at 7, something like a bowl of chilli, or chicken sausages, or stir fry, it with etc veg not carbs, then chocolate at 8pm then I fast for 16hours till lunch the next day.

Doing this and I'm still loosing even with the chocolate and a distinct lack of movement this week due to the weather!

Thanks all for the responses, great feedback. My Tdee is 2470 to maintain. I am tall and overweight!

@TwirpingBird that meal plan sounds great to me!!

@Bairnsmum05

Thanks for the advice. I get what you mean about the chocolate and coffee but as this food stuff was allowed on SW its hard to get my head around the fact that I can't have this even although it's within my calorie count.

Calorie counting really isn't working, though, is it?

Your day:

frozen fruit, Greek yoghurt and weetabix, chicken salad and an apple the dinner was more chicken with stir fry vegetables. Snack of chocolate bar and a costa latte

Sounds like the carbs is the issue, not the calories.

@TwirpingBird

Yesterday I ate porridge and fruit for breakfast with oat milk, a salmon and veg egg noodle stir fry (with my own stir fry sauce at 24 calories), and pinch of nom jambalaya for dinner, with just an orange for a snack in the afternoon, and 2 cups of coffee, one with 2 sugars. I did 11,000 steps. Thats a normal day. I have changed my while diet from heaps of bread and mayo and cheese to none of it.

There is no way I am not losing any weight because of 2 sugars in a coffee. I dont get it

But how many calories is that?

Even if my Carb intake is an issue (I know it is but I'm trying really hard, you should have seen it before 🙈) I'm still consuming way less calories and carbs than I was therefore I'd expected some more of a loss.

@AcornAutumn its 1357 calories. I am even weighing things out. Admittedly, I am not massively overweight. Just slightly. But still, it's a big change from my heaps of bread and heavy pies for dinner. I should have more than 1.5lbs after 4 weeks.

Twirping
I am also losing weight painfully slowly so I sympathise, but it's going in the right direction. I'm hoping for a whhosh soon!

I'm VERY overweight. Are you overweight at all?