Why am I not losing weight?

[Onedropbeat]

Or am I expecting to notice a change too soon?

Mid January I started c25k, along with healthy eating and in between run days I walk

I cover an average of 35km per week, 15km of that is running 3x a week.

I have cut out alcohol.
I generally eat mindfully and have never been an over eater or addicted to sugar.
I never add sugar or milk to tea or coffee.

But I’m still no lighter 6 weeks on.

I’ve got a stone of baby weight that needs to go so that I can fit in my jeans again. (Baby is now 9 months so it’s definitely about time)

Baby doesn’t sleep too well at night (wakes every 2 hours) and I’m still breastfeeding and those are the only 2 things I can think might have some effect.
But surly with all the cardio and walking I should at least see some improvement by now.

I’d hoped to be losing 1lb a week so I should be close to half a stone down by now but nothings happened and I’m wondering if I just give up if my body won’t change

@Gordonsgrin I'm a similar height what calories do you reduce too?

Just to counter the 'breastfeeding may be keeping the lbs on'; I found the opposite! Never slimmer than when breastfeeding (I still think longingly of the clothes I was able to wear during my breastfeeding years)! I bfed for ages with both DC and after I stopped it was as if I had lost the equivalent of one daily exercise activity, and I had to adjust calorie intake to compensate.

Your diet Sounds good. Have you checked your size by measuring or trying on clothes? You might be toning up.

There's not much wrong with your diet or exercise. You mustn't try to diet severely while breastfeeding. Your body is evolved and adapted for survival of the species and your hormones and metabolism are geared towards ensuring that you and your baby survive any famine or natural disasters. Your body will therefore hold on to every ounce of fat it can until there is no other choice - if you have a calorie deficit you will lose hair and skin condition, brain power and metabolic expenditure before you lose any fat.

Your exercise is fine, keep it up. Eat to maintain your current weight - you could maybe do with boosting the healthy fat content a little e.g. superfood salad with nuts and an olive-oil dressing.

When your baby is weaned your metabolism and hormones will adjust and wont be prioritising fat retention any more so the weight should begin to shift then.

I never EVER lose weight when I try to “eat healthily”. I only ever lose weight when I follow a diet.

I just lost almost 5 stone doing WW and I love it. The recipes and the sop are amazing.

Why not try that for a month and see how you get on?

Hi there, looking at what you're eating I know from weight watchers that cocktail sausages are not good and I can't imagine the red wine is either. I'm losing 1-2lbs a week on WW but that's weighing and/or barcode scanning everything I eat (even the milk if I make a latte).

It could be that you’re gaining muscle. Have you lost inches, do your clothes fit better?

It might also be that the weight starts to come off. I don’t ever lose a ‘pound a week’ when I lose weight. Nothing will shift for a few weeks, then quite suddenly I’ll lose 3-4lbs.

OP, please don't ask a bunch of random people on a forum. Speak to a professional (GP, midwife, lactation consultant, dietician or so on). Don't take advice about cutting carbs while you're breastfeeding nutritional needs are more important than listening to people on MN (who for some reason love to demonise carbs).

@Hazelnutlatteplease

My DH has been on a restricted calorie diet since New Year

Does he weight everything? I mean literally everything. Is he close to his ideal weight? Is he overestimating to calories he is using (eg exercise)

CICO is basic science. If something isnt working it will most usually be the execution not the science or thyroid.

He uses MFP and is absolutely meticulous, he weighs everything, overestimates calories and doesn't use his exercise calories. He's so desperate to lose weight. The private dietitian he has seen described his current diet as something he recommend to a 60kg woman going to the Oscars not a 20 stone, 6'4" male.

Thyroid and PCOS are two conditions known to affect weight loss and while I'm not suggesting they're common, there is more to weight loss for some people than calorie deficits.

If you are short and not clinically overweight you wont need many calories at all to maintain your weight.

A thick slice of homemade bread could be 200cals more than a thin slice of bought bread.

@YouWereGr8InLittleMenstruators

Just to counter the 'breastfeeding may be keeping the lbs on'; I found the opposite! Never slimmer than when breastfeeding (I still think longingly of the clothes I was able to wear during my breastfeeding years)! I bfed for ages with both DC and after I stopped it was as if I had lost the equivalent of one daily exercise activity, and I had to adjust calorie intake to compensate.

I found this in the beginning. I lost absolutely loads just from breastfeeding. But since she’s been weaning from 6 months I ended up gaining a bit

That’s when I decided to kick start exercise and cut out snacks and treats

@Bookworm19

OP, please don't ask a bunch of random people on a forum. Speak to a professional (GP, midwife, lactation consultant, dietician or so on). Don't take advice about cutting carbs while you're breastfeeding nutritional needs are more important than listening to people on MN (who for some reason love to demonise carbs).

Thank you. I have done the keto diet a few years back and lost on it quickly but it wasn’t good for me in the long run and made me feel worse.

I don’t have enough carbs in my diet to cut out more whilst breastfeeding.

If she was only having one or two feeds a day then it might not matter but she’s feeding throughout the night and she’s only tiny so wouldn’t want to do anything to risk her too

I could probably do with increasing healthy fats a bit.

@HappyFourTeeth

It could be that you’re gaining muscle. Have you lost inches, do your clothes fit better?

It might also be that the weight starts to come off. I don’t ever lose a ‘pound a week’ when I lose weight. Nothing will shift for a few weeks, then quite suddenly I’ll lose 3-4lbs.

Muscle has definitely changed. It’s visible on my thighs and calf’s that there are muscles on top of muscles

DH says he can see a difference I my face and around my ribcage (I can’t) and going by my jeans, they are still snug around the waist

I had a c section so I know that but if fat might be harder or the last to go maybe

@Pootle40

Hi there, looking at what you're eating I know from weight watchers that cocktail sausages are not good and I can't imagine the red wine is either. I'm losing 1-2lbs a week on WW but that's weighing and/or barcode scanning everything I eat (even the milk if I make a latte).

By a snack of cocktail sausage I mean maybe 1or 2 once a week. They aren’t cheap nasty fatty one’s either and are 35 calories each so better than a few mini eggs

@Notavegan

Your diet Sounds good. Have you checked your size by measuring or trying on clothes? You might be toning up.

I should maybe start using a tape measure. I’m definitely toning up. Just not where it matters!

For those saying CICO is basic science, law of thermodynamics but also saying breastfeeding can stop you losing, breastfeeding burns calories, so how would it stop you losing weight?

maybe a human body is a little more complicated than an oven? like hormones play a part? CICO is way too simplistic (if not outright wrong?)

Are you counting calories? If so, how many are you eating per day?

I think in your situation with a little baby, I would just keep your healthy nutrition and get some exercise in, as you are doing already. Once the baby is weaned, you can focus a bit more on diet. Your intake seems very healthy but you are not super tall so you might have to cut calories more intentionally and more consistently to get that actual weightloss.

If you are eating around 1200 cals a day and running 3 days week you should definitely lose. I would keep going a while longer, it could just be that your body is trying to retain fat to sustain your baby - you must have all kinds of hormones rushing around! I’ve been doing similar to you and losing 2lb per week but last week I didn’t lose anything - I was on my period though so I’m interested to see if I’ve lost anything this week (weigh-in on Fridays). There’s also a something called the “whoosh effect” that can be significant I think.
It’s true though that abs are made in the kitchen. Obviously exercise is great for fitness and mental well-being but your weight depends around 90% on what you eat.

@smellyolddog, I was eating around 800/900 per day and doing intermittent fasting (16:8). I am not restricting calories now but continue with the intermittent fasting. I created a couple of other rules I created for myself that I continue as it is sensible eating: no snacking, no eating standing up ( this is to stop me opening the larder and scoffing everything I can see!). No alcohol Monday to Friday.
I probably eat an average of 1200-1300 calories to maintain now, if I eat more I put weight on, that’s just how it is for a 5ft 3 person who is 52 years old.

I'm taller than you, and to lose about a pound a week I have to eat 1200 a day AND walk 5-10 miles every day (not counting steps in the house, I mean actual walks). I have PCOS. Losing weight is still possible, but harder.
From your food list, unless your portions are bigger/smaller than I'm imagining, you are probably around 1200-1400 on your good days I'd guess. But then add on your puddings, takeaway (easily up to 2000 if you go for it), wine etc, I reckon you're probably maintaining weight rather than losing.
I'd tried many calorie restrictive diets over the years, but the only one that ever worked was when I got accurate (to 1 gram) food scales and literally weighed every thing. The weight then fell off slowly.
Everyone is different, but I would bet a huge amount of money that if you weigh and add up your weekly calories, you will not be in deficit, or not enough to lose anyway. You'd have to order takeaways from restaurants that provide a calorie count with the food of course!
Good luck, you can do it if you actually count :) It sounds like a pain, but even if you cook from scratch, you only have to add up your favourite recipes once and then you can just say 'I ate a quarter of that dish and I know that's X cals' so it's quick after the initial irritation! I used an app that allowed me to add my own dishes so I could enter the cals and use them time and time again. Easy peasy.

Same here. My weight starting dropping when I started counting calories very very accurately. I use My Fitness Pal and it's astounding how what you may consider a healthy, low-calorie snack can add hundreds of calories, quickly and easily stopping you from losing weight. When I take a more 'relaxed' approach to the above at the weekend, I then spend one or even two days taking in under 450 calories to make up for it. It's the only way I can lose weight. I'm 5.3 and an 8/10 now.

Watch this YouTube video OP. Its short and very eye opening about how terrible we are at eyeballing portions and counting calories.

I always start new foods/meals with weighing until I know how much I should use. I keep a measuring cup with my muesli still.

Wow that youtube channel is really eyeopening.

OP I agree with others - you need to lower your carbs.
You say you ‘can’t lower them anymore as you only had slice of bread and a soon full of rice’ - you had a lot more carbs than that. Banana and pineapple? They’re full of sugar - banana is about 25 grams of sugar! It’s been years since I’ve had a banana, I only allow myself berries.

Nuts can be carby too so count only up to 10 of those.
Just with banana and pineapple you’ll be adding about 50 grams of carbs extra!
Agree with others - you are eating too many calories.

Fitnesspal is good, good luck 😉