Nothing is working....

[sandwiches77]

I am seriously overweight, as are all the females in my family. Feel like I'm fighting a losing battle, I have tried every diet, stuck to it like glue and no weight loss

So get up at the time you used to before WFH and go for a walk or cycle equal to your old commute. You're not doing anything more than you did before but you will be exercising.

Again apologies for the negative but I was having eggs for breakfast but still nothing, hence switched back to cereal (fruit and fibre)

You need to download MFP and log everything.

If you come from an environment of overweight people it can be quite difficult to identify what is normal or healthy. MFP should help. Also, watch your skinny friends and how they interact with food.

How long do you try the different things? I think you’d need to be eating like that for at least a month to really start to see a difference - it’s not instant.

I felt like you did and I’ve lost 2 stone now. I have two ‘proper’ meals and for my tea, half my plate is veg. I drastically cut my portion sizes of pasta etc and try and eat lots of protein.

So for me I might have porridge with protein powder in it and strawberries, chicken sausages with eggs, scrambled egg on brown toast. I have this around 11am. Then 3ish I’ll have some tomatoes, cucumber, cheese, or sometimes a protein milkshake (I like the Ufit ones).

Then for tea I’ll have a small portion of something and half my plate veg. Yesterday I had pasta bake and my ‘slice’ was a small square of it, with broccoli. I made the sauce from scratch using lots of veg as jaw sauces are sugary.

Other teas I have are chicken with veg, meatballs in like a marinara bake type thing (no pasta or anything), pizzas made using one wholemeal pitta bread with veg and sweet potato air fries, omelette with veg.

I had to totally change my diet, reduce the carbs and my portions. I also get 10k steps a day even WFH most days by going for a walk at lunch and after work.

The thing with cereal is that unless you’re weighing it out, there’s no way you’re eating the recommended portion, as 30g is just absolutely nothing. I’d rather eat porridge because I’ll be full.

Here’s some of my food to show my portion sizes, and I’m 5ft 9 and activeish so if you’re having a big plate of spaghetti bolognese that could be your problem.

You need a calorie calculator (look at James Smith Academy, you can access the calculator for free).
Then you need to weigh everything you eat. Absolutely everything. Even the oil you cook things in. Log it in MFP - don’t think you need to stick to their target of 1200kcals - it’s too low to sustain long term.
Focus on protein - once you’re focusing on how much protein is in food, you end up making better food choices automatically.

Move more. Your job may be sedentary but unless you’re working from the minute you get up through to the minute you go to bed, you have spare time. In that spare time, go for a walk. Aim for 7k steps a day to start with and build up to 10k+. I’ve recently bought an Apple Watch and I am so motivated to close the rings every day
Keep up with the yoga, it’s excellent for your mental health as well as physical.

Don’t rely on the scales, take measurements as and photos well.

Look at thefitnesschef on Instagram, he’s excellent with helping to visualise calories.

Have you spoken to your GP? There could be underlying health issues. Get your thyroid checked.

Could you afford a private dietician / nutritionist?

Log everything. Every calorie, every drink, everything. Use MFP to work out daily calories and eat these in an 8 hour window (16:8 diet).

Don't weigh weekly. I know that's what diet clubs tell you but the scales can be misleading and that can have a demoralizing effect. If you've had a really "good" week but not lost on the scales it's a horrible feeling. Every 3 weeks or monthly is better.

If you are eating lots of fruit and vegetables, lean proteins and fibre your diet is good for your body. Focus on self care and nourishment rather than numbers then your eating plan is a success even if you don't drop loads of weigh super fast. You'll be healthier which is a huge bonus.

Good luck. It's a long term, big picture situation so stick with it and find little victories along the way (discovered new recipe, ate 5-a-day for a week, found a new top which looks cute etc) don't let weight be the sole focus. And have the (very) occasional treat! Live life.

@sandwiches77

I do all of that already

Cut portions some more then. Clearly you are still eating too much, to lose weight.

It looks healthy with the veg but on the last pic maybe half the portion?

I'd have a shake or smoothie for breakfast ( Slimfast or equivalent) with maybe a piece of fruit.

Similar for lunch.
Then a meal in the evening but a little less on the portion size and cut out any crisps and drastically cut down on your bread.

Make sure you are on low fat spreads, milk, no fast food etc

Drink lots more water to fill you.up.

Maybe take a natural weight supplement like Sea Kelp.

A walk every day - even if just half an hour.

.

@sandwiches77

Again apologies for the negative but I was having eggs for breakfast but still nothing, hence switched back to cereal (fruit and fibre)

But how many eggs, how were you cooking them etc? How much cereal are you having? 30g the recommended serving for most cereals is tiny compared to what most people pour.

@Temp023

Every diet ever created comes down to burning more than you consume.

I am SO over this message

Have a listen to podcasts no 94 onwards here thedoctorskitchen.com/podcasts, there may be some new information/different perspectives in there?

Might be medical so get yourself checked out.

How long have you been dieting for now?

Hi @sandwiches77 I feel like some of these responses are a bit harsh. Sorry you are struggling.

I agree with a couple of previous posters that it might be worth seeing the GP. There could be something medical that needs addressing.

Can I also suggest you look into the book, "Feel Great, Lose Weight" by Rangan Chatterjee? He's a GP, and in the book he talks about the range of things that could be going on which could be affecting your weight, and suggests changes you could make. He is very compassionate throughout, which is something that is often lacking when people struggle with their weight. (Warning - there are a lot of very cheesy, Instagram style photos in there!)

Sorry - thought OP had posted the portion size pics!

What are you wanting from this thread? Is it general solidarity and sympathy that you’re not where you’d like to be in terms of your weight or is it motivation and help to lose?

How long were you on the diet plans that didn’t work and did you lose at any point?

I don't mind a harsh response, I need to hear it as it is!

I honestly stick at things for a couple of months but see very little in the way of results.

I will have a look at the Rangan Chattergee book, that's exactly what I was looking for with this thread

Have a look at nutra check on the App Store.

You pay for it (£3.99 a month) but in my opinion it’s the best app for weight loss and worth every penny.

I’ve used mfp, done ww & sw multiple times, intermittent fasting, one meal a day.. there isn’t much I haven’t tried.

I’m really liking nutra check.

It must be so demoralising for you when you keep trying and trying, and your efforts aren’t rewarded

Have you had your thyroid checked? Do you have any signs for PCOS? Both of these can make it extremely hard to lose weight, even when calorie intake is low.

Other ideas are firstly to look after your gut flora, as this can hugely impact weight - eat lots of veg, some whole fruit, some whole grains, daily fermented foods, live yogurt and drastically reduced refined carbs, to get a better balance. Symprove is a great probiotic supplement.

The other thing is to add in some resistance training to your fitness regime, which can also help reduce weight.

what do you drink of a daytime. I was struggling to lose weight wasnt dieting but didnt think I was overeating as it was mainly protein and veg. until I started using MFP and realised that my coffee with 1 sugar and semi skimmed milk was around 50 calories. given that I drink about 6 to 8 a day that was 3 to 400 calories I wasnt accounting for. so when I thought I was eating around 1200 I really wasnt.
Ditto with the cereal. A portion was about a quarter of what I was used to pouring so 600 calories just on cereal instead of the 150 thats in a portion.
spend a few weeks measuring and weighing everything you eat and logging it into mfp or nutracheck, its an eye opener. Totally helped me reset portion sizes and in the last month I,ve lost 7 pound.

I reckon your portion sizes are too big and you’re not eating enough vegetables and lean protein. For carbs go for brown rice or bread and not too much. Weigh everything and record on MyFitnessPal. Your plate should be 1/3 veg, 1/3 lean protein (meat or lentils say) and only 1/3 carbs.

Also cut back alcohol and sugar as is wasted calories

Can I ask what you do when you don’t see results in two months? As in, do you change to a new diet, or stop completely?

No judgement- it’s why I don’t agree with diets as I think they focus on short term weight loss, which can be disheartening, and I think the focus should be on long term health.

Have you noticed any change in energy levels on any specific diet?

As pp said - there could be a myriad of reasons for no change in weight, so figuring this out would be important.

That’s a good question, weight loss does take quite a long time and and don’t worry about bad days as long as you go back to it.