I know why I’m not losing weight - but can’t fix it!

[froidIci]

Name changed for this as am attaching a picture which I might ask to remove later.

My BMI places me at Obese. 84 kgs at 167 cm.

In the attached picture from yesterday - you see me in size 12 cardigan, size 12 top and size 12 jeans.

I’ve been stuck at this weight for years and years. Original pre DC weight was 73 ish and I’d be delighted to hover around there again. But I’m stuck.

Ive done various approaches and a lot of soul searching and now understand that there are 3 reasons why I can’t lose it -

1. The amount of food I need to feel sated is clearly more than the amount at which I lose. My portions are clearly not the fistful/palmful/75g sizes of food groups usually recommended.

1. The nature of food which brings me comfort are not the sort that makes me lose. I find great comfort in carbs like rice or potatoes (not bread) - that I don’t find in say meat or roasted vegetables.

1. Finally Both these factors are deeply cultural. I was raised in a country/society where physical exercise was neither taught nor practiced. I wasn’t even taught to swim or ride a bike as simply not the norm in that context. Food is at the heart of that culture and the rice-based cuisine of potatoes and fats got ingrained into me as “comfort”. Now that I have migrated far away and I look at my aging aunts and parents - coping with type 2 diabetes, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis and nearly sedentary by 50, I am VERY worried.

So you see it’s not that I don’t understand why I can’t lose weight. I do. I clearly see the emotional nature of WHY I eat WHAT I eat.

But here I am.

If you could take a look at the picture you’ll see the obesity is sort of carried in the upper thighs, hips and buttocks and calves. The figure itself is an hourglass with a very wide bottom
And bottom half.

Thanks for any advice ….

@rosiemanchester I agree that too much importance is put on dress sizes and weight, but this is a medical concern.

In OPs case she weighs in the obese category, takes little exercise and has a family history of weight related illnesses. It's definitely worth addressing.

Well, you definitely don't look obese to me at all! Would be surprised to think your weight posed you any health issues, but there you go...

[quote WouldBeGood]@Harrysmummy246 hex sounds a bit like James Smith, sweary PT 😃

I’m losing weight and going to the pt at the gym and his goal for me is a pound a week. Easy to stick to (mostly!) and as he points out over a year that adds up to a big weight loss![/quote]
Except very much more american, and I haven't come across Smith yet, might look him up. I've been enjoying the Syatt podcasts while working as a gardener now exams are don't so I don't have to listen to the RHS ones all day every day.

OP, unfortunately, yes, you need to cut the carbs. We are in fact very similar in build and what was my weight a while ago. I lost 20 kilos in 3 months but had to cut the carbs. I don't know what it was with carbs and me but I cut them down a lot and the weight just fell off. It was as though carbs had a huge adverse reaction on my body. The same happened with lentils or beans. I still had some carbs eg a little fruit, salads etc but not to the extent I had before

The carbs thing is a myth. Calorie deficit is the only way to lose weight and carbs are fine within that.

I disagree. I tried this on myself. Battled with my weight for years till I lost it. Calorie deficit with carbs still meant I did not lose weight. Calorie deficit with very little carbs meant I lost weight.

There's a difference between anecdotal experience in your own case (which may indicate other health issues, or perhaps not being as much in deficit as you thought) and actual scientific evidence. 20kg in 3 months is very very rapid, perhaps unhealthily so.

There is usually no reason to pretty much entirely cut out an entire food group

There is plenty of evidence why calorie counting alone doesn’t fix weight issues. If a person maintains a calorie deficit their baseline metabolic calories burned during a day also drops, so the person needs to reduce calories again, to the point of unsustainability.

The reason low carb works is because of the way our bodies treats the calories we consume differently. Think of it as ‘calories laid down as fat vs calories burned vs calories excreted vs calories consumed’.

On an extreme ketogenic diet (which I’m not suggesting!) a person in ketosis could eat pure fat and the body would either burn it straight away or excrete it. The calories contained would be irrelevant.

That’s the science with plenty of evidence. It’s why the blood sugar diet, true intermittent fasting, or my own favourite, the low glycaemic diet, are all recommended as ways of controlling type two diabetes without medication.

The calories in/calories out is the method that has been overtaken by improved understanding of what happens within our body at a cellular level.

There has also been some interesting research around fasting and supporting the body through chemotherapy though more studies are needed.

Please provide citations for this.

@WouldBeGood

The carbs thing is a myth. Calorie deficit is the only way to lose weight and carbs are fine within that.

What do you mean by myth?

I cant eat starchy carbs, they make me crave food, all foods and lots of it

If I cut those out then Im able adhere to a calorie deficit that can work for me

Not everyone has the same physical make up.

So depending on what you mean, then no, its not a myth

The carbs thing is a myth. Calorie deficit is the only way to lose weight and carbs are fine within that

If you say so.

The thing is, I prefer to believe Dr Jason Fung, who is a nephrologist and has practised medicine for many years. He has also conducted some long term studies on this topic.

What are your qualifications? Just asking.

I love some of the tips in this thread, such as the cumulative effect being true, every time you make a good choice its a positive etc. Its so easy to feel discouraged with diets. Also agree that you can lose weight whilst eating carbs. I totally understand about the comfort thing. I'm only looking to lose a small amount of weight but some of the ideas on this thread have been really helpful.

Also as one poster wisely said, we dont have the same physical make up I am a size 12 on the bottom, at 165cm tall and 58/59kg.

Yup calorie deficit totally works. Slimming World has such a high long term success rate.

There is a magazine article with several links contained within to studies on fasting knowablemagazine.org/article/health-disease/2021/the-when-eating-update-intermittent-fasting. It does contain links to a small number of studies which disagree but the vast majority see health benefits outside of weight loss and also a sustainability which is the key to true long term weight loss and health benefits.

Slimming World is nit what I’m talking about re a calorie deficit. These companies have a vested interest in keeping people fat.

A long term realistic healthy eating plan with no forbidden foods, using calorie deficit to lose, then moving to maintenance is the way to long term success. Plenty protein to fill you up and maintain muscle.

A calorie deficit followed by calories matching what you burn definitely does work. The problem is sticking to it. If your whole food culture is around carby foods, then low carbing isn't going to work long term for you. If the OP just goes on a diet and doesn't address how she views food as comfort and finds alternative comfort options, then any new diet won't work.

Bad days happen, stress happens. If carb heavy food gives you comfort and happiness, you will be miserable without them unless you can find other forms of comfort, or find a way to have them in your diet in a way that isn't too much for your body overall.

There is an element on MN of people who have given up foods that give them joy and are determined the only way to lose weight is for others to do the same forever. You absolutely don't need to cut out food you like forever, just find a way to balance them into your diet that works for you.

@WouldBeGood

The carbs thing is a myth. Calorie deficit is the only way to lose weight and carbs are fine within that.

This isn't true. Calories don't count, it's the type of food that you eat and numerous studies have shown that even if you reduce calories but still eat high sugar food the effect on insulin production is disasterous. And insulin makes you fat. A PP mentioned Jason Fung, his book the Obesity code sets things out very clearly. Likewise Calories don't count by Dr Giles Yeo, Fat Chance by Dr Robert Lustig, Why we eat too much by Dr Andrew Jenkinson. I find the best way to keep weight down is a combination of IF, reducing sugar, getting rid of all refined flour products and eating more fibre, fat and protein (by fat I mean good fat, not trans fats - salmon, greek yoghurt etc) all of which fill you up and don't cause the sugar spike which causes insulin production to go bonkers.

@samthebordercollie that’s just not accurate.

[quote WouldBeGood]@samthebordercollie that’s just not accurate.[/quote]
So all the qualified doctors who have studied this fact for years and written extensively on this subject are are wrong?

…. it’s almost as if poo contained zero calories …..

Understanding insulin response in the body is key to any metabolic disorder (posh new medical term for ‘being fat’).

It is possible to re-set our brains. I actually no longer like pizza or chips. I recognise that my previous want for them was based on my brain’s carb addiction. But that doesn’t mean I eat lettuce all day. I eat proper food, with as little processing as possible, including the odd pastry, plenty of ice cream (the expensive stuff is low glycaemic load), red wine at weekends, etc. Once the insulin response is understood and set back on an even keel then it is possible to eat foods that would make CICO devotees go crazy. When we pair understanding of insulin response with an understanding of the addictive nature of some foods (comfort eating) and the brain’s response to that addiction, we can forge a path to a healthier diet promoting long term benefits.

@Jewel1968

It's true that you can't outrun a bad diet but exercise does more than expend energy consumption. It also helps amazingly with your mood (pick an exercise you enjoy or think you might enjoy e.g. rollerblading) and you don't usually eat while exercising.

Exercise also reduces insulin resistance and so means you are far less likely to develop type 2 diabetes. I'd initially concentrate on increasing your exercise rather than dieting for this reason. Once you are protecting yourself with an exercise routine you enjoy you'll find it easier to lose weight as well because you will feel more positive about making changes.

The carbs thing is a myth. Calorie deficit is the only way to lose weight and carbs are fine within that.

This isn't true. Calories don't count, it's the type of food that you eat

Calories aren't irrelevant but they are not the whole story either. 300 calories of chicken breast and vegetables are not going to have the same effect on your body as 300 calories of Haribo. Weight gain and weight loss are a lot about energy in and energy out, but hormones, insulin, nutrients and the effects of different foods on your appetite, blood sugar, gut flora and energy levels (not to mention on other aspects of your health and mental state) have a huge part to play in that.

To be fair I did say a healthy eating diet, protein rich.

My point is that there is no need to demonise carbs, sugar, fast food, fried good, or any food group so that you exclude it totally

@Fairislefandango

The carbs thing is a myth. Calorie deficit is the only way to lose weight and carbs are fine within that.

This isn't true. Calories don't count, it's the type of food that you eat

Calories aren't irrelevant but they are not the whole story either. 300 calories of chicken breast and vegetables are not going to have the same effect on your body as 300 calories of Haribo. Weight gain and weight loss are a lot about energy in and energy out, but hormones, insulin, nutrients and the effects of different foods on your appetite, blood sugar, gut flora and energy levels (not to mention on other aspects of your health and mental state) have a huge part to play in that.

Calories are the same, other nutrients aren't

Nobody was ever suggesting that a calorie deficit solely of haribo (other sweets are available) was the answer - you'd likely lose weight but feel terrible doing so

Nobody was ever suggesting that a calorie deficit solely of haribo (other sweets are available) was the answer - you'd likely lose weight but feel terrible doing so

Feeling terrible is not the only downside though. You would not lose weight as effectively as you would on a diet of healthy food even if they had the same calorie content. Partly because the massive sugar crashes you'd get would ensure that you'd have no chance of sticking to your calorie deficit, and also because it would mess up your insulin response, which has an effect on weight.

One of the main reasons a low carb diet works better than a high carb low fat diet is its effect on appetite. When the main reason that diets fail is that people can't stick to them, how diets affect your appetite is no mere detail, it's absolutely central to your likelihood of losing weight. Low carb diets are well known for giving satiety, stabilising appetite and reducing or minimising cravings (especially for sweet foods).