Why can't I lose any weight

[Idontgetit0]

After being a steady weight my whole adult life I quite quickly gained 1.5st in 3 months. I'm not sure why exactly. I started on birth control and anti depressants so it might be that contributing. Also I guess my activity levels went down with lockdown.

I am 5ft 3 so fairly short. I'm at 11 stone now and have been steady at 11 stone for another 6 months.

I've tracked calories. I did an online calculator to see how many calories I need to consume a day to steadily lose weight (about 1200) and I've mostly stuck to it. Maybe 2 days a week I eat higher but only to maintenance calories level (about 1750) so still maintained a fair calorie deficit for the week.

I've been doing this for 3 straight weeks alongside going gym 1-2 times a week and do not weigh any less than when I started. Why is this? It's just so demoralising.

Is it because my start weight wasn't hugely high in the first place? Does that make it harder for me to lose it? Am I too early in to see any weight loss?

Does anyone have any experience of this 😔

Sorry, but three weeks is not that long a time to see a difference (IMO).

How is your physical health generally? Is it worth having a bit of a health MOT?

Are you weighing all your food? Oil for example is incredibly hard to eyeball.

I've got a couple of chronic conditions so I'm not overly healthy. I'm in my early 30s. What do you mean by a health MOT?

I appreciate it's still fairly early but I thought I'd see at least a couple pounds difference. I still fluctuate between 10st 12 - 11st 1 each day (I guess because of water weight?) And the range hasn't gotten any lower

This is a good point I guess. When I cook I just do a typical drizzle of oil. I've not thought about the calories in that. How would I know how many extra calories I'm consuming due to oil?

Agree that 3 weeks is not long and sometimes it can take our bodies longer to adapt to a change in routine.
What is your daily diet like? 1200 cals of what?
what are you doing at the gym? And what are your activity levels like outside of the gym? 1-2 gym sessions per week will be unlikely to do much if you are otherwise very sedentary.
Are you drinking much water? If you are dehydrated it will be harder to lose weight.
My advice would be - increase your protein intake, focus on strength based exercise rather than cardio, make sure you get 7-9 hours sleep a night, min 10k steps a day, and drink 3l water per day. Do that for 4 weeks and see where you are then.

To add I was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid last year which means I find it hard to lose weight as my metabolism is rubbish. Doing all of the above has helped me lose a stone since diagnosis, and I have toned up and gained a lot of muscle. Inexplicable weight gain was my main symptom before I got diagnosed.

You've not put weight on in that time which is a massive positive.

You just need to fine tune. Trying lowering your carb intake, upping protein. And try adding in some walking - anything that feels you're slightly out of breath is good. I walk about an hour a day with my dogs - can't bear the gym.

I try to not eat before 1pm, and then I usually eat either porridge with honey and fruit ontop (a probably bigger than average portion which I've calculated to be around 500 calories) or sometimes I'll make a sandwich or get a Tesco meal deal with a packet of crisps (which again tends to be about 500-600 calories.)

Then I've been trying to not eat after that until the evening about 7pm, and if I've had a more calorific lunch I tend to have 500cal of huel for dinner because I can measure that easily. Or I'll make dinner on lower calorie days that comes to about 800 cal. That's a range of things I can make from a couscous salad to a tuna pasta dish. I get hello fresh which outlines the calories per portion (which I'm assuming is accurate) so I have that a couple times a week and have a range of things for dinner. I haven't cut down on any particular food groups I've just been trying to count calories.

On the days where I end up closer to 1750 cals it's because I've had a couple snacks during the day. These are either smoothies or a packet of crisps or a cereal bar.

I'm using Fitbit to track everything so it tracks my movement as well and it's showing me I'm sitting at a 400 odd calorie deficit most days.

At the gym I'm doing either a yoga class, or exercise bike, or rowing machine, or elliptical. A mix of all of those really.

I wasnt expecting massive results from the gym because I'm only going 1-2 a week but I thought it would help a little bit and would be better than nothing

I didn't know about the water...my water intake isn't great. I imagine I drink about 1.2l a day. Can drinking more help me lose weight?

I'd say its both those medications, both known for weight gain. I think to counteract those you'll have to be stricter with hour eating.

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Your diet is full of processed food. Having listened to the podcast by the Operation Ouch doctors I'm increasingly convinced that a processed food calorie is not the same as an unprocessed one (disclaimer: I am not a scientist).

Is your lifestyle active or sedentary? Because 2 gym sessions a week won't be enough to aid weight loss.

Sorry to be negative, it's really hard, isn't it?

No don't worry I appreciate the reply.

It's more sedentary than before the pandemic because I'm now working from home. I do try to walk everywhere I need to go though. I normally average about 8k steps a day which isn't a huge amount I know but it means I'm not completely still.

We're the same height, and a year after my second child's birth I stepped on the scale to see 158.8 staring back at me. I've got this down over the last 4 months or so to around 140. Things I did:

Watch portion sizes. I was horrified to discover how much smaller a "portion" of breakfast cereal was vs what I was having. I switched to non-cereal breakfasts, trying to ensure I was having protein and fruit/veg at each meal as that keeps me satisfied for longer

Focused on eating more fruit and veg overall

Stopped snacking on non nutritious foods. I started reaching for a banana or an apple with a bit of peanut butter instead of crisps and cereal bars

Switched to soups for lunch instead of sandwiches - more nutritious and protein heavy and kept me satisfied for longer

Dinners we now cook recipes out of a Pinch of Nom cookbook, and largely use a low cal spray instead of oil

Drink more water

Move more - I was at around 5000 steps a day and I'm now up to 10-15k per day now

Be patient - this takes time, and I'll go for a while with no change then suddenly drop on the scales

You might also want to speak to your doctor. Birth control and antidepressants can mess with your weight and make it harder to lose, regardless of your diet

Yes you definitely need to up your water intake. Don’t forget that sometimes we mistake thirst for hunger so being properly hydrated can make you less hungry if you are on very low cals.

Agree with PP that your diet is not great. Focus on having fresh fruit/veg with every meal and up your protein intake - eg Greek yoghurt worth fruit for breakfast, chicken salad for lunch, eggs, bacon medallions, tuna etc are all high protein and low calorie.

You’re focusing a lot on cardio at the gym - I would use the gym for weights (increasing your muscle mass will increase your metabolism) and walk as much as you can outside of the gym

Oh also, I used to eat until I felt full. I've stopped doing that. There's a difference between feeling satisfied (having eaten enough) and full (having overeaten). I'm trying to be more mindful about eating and listen to what my body is telling me it needs.

And yes, not drinking enough water won't help when it comes to weight loss.

Diet is more important than exercise for losing weight.

You're not in a caloric deficit - simple as that.

Drink more water.

So just so I understand, are the types of food being eaten very important? I came to the conclusion that it's more the calories that need an eye kept on them as opposed to what is being eaten.

Do you all think eating 1200 calories that are from healthier sources will help weight loss over 1200 of any calories?

Thanks for the help!

I think you're more likely to stick to 1200 calories if they're coming from healthier sources that are less processed. Also, unprocessed foods tend to be better for regulating your blood sugar, which again is better for weight loss.

But how am I not at a calorie deficit? I've been weighing everything. Where am I going wrong? Even if I was out by a bit I assume it'll be unlikely I'm consuming 400 more calories without realising? This is where I'm confused/don't understand.

Am I doing something wrong or is it a case of being patient?

You mentioned cooking with oil but not counting that. 1tbsp oil = 120cals... But if you're sure you're counting calories correctly, I'd talk to your GP to rule out underlying health problems.

Definitely be patient. Maybe focus on healthy eating and activity for a few weeks and don't weigh obsessively.

Food types do make a difference but people can get too hung up on them. I like the advice "eat food, not too much, mostly vegetables". For the avoidance of doubt, pasta is not a vegetable 😀

Re a health MOT, it might be worth a chat with your GP about side effects of your medication, whether it's worth doing blood tests etc.

Also, the importance of sleep is often underestimated.

You're likely not in a calorie deficit if the scales aren't changing and you're not doing strength training.

You say you're weighing and tracking, but then reference using recipe card calorie counts and drizzling oil. Proper tracking involves weighing absolutely everything.

Also don't eat your exercise calories. These are notoriously unreliable.

Thank you for all the advice everyone

I'm using Fitbit to track everything so it tracks my movement as well and it's showing me I'm sitting at a 400 odd calorie deficit most days

ignore Fitbit or logging exercise on MFP. It gives you extra calories back to eat. DONT!
that’s the only time I never lost, because it was wildly overestimating calories burned. You know you are exercising, that’s good for cardiovascular health, just focus on diet and calories to lose weight.