Calling anyone that has ever successfully lost weight?

[polka6]

By successfully I mean 1) more than just a couple of pounds and 2) managed to keep it off.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I have tried exercising (weights and cardio), fasting (down to one meal a day), low calorie etc nothing seems to work.'

I am naturally small (short and small frame) but have grown a fat lower tummy and chunky thighs/bum. My arms/shoulders are skinny.

I had hovered around 56-7kg for years and suddenly have now hit 60kg. I dont care about the numbers btw I care about my health and physique. I feel embarrassed to wear dresses due to a big tummy bulge and jeans are a struggle to get on.

I feel like this is a turning point and I'd like to nip it in the bud before I continue down this path. Any changes I make don't seem to make any difference.
I have gradually gained perhaps 1kg/year for a decade or so until the recent 3-4kg.

Any advice?!
I work long/antisocial hours and have a fair amount of personal responsibilities meaning I don't have too much time (e.g I couldnt dedicate my life to the gym/fitness or spend hours getting my step count up etc).

I also just always seem to feel hungry if I cut the dietary intake down too much. At the moment I have coffee for breakfast (no sugar, splash of milk), a hot meal for lunch at work (often no "carbs" e.g chicken and veg or a sandwich) and a meal like pasta with lots of veg for dinner. I try to limit my portions. There is 0 snacking. I don't bother buying chocolate/crisps etc to even have the temptation at home. Sometimes 1-3 drinks on a weekend, often 0. Never smoked.

Where am I going wrong?!

You have to eat less calories than you're burning but it has to be sustainable. You can't maintain 800 calories a day or lying in bed hungry.

I lost 3 stone slowly and surely with a calorie deficit of about 400 calories a day on a day I didn't exercise and it would've worked out higher deficit on the days I exercised and burned more. I never eat more to compensate for the exercise sessions.

You also have to make time to work out. Everyone is so busy but it has to be prioritised. I have kids and work full time so I understand time pressure completely. When my son was a baby I would get up at 5 to do a 40 min workout and quick shower before he woke for the day. Some days it was horrible and tiring and I didn't want to do it but I know I will not do an evening workout. Once I sit on the sofa on an evening I'm done so I have to do morning. Figure out when the best time is for you and when you're most likely to feel motivated.

Also, up your protein. It'll fill you up and keep you from feeling hungry. But don't avoid anything completely, it's just not sustainable and i found it needed to be a lifestyle shift that would just be the way I ate going forward and not a short lived routine.

Not sure what level you're working on that's not 'lay', but homeostasis doesn't mean 'maintaining blood sugar levels', and I've never suggested that it does

it does.
“self-regulating process by which biological systems maintain stability while adjusting to changing external conditions”

so the action of glucagon and insulin to maintain blood sugar levels while adjusting to glucose intake fits the definition of homeostasis accurately.

what did you mean?

insulin does not prioritise fat, and doesn’t “balance” fat sugar usage. It controls blood sugar uptake into cells, so firstly will make sure musclesget glucose, glucose storage in the liver is replenished etc. only if there’s any excess will glucose be stored in fat.

if there’s a deficit of glucose glucagon then serves to catabolise fat to stop blood sugar going too low.

RTFT, @Reallyreallyborednow

1200 calories a day,counting every calorie on MFP.
Google calories for things in home cooked meals eg 200g salmon fillet.
Walk as much as you can.

@Reallyreallyborednow

You're quoting things in isolation. Like if I said 'petrol makes a car go', I'd be right, in the same way that all your facts are right. But does the car have wheels? Is the ignition switched on? Is their oil and water in the system? Does it have a functioning engine? Does it have pedals?

Yes, insulin acts on sugar. But the effect of that is it affects fat usage, because if the body isn't using sugar for energy, it has to make sugar, and what it uses to do that is fat. As a very last resort, it'll use protein.

I lost 9 stone and have kept it off for years, I low carb and walk a lot, no other exercise. I lost a stone a month and went from 20st to 11st. I let myself have a binge every now and then but otherwise I have to stay strict!

To people saying I’m consuming too few calories or need to cut out sweets/ alcohol…

I never really ate sweets / junk food, I think my issue was just over indulging normal healthy food (we’ve always had a diet of whole meal bread/pasta/rice, lots of veg, some protein). Never been a big drinker, perhaps a couple of drinks twice a month. Sorry if TMI but currently not drinking alcohol at all as soon will be TTC.

I think my basal metabolic rate at the moment is 1200 calories. The old me used to eat what I want AND exercise. I used to maintain at about 56kg. So a calorie deficit of 400 is actually 800 for me.

I don’t think I’m in starvation mode. I have previously done OMAD without much difficulty (not for weight loss per se as was probably <55kg, but for the other benefits of fasting). What I do struggle with is having an early dinner. Most of my life I have had dinner 8-9pm. Anything sooner and I lay in bed feeling hungry.

Exercise normally for me kills my appetite. I will of course eat, but usually leave it a couple of hours. For those saying wake up at 5 to exercise - for all intents and purposes it’s almost like im working 2 jobs at the moment, I probably work about 14-16hrs a day. I don’t have a choice but to take a break from exercise probably until November / December when I expect my schedule to change.

My point is though that even with exercise and a healthy diet (there was nothing to cut - 3 healthy meals no snacks or alcohol) I wasn’t losing.

I suppose I am trying low calories as that’s all I can with my current lifestyle. I don’t struggle through my working day. I really hope this works. I am logging my calories on my fitness pal as a few of you have suggested. I try to walk/take stairs in general through my day but this isn’t remotely strenuous for me so I don’t think it’s doing anything from a weight loss point of view.

Suggestions always welcome. It is interesting how different things work for different people.

I have followed a low carb, high fat diet since the beginning of May (see the low carb bootcamp threads if you're interested). I've lost 1½ stones and I've never had to restrict my food intake. My stomach has dropped 9" (mostly bloat).

The high fat content on a LCHF diet means that you don't get hungry so fast after meals. It's worth a shot.

Op I know it’s really hard with time (I have kids, two jobs and doing a doctorate so really do get it) but I reckon you‘ll find that you need to gain lean mass. You’d gain more energy and get more time - esp on 850 cals a day. If you have been at that lower end of the BMI chances are you‘ve never carried a lot of muscle and hence you are ‚skinny fat’. You‘ll need to lift weights - even half an hour a couple of times a week would help so much - and eat more calories, but with a fair amount of quality protein. I’d seriously consider a body scan if you could afford it, or at least a gym consultatIon. X

Message confusing (heat)- but I meant to say - on 850 cal a day you won’t have great stamina and you may find it hard to retain lean mass even if you do exercise. You prob need proper guidance here