Advice please

[fja]

So after 2 babies I've decided I now need to lose the weight I've gained. Got a few things coming up this year that I'd like to look better for so there's my motivation.

I've started calorie deficit, intermittent fasting and doing 1 exercise a day (15-20 minutes of cardio)

I'm not expecting it to just fall off otherwise it would be easy, I know it's hard. But I've been doing this 2 weeks now and I haven't even lost half a lb.
Does it really take that long to just lose the teeniest amount?
Feeling a little deflated this morning to say the least ☹️

For me yes it was that hard and I didn't lose a pound in a whole month but then started Slimming World and it falling off, I've lost 1 .5 stone since November and quite honestly it's been easy and I eat loads more than I used to. I do it online as I don't want to go to a group and the app is fantastic at logging food. It's the only thing I've tried that has worked and I can see being sustainable.

I've also had 2 babies back to back and am now trying to lose the excess weight. I started on New Year's Day and have lost 10lbs so far (5lbs first week, 2lbs second week and 3lbs third week). I don't do any exercise as such as I don't have time or am too tired. My youngest has just started crawling though so chasing a baby and a toddler around means I don't get to sit down much.

Food wise, I've cut out all junk - chocolate, crisps, biscuits, sugary drinks, etc. I've also heavily reduced my carb intake. I have 3 meals a day (one of which is usually a meal replacement protein bar) and avoid snacking. If I'm starving I'll have a banana or apple.

My plan was to also increase my water intake but I haven't managed that with any consistency really. Still, i'm happy with an average loss of over 3lbs a week.

I'm hoping to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight by June.

@GruzViews

Wow! That's amazing progress!!
My main issue is definitely snacking in the evening!
I used to be addicted to drinking fizzy drinks, especially coke. I'm now only having 1 can a day, I know that's not helping but I won't be able to just stop 😅

Hopefully i start seeing some results soon, I think the sooner I see the results the more motivation it's going to give me to carry on

@MrsPelligrinoPetrichor

That's so good!
If I see no results by the end of the month I might take a look into slimming world and see what it's all about.

I find myself dreaming about calories in food now 😂

If you want fast results to boosts your motivation then you could try Exante. It's a meal replacement plan where you have shakes and bars instead of food. I did it after my first baby and lost 1.5 stone in 6 weeks. Only this is, it's VERY restrictive so not something I could/wanted to do longer term but it definitely gives you an initial boost. I lost 7lbs the first week!

My eating had become really disordered to be honest and now I have not only lost weight fast which my doctor is delighted about I feel really good too. SW gets a bad rap on here ,I think it's because people eat muller lights and all sorts of sugar free crap but I don't use my syns for sweet stuff ,I use them for oil and butter when cooking. It encourages you to eat a really balanced diet and I have tons more energy . Anyway, I'll shut up now 😂

Exercise doesn't drive weight loss,calorie deficit does. And 15-20 min exercise is very little anyway.

Do you log everything you eat? The coke? That little snack or taste?

Yes, exercise and diet are two separate things.

The only way to lose weight is a calorie deficit (slimming world, weight watchers etc only 'work' if you are in a calorie deficit). I would use a tdee calculator (available online) to work out calories and go that way. In my opinion there's no need to cut out all 'treats', you can still have a packet of crisps, can of Coke etc if it is within your calories. By having foods you like/little treats regularly you are more likely to stick to it than if you go cold turkey.

I agree, which is exactly why SW encourage you to use your syns so you don't feel deprived . Saying that I am a all or nothing pereon so need to stay away from sugar pretty much all the time or back to square one again 😂🙄

Is it easy to understand SW now? I did it about twenty years ago but struggled with the plan. I know it's changed since then, is it simpler to follow now?

Couldn't be more simple. Lean meat, fish, pasta, rice and pulses, beans are 'free' and then most fruit and veg are 'speed'so you are encouraged to eat slot of them to speed your weight loss up. You need a portion of fibre a day plus 2 portions of calcium. Each plate of food should have a third of speed food. You're meant to eat until you're full but I eat loads and still lose weight. You get 15 syns to use on higher calorie food. The app has a scanner for bar codes and you can log your food on the app planner.
I think there used to be green days and red days, nothing like that now.

Thanks for your reply. Yes it was Red and Green! It sounds straightforward and sensible now.

I'd just say that it sounds like you're trying to make a lot of changes all at once which may not be sustainable, maybe look at introducing one at a time?

In terms of not seeing the results you want, can you measure your progress in other ways? Can you play for longer with your kids without getting out of breath? Are you making healthier choices at breakfast? Snacking less? Etc etc. Just keep going and focus on those little wins and the weight will drop.

Personally I need to be accountable in some way and found the Noom app worked well for me. I think they're probably all very similar these days - eat a good, balanced diet, exercise less and improve your relationship with food - but Noom is the one I got on with best. I also tried Second Nature which wasn't right for me but might be better suited to those who've veered a long way off from eating a balanced diet. You should be able to do a two week trial of both of those either for free or for £1.

Also, not sure how often you're weighing, but on noom you weigh daily and I actually really like that. It kind of takes the drama out of weighing, and you get used to the fact that there are fluctuations and just because it goes up a pound one day that doesn't mean you've failed. Im always up 3-4 pounds the day after a Chinese takeaway, which drops off again the next day, so any weight loss would be totally masked by that if i was weighing weekly and happened to have a Chinese the night before weigh in day.