Why am I not losing any weight?

[fortifiedwithtea]

I am hoovering just under 16 stone. I am 5’7” and aged 56.

Three weeks ago I signed up to my fitness pal. According to app with my sedentary lifestyle if I aim for 1530 calories a day I should lose 1.5 per week.

Back story I always feel hungry, have done for as long as I can remember. I always say I don’t deserve to be this fat and this proves it. I am not following a diet as such. Just being more accountable for my choices.

I have lost zero weight and feel constipated.

What I have learned in the last 3 weeks is Heinz soup is not a good choice because of the salt content and that my daily protein is too low. Some days my carbs are too high. But if I am in calorie deficit wouldn’t I lose weight regardless of calorie distribution?

Am I missing something obvious?

Would aim for 100g of protein at 1200kcal strictly no more than that per day.
log on MFP
dont log exercise on it and don’t eat those calories back as they are hard to measure.
if after 1 month you have accurately tracked everything and not lost anything I would go for 1000kcal as you are cutting and on that website it said to be at 1000kcal. However, 1200 will give you a bit more energy for the day and if you are new is easier to get used to.
would also aim for 10k steps.
2-3 litres of water / day

When entering amounts on MFP weigh everything and enter it by its weight. Check that what's already on MFP is right as many of the entries are wrong. So for example if you have a slice of wholemeal bread it should be recorded as 42g (or whatever it weighs) rather than 1 slice. You could be massively under recording calories. And make sure you record everything, milk in tea, bits pinched off the kids plates, the lot. It's tedious initially but once you enter something once, it's easier the next time. Good luck

Read Dr Tim Spector. He hates calorie counting. He advises that you eat 30 different plants each week and look at your stomach Biomes etc. He's on a load of podcasts and it is so interesting. I was doing calorie counting with little success followed his advice and i've immediately dropped weight and my clothes fit better.

You say you always feel hungry - this is because you are low on protein. For lunch I eat eggs or mackerel. Really filling. Snack on some Skyr. Or a boiled egg.

Exactly agree with this. Gets easier more you use it.
weigh everything and count everything.

What are you drinking and are you logging drinks? If you’re knocking back a daily litre of coke or something, that could be the issue.

Definitely insulin and food types. Try ‘lose weight, live life’ podcasts, the author explains it really clearly.

For me and a lot of people they are.

The simplest explanation for why you might not achieve your weight loss target is when your calorie intake is greater than or equal to your calorie expenditure. Consider using techniques like mindful eating, food diaries, consuming extra protein, and strength training.

I I am 53 and have lost 8pounds since January the 3rd. It has required very careful calorie tracking and I mean tracking everything, from every teaspoon of oil, mayo, sauces, as they all add up. I worked out what my weekly calories needed to lose a pound a week. It has worked and I too had post menopausal gut and weight loss was a struggle so had to be very strict.

I hear you and you have my sympathies I'm in three weeks too and lost a measly pound. I need to lose weight but I am trying to focus on lifestyle change like no diet coke,no crap like cake and chocolate. I'm trying to view it that I'm nourishing my body. This week as advised on here I've started weights to see if it makes a difference howeverfully understand and share your frustration,I'm 51 x

OP I'm also your age and do very limited exercise because of a disability.

I can only lose weight by cutting carbs.

I eat really well, lots of veg and protein.

My typical day is :

3 boiled eggs
Veg sticks as a snack with humus
Home made Curry with salad

Stick to eggs, yogurts, fruits, meat, veg.

I have set myself a target of 5,000 steps a day as find 10,000 steps too much so I kept failing then feeling bad which is not helpful. I have asthma too so I know what that’s like with getting out of breath easily (my weight doesn’t help).

I have an app on my iPhone that measures steps and while 5,000 a day isn’t that much, it still helps me to have that target as it reminds me to go out for a little walk if I look like I won’t hit the target on a certain day.

OP you need to walk as much as you possibly can, every day, ideally as early as possible. Without exercise your lepton and ghrelin levels get totally messed up and you'll always be hungry. The exercise will get them back to where they should be and you'll find your hunger far easier to control.

You're not going to get anywhere with that fitnesspal recommendation. It's a generic one that doesn't take in to account so many individual factors.

Make sure alongside the higher protein you drink loads of water too and you have enough fibre.

Btw I lost 50 pounds walking after pregnancy. No other exercise. Just walking and walking.

Try cutting right down on bread.and not eating anything after say 6 pm

You probably eat more than you think you do. You may have to weigh your food fir a week or too, until you get a better handle on how much you are 'allowed'. I'd also suggest:

Intermittent fasting, e.g. only eat between 11am and 7pm
Eat food. Mostly plants. Not too much.
Other than plants, eat only lean protein, plus moderate amounts of EVOO and healthy carbs,
No UPF, refined carbs, sugar or calorific drinks/booze.
In other words, a Mediterranean diet.

And try to add exercise to your life. Ask your doctor or trainer whether an exercise bike and/or a rowing machine might be appropriate for you. There's also some home workouts that you could try, especially weight bearing exercise (with dumbbells or bodyweight only). Here a a few good ones that are free on YouTube:

Lucy Wyndham Reed: Thighs & Glutes, Pear Shaped Women, Muffin Top etc (Lucy has lots of short, simple workouts for beginners - check her out)
Rebecca Louise: Best Abs, Best Arms, Ageless Arms, Bingo Wings (try doing some of the dumbbell workouts on the floor to begin with, if you find that your core and/legs aren't strong enough)
Talking of a strong core - very important! Try doing the Bowflex 3-minute plank every day.

I no the idea of exercising can be a bit scary, but it can become a habit and many people find it very motivating.