Aibu to ask why I'm not losing weight

[memesndmoreme]

Just that really. I'm eating less and healthier, no crisps, the odd sweet treat, walking more and exercising and no weight what so ever is coming off. Really don't know what I'm doing wrong? Any suggestions. Typical days food consists of porridge, wrap for lunch and then dinner things like spaghetti bol, stir fry, pasta, chicken. Drink plenty of water.

I was in the same situation as you - eating less and ‘healthier’, moving more, but not loosing.

I then started IF and started losing some weight but kept stalling - it was at this point that I started looking into calories and was shocked by just how high carbs are in calories (1 whole meal wrap with no filling is 170 calories!!!).

I have now gone low carb and low sugar combined with IF and have drop 7kg in the last 2.5 months.

Some typical meals:

• chicken and avocado salad
• greek yogurt with berries
• scrambled eggs and bacon with mushrooms, spinach and tomatoes
• streak, mushrooms, eggs, spinach and asparagus
• ham and cheese omelette with salad
• meatballs with pesto, aubergine, mushrooms, broccoli and courgettes
• Smoked salmon, poached eggs with asparagus and broccoli.

@Mamiamamia it's so disheartening isn't it? Reading this thread I think cards are my problem, so will reduce these and hopefully see some improvements. That's a great weightless, well done! What is the IF diet? Thankyou for the meal recommendations. X

Another question I have, I switched from sugar in my tea to sweetners but have read some conflicting things about the "fake" sugar. Can anyone enlighten me?

How much exercise do you do OP?

I walk daily and 3/4 times per week I use my exercise bike for an hour. Could be doing more I suppose. But could be worse.

You need to low carb and low sugar, this is what I did with gestational diabetes and didn't gain one more pound thoughout the rest of my pregnancy. Wish I could do it now 😆

@maxelly You're right, I hate it when people say things have been proven and then offer no evidence, but in my defence I haven't read these articles in 5 years so have no easy way of finding them again at short notice. I, however, did not talk about carbs like they're 'some kind of poison'. I'm advocating the original poster to try a low carb diet, not a no carb diet.

Like I say, I can't at this moment provide the articles I read or the videos I watched, but a quick google will reveal several sources around the subject, here's one. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4204795/

You don't even need a scientist to tell you that after you eat a really high carb meal or snack, especially if it's mainly simple carbs, you have a short energy spike and then you feel weak and hungry again in a way you don't with either fatty or high protein foods.

The info I read basically indicated that while you can indeed lose weight on a high carb or low carb diet if you restrict your calories to be in a deficit, a low carb diet will mean you're not hungry much, but a high carb diet (like most people have today) will result in you being hungry before meal times and prone to snacking, hence why people are bigger now. And that's not to mention the other health problems caused by high carb, such as diabetes.

I've lost a significant amount of weight by continuing an average modern diet but calorie counting, and I've lost weight by reducing the amount of carbs and not bothering to calorie count. One was really hard all the way through and why I eventually put the weight back on, the other was hard for a few months and then easy, and we've both kept the weight off. We just don't feel hungry like we used to, that's what the research I read said would happen, and that's what did happen. I'm not trying to nay-say any other diet people wish to follow. If something works for you, keep doing it.

I believe it's called a low gi diet

You need to be tracking everything you eat/drink.
Every sip/lick/bite.
You would be surprised how quickly they add up.
Protein should be a minimum 100-120g daily. Lots of veggies some fruit. Minimum of .8g fat per kg bodyweight. Thats for starters.

I also think your diet is very carb heavy. I do low carb, high protein and I lift weights at the gym 3 times a week. My breakfast is eggs or Greek yogurt. Lunch is fish and vegetables. Dinner is meat and vegetables. I avoid rice, potatoes, bread and pasta - I eat those maybe once every few weeks

I’m in the same boat op. Not shifting a gram. I don’t think I’m old enough to be menopausal! I do think I need to perhaps measure out a cup for the evening meal carbs for a while, keep the alcohol free days strictly etc.

IF is Intermittent Fasting.
It has worked extrenemly well for me, combined with low carb.
And when I say low carb, I mean low sugar too.

Calorie counting is very tricky especially if you eat homemade food as caloific content of some foods change with cooking and this is not something that's accounted for.

Personally, scatch made, home made food is always prefersble to anything processed.

Saving this thread to read properly later. I'm the same OP, too much fat, carbs and sugar. I never used to eat so much rubbish. Its the hardest thing to do, losing weight is slow and disheartening at times. My friend who is a PT and nutritionist said to me that scales are the sad step. I don't weigh weekly because I get so down. Good luck I'm following some of the tips on here. It's also been advised that 70% food and 30% exercise is good to follow. Xx

This is a really interesting podcast about weight loss, dieting and genetics , but posting here because there's a particularly interesting part about the complexity of calorie counting.

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/e218-the-weight-loss-scientist-youve-been-lied-to/id1291423644?i=1000597661539

My fitness pal (free version) is really good for counting calories

"Eat food - not too much....... mostly plants"

A largely vegetable based diet will contain enough healthy carbs for your body's needs.
Cauliflower and broccoli are excellent substitutes for rice, pasta etc.
Half a cup of Quinoa is also fine - better than rice, pasta etc.
Cut out refined carbs, sugar in all its devious forms, and (especially) UPF.

Incorporate a fair amount of lean protein, such as a couple of eggs and a breast of chicken and/or some fish.
Not only is protein essential, but it fills you up much more than other foods.
I always keep boiled eggs in the refrigerator and eat them as a snack if get hungry (only 70 calories).

IF (intermittent fasting) and portion control are key factors for weight loss.

Walking and cardio are fine, but you should work out with weights at least 3 times a week.Your bones will thank you.

IF is intermittent fasting, so I alternate between 20:4 and OMAD (one meal a day) as I have a total of 15kg I want to lose. Once I hit my target weight I will switch to 16:8 of 18:6 for maintenance. During my fasting period I will only drink water and black coffee.

Yesterday I did one meal which was 3 eggs scrambled on a slice of toast , 2 bacon rashes, half an avocado and 150g mushrooms with coriander, followed by 200g Greek yogurt with maple syrup and 150g raspberries.

I ate that 3pm yesterday and I have not eaten since (and hand on heart am honestly not feeling hungry). I will have chilli con carne at 3pm today and will have my eating window open till 7pm, so will have some yogurt and fruit, salad and tea with milk and sugar in that feasting window as well.

I also have a tablespoon of chia seeds each day soaked in half a cup of water either at the beginning or end of my feasting period which really helps with feeling sated, digestion and nutrition.

I’m similar height and weight. Used to be 15 stone and just hit a plateau so I wanted to share what I did to lose. I would not over think it but when you described your meals, I also agree that maybe too many carbs in the day. I’m someone who doesn’t calorie count and I don’t want to obsess about food. What works for me is I try to intermittent fast for a few days a week, where I won’t eat anything till lunch time - I try to do it on days where I’m super busy in the mornings , then I won’t eat after 7pm. This along with reducing the carb portion and increasing my veg on the plate has really helped me. I’ve recently hit a plateau after breaking for a week as I had a terrible cold. Back on it today! I remember reading or watching something that explained that your body reacts differently to 100 calories or chocolate to 100 calories of nuts (as an example) as the nutrition in the food is better in the nuts or fruit etc. so I try to increase my fruit etc. Good luck OP! Would love to hear how you get on

Now that’s a considerate husband!😂

Do you get out of breath and sweat when you’re exercising?

Tweaking your diet with more protein, less carbs more veggies etc never hurts. Have you adapted to your exercise? Could you get a heart rate monitor to make sure you're working at a higher intensity or try Tabata style work outs on your bike (1 min normal cycling, 1 min flog yourself, and repeat five times). Plus weights, muscles will help you up your basal metabolic rate and you'll look and feel great. Aim for progress in the process not a number on the scale

Does anyone know how I cam change this to chat, so I can look back on it and we can possibly give support to one another?

Yes I do. Tonight however I took a pp's advice and have been going rapid at the high intensity setting few a few minutes in between to further increase heart rate

You need to do more than walk and cycle. Get some dumbbells and start weight training. 3-5kg to start with. Try Growingannanas and/or Caroline Girvan.

I'm a bit confused is muesli, sandwiches and crisps not carbs??