45 and fat- help!

[Howmanysleepsnow]

My weight has crept up over the last 2 years. In April I was 12st 3lb, up from 10st that time in 2021.
I am currently 11st 10 (yesterday I was 11st 7.5 and thought I was finally making progress, but a bbq put paid to that)
When I was younger I could lose weight no problem (and 10st was “fat”, my normal was 9st 4). Now it’s soooo hard, and just one day of “normal” eating sees me gain loads. I’ve been tracking calories and sticking between 1100 and 1400 generally.

Yesterday I didn’t calorie count but ate:
some raspberries
2 tablespoons cottage cheese
a corn on the cob (with 1/2 teaspoon butter)
6 asparagus spears
1 bratwurst sausage in a bun
2 sourdough crackers and 2 slices of Brie.
6 olives
3 glasses of wine
1 reeses peanut butter cup

so not great, but surely not worthy of a 2.5lb gain?

i just need something I can stick to… and a plan for the odd cheat day that doesn’t set me back weeks overnight!
Keto isn’t a good fit for me- meat/ fish are too expensive to eat too much of.
I’ve done 16:8 (too easy as I tend not to eat before 12 anyway so I just push lunch back to 2 or skip it - DH works til 7 so dinners are 8pm), and the fast 800 but loss stalled after 4lb on both. I lasted another 6 weeks on each then gave up.
I’ve done calorie counting. I’ve upped my steps. I’ve not done weight training (see that suggested a lot) because I can’t afford gym membership and have no idea where to start/ what counts!
I’ve also cut out bread the last 2 months (until last night) because I feel noticeably bloated and seem to gain weight instantly if I eat it. This is a massive shame as I love bread.

Please can someone suggest me a miracle plan? I’m in danger of giving up altogether.

firstly, you are not fat! Secondly, losing or gaining a few pounds in a day is not an indicator of imminent weight loss or gain, so don’t panic!

the reason you might have gained a couple of pounds is likely because of the wine. Alcohol leads to water retention.

curb your wine intake. Carry on eating the olives and odd slice of bread.

if you change nothing else except reducing wine, you will lose more weight. Otherwise, I would advise against calorie counting and weight monitoring - muscle weighs more than fat, so if you’re exercising, expect that there will be some weight gain. Calories are misleading. Eating a wide range of unprocessed foods is the best thing to do to stay healthy.

focus on feeling good about yourself and know that as we get older, our bodies want more fat reserves. It’s normal. No amount of stressing over a peanut buttercup will change that.

Also - know you are perfect just the way you are 🤗

and if you can’t afford a gym but want to move more, turn on some music and dance in the kitchen whilst making dinner. Works wonders for your body and mental health 😊

You haven’t gained 2lbs overnight you ate some salty food and will be retaining water