Why am I not loosing any weight?

[sporkandnoodles]

I am following team RH, I have done this in the past and it worked. I weigh ALOT.
I have stuck to this religiously eating high protein meals. I have drastically cut down on my sugar intake and junk food/snacking.

I have weighed everything! I have checked the recommended portion sizes when putting my food out and have stuck to them. Before I would pile my plate high with rice and pasta etc.

I am moving more! I am drinking more water.

I weighed myself this morning and I have put on 4lbs!!! How is this even possible? I have been doing this for nearly 3 weeks.
I am so disappointed. I have to lose weight, I am killing myself with how big I am and feel like I am going to have no other option than to go to turkey and get a stomach bypass. I can not carry on like this. I hate myself and the way I look and I keep getting bigger and bigger!

Have you only weighed yourself once in this time? That’s just a snapshot moment in time. My weight on the scales easily varies by 4lbs - a wonky floor, water retention, bowel movements all change things by a few lbs.

Weigh yourself daily and get comfortable with the variance. So long as it’s trending downwards over time then you’re going in the right direction.

thank you for the helpful suggestions, I will try switching over to the other tracking app mentioned. I feel like I have been having quite a bit of veg, some mornings I have an omlette with tomatoes mushroom and spinach in etc, yesterday I had a bagel as my day was jam packed with work commitments and everything was eaten on the go. Same with the burrito - it was a chicken burrito but it had onions, peppers, mushrooms courgette, toms in it and I had salad and veg in the evening too so I feel like I am getting quite a bit of veg.
I will look at changing out the bread to a different carb if possible - but there are some days of the week where my schedule is extremely busy and a bagel is super easy to eat whilst walking to where I need to be or driving.
I only eat chicken or turkey. I don't eat other meats.

I totally get the comment about switching the squash for plain water but I can not emphasise enough, I just won't be able to drink the volume I need to get through in a day. I really dislike water but I am going to look and see if I can find an alternative which doesn't contain artificial sweatners.

to the poster that said about team RH my calorie target with them is 2400. I am going to look back over my food plans from when I did it last time and see what I ate then as it was working.

The can of coke was a one off but I will ditch it.

its really hard not to spiral and eat when you feel so deflated by something. Food has been an issue my whole life one way or another. I have tried every diet under the sun. No carbs, shakes, cambridge, slimming world. I am trying to reframe this as a lifestyle change and something that isn't just a gimmick for a few weeks.
I haven't noticed much in the way of benefits. I am still really struggling with my moods, I am extremely tired at the moment but I think thats because I am depressed. I know it will pass. Doing extra exercise that I am not used to has probably impacted that too.
i will give it longer and if nothing changes I can drop my GP a message and see if he has any suggestions.

I don't think what you are eating is too bad, OP @sporkandnoodles it at least sounds like you have some protein there at least.

For the breakfast, skip the bagel but have a three egg omelette with some cheese, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes and baked beans. More fibre and veg plus a ton of protein and some fat to keep you going.

Chicken burrito - not bad, particularly if it has a few black beans or something in with the chicken. Have some say celery and cucumber sticks on the side. Have a pear for dessert or a snack - tons of fibre in a conference pear.

Salad for dinner - not too bad if you have chicken again but could maybe vary it with fish, say - smoked mackerel is easy to chuck in a salad. Put half a sachet of Aldi/merchant gourmet tomatoey lentils in it - makes it higher fibre.

Then you'd got loads more veg, a bit of fruit and a lot more fibre which might get things going, and make you feel fuller. Drink plenty of water and not too much in the way of fizzy drinks.

Don't beat yourself up about the odd can of coke but just don't make it your main or frequent drink.

I'm a MSc Biochemist and I can tell you quickly some basic biochemistry:
High protein diet only works if you pull weights and go to the gym religiously. Otherwise, protein is highly calorific, and all excess calories always are converted into fat. You need the excess to leave through sweat.

Fat - essential. Don't cut it. A lot of vitamins are fat soluble, means they have to be consumed with fat to be absorbed. Fat is needed, but try to add good fat - sunflower oil (also high in folic acid), avocado, seed oils, fatty fish.

Water - do continue to stay hydrated. experiment with adding Coconut water into your diet - high on Mg and Zn which helps absorb many nutrients and get body hydrated faster. An essential after the workout too - electrolytes are being lost, you must replace them.

Salt - cut on salt, but still consume it. Salt is essential for water balance. If water balance is low, your body stores water around hips and you get bloated. This may also give additional water weight.

Carbs - eat good carbs - seeded breads, brown pasta, potatoes (not oven chips!!!).

Give yourself a deficit of 400kcal a day. Work out no more than 3 times a week - recovery days are essential for quick muscle growth. The more muscle growth you have, the more these muscles consume nearby fat. With healthy muscles, you won't even need to be concerned about weight, they will burn calories like mad.

** small tip - depending on your BMI, do a full thyroid bloods and diabetes. NHS or private, doesn't matter. TSH must be under 4.5, even if FT4 is fine.

* magnesium supplements, and a lot of self care - don't worry too much.

I am having 120g of protein a day which I have to say has been extremely challenging.

Another easy breakfast is a 150g pot of kvarg (or greek yoghurt, but I think kvarg/quark has even more protein) 80g defrosted frozen berries (or a banana, or pear, say) and 45g high fibre no sugar cereal or muesli. Only about 300 calories, loads of protein and fibre and one portion of fruit.

Have you asked the team RH coaches to check your tracking?

100g protein would be ok - I take note from the biochemist and I think protein is a bit overrated just now, but think of it filling you up. Protein a bit of fat plus fibre in a meal is the key for me feeling full.

Carbs are not bad and certainly help with fibre intake. I would just say you may not need them with every meal and again they can be calorific, or very processed and can make you want to eat loads.

no i totally forgot you can do that. i will email the help centre now

I haven't read all the comments but I would say the following about Team RH. They get a lot of stick on here but it works for a lot of people. I have lost nearly five stone. But you are paying for the plan so - stick to it. Do not eat below your calories. Learn how to track properly. Ask for help in the group. Ask the coaches for help but be prepared for them to be brutal if your tracking is shit. Also change to the new tracking app (Bite Me) - it is live now and a lot better than MFP. Good luck 🤞

2400 calories is a decent amount of food, you don't need to scrimping and saving and calling a couple of eggs a meal to meet your calorie goal, that's 3 decent meals with fruit, veg and snacks!
There's no point asking the coaches to check your tracking when it's pretty clear that you're eating 1000 calories too little!

@MakingPlans2025 thats really encouraging that you have lost 5 stone doing it. I need someone to tell me off not pander to me. I won't change otherwise so team RH is quite good in that sense.

@MiddleAgedDread I am not hungry with what I have been eating and eggs are one of my favourite foods - I am a bit fussy.

I don't think i over eat because I am hungry. I do it when I am sad, or angry or bored......to fill a hole and deal with other problems in my life. I wouldn't even know where to start in dealing with those issues 😂

There absolutely is a point in asking the coaches to check tracking. If the OP was really eating 1400 calories every day they would be losing weight. Science, innit.

@MakingPlans2025 n it's also science that if you don't eat enough you don't loose weight, hence why people who are heavier / taller / men get a higher calorie allowance on diet plans! At 1400 calories she won't even be eating enough for her base metabolic rate.

What about water with frozen lemon and lime slices? From a metal bottle not plastic. It tastes a lot better.

Good luck

Just drink fizzy water?

You eat too much. Simple

bagels are very calorie dense plus made of refined flour
a burrito can be enormous plus has a large wrap again made of refined flour
why do you need a processed fibre bar? Eat an apple

look at bright line eating - expensive to join but book cheap and follow the plan

i would dump your high protein bollocks (which you’re not even really doing) and get more low calorie density fruit and veg in. Think giant salads

Ditch the white refined carbs (or at least only once a day). I have stopped eating the see sort of carbs generally for breakfast and lunch and now only have pasta/rice or bread with my dinner. Stick to good quality high fat. Lots of fruit and veg. Mediterranean diet it a good example. Good luck. Also recommend the book ‘Why we eat too much)’

I won’t comment on what you eat because in your shoes I would just follow closely the diet plan I signed up for.

What I noticed is you said you ate on the go and squeeze eating around work commitments. If you really want to change your lifestyle, this is a huge problem. Eating well is not just what but also how and your body deserves a break to enjoy food, even if it’s just 20 minutes. Not in a car, not while you walk, not when you watch tv, not at your desk. It’s sitting at the table and spending time focusing on the food you eat.
Your body is like a complex machine, if you don’t spend time servicing it and giving it good quality fuel, it won’t pluck better mood, improved energy and better health out of thin air.

It is a big change so it’s worth considering small steps. Maybe you can start with spending your lunch break better? Or have some time for proper breakfast?

Another thing I noticed is your drinks. I also don’t like water. But sweet drinks are occasional treats, not something to get you through the day. Can you drink teas? There are literally hundreds of different sorts of green tea and lots of herbal teas, you don’t need to stick to one sort.

I'm a chonky type, also perimenopausal and busy as fuck. Do on average 18k steps a day, 7 days a week, ride my horse 6 days a week, muck out 2 ponies, blah blah blah. I need to lose 2st despite having a fairly healthy diet and know that it doesn't really matter the amount of calories I have but rather the quality of the food I am eating.

Probably all to do with ruining my metabolism with years of dieting. Have done them all at some point. All 'work' while I am following them, all make me gain more weight when I stop.

And these days, it's getting harder.

What actually, genuinely works for me is massively improving the quality of the food I eat, and cutting out beer and wine which is heartbreaking. And I don't call it a diet, I call it a cut because it just sounds more athletic and healthier.

I don't eat highly processed carbs, so no white bread in any form. I might have wholemeal bread once a week. No cereals, no pasta, no pastry, no processed sugar.

I do eat full fat natural yogurt with honey if I have a sugar urge. I eat lots of protein. Chicken, tuna, eggs mainly but also steak, minced beef, roast beef etc. A fuckton of veg and salad. I cook everything from scratch. I don't deny myself stuff like a bit of salad dressing, or butter on potatoes. I eat clean, healthy, non processed food. And the weight comes off slowly and steadily (8lbs in 5 weeks).

Diets don't work. You need to eat well and feed your body nutrients and protein and fats. Then it will do its thing. As you are very overweight (absolutely no judgement) I really wouldn't worry about calories. If you eat whole, clean food you will self regulate, at least until you get closer to a healthy weight. Just listen to your actual body and hunger signals. If you are hungry then eat. But make sure its proper food.

Calories are the only things that you need to worry about order to lose weight. If you eat more calories than you use you will put weight on.

I think that sounds like a great food day, tbh - lots of veg and protein.
I would also suggest that maybe loosen up on the protein goal though, unless your exercise is quite intense on the other days?
Keep at the drinking fluids, you're doing great. It might not be your thing, but there are flavoured teas out there designed to put in cold water, maybe those are worth a try if you hate plain water?
How's your hunger cues generally - are you allowing yourself to feel hungry without rushing to feed yourself? I found that this was really useful when I was losing weight. I'd often get hungry around 11am and need to eat, but my body had made it a habit rather than a need, if that makes sense.
Don't lose hope - I don't know much about the plan you are on, are there other people doing it you can talk to, see if anyone else has experienced this?

Where the calories come from is also important according to current research. One person can absorb a different amount of calories from a food compared to another person and the calories on a pack aren’t necessarily the number of calories you will absorb. Where your calories come from does have some impact.