Completely out of ideas. Anyone?

[JudyJulie]

Sitting here crying - again. It's so depressing to put so much effort in for a nil return.

On 1 July I decided once and for all to tackle my weight issue. I need to lose a stone and a half at least, preferably two stone to get back to where I need to be. Nothing in my size 12/14 wardrobe fits any more. At 5'4" and 11 stone I am bordering on a size 18.

So, since 1 July, I have:

Restricted calories to around 1500 a day. According to my Fitbit I am using between 1700 and 2000 calories a day, so I should always be in deficit
Reduced carbs by at least a third, measuring rice and pasta
Reduced added sugar as far as I can, so to minimal amounts only
Drunk no wine because it gives me sugar cravings
Added in a 14 hour fast between 7pm and 9am
Walked at least 5 miles a day

In that time, I have had one packet of crisps when my blood sugar was suddenly very low and one ice cream when we went away for the weekend. No other cakes, chocolate, biscuits, sweets, puddings whatever.

When I weighed myself on Saturday, I had apparently lost a total of 2.8lbs, which was bad enough for seven weeks of denial, but I've weighed myself again this morning and I am back to my starting weight.

What else can I do? I look in the mirror and it's not me any more.

Can you try cutting all white carbs and have only very small amounts of whole grain carbs more green veg/salad and lean protein? And zero sugar as much as poss. Like Michael Moseley’s Fast 800? It’s great for kickstarting rapid weightloss and doable in short term.

The exercise sounds great OP well done. Don’t give up get determined. I need to get back to healthy weight after tricky time myself so sending support.

It sounds like you're doing good things.

If you didn't walk before, could some of the numbers on the scales actually be muscle gain? How do your clothes feel? Do they feel exactly the same or a bit different?

Also, where in your cycle are you? At certain points I retain more water than others, so if I lost some weight and weighed myself at that point then it would look like I'd gained!

The whoosh isn't immediate and it is so frustrating after what feels like restriction to not lose as much as you feel you should. Keep going, it's a slow and steady thing, I'm afraid.

How often do you weigh yourself?

2.8lbs isn't to be sniffed at, that's 0.4 lbs a week - if you keep that up, thats 20 lbs in a year.

Unfortunately weight loss is a lengthy journey, with ups and downs. The extra weight didn't come on in a week or a month, so it wo t come off that quickly either.

I wouldn't change anything at this point though, keep going, and if you get truly stuck, then you can revise. In weight loss, the most important thing is consistency - you don't want to restrict yourself so much that you then give up because it's not sustainable.

2.8lb gain can happen for a trillion of reasons - period, carby/salry/late dinner, bloating, haven't done a poo yet, etc. Up to 4lbs variation during the week is pretty normal - what matters is the trend (which is why I asked how often do you weigh yourself)

I know this is against the standard advice but for me, inconsistency is key. If I eat more or less the same calories every day I stay more or less the same weight and if the normal amount is adjusted down then my amazingly efficient metabolism just adjusts down.

I also find that if I experience actual, proper hunger, then eat plenty of what i really fancy, rather than keep myself at a steady place everything seems much less stuck both in my head and on the scales. Maybe try a longer fast a couple of times a week and let yourself be a bit less regular about when you are eating at other times.

I've lost quite a bit of weight in the last 2.5 months by calorie counting. TBH, if I went by what Fitbit was telling me I was burning I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have lost any weight!

I haven't cut any food groups from my diet and have had a small ice cream or chocolate bar every night after dinner.

I haven't done any fasting as such, other than when I'm asleep! I only drink water from 7:30pm until 7am when I start the day with a cup of tea with 3 sugars 🙈 (I used to have 5 or 6 cups of tea a day!!). And I drink 2-3 litres of water a day.

I highly recommend using the Nutracheck app and this TDEE calculator tdeecalculator.net to work out the suitable amount of calories for your weight/height/activity level.

I'm 50 (so menopause is against me) and need to lose 5 stone and have hit my 2 stone goal today. My calories vary depending on what I'm doing each day. I try to do a 30 min walk each morning and 3-5 20 minute workouts via Get Fit With Rick on YouTube each week.

If you'd like any help please feel free to message me 😊

Don’t get disheartened. It’s possibly the Fitbit. Please don’t rely on these to count calories at all. They are known to be really inaccurate. It is misleading you. Walking at a normal pace quickly becomes normal to your body so you have to be increasing the pace and effort gradually to burn the calories in exercise. Exercise is really only qualified as exercise if you got hot, but sweaty, out of breath and your heart rate went up. Did you purposefully walk any of those 5 miles at a pace that got you out of breath? I can walk 5 miles walking the dog, work, shopping and housework but I don’t count any of those steps as my exercise unless I got sweaty and breathless doing any of it, as then it’s just activity and will burn a lot less calories than you realise.

Keep going but improve your activity

If it helps, walking is great. I do it a lot. It’s helped me lose weight. But I make sure I do a fast paced very brisk walk for about 2-2.5 miles at least (which can be done in 30 mins) if I have more time I will walk a lot further at this pace. This still only burns me 150 calories for 2 miles! It’s actually quite surprising how much effort it takes to burn calories.

Could you add weight training into your routine? It would make you feel good and turns fat into muscle, which burns more calories.

It does not do this. Fat cannot be turned into anything.

You lose fat and gain muscle. It is physically not possible for one molecule to transform into another one

@JudyJulie

I worked out my calorie allowance on the TDEE calculator and set it on the Nutricheck app. I've attached a screenshot from the app with my daily allowance + exercise.
The second screenshot is from the Fitbit app for the same day!

This may be an unpopular method but here goes ...ive been on a diet for most of my 60 years , overall result I'm no further forward than I was in the beginning.
What I did 3 months ago was throw out the smart watch ( now sleeping much better without the night monitor).quit eating the healthy food you are not so keen on( porridge).
Instead choose what you actually like ( brown bread toast)
Fast forward dh said my goodness your face has slimmed right down and he took a photo to prove it !!! Yes he's right because by relaxed choices n( not junk choices) it seems I'm no longer snacking I'm no longer sleep deprived and I walk most days but when I want to not as a forced activity

I don’t eat my exercise cals back as I don’t trust them! @abouttoturn50

A 4 mile walk reckoned it burned 300 calories last week but I was with my friend and it was slower than if I was alone, we chatted, so my heart rate was only about 110bpm so I can’t see how I would have actually burned that many

@JudyJulie Get hold of a copy of Why We Eat (Too Much)

It's written by Dr Andrew Jenkinson, who is a bariatric surgeon.

It's really easy to read, and explains why most dieting (especially calorie counting) doesn't work.

The calories on your fitbit are wildly out Id say

I walked 26.6 miles ( Macmillan Mighty Hike ) with an average pace of 19 min per mile, put in 63,000 steps, heart rate was between 62 - 165bpm ( in other words I was puffing a lot ) and I burned the total of 2,600 cals

I never eat earned calories, I loose around 1lb a week

Sounds like you are doing a lot right. The 2.8lbs like other posters said could easily come off over the next weigh-ins.

You could try to incorporate a couple of very low calories days, so follow the 5:2 diet and have a couple of days around 800 calories and keep the rest at 1500.

1500 may be a little too high if you are burning 1700-2000 per day to see a quick weight loss.

it sounds like your doing all the right things.
with you cutting out the 'bad' stuff - do you find yourself sometimes snacking on these things without counting them? only cause that's my downfall :( I will avoid something so I get to the point of eating everything in sight..lol

I think you're on the right path, weight loss can be really hard! I take my hat off to you for avoiding crisps. although a lot of crisps can be really good in calorie amounts now!

Maybe try upping your protein and still eating the foods you love..I did and it helped me

For sweets/chocolate I buy calorie counted sweet boxes from a small business who does them. She is on Etsy/instagram .. far better then buying big bags of sweets and chocolates that I know I'll consume all at once! everything in moderation.

don't get yourself down Im sure you'll get there