HELP

[Robynroo]

Hello
can anyone help me understand why I am unable to lose any weight?
This is really affecting me.
I’m scared that the only way I will lose weight is by turning to weight loss injections of which I cannot afford and probably wouldn’t be classed as high enough BMI to get on prescription.
Bit of backstory.
I am 48 , 2 years ago my GP took me off the combined pill and I am convinced this has made me gain weight. I had been on the pill since the age of 15 with breaks in between to have my DC.
prior to coming off the pill my weight had gone up because I’m Hypothyroid and I had managed to lose that . Since coming off the pill I have been unable to lose anything. This is even doing weight watchers!
I have tried cutting out breakfast and intermittent fasting .
GP says my thyroid levels are all ok and I am now on HRT but still cannot lose anything. I am also retaining a lot of water in my arms and legs.
I have a few health conditions which limit which exercise I can do. I always injure myself when I try.
I can’t swim so that’s not an option.
I walk my dog every day and I am active , work and housekeeping.
I am Vegetarian and and mostly cook from scratch. I don’t drink alcohol but have tea coffee and water no juice or fizzy drinks.
I hate the way my body looks. I don’t know how to dress this body. Shape has completely changed. Yet I’ve gone from size 12 top and bottom to 14/16.
I am now terrified to weigh myself and I haven’t for a year as nothing works .
An example of a days food.

B- Don’t usually eat it but if I do it’s yogurt and fruit or organic oats and fruit.

L- Mug of soup and egg sandwhich
or scrambled eggs and Advocado (half )

D- Veggie sausages mash broccoli and carrots or stir fry or baked potato and bean chilli.

Please can anyone offer any advice ?

Are you eating in a deficit to your TDEE ? You need 3500 cals less a week to lose a pound.

Based on your lunch and dinner you're eating roughly 1000 calories per day, possibly less - and not losing weight?
Something is not adding up.
If there are less calories coming in than there are going out, you will lose weight.
SO - either this is not all that you're eating (snacks?) or your portion sizes are too big.
I'd suggest weighing and tracking every thing that goes into your mouth for a few weeks and you'll then have a clearer idea.

I don’t regularly snack but
if I did it would be a pear or banana or skinny bar or choc rice cake.
Perhaps it is portion control ?
but then if it was then I would lose on weight watchers.
where do I start with weighing food. ? Is there an easy way to portion control ?

Get some digital scales (if you don't have any you can get them cheaply off Amazon), and then use an app like My Fitness Pal or Nutra Check to weigh and track what you're eating. Weighing is the key because it's easy to think a bowl of oats, for example, is only 30g when in fact it's 70 - 80g, over double the calories.

How do I calculate TDEE?

I will do that.
Like I said though most days I don’t have breakfast. But evening meal could be too big.

Todays lunch ( early as I work afternoons )
French onion soup 136 kl
egg mayo sand on white bread no butter
1 pear

Just put tdee calculator into google and you can do it online

You need to make sure you’re in a calorie deficit and you’re getting enough protein. The BHF has a calculate to work out how much protein you need.

I have downloaded MFP and paid for Premium. Hoping this will shed some light.

You'll need to weigh yourself and use a TDEE calculator to calculate your daily calories - TDEE minus up to 1000 (don't go under 1200 however) and you need to strictly weigh and count everything. It's boring but it will work.

Mfp is pretty awful, so be careful. If you are in the UK Nutracheck is the one you want.

With MFP, check that the nutrition and serving info actually match what's on the label, or if it's a non-labelled item check that it matches the commonly accepted values for that item. Once you've checked an item and recorded it against a meal, it should be easier to find the next time. So the more you use it, the less checking and entering of data you need to do.

I was the same - mj is the one thing that helped me regain control and start seeing losses. I think it’s an age thing.

Your lunch alone is 596 calories. Which is an awful lot.
1 Egg 74
Mayo 1tbsp 98
2 white bread 200
Pear large 88
Soup 136

MFP is an eye opener. You can see where you're wasteing calories. Try 2 poached eggs 128, 80g of sprouting broccoli 35and one slice of tiger bread 91.
Healthier, tasty, protein and far less calories.

The thing I struggle with the most is counting every morsel of food to enter my mouth. It feels so restrictive. I understand which foods are healthy and I enjoy eating healthy foods but I guess I need the restriction as I’m eating too much regardless .

Thanks for the heads up.

I didn’t think it was a lot given that I haven’t eaten breakfast or anything. But your suggestion does sound better .

Will do thanks

@Robynroo you don't necessarily have to count everything all the time for ever, but right now it would be useful for you to know exactly how many calories you're consuming. Then you'll see how far away you are from eating at a level that puts you into a calorie deficit sufficient for you to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week.

You could track calories for a week, and see where you are compared to your TDEE, then go from there.

I still think my thyroid is making it harder unless it’s hormonal . My whole shape changed after stopping the pill.I now have boobs and bum .

It feels overwhelming but you’re right. I’m just so panicked because I’ve never struggled to lose weight before.

That would be good for me but not practical due to having to cook for the family and eating different things would be harder.