Struggling to lose weight

[Pandolly]

Hoping for some insight/advice ect.

I've tried various ways to lose weight in the past including Cambridge diet and wegovy. Neither was successful.

So in January I decided to try the 'right way'. Diet and exercise. So I've been eating healthily, lots of protein and going to a personal trainer and lifting weights twice a week.
8 months in now and I've lost a grand total of....0lbs.
I am so disheartened. I've worked so hard. Don't get me wrong, I'm stronger and fitter. But I'm still fat.

I've been to the Dr's, had bloods done, no sign of diabetes or thyroid issues. Was on b12 and vit D but recent bloods show my levels are now fine.
Came off the pill too.

Why am I not losing any weight?!
Just to add, I know scales aren't always accurate when losing fat but building muscle....my inches haven't changed either.

My PT is stumped. My diet is decent, sometimes I don't get in all my calories but tend to hit my protein targets, and she doesn't think I need to adjust the foods I'm eating as I'm eating healthily.

Any ideas?
FYI, I'm 5ft and 13 stone, so really do need to lose at least 3 stone minium to be a healthier weight.

From someone who has lost 16 stone and kept it off over 20+ years, no matter what anyone says, you have to count calories and the calories you need at your height, which is similar to mine, will be extremely low compared to the advice you will be given.

There is a spreadsheet called 'sailrabbit' do a search online. Plug your details in and it will give you the honest truth about what you will require for a deficit to lose weight.

For example, my calorie requirement to lose 2 lbs a week is 500 calories a day. If I want to lose just under a pound a week, I need 1,000 calories a day. Anyone who tells you to eat 1,200 for nutrients is going to make you maintain weight and you will bang your head against the wall wondering what you're doing wrong when it isn't you at all.

That's just my experience.

I'm sorry it's so frustrating! Completely relatable!

If you don't care about fat loss, just eat what you want to eat and keep going to the gym! Regardless of what the scale says, keeping fit through lifting e.g. is never going to harm you and will keep you strong.

Your calories are definitely too high. I’m taller than you (5’4”) and that is more than my maintenance. I have to cut to 1200 to lose 2lbs a week. You could have more calories and lose it slower if you want to but you definitely need to look at this again

Wow 1000 sounds so low!
Do you have meal ideas that are low calorie but high protein?
I do have protein powder that's fruit flavour so get protein in as I drink, i eat tofu and beans too.

Were you on B12 because you have pernicious anaemia (you can’t absorb B12 from your food) or for other reasons? If pernicious anaemia then you may need injections

Having PA can make weight management tricky because of energy levels

1900 sounds like it’s right for maintaining your current weight and activity level, given that you’re neither losing or gaining. Try knocking 500 off it for weight loss. I’m a similar height to you and 1400 is just above my weight-loss calorie count, but I’m not quite as active as you are!

From my previous experience with a PT they’re focused on muscle gains, which to them means you need the extra calories to build muscle. I think that’s true if you’re slim to start with, but I don’t think it’s helpful for women trying to lose weight.

I struggled to lose weight but then read a book about Ayurveda, and the few things that worked for me were: eating warm food, never cold. So a small warm breakfast and some nuts or fruit mid morning. My biggest meal at lunch, still warm food. This is to aid digestion. And a small warm dinner. Obviously including the protein and fibre you need. It’s not easy at all but i shifted some pounds following this method.

I’m 5 ‘ 2’’ and I only lose weight if I stick to 1200 - 1300 calories a day. If I were to eat 1900 I would gain weight

Agree with the previous posters - 1900 calories sounds extremely high. I've got five inches on you and need to be on around 1400 max to lose.

High protein low calorie meals....think about lean sources of protein, so fish, shellfish, tofu and beans rather than cheese and red meat. Maybe chicken breast. Then go big on the vegetables, light on the carbs.

Some recent meals in that vein that I've eaten:

• Prawn curry with the base of the curry being essentially a thick spiced vegetable soup - loads of onions, peppers, carrot, tomatoes pureed up
• Various roasted vegetables with a fillet of fish (salmon, sole, mackerel) cooked on top for the final 15 mins or so. Different veggie combinations - fennel, courgette, asparagus, baby potatoes one evening. Red and orange peppers, tomatoes and red onion another.
• Fish stew - finely chopped carrot, celery, onion, fennel sauteed with saffron, fennel seeds, chilli. Add fish stock and a tin of chopped tomatoes. Add frozen fish pie mix and frozen mixed seafood. Bubble away.
• Tuna salad - no explanation needed!
• Tofu and veggie stirfry

I’m 5ft and need to restrict to around 1400 calories to lose weight. My maintenance calorie requirement is around 1700.

I'm not actually sure.
I went in as I was really fatigued, felt generally unwell ect. They ran bloods and I was on a 2 week course of 6 b12 injections then 3 monthly and high strength vit d.
Recent bloods show my levels are now stable at a normal level.

I'll certainly drop my calories lower and see if that helps change anything. Fingers crossed.

if you are on 3 monthly injections then that is likely to be pernicious anaemia. Take folic acid and vit D to boost energy, and magnesium to help with sleep. They are co-factors and can boost your energy levels and metabolism

It’s all about the deficit. You’re eating too much. End of story.

It’s also quite concerning that your PT is stumped. Not saying they should be an expert on the eating side of things but it’s so obvious what the issue is here.

Hi there, not sure if I can assist because it sounds like you're very plant based.

High protein plants are also high carb, usually, so I have never found success eating that way as a short woman.

I lost a lot of weight, very quickly, switching to keto when I weighed 17 stone.

I stayed on my same calories at around 1800 per day and went down to 12 stone in about 4 months by dropping all carbs.

When that weight loss stopped, I had to reduce calories even though I was keto.

Ye I am more plant based, not really a fan of meat, never liked fish, and my child is allergic to dairy so we don't tend to buy that now.
Ill have a look into what you suggested though thank you.

Your calories depend on your activity level. I am slightly taller (5’3”), small frame, 51 kilos, but I train consistently. At 1900 I am losing weight and have to eat more to maintain, my BMR is over 1200, so with some recommendations on this thread I would be looking like a skeleton. It’s important to track everything really consistently - I don’t eat large portions and still can easily hit 3000 a day without overeating.

I also prefer to count my steps in distance, my watch counts every activity as steps which is not helpful. For my stride 10000 is about 6.5-7km and I try to walk at least 5km a day plus some errands on top (500m to the village shop, 2 km to walk DC to school).

Ditch the nuts. Healthy but awful for weight loss. Aiming for a deficit you can eat about 500 cals of nuts before even registering. Don’t do it. I had to give up peanut butter as a spoon or two is my whole deficit I was pissing up the wall justifying because ‘healthy’.

Portion control is always an option before ditching an important protein source (for someone eating mostly plants, like OP).

20g of the peanut butter I had yesterday is 120 kcal, and it’s more than enough for a good layer on a piece of bread.

20g of peanut butter, a slice of Danish rye bread and a small, sliced banana on top sprinkled with a bit of cinnamon is only around 340 kcal so a low calorie breakfast. Full of flavour, sweet, savoury, and umami at the same time.

A “spoonful” can be anything from 10g to half of a jar.

I am weighing out portions of earthing so even a few nuts was weighed out and was eaten on a day where my kcals were low to boost them a bit.

I'm just home from an hour work out, had a protein yoghurt with some protein granola and seeds for breakfast.

Last night was roast veg and tofu.
A snack was corn cakes with lentil and garlic spread. All weighed out.
So I'm eating healthy foods and weighing my portions.

I’m not a health professional but it’s very very difficult not to lose weight while being in calorie deficit - there are millions of people who died of starvation, as recently as in the 20th century.

I’ve not had many kg to lose and I have not been on various diets throughout my life but what caused me to put on weight in the first place was: big portions, not measuring out fats (like cooking oil), and a lot of mindless eating - a slice of cheese here, a bit of cereals there, tasting food many, many times while cooking, finishing my DCs meals. I am a typical grazer and I had to put a lot of effort into making myself aware of this. I have not counted in my grazing because it didn’t even register I was doing this!

I really don’t want to discourage you, I think it’s great that you’re going to the gym, but twice a week is minimum (official health guidelines say 180 minutes of vigorous activity per week is recommended minimum). All people I know who are really toned and slim do more than this, usually trying to incorporate physical activity into daily routine (running to work, cycling with children, hiking, having sport-based hobbies, etc). You will get results going to the gym twice a week but probably not as fast as you expect. When I first started exercising regularly, I have been training every second day and saw first results (not super impressive btw) after maybe 3 months.

It’s also very common that people go all for it (30 day of …., you name it) and hardly see any difference. You need proper active recovery to increase your muscle mass, they need time to heal, repair and grow.

Not much help but I'm 5ft3 and weigh 13 stone and struggling to lose (I'm mentally having an obsession with food I can't shake but setting my mind to a healthier life is a better one) but a few year ago before I fell pregnant with my 4th child I did Intermittent fasting it was the only thing that helped me loose 3 stone at that time with walking everyday, maybe try that?.

1900 too many calories to lose weight

I worked out my tdee as 2000 as if I did absolutely nothing all day completely sedentary and it gave me 1500kval deficit so I’ve been eating 1500kcal. But I’ve also done at least 10,000 steps per day so I’ve put myself in a bigger deficit I’ve lost 1st 4lbs and I’m on day 66. I’ve evened out over the passed few weeks and lost 1-2lbs per week but obviously I’m getting lighter so will probably need a little less as I get lighter.

adjust the calories to 1500 for a couple of weeks and see what happens

What are you drinking? Only water? Alcohol? Sugary drinks? Sugar in tea/coffee? Any sweets, like polo's etc.,? You could write down absolutely everything you're eating/drinking over 4 weeks, work out the calories over this time. Try intermittent fasting? If you have nothing physically wrong, it's impossible not to lose weight, even without exercise, if you're eating less calories than your body needs. Good luck, it must be very frustrating for you