Why am I not losing weight?

[Solo2]

I'm trying to eat sensibly and healthily and have cut out unhealthy foods and snacks for about a week now. However, I seem either to be putting on weight still! - or staying exactly where I was.{hmm}

I'm a vegetarian and a typical day at the moment would be a banana and hard boiled egg for bkfast, an apple and small bowl of unsugared muesli with milk for lunch, a carrot, tomato, 2 celery sticks, chopped red onion, cucumber and one tablespoon of basmati rice and a v small amount of cheese for supper. Additionally I have about 3 to 4 cups of tea - with milk - a day.

I've never calorie counted before and have little idea of what calories are in each food but can't imagine I'm eating more than I need to lose weight or maintain weight?

Anyone know why I'm not losing any weight yet - and in fact some days seem to be putting it on? Have I just not sustained this long enough yet?

Also, where can I find a list of what calories are in each food, rather than in a certain weight of food - ie not the calories in a 100mg portion of something but, rather, the calories in a single average banana or carrot?

Water, maybe? Drink more water?

I lost about 2 pounds on the first day of my period, yesterday. I feel as if I'm barely eating anything....but by today, it's as if my body is preparing for yet another period and I've regained the same weight and am back where I began.

I've just checked back and it's still not quite a full 3 weeks since I began trying to lose weight, though it feels like forever.

I guess I just have to keep going and allow for the probability that I'm perimenopausal and therefore it's much harder to lose weight and SO much easier to out it on!

Solo. I signed up with foodfocus before Xmas and didn't hand over any credit card details. They have absolutely no way of charging me at some point in the future. I would really recommend giving it a go. I lost 5 pounds in the first three weeks of doing it and realised for the first time why my previous attempts to lose weight had failed.

i think you need to eat more. You hardly eat anything imo. I have been using food focus for a while and have never been billed - why don't you give it a go? You might find you are not eating enough calories.

A friend of mine is in a similar position to you - she is veggie and just can't lose weight even though she doesn't seem to eat anything at all. She doesn't exercise formally either, so maybe this is the answer (plus eating more, including good carbs).

solo i have the same problem - very slow or no weight loss even though i have cut out nearly all fat and loads of carbs - i'm vegetarian too.

one thing i have been tested for when i mentioned this to the doctor was an underactive thyroid - this can slow down your metabolism so much that it's almost imposible to lose weight. if it continues much longer it may be worth checking things out with the GP.

Thanks. Will join Food Focus then and will try try try to find some time to exercise and get a thyroid test too.

Just weighed myself again, as I felt so swollen - fatal - and I've PUT ON 6 pounds in one day, although I have to admit I usually weigh myself in the morning. I was 11 stone 6 pounds yesterday morning, just after my period started and now I'm 11 stone 12 pounds tonight.

I used to sustain a few pounds weight loss for about a week or two after the first day of each period and here I am on day two - MASSIVE! I can almost feel myself visibly sweeling, especially breasts! YIKES and I really, really haven't eaten much today...or maybe I'm kidding myself?

Got to get the DCs to bed now.....

I too don't think you are eating enough.You are on starvation rations and your body will be reacting accordingly and slowing your metabolism.

You are not eating enough.

solo please go to the GP and ask for some tests. feeling swollen and putting on that much in a day may indicate some kind of kidney issue with water retention etc - don't mean to scare you and it may be nothing but the GP may be able to throw light on all of this...

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to stop restricting so much as it's not really making any difference anyway and will make a GP appointment when I get time.

Please can anyone recommend a good digital bathroom scales?

I've got a battered old fashioned non-digital one that changes slightly, if you lean heavier on it or step on it at a certain angle and as someone pointed out earlier in their discussion, it could be misleading me....hope so....

I've looked at some on amazon.co.uk and not sure which to buy and there are also several Weightwatcher ones and not sure if one is better than the other or just more expensive.

I got Hanson digital scales from amazon a few months ago - reviews were good and people said they gave the same readings as ones they got on at Weight Watchers classes. They weighed me and my DH about 4lb heavier than our previous ones! A friend of mine who's a personal trainer says no 2 pairs of scales give the same readings, so you shouldn't get too hung up on them. Use them as a guide, not as gospel truth!

ummm... I assume as single parent you're sure you aren't (whisper) pregnant?

(runs away very fast)

Like Thirtysomething I was also thinking get your thyroid checked. Do you have particularly dry skin, or are you tired more than you should be, which are other symtoms?

Do you sleep well at night - lack of sleep can mess with your hormones and lead to weight gain too. You are 73% more likely to be overweight if you get less than 5 hours a night. Apparently lack of sleep makes it very difficult to lose weight too.

When will you have been doing it a month? I was told only to weight myself once a month.

If you have got old and unreliable scales, then it's very worrying to see you obsessing about a quarter of a pound! That quarter of a pound comes from leaning one way or the other!

And don't weigh yourself in the evening! All you're doing is weighing yourself + all food/drink you've eaten that day, so of course you will weigh more!

It sounds to me as if you don't really know much about food and diets - you're doing things at random, to be honest. (Sorry - don't mean to be harsh!)

There is a theory that if you don't eat enough your body will go into starvation mode - and given what you're eating, you could be a case for this. You're hardly eating anything, which isn't good for you.

I would suggest that you find out about a particular plan - Weight Watchers, or Slimming World, or Atkins - whatever - and then stick to that for a couple of weeks.

(Have a look at my 3 week challenge thread for some insight into low carbing - some people have lost 10lbs in two weeks).

Whatever you choose to do, good luck. I'm definitely perimenopausal (aged 50) and my weight loss is slower - but I have lost 7lbs in three weeks.

I agree with what people have said in that you are not eating enough. your body is possibly hanging onto what it is getting.....

I have just started (again ) to try and lose weight (aiming to lose 2st5 at a minimum) and while I am not on a plan (though I am so interested in the slimming world one as it sounds really good and easy but not really got the dosh to signup ) Though I do know what is too much for me and I am trying to 9not every day but as much as I can ) use food focus. It really helps you pinpoint where you might be going wrong in a day/meal.

OK. Thanks. Lancelottie, there's NO chance I'm pregnant but this did make me laugh !

I tried Food focus and according to the readings, I should be on 1000 calories a day to lose one pound a week, I think that was the weight loss per week... I've totted up 2 days calories so far and each day am slightly over 1000 cals., hence no sign of weight loss.

No, I'm not used to calorie counting and have only ever dieted about 30 yrs ago in late teens - otherwise, remained the same weight all my adult life and have been vegetarian since age 21.

I think as other veggies have commented, that I've probably always eaten less than most people anyway, so that my 'normal' diet might look like v little to some? I think my body has accomodated to my veg. diet and as such, to lose weight is v hard, as it means eating virtually nothing. Coupled with perimenopause and hormones, I suspect that's why I'm finding it difficult to shift anything.

I have no time to exercise and this may mean my metabolism is v slow too. I usually get around 6 hrs sleep a night, so that may not be 'enough' either but I guess I've accomodated to that, as I got 'used' to sleeping in 10 min stints up to 2 to 3 hrs a night max. !!! only for the first 3 + yrs of my twins' lives (They didn't both sleep through the night till age 5 and were b/ feeding every 10 to 20 mins all day and night for first 28 months of their lives).

I don't ever get out in the evenings so a WW or SW class isn't possible, hence I'm trying to do it alone.

I'm MUCH more interested in being healthy than fiaxted on a particular weight or shape and was simply getting sick of slowly putting on weight and not losing any since the birth of my twins nearly 9 yrs ago. The more, i read, the more I see that it's normal to put on weight in middle aged yrs and even - to a point - healthier - than being underweight, provided you don't keep on putting it on.

Weighing myself in the evening was just a one-off as I usually weigh in the mornings. No it hasn't yet been a full month of being careful about what I eat, so maybe I just need more time. i think the annoying thing is that every single month, the first day of my period, I'd ALWAYS lose a few pounds from the end of natural water retention. Recently, I still 'feel' bloated in a premenstrual, heavy-breasted way, no matter what time of the month and then extra extra massive for the two week lead up to a period too!

So my plan is to carry on eating carefully and healthily and not to eat too little and when i get time, to dig out the treadmill in the garage, under lots of junk and try to exercise...though have no idea when to factor that in except at 4.30am!!

I DO need some good quality scales and will get some soon.

I'll have a look at your 3 week challenge thread on the forum, BecauseImWorthIt. If you, at 50, can lose that amount of weight, then surely I can too, as I'm only 3 yrs younger.

Thanks for the concern, support and inspiration from everyone

You can join weightwatchers on line for £10 a month. It really works. I have to say the first thing I thought when reading your OP is that you aren't eating enough. What do you weigh? How tall are you?

Oh. Thanks. Didn't know that about joining WW online.

I'm 5 ft 7 ins and currently weigh between 11 stone 8 pounds and 11 stone 10 pounds. Pre-children, I was about 10 stone 12 pounds for about 17 yrs and after children - until the last 6 months or so, I stuck at about 11 stone 3 to 4 pounds.

I'm happy to accept I've never been slim and am built to go in at the waist and out at the hips and bust. But I've never been persistently this big nor persistently unable to shift anything at all, except of course when pregnant with twins!

I'd like to return to my pre-children weight but even to go down to about 11 stone and stay there forever would be acceptable for me. So I feel as if I'm not expecting miracles.

Today so far, I've had three cups of tea and one coffee - all with milk; a slice of toast with hummus (breakfast); a hard-boiled egg with green salad and cherry tomatoes, a few mixed nuts and 3 dried apricots, a raw carrot, celery sticks and small piece (about 1 inch square) of cheddar cheese, dipped in a small scraping of hummus - for lunch - and a banana.

BTW, BecauseImworthit, when I looked at the 3 week challenge thread, I notice that it's not really catering for vegetarians as it includes lots of meat and fish. But thanks anyway for suggesting it.

Well, you're not very overweight are you? Your BMI is 25.7. Not bad.

The problem you've got is losing that half stone, always the absolute toughest. To lose that, I would have:

porridge for breakfast. made with water and rice/oat milk.
apple for a snack
scrambled egg or soup and fruit salad for lunch
salmon and veg for tea.
ovaltine made with oat or rice milk at bedtime.

No bread, minimal dairy (skimmed milk only).

Can you spare half an hour 3-4 times a week for exercise? Weight training is important and agree a brisk walk will do you the world of good. What about a mini trampoline to bounce on in front of the tv?

Solo2 - low carbing is easier for carnivores, that for sure! But if it's a way of eating you are interested in, it is possible. Rose Elliot has written a low carb book for vegetarians.

I think the crucial thing is to find a plan that works for you - and then stick to it. Low carbing is more restrictive in some ways than other plans, as there are certain foods you definitely can't eat - something like Weight Watchers will allow you to eat anything, as long as you count the points.

Sorry Solo, I got a bit carried away. I was assuming you'd eat eggs but not sure about fish. You could swap out the salmon for tofu? Or make a bolognaise with quorn? No spaghetti though! I agree low carb is a struggle but once you've made it a way of eating, it's easier to make the choices. I really think the points sytem on weightwatchers would be good for you. I'd think you'd get 16-20 points a day which tbh was a struggle for me when I had my last stone of babyweight to shift but making a no-point veg soup is a great way to fill up without eating into your allowance.

Hi Solo,

I really think you do need to go to the doctor for some checks and to discuss your diet...you need to get a few things checked out.

Hello Solo I was lurking for tips but had to sympathise with you. I'm new to dieting and have just given a similar plan to yours a go for 10 days - the result is no weight loss at all. I'm vegetarian too and I'm breastfeeding so I have eaten more than you (some bread & more milk) but ffs!
I have 3 little children and work from home, have no time for additional exercise unless at 3am. God I thought it would be easier than this. Hope you find something that works anyway.