I've kept a diary since 1/1/16 of everything I've eaten (which I cook fresh everyday) along with exercise, water intake, my weigh ins weekly and my weight continues to fluctuate - I just can't seem to lose it like everyone around me. Help!
Weight Loss struggle: I've kept a diary... - Weight Loss Support
Weight Loss struggle
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bandicoot1987
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Firstly welcome, think you've just joined here? Well done on logging all that since the beginning of the year!! Its great you cook fresh everyday, have you worked out your daily calorie allowance? Have you lost anything? If you share some more info I'm sure there will be lots of offer of help...You've come to the right place, the people here are lovely and supportive. Have a look at the pinned posts section for some great ideas and there is a welcome newbies post there full of great info too...
Hey, yeah nhs says 1400 which I am well within most days, I follow slimming world recipes and weight watchers, I totalled up 16 non cooking days so far this year. Ive tried cardiovascular, dance, kick boxing, ballet, weight training. Yoga you name it, I started at 158lbs dropped to 146lbs, now back up to 156lbs so disheartened but I won't give up!!
Exercise is good for lots of reasons in particular health, but weight loss is 80% down to food. Are you sure you are eating enough? Especially if you are doing exercise, sounds odd but if your body thinks you are starving yourself it will slow your metabolism and conserve body fat making it difficult to lose weight. Lots of other posts on here will say the same... depends on how much you exercise etc but just a thought... Sorry it must be so disheartening but you've got a great attitude not to give in, you just need to shake things up a little and hopefully it will start coming off again x
I'm actually trying meal replacements at the moment, just experimenting to see what works for me ya know. Thanks for you positivity. 🌷
Hi bandicoot1987, it sounds as if you are doing quite a lot of exercise and it may be that you have lost fat but built up a lot more muscle. The scales aren't everything; they don't tell you changes to the fat:muscle content of your body or your general health and fitness, which I am sure have improved tremendously since January so you are quite right to keep going and you should feel very proud of all the healthy changes you have made. x
Oh the excersise is just what I've tried on and off through the year, I don't exercise like that all the time. I walk more and tend to spend more time concentrating on my recipes and I just bought a pedometer this week funnily enough so counting steps now too. But I'm no exercise buff, just experimenting to find something that works. 🌺
You have some really good suggestions from others in this forum. I would suggest that, having tried all of these exercises, stick to the ones that you like most (for me it is walking - 10,000 steps a day, dancing- 4 hours a week on most weeks and the gym- probably twice a week) and set up a plan that lets you do those activities regularly. It shouldn't be about the weight loss; do activities because they are fun and then you will lose weight anyway, but it won't seem like a chore. Good luck x
You are so right...I've been for another walk today. It was so peaceful and fun at the same time...I just can't get enough of walking atm - I'm really enjoying it, and I'm taking some great snaps on my camera. Its amazing because it doesn't feel like exercise it's just something I really like doing - roll on tomorrow because I'm determined to beat the previous days steps...go me!!! #lovingwalking 🐾
I do that too! - try and do a few more steps each day - but it never seems like hard work for me either. I am the same with dancing - I can boogie all night long and never think of doing it for the sake of using calories. I think there is a perfect exercise out there for all of us, its just a matter of finding the right one. I am just off for another lovely walk now. Have another fantastic day bandicoot1987 x
Yeah my daily allowance 1400
last year I was 168 lbs Jan 2016 1 was 157ish lowest this year 147lbs in march and shot back up to 158 august but good news all...I've just stepped on the scales 154lbs today!!! Woohoo!! 
in reply to bandicoot1987
Well done you! Do you weigh yourself weekly? You're doing everything right by the sound of it. Maybe you need to eat a little more? 4lbs is brilliant, don't expect it every week though, nice as that would be!
I find eating before I'm hungry helps. Also, I love all the flavoured waters you can get now. Always try and have before meals, and sip thru the evening.
Hope I've not copied anyone else's advice, this is my first post!
Good luck!
Sorry to hear your weight isn't coming off despite your good efforts. Do you weigh your food? It took me a long while before I could judge portion sizes without weighing and I still check sometimes now; it is so easy to take in a lot more calories than you think. Also remember the calories in drinks because they can build up really quickly too. Those are just a couple of ideas. I also found that as I started to lose weight and became more health conscious I reduced my sodium intake along with the calories and the weight started to drop off again, just like in my first week (along with the swelling in my ankles). That was very unexpected! Getting a pedometer helped me keep track of my exercise and I would recommend a fitness tracker of some kind if you don't already use one. Good luck; I am sure those scales will start behaving themselves before long x
I hope so. I use a specific sized plate to control portions which has helped me eat less as I was a big eater...I only drink water, green tea and occasional black coffee. No soda or juice of any kind what so ever. And 3 weeks ago I cut out cows milk as I started having a metal taste reaction so now only drink almond milk with my daily shakes. Thanks all so much for your positiveness 🌸
Hi @bandicoot1987
I see you do lots of exercise. Unfortunately if you go hard out then your body burns glycogen as a fuel. This is stored in the muscles as a very quick fuel to allow you to power through intense exercise. It is stored in the brain and liver and keeps you alive while you sleep. Once you have used this fuel your body is unable to do any more exercise. It's called hitting the wall in long distance running.
The trick to not burn glycogen and to burn fat as a fuel instead is to do low intensity exercise. Take running, if you go slowly, your body burns fat, builds capillary beds and also builds new mitochondria which are like little trucks that carry all the oxygen to your muscles. The more you have, the more oxygen you can get to your muscles. So, when I say slow, I mean where you can hold a full conversation while exercising. If you go faster then this stops and other physiological changes happen to the body. Go slow and you can go further for longer.
Make sure you are not just using a standard set of scales for your weight. Try and use weight machines, ones sometimes found in a gym, that measures body fat. Not the ones you just stand on as they are not accurate at all but ones you hold but better still, ask at your gym if they do body fat measurements. This is where they use callipers and take measurements on selected areas of your body to give you an accurate fat measurement. At least this way you will see if you are losing body fat and building muscle.
So long as you are eating right then you should be fine. I have spent months not having the scales moving yet I can feel in my clothes that I am losing weight then, all of a sudden as if out of nowhere, the scales start to fall dramatically. I've then hit the tipping point. So far I've lost 155lbs......
Good luck and stay motivated.
kalahuchi in reply to
What an inspirational post dadtoad; to lose 155lb is absolutely amazing and I love reading your explanations of sports science. Fantastic stuff x
bandicoot1987 in reply to
Yes this is extremely helpful thankyou and a huge welldone to you - that's just proof anything is possible 🐝
WinWeight in reply to
Thank you for the post. Well done.
PippiRuns6kgRestart Nov 2023
Hi bandicoot1987
You haven't told us your height, weight and age, but unless you are very small and old, 1400 calories a day is very little. Have you used the NHS calculator? It calculates your BMI and your recommend daily calorie intake for weight loss nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/Healthyw...
Anyway, I just want to welcome you to the Weight Loss NHS forum. It’s great that you’ve joined.
Take a look at the Pinned Posts section, to the right of your screen (bottom, if you're using a mobile) and have a look at the Welcome Newbies thread.
Look at the Topics section beneath that, for posts that could answer any questions you may have. Consider joining any, or all, of our challenges, as they're fun and motivating.
Join us for the Monday Group weigh-in. If you follow Zest and moreless (our very approachable site admin-volunteers), you'll be notified when they post the threads. The latest weigh-in thread can always be found in the Events section, to the right of the home page.
Be active on the forum, as that's where we exchange ideas and get our daily dose of motivation and inspiration.
Enjoy the forum, and wishing you success with your goals
in reply to PippiRuns
Haha very small and old! I used a 1400cal limit to lose the bulk of my weight and I'm young (ish) and 5'4" (164cm). The bmi calculator actually recommended 1500 as a lower limit but I got on okay mostly sticking to 1400! But you're right it's helpful to know how people reach these figures. Bandicoot might, after all, actually be quite tall!
Seuzan in reply to
I'm on 1400 cals too. I am 5ft 3inches and 50 years young. I haven't lost anything this week because I've been drinking champagne and eating too much cake!
bandicoot1987 in reply to
Lol, im 29 and 5ft 4 sorry I keep forgetting that bit...too excited about my 2lb loss this week!! Im going fishing to celebrate
Not particularly old or short then... Perhaps you could up your calories? Have you tried a higher intake?
Hope I didn't offend anybody with that statement Sorry bandicoot1987 if I did.
I'm 44 years myself and 168 cm - I also started out with a lower calorie intake but have found out that I lose just as much on 1600 calories/day as I do on 1400.
Well, we are all different My point is just that the common sense "If I eat less, I lose more" isn't always correct because our metabolism is able to adjust, and that makes it more complicated
in reply to PippiRuns
This is a very good point. When I was losing the main 2 stones I found going over 1400 was okay, but weeks where I averaged closer to 1700 than 1400 I didn't seem to lose. Now I'm at a healthy bmi I can lose weight at 1800 cal, ( currently maintaining at a fair bit over 2000) . So I think increased muscle/ improved metabolism once a healthy lifestyle is in place might be a factor too. So playing around with cals can definitely help especially if the current regime isn't working! And yes that definitely goes for increasing as well as decreasing Plus we're all completely different which always needs remembering too! Which was why I was laughing, and definitely not offended 
in reply to PippiRuns
I'm going to disagree with this a bit. I think that as you aren't very heavy now, and presumably only need to lose a few pounds, you may well need to go below 1400 cals a day. I am currently shifting my last 10lbs, and have been doing a strictly counted 1200-1300 cals a day, and this is working for me. It's not easy, but it's do-able. I find I can eat 3 decent meals a day on this. I think when you have just a few pounds to go you can find that you have to be really precise and pretty strict. If not, you just stagger on doing the same thing, suffering the deprivation of a diet, but not getting the results.
Regards.
bandicoot1987 in reply to
This is fine but surely when you go back to eating normally you will just put it straight back on no? How do you keep the weight off?
That's why I opted for the lifestyle change as appose to a diet or massive decrease in calories. I started my healthy eating at the beginning of the year and I'm determined to continue because I appreciate flavours and variety not because I have to. I love what I eat now so I would never go back. And through doing this I have been able to maintain my weight - if I eat a considerably low amount of calories and I do lose then surely when I go back to my normal healthy eating I'm bound to gain again? 🍁
in reply to bandicoot1987
Yes, if you go back to eating how you ate when you were fat, you will get fat again. This is true whatever diet regime you are on.
What we all need to do is to stay with the plan that got us slim, but add a few additional portions/calories to it in a systematic way, until we get to an intake where we stop losing and maintain a steady weight.
That's why it's important to find a regime that we can live with, as that is just what we have to do. So if general healthy eating is doing that for you, then great, carry on. However, in your first post you said that your weight was fluctuating, so I was just suggesting a way of stopping the fluctuation.
My weight has fluctuated over the past 18 months or so - I've lost and regained the same 4lbs dozens of times. I got really fed up with this, and just decided to commit myself properly to the eating plan for however many weeks it takes to shift my surplus weight. Since doing this I have lost half a stone and gone down a dress size.
So being disciplined works for me. I haven't cut calories drastically, but I am being firm with myself. I enjoy my food, cook from scratch most evenings, and don;t feel deprived. Although I know I still have the capability of eating an entire Ben and Jerry's ice cream to myself, at the moment I don't!
bandicoot1987 in reply to
Yeah my weight was fluctuating. But by eating healthy 1400 calories I can maintain it. In order to get below 146lbs it seems I have to starve myself...this was making me quite dizzy because I felt I just wasn't eating enough. I can stay at 11st dead easily.
I used to be 12 stone and my ideal weight is 9st ish - I got down to 11st using xls medical and changing eating habits. Then I hit a brick wall so I stopped xls and continued with calorie counting, I got down to 10st 6lbs in 8 weeks and hit yet another brick wall then I went back up to 11lb. My next attempt I ate less again but this was when I started feeling dizzy everyday so I decided maybe that just wasn't right for my body. So then I just maintained my weight, I think my reason for putting it back on last month was because I've just spent 2 weeks on holiday in Florida but since coming back I am shifting it...guaranteed I'll get so far and hit that damn wall. How do I pass this without making myself ill again? I can't go too low, I had 3 days off work because of this before which is no good when your trying to run a business. I just don't seem to be able to pass that rough bit 🌼
That's why I thought I'd try meal replacements but I can't live on them forever can I? And how expensive!! Grrr it's a nightmare...4 years ago I weighed 8st 4lbs what happened 😭
slimpickings2 stone
Hi bandicoot1987 and welcome to the forum. You will get lots of help and support here. Your lack of weight loss is a difficult one as you are exercising and really thinking about the foods you eat. I think portion size is the key here. I know you have a plate that shows you the amount of carb, protein etc to have, which is brilliant, but I was wondering if you were weighing the pasta or rice etc as well or simply relying on the plate. I only ask because a heaped amount will fit into a small space and may be masking the calories consumed? I fell into this trap with breakfast cereals and I was quite horrified at the difference between what I thought was a serving and the recommended amount. Hope this helps and good luck. Xx
Oh no my portions are definitely controlled. I know it's doing something because before I would have cleared my plate and automatically wanted a second helping now on the other hand I struggle to finish a serving of rice for 1...learning I can leave food on my plate has been hard for me but I'm finally doing it. Now I finish before I'm full instead of eating for the sake of it and getting chronic indigestion 🌼
Caroline626 stone
I can relate to what you are saying. I was 15 st 13 1/2 lbs go to 15 st 7 and then back to the start. So you are not on your own. I have not much to say but I do feel for you and I do know what it is like we have to keep going.
It's so disheartening isn't it but I'm no quitter and I will keep trying. I've never been so determined about anything and I'm bloody adamant I'm not giving up.
Rewarding yourself is a good thing to do...I'm a massive Disney fan so everytime I lose weight I buy a new dvd or something. Gives me something else to look forward to its great 🌷
You have some really good support here and possible answers 😊 I hope you find a solution. 1400 calories is quite low so have another look at the metabolic rate checker and your target calories. When I started I was supposed to eat 500 more calories than I assumed and glibly said "I won't lose weight on that" but I have. 😊
Very best wishes
You just feel like it. We all feel like this more than we want. Everyone loses different but we all end up feeling like its to slow but we did not get where over night. The slower you lose the slower you gain it back. You have only5% chance of keeping it off. So if you lose slowly you will learn as you go and with help and a lot of prayers you will be in that 5% on keeping it off.
That's where I'm yet to find a trick, everyone is so helpful on how to lose weight - where are the fairy's that know how to keep it off??
Please come forward if any of you have the secret...💖
Send them my way too
Hello,
The basic fact is that if you are not losing weight you are taking in too many calories. So you need to cut your calorie intake, and increase your physical activity so that you are burning more calories in your daily life.
You don't say what your calorie intake is - but could you have set too high an allowance? Or perhaps you are underestimating the amount of calories you are taking in. It is easy to do that, for example by guessing the weight of a portion, or sloshing in the oil instead of measuring it out by the teaspoon.
If you make a real effort to weigh and measure everything you eat super-accurately, and adjust your calorie intake if need be, you will find that you will lose weight. It's a scientific fact - if you consume less energy than you use up you must draw energy from your stores and lose weight!
Best of luck.
bandicoot1987 in reply to
I'm pretty much already doing this to be fair. It's more than just being about calorie cutting for me I'm afraid, my scientific experiments are more about the foods I eat and the impact they have on my body.
I haven't learnt much about calories and I don't want to spend my life measuring out everything I eat. I've quit milk because of the metal taste it was leaving in my mouth I've quit bread because I was constantly bloating, and the same when eating cousin cousin...this is how my food diary had helped because I know what foods make me ill and what foods give me energy etc since avoiding these I've lost 4lbs so I'm going to continue with this and see how much further it helps me. I won't deprive myself of food unless it affects my health because I know I can still lose weight with out slicing my calorie intake.Everyone's bodies are different - it's just about finding what's right for you 🌻
Dammit - auto correct is on and cousin cousin is meant to read cous cous 😶
in reply to bandicoot1987
Fine - congrats on losing the 4lbs! I certainly go along with the thought that calorie counting is incredibly dull and takes up far too much time. However, for me, it is definitely shifting my last few pounds much faster than my previous general cut-down. But, as you say, what's right for us can differ.
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