It's a few years since I was last on this Forum but here I am again, seeking the Holy Grail of the perfect weight loss secret. I am 87 years old with mobility problems the worst of which is a problem with walking due to various fractures in my back (which also prevents me bending down), a dodgy hip and a funny knee. I have been eating less than 1000 calories this week and my diet is varied and good, I think, incorporating fish, green vegetables (from my own garden so it's mainly runner beans at the moment but supplemented by broccoli because I love it, at least 3 times a week), fruit, dairy in the form of a milk and yogurt and one scraping of butter daily. I was gratified to be losing a few ounces a day which would have given me a loss of about 1 lb. this week but today I seem to have added 1 lb. to my weight. I'm very despondent.
Not a Newbie, a Returnee: It's a few... - Weight Loss Support
Not a Newbie, a Returnee
Welcome back, would you like to join us on our weigh in today? Here's the link, I hope to see you there! 
x
healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...
I can't see how to register my weight etc. I can see how to put up a Post with a query, is this where I sign in?
click on the blue link that Lytham has given you above and it will take you there
Click on the blue link and reply to me there x
Welcome back to the weight loss forum. The idea of a Holy Grail for weight loss made me smile. I wish there was such a thing.
May I suggest that you concentrate on what you eat instead of how much you eat.
You are lucky to have lots of fresh veggies from your garden but you need some healthy fats as well. Here's a post which should help you.
healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...
Please shout if you need anymore help or have anymore queries. There's always someone here.
If you join the Daily Diary you will find lots of members sharing their ideas. You'll find the link in the pinned posts.
Good luck with your weight loss journey.🍀
Hih Angieirish, welcome back Have you looked at the NHS BMI page where it tells you how many calories you should be eating? Less than 1,000 calories seems quite low.
The recommended number of calories is 1192 so I'm not a lot below that. I don't weight things exactly so I'm giving myself a bit of leeway. I am not very active so I try to keep the calories low, but this set-back has me eyeing the red wine again with renewed interest! I can resist when the weight is coming off but when it goes up for no reason .......?
Ah ok, that makes sense. It's definitely most frustrating when things don't seem to be working out the way you want and you're doing everything right! Very difficult to keep your will power but try to keep going. Sometimes I seem to fluctuate by 2lbs for no discernible reason. I wish there was a magic trick and it would all fall off but only slow and steady seems to work from what I've heard on here. You can do it
I know that feeling well, so I never have it in the house!
You approach the weight loss thing more rationally than I do, I think. My mind fluctuates between "It's unfair, I've reached this age and now all the nice things are forbidden to me just when I should be enjoying life" and "I'll make allowance for the wine in my calorie intake" (I seldom do) but I can't imagine my house without a few bottles of nice wine ready to be enjoyed. I guess my desire to lose weight just isn't strong enough.
Although your calorie requirement is probably quite low, "eating less" is not going to help you lose weight, particularly in your 80s. As TheTabbyCat said, the Holy Grail involves changing what you eat, not how much.
In fact 50 years worth of experimental evidence suggests that people who "eat less" end up getting fatter than ever, for some very well-understood biological reasons.
I would say you're 80% there. Just drop the fruit (temporarily), don't limit your fats (use as much butter as you like!), and make sure your meals really are mostly veg/meat/dairy, as you describe; for now, avoid adding potatoes, bread, pasta and suchlike. You'll be able to bring these things back later, in moderation, once your weight loss has kicked in. Eat when you're hungry and stop when you're full: there's no need to count or limit anything.
By the way, try not to get obsessed with the scales. Bodyweight is a very poor proxy for bodyfat (which is what you're actually interested in). Bodyweight fluctuates up and down by a pound or two each day; those fluctuations have absolutely nothing to do with fat lost or gained.
I'll keep on trying, but butter for me is for lashing on bread and potatoes - occasionally frying mushrooms. I don't want to give up fruit just at the moment when we still have lovely summer berries around, and plums and damsons. but when the summer is over I'll ditch the apples, pears and bananas for a week or so. I am not so much worried by my weight (over though it is) as by my waist measurement which is well over the 31" recommended. It hasn't moved by a cm. despite my 1 lb. weight loss and I'm wondering if I'm losing muscle not fat.
My goodness, you seem really focused and proactive on the weight loss front. Well done.
Not really. I go in spurts. I get enthusiastic (or fearful) every so often and try hard for a couple of weeks and then I start to think of the few years I may have left and if I want to spend them without the pleasure of eating and drinking what I like. Eating, especially in company, is one of life's great pleasures, as is wine (in moderation, of course), a good, rich cheese, a premium chocolate occasionally, so although I love fish and vegetables, fruit and herbs, after a week or so I begin to crave something different. I don't like meat very much, eat some chicken, no ham/bacon, but lots of fish, I dislike sweet potatoes, parsnips, carrots, leeks, chilli and some others, but I can do a lot with potatoes, pasta and bread!
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