Weight-Loss Not losing weight...

Weight-Loss

busybee

New member
Hello everyone! Newcomer here. This post will be long. Here we go:

I recently switched to a healthier lifestyle, trying to lose weight. I'm currently 1.65m and 102 kg.
I was never thin, but I started gaining more weight after school, when I started working on my computer most of the day, trying to make my own business. (I was on a work/sleep/eat junk/repeat mode)
I've been gaining weight at a very slow but steady pace, going from 68kg to 109kg in 10 years. Did I not notice? I did, but I was like "it's only an extra kilo, I can lose it anytime". And of course I didn't.

So, last December I started making an effort to lose weight. I don't want to call it a "diet" because a)I don't thing this is what diets are like and b)as soon as I go into this mindset I starve myself for a week and then one day snap and eat whatever is in the fridge. I call it "healthier eating". Meaning I reduced and then stopped drinking fizzy drinks and eating fast food. The only exception is when there's a good movie at the cinema where I eat pop corn with water instead of cola, and perhaps once every 2-3 months I'm eating those half-cooked frozen french fries but bake them in the oven instead of frying them. I don't eat any other fried food in general. I reduced the amount of meat I eat. (some chicken breast or red meat once every two weeks). I try to consume fish every 1-2 weeks. No snacks, no sugar where possible, a bar of chocolate every few months (divided to daily portions). I don't walk as much as I want, my average is 2-2.5km max a day. I know it's not enough and I'm planning to increase it.

Now this is probably wrong (eating the same thing every day), but since it's a hot summer I started eating less cooked food and moved on to salads, almost exclusively, trying to lose some extra weight and because I admit it, I don't really want to cook when I'm alone. :)
So, what I eat for lunch is a salad that consists of one tomato, one cucumber, one onion, one pepper (green or red), some olive oil and a slice of Feta cheese the thickness of a small matchbox but a bit larger in width. Sometimes I replace cheese with yogurt. No salt added. Later on I eat either a boiled zucchini with lemon, salt and pepper (no oil, but I love it this way) or a roasted eggplant, or a boiled egg, etc trying to have some variety. If I'm really hungry, for dinner I eat a few petit beurre biscuits with a glass of orange juice or cold lemon tea, or eat a banana or an apricot. That's it for Monday-Friday. No breakfast, just coffee with 1/2 tspn brown sugar.

On weekends when I'm at home with my husband I cook as normal, trying to have some variety and balance and keeping salads the main course in my daily food consumption.

Again, I don't exercise much, but I was expecting to lose some extra weight. Since December I went from 109 to 99, then (since I started the salads thing) went back to 102 where I am now. I must be doing something wrong, is the calorie amount too high? Is a pack of popcorn once or twice a month enough to make me gain weight, since I don't eat any other "bad" food the rest of the month? When I told my colleagues what I eat, they didn't believe me, told me they would starve if they ate this little and they'd vanish into thin air. Even told me there's a chance I sleepwalk and eat. Or that I'm lying.

Worst thing is during the hard days of the month, where I get bloated and feel literally like a balloon, I may gain up to 2-3kg for no reason, which takes me a week to lose again. This happens every month. I don't have PCOS and my thyroid was ok in the last year's test. The only other thing I was told by my doctor to check is my lymph nodes (my ankles and calves are always a bit swollen, as if I've been standing all day) and my hormones. Will get that checked soon.

Back to my question, based on your experience, what would you suggest and what do you think is wrong? Am I eating too much? Can't go to the gym right now so I can only walk more as an exercise.

Thank you for your help!
 
I'm kind of at that standstill/gaining weight despite eating little myself, so I not sure I am in any position to give advice. But I can offer my sympathy, I know it's frustrating. Don't give up, make sure you're not actually starving yourself (not good for metabolism) and maybe consider switching out the brown sugar with that fake sugar crap? Not sure what difference that would do, though, but that's what I'm trying, just cutting all sugar as of a total. Also, dark chocolate is supposed to be healthier than lighter chocolate, in several ways.

Also, switch out your big plates for smaller plates. Sometimes we eat more than we think, and we can be awfully dishonest with ourselves about how often and what we eat. At the same time, eating too little will only sabotage your progress, so be careful about that as well.

Many hugs, and the best wishes for your progress.
Remember to be proud of yourself for working at this. Even for just a ten minute walk, that's always something to pet yourself on the shoulder for. Practice saying "good on me!" and work on developing a good attitude towards yourself. That helps in ways we don't even realize.

Be well!
 
Thanks for the support, I actually documented what I ate this week, and it was a surprise to find what may be causing an issue. Cheese has many hidden calories, around 4000/kg. I buy the minimum they sell, ~500g/week. That's 2000 calories/week for just cheese. I don't drink milk, so my next dairy alternative is yogurt. I'll try it and see if it has an effect. I'm not a fan of artificial sweeteners, and stevia changes the coffee flavor, so I can only cut the amount of sugar I consume in my coffee. Olive oil is also a calorie bomb, but it has many other benefits so I'll keep that. I'd prefer to cut that movie popcorn or any pasta/rice/meat etc I may eat during the weekend. :)
Fingers crossed!

p.s. I calculated my BMR (read about it in a post here), the result was 1.800 calories. That's only a general number but based on what I shopped and ate this week, my daily calories (weekly calorie intake divided by 7) were around 1.600 (had some extras & drinks on my birthday, so that raised the number a bit). I know I shouldn't drop below 1500, so only more exercise can be the solution.
 
Stevia is only one of many artificial sugars. I don't like it either, but I found another type that tastes approx the same as sugar, has the same consistency and level of sweetness. It works great with the coffee! It's erythritol based, so it's more plant than fake stuff, and has been deemed safe. Doesn't change the flavor of the food, other than making it sweeter.

Be careful about the yogurt, a lot of them have tons of sugar in them, even those that claim to be "low sugar"! So read the back and compare to other alternatives. Best alternative I've found so far is to pick the natural variant and then add sweetener and/or raspberries to get flavor in it.

Good luck, and be well.
 
Eat metabolism boosting foods that will help you burn fat faster! Eat avocados, legumes, asparagus, greek yogurt, whey protein, spinach, hemp seeds, and eggs. [Spam Link Removed]

Good Luck! :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hello again! Just thought it would be a good idea to post an update on my progress.

I started going to the gym a few months ago, and though my weight has not decreased drastically (I now eat regular meals and to sum up, for every kg I lose I tend to get half of it back, then lose another one, then take some back, then bloat and take 2kg for no reason and lose them again, then stop completely etc) I have managed to hit 97kg today. It's definitely not much but it's something.

BUT the most important thing is today, I walked the greatest distance I've walked in a loooong time. I walked 8km! In Dec 2016 I would find it hard to walk slowly for 300m, I suffered from irregular heartbeat, by Summer 2017 I could barely do 2.5km, but now I found it easy to do 5, then 3 more after a stop. I actually enjoy going to the gym, I don't mind some people staring, and for the first time in my life I have actual, visible muscles. Yes, there's fat over them but I can do 100 abs, plank, squats, weights, and join the same gym class with people half my weight. I've gone from size UK20-22 to a 16 being loose on me and I feel good! I'm taking it one day at a time and try to do my best. :)

So that's it, I hope I'll be able to update again in a few months with more good news!
 
I went through something very similar to you a few years ago. If you are gaining weight through the day, its cause you are slightly dehydrated when you wake up. As you become more hydrated you will put on a few pounds (this is good)
 
Back
Top