Reintroducing food after replacement diet

KelBlundell

Hi all
Started Dec 2020 at 220lbs, size 20(uk),
height 5'9" . 39 year old female.
Now 191lbs, size 16.

I did this on a diet of vegan protein shakes with soya milk breakfast and lunch, chicken or fish with veg in evening.

As I'm now exercising a lot, my doc has recommended I go back to actual eating as I've passed out a few times. Admittedly was netting 800 cal so unsurprising.

I've adapted my goals to 1500kcl and only lose 1lb a week. But I've started plateauing weightloss 😔

I have tried to start by having eggs, one piece of gf bread and avocado for breakfast. But I'm really struggling. The massive effort of actually cooking, instead of whizzing a shake, is really disruptive!

Can anyone give advice how they reintroduced food and any hints and tips you may have?

Thank you!

penguinmama87

Could you cook enough for two meals at once? I find that as an easy way to do batch cooking because the quantities aren't as overwhelming at first. I'm about the same weight as you, a little shorter, and I'm not looking to lose much over 1 lb/week. The fact that you're eating so little could actually be making it harder to lose weight because your body could be slowing down to conserve energy. But you could slowly increase the amount of food so you have time to adjust to the prep aspect. Right now my calories are set over 2,000 per day and I still expect to lose weight on that (I actually recently increased because my 1800 per day was not sufficient - I have an active lifestyle plus am nursing an infant. I just point this out to say you can eat more and lose weight. But don't force yourself and beat yourself up about it when it's not what you're used to yet.)

Ironically, I find preparing smoothies and shakes to be much more trouble than they're worth. I'd rather cook real food. But I know lots of people enjoy them and find them useful. I think you can approach cooking simply as a new skill - it's hard at first because it's new, but much of it becomes automatic over time. Things that seem hard now won't seem so once you've been doing it a while.

Lietchi

KelBlundell wrote: »

I've adapted my goals to 1500kcl and only lose 1lb a week. But I've started plateauing weightloss 😔

A true plateau means no weight loss at all for 4 weeks or more, so it seems a bit early to speak of plateauing. It's normal for your weight loss to slow down or even seemingly stop temporarily as you move from 800 to 1500 calories, since you'll have more food waste in your system, as well as more water weight from increasing your carb intake.
To evaluate your weight loss you need to look at the long-term trend, 4 weeks at least (and for women with a mentrual cycle, to compare between similar moments in their cycle since hormones can cause weight flucuations as well).

KelBlundell

Thanks for taking the time to read and respond.

When I say plateau I mean staying the same weight for a week so not a true plateau, I think I need to readjust my mindset to it tbh.

I will have a go at batching food. When I'm in a cooking mood!

steveko89

KelBlundell wrote: »

I think I need to readjust my mindset to it tbh.

You hit the nail on the head. Consider the number of variables you just changes by reintroducing solids and that scale weight only tells part of the story with regard to what's going on in your body. Fluid retention can cause weight fluctuations with many root causes; exercise, hydration level, digestive mass, and hormonal fluctuations that come with being a menstruating female (as Lietchi mentioned). Particularly, when it comes to reintroducing carbs to one's diet, there will be an uptick in scale weight from water retention due to the molecular nature of carbohydrates that bring with them water molecules on a roughly 3:1 ratio (hence, carboHYDRATE). That's also a component for why many perceive they're more successful when the limit carbs or go keto. I'd consider anything up to 5 lbs a normal fluctuation that could be caused by factors beyond the dieting/weight loss process.

hipari

I personally dislike cooking every day, so I’ve found ways around it, but I don’t have any experience on meal replacements.

If you live in a household with other adults/teenagers, could you share cooking responsibilities with them or rearrange some household chores in a way that would help? If you still need to participate, could it be made into a couple/family time? I live with my husband and he usually cooks while I do some assisting tasks like chopping veggies, or cleaning tasks in the kitchen, and we talk about our days while he cooks and I clean.

Meal prepping or even just making enough for multiple meals takes out a lot of the everyday cooking hassle. It doesn’t have to be anything ”fancy” or Pinterest-worthy, it can be as simple as making double the portion size and eating the rest tomorrow, or freezing it and eating sometime later.

For snacks, breakfast etc., I’ve simply found options that require minimum cooking and prepping, like yoghurt with store-bought granola, a protein pudding, some fruit or a piece of toast. I’m so lazy that even my fruit preferences are sometimes guided by what needs to be peeled or chopped and what doesn’t. Sometimes my ”salad” is rinsing a box of cherry tomatoes and plopping it on my plate. It’s all perfectly fine. You just need to find a way of eating that works for your lifestyle and preferences.