Where am I going wrong & how do I fix it?

JJ2944

Hello,

So the jeans have been getting a bit tight lately & basically I’m not liking what I see in the mirror so have decided to start tracking again & I'm slightly horrified at what I’ve discovered. So I’m 5ft & a bit of an inch, 7 stone 12 - 8 stone 2 depending on how the scales feel/when u get weighed & have a healthy BMI. Kinda feel like the scale weight doesn’t mean anything, it’s fat loss I’m looking at, and I can’t be sure how much body fat I have but those scales you can use in the shops have said around 26%. I’m by no means big - most people think I am slim & petite however I feel like a skinny fat person! My shape is all wrong (love handles/bloated/big inner thighs) yet in clothes I can hide all this relatively well & I wear a size 8 (UK). I work out 5-6 times a week (3 x 45 minute hiit classes) & 3 weight sessions & am fairly fit. The problem is clearly my nutrition. Definitely guilty of slacking off at the weekend (which I’m now in the headspace to change) but my issue is my calorie intake. I’ve only tracked a few days so far where I’ve been eating what I call well - no treats, lots of protein etc… yet I still seem to eat a lot. My breakfast is between 560-670 cals a day & my dinner 700, so I’ve nearly hit 1400 cals by mid afternoon! I work two days in a job where I’m walking around a lot but not what I’d call active (desk job but have to get up a lot), and 3 in a very active job. I haven’t taken off what I’ve burnt as last time I did this I got all confused & ended up eating even more thinking I had all these extra calories & didn’t succeed. The problem is if I took off some of my breakfast I’d be hungry. I’m a person that needs to eat first thing & I won’t be eating again for a few hours so I need to be full. Same again with dinner. I just don’t understand how people stick to low cals (like 13-1400), or fast for 16 hours etc… I literally couldn’t do either. I’m hungry every 4 hours religiously & I'm hitting around 120g protein a day. Admittedly I have only just started and will be including weekends so I may start seeing a diff in a few weeks but my standard diet which I don’t think is that unhealthy, I just don’t know how to cut back. I’m not even sure what cals & macros I should be on, I’ve gone for 18-1900 & 40% carbs, 35% protein & 25% fat. Today I’m at over 2100 cals & I’ve had no food that I would consider a treat at all. I just need some direction & help please if anyone out there reads this & has any? Thank you for reading this far.

claireychn074

Whenever I see a post like yours, I always say there’s a lot to unpick here. On the one hand your BMI and body fat is absolutely fine, and based purely on those numbers you don’t actually need to lose weight.

But I know it’s not that simple, as us petite peeps (I’m 5’3) can feel weight sits heavier on us. I certainly know that 2-3kg can make me feel really flabby, even when others can’t see it.

If you don’t like your shape, that might be more about a) your natural body shape (ie it might not change despite losing weight) b)where you carry fat, and visibly you can reduce that with weight loss c) your perception ie as a fellow shortie, i can tell you I will never have long lithe legs despite how much weight I lose. My legs are just too short 🤷‍♂️

If you are maintaining your weight on 2100 then you could try cutting 200 calories per day, track that for 4-6 weeks and see what happens. Some simple ways to cut those (without having seen your food diary) include swapping full fat cheese and diary for lower fat options, replacing some higher calorie fruit and veg for lower calorie (swap bananas for berries, potatoes for squash or eat few potatoes and increase the leafy veg), go for white fish rather than salmon, lean chicken breast without skin rather than chicken legs, reduce the oil in your cooking. You can shave off a couple hundred calories this way and it shouldn’t impact your hunger too much.

For comparison, I have a sedentary job but active sports hobby, I weigh 56kg (about 8 stone 8 I think) and I eat 2100-2400 to maintain. So you eating 2100 to maintain with an active job does not sound unrealistic.

JJ2944

Thanks for your reply. You’re right it really does make a difference when you are this small in height & whilst I’ve never particularly liked my shape (I would love a tiny waist/hourglass figure), atm I feel it’s getting a bit bigger than normal. I actually don’t mind my legs (apart from the mid thigh upwards) - they’re relatively long & lean but with that comes a short torso/athletic shape (up/down), but the back/side fat is creeping in. I’ve always really eaten what I want & know I could lean out if I really watched what I eat but I have a busy life with children, work, all the things most people have, and I enjoy food.
I don’t like fish (only canned tuna) and I can only eat pure chicken breast & beef/mince so all my meals tend to involve these in one form or another. I love cheese but don’t have it much, and I drink lacto free milk mainly, however if someone makes me a cup of tea I’ll have normal usually semi skimmed. My diet is mainly these foods with lentils/beans/passata with the mince, some light mayo with the chicken/tuna, protein powder/whole grain oats & wraps, Greek yoghurt & kiwi’s/satsumas. I’ve decided to cut out my weekend pizza and atm although I have a sweet tooth I am off the chocolate/sweets. Breakfast is a protein shake with some oats in for the first hour then a couple of eggs & half a protein flatbread or a protein pancake with some Greek yoghurt on. One part without the other doesn’t fill me up at all. I also need this to be something quick most mornings so it’s ideal as the shake takes two mins & the rest around 5. Dinner is a wrap with either chicken or tuna (and light mayo), tomatoes & sweetcorn, a protein yoghurt & few almonds (7/8) as a snack & tea quite often is the mince/lentils & pastas with half a microwave rice pack or a small jacket potato. I’m burning 4-600 cals in the gym most days yet I feel like if I didn’t exercise I’d be even worse off. To look at me you’d think I’m tiny but the actual fat I can see is really bothering me. I’ve lots of muscle too as I love weights and my arms/shoulders are well defined but my mid section to the middle of my upper leg is just not where I want to be at all. I can’t train any more, I’ve really got to get it right with food. This is what I’ve been eating a long time however weekends I’ve really let go & in the week I’ll have choc/wine if I fancy it so those are the changes I can make without feeling hungry as they’re treats, but the rest I don’t see what I can change. Possibly hormones/age (42) playing a factor too maybe? Or maybe I just need to give it some time now I’ve cut these things out.

claireychn074

So cut out choc and wine and the occasional pizza and see how you go after 4-6 months - that could be enough.

Just a thought though - you say you have plenty of muscle and you lift. Bit you also think you have back fat. Are you sure it’s fat and not muscle? I’m only saying that because I am also muscular and when I’m not flexing I can look like I have “fat” hanging over my back bra strap. Yet when I flex it’s my lats and traps - just that when they’re relaxed you can’t necessarily see the muscle definition.

Ultimately you will just have to decide how important it is to you. It’s hard to make those changes when you have a really busy family life but only you can decide whether it’s worth it.

JJ2944

I will do this & see how I go. I say back fat, it’s more love handles over low waisted trousers. I can hide it in high waisted but it’s there underneath & my jeans don’t fit the same. Hopefully these small tweaks will make a difference. Thank you.

Lietchi

I would suggest focusing on some small changes.
For example:
- you say you need both parts of your breakfast to feel full. So keep the big components as is, but just try reducing the amount of each component a little bit? For example slightly less protein powder and oats?
- instead of entirely cutting out the weekend treats, you could also think about reducing the portion size or choose a lower calorie version? From my own experience: there is a big calorie range depending on the type of pizza toppings, I know the more calorie friendly options at our local pizza place. And as for size, you could choose to have a smaller size/amount with a side of salad/veggies? One glass of wine instead of two? etc.
- you say working out more isn't possible, but perhaps there are small ways you can increase activity throughout the day? Examples: parking your car at the far end of the parking lot when you go shopping, carrying laundry up/down the stairs in several smaller batches instead of trying to take everything in one go, walking around while you're making phone calls, using a smaller water bottle at work so you need to get up and fill it more often,...