Hello andHelp! not loosing anything :(

Hi,

I'm no expert but I found that when I had a week where I ate under my daily calories by about 100-150 each day I actually gained 2lbs! My calorie allowance is quite high as I'm classed as morbidly obese, and thought that by cutting them down more than I could have I would lose weight quicker.... how wrong was I!

I'm sure you'll soon find what suits you - MFP has really shown me where I'm going over on sugars etc, which is a great help. I was pleasantly surprised at how little cholesterol I take on board daily, which can surely only be good, although my cholesterol isn't a problem, nor am I diabetic.... just fat LOL!

Good luck with your journey...... and remember, little steps make big miles!

Hi Lydia. It sounds like you are not eating enough. When you don't eat enough your body kicks into starvation mode and holds on to all its fat as it thinks it will not have enough energy i.e. Calories coming in to live from. If the body gets enough calories it starts to then get rid of the fat as it sees it as being no longer useful. Makes sense really but being dieters we are renounned for thinking the more you eat the fatter you get when in actual reality it is the other was round provided what you eat is good for you and not crisps and chocolate!

Well done on your success so far.:drinker: :drinker:

From what you've written it seems like you're having too many carbs, not enough protein, too much processed foods and possibly not enough fruits and vegetables.

You say a 'large bowl' or cereal - could you reduce this, cut out the sugar and may be add in a piece of fruit?

For lunch how about having either the oatcakes OR the bread and try adding in something like tuna and salad?

It seems that like me you love carbs - me too LOL :happy: :happy: :laugh: :laugh: but by slowly reducing them and processed sugar I have been able to lose weight and inches. I am a very similar weight to you (10st 9lbs) and the weight loss at this stage is very slow because I don't have much to lose (I'm trying to get to 140lbs).

It's really important that you eat enough too. When i was on 1200 cals I lost nothing, I increase to 1380 and it has made a difference and I'm not hungry at all.

I'm not an expert, just sharing the things I've learned along the way

I'd look at your carbs - cereal for breakfast, sandwich for lunch and pasta for dinner is all carb based - try to switch one of those meals to something else. Eggs for breakfast, soup/ salad for lunch, lean protein with lots of veg for dinner. I'm not suggesting an Atkins approach - it doesn't have to be every meal, and good carbs are necessary! You should be able to find lots of high-protein snacks for under 100 calories to keep you going through the day.

Congratulations on your little boy.

from what i've read on the forum, 1200 cals is the minimum-less than this and your body goes into starvation mode. Have you done the BMR on the website and seen what it says? Again, from the stories i read here -if you stick to that then you should lose the weight. (Some people find eating smaller, more regaular meals helps too)
and check out the nutrional info on teh weight watcher meals(you may be suprised ) -i think any processed food is nasty tbh!

Loads of veggies helps me. I like to throw 2-3 cups of sliced mushrooms and a cut up zucchini in the microwave after I've spritzed them with olive oil cooking spray and added a sprinkle of seasoned salt. It's filling, low cal, high fiber and nutritious. Also I'm trying to stay away from so much processed food. Gina, at skinnytaste.com has lots of easy recipes that are low fat and nutritious, I use her site a lot and my kids love the dishes I make from it. Keep going, don't give up, you can do it!!!