Rethinking my eating plan! (Because I'm not losing weight)

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tsansome
tsansome Posts: 14
in Food and Nutrition
Right. Change of tack! I've just not been losing weight over the past 4 weeks (despite being on average no more than 130 cals per week over my target - and it's a tight target at 1240 cals per day - and despite exercising at least 4 times a week). So I've been revisiting my diet.

Don't know if you're familiar with the Food Doctor (www.thefooddoctor.com) but he suggests having something to eat consistently throughout the day - something every 2.5 to 3 hours. The idea is that your energy levels remain on an even keel and you never overload your body's glucose intake and its ability to process it. I won't go into the technicalities here but it makes sense to me.

His basic suggestion is that each meal/snack is made up of protein and a complex carbohydrate (like wholewheat bread, pasta, rye crackers, rice, oats etc. etc.) - along with fruit and veg of course.

My problem, I think is that I've been concentrating too much on the calorific value of everything and not looking at the way what I'm eating is processed. Just because that sweet thing is low in calories or it can fit in to my day because I exercised, doesn't mean I'm allowing my body to work in a way that will have me reach my ideal/healthy weight.

I followed The Food Doctor Diet Club plan a few years ago with great success. I've resisted it this time round because I don't want to fall into the trap of being too prescriptive with myself and then having the sensation of 'falling off the wagon' when I reach my target. I see now that this leads to yo-yo-ing and long term that makes maintaining a healthy weight much, much harder. SO...I won't be following his diet book but I will be following his guidelines (which is what he recommends more recently, to be fair, anyway - see "How Not to Get Fat" - one of his latest books. Yes, terrible name for a book isn't it!! :smile:)

Hope I'm not rambling here! All to say, really, for anyone feeling, like me, that you've been doing all the right things and not losing weight: have a look at what you're eating. I strongly suspect that I need to stop concentrating on calorific values and move on to cutting out caffeine, sugar and processed foods (even if they are low cal) and think more about 'good' energy values - being consistent and slow-burn (that's what having protein and complex carbs will bring).

I'm going to carry on logging in MFP because its such a wonderful support system but from now on I will worry less about the numbers and concentrate on the 'good energy'. This is a long term strategy - no 'quick fixes' here - but I'm in it for the long haul, so fingers crossed my new tack works!

Replies

  • lilscotslass
    lilscotslass Posts: 18
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    Sounds like a great plan and sound advice! There was a post on here a while ago about eating 6 small meals a day rather than 3 main ones, so sort of similar. I had some success in not bothering with numbers at all before I signed up here and just changing what I ate, not the portion sizes, got used to that and then started looking at the numbers.

    I hope this works for you, sounds like it should as you've done your research! Best of luck! :)
  • purroxide
    purroxide Posts: 27
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    I've done something very similar. I've been on a weight loss plateau for a few months now. After looking into it, I realised how much sugar I was actually consuming! I'm trying to eat more clean foods now.
  • nyctraveler
    nyctraveler Posts: 305 Member
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    Yes eating clean is super important. But remember a calorie is a calorie and you have to make sure you find products that pack the most punch, like salmon and veggies instead of red meat for example. Best of luck
  • innerfashionista
    innerfashionista Posts: 451 Member
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    I had the same issue where I hovered around the same 5 pound weight loss/gain for a few weeks. I switched to eating 5 or 6 times a day and I busted through the plateau. I also sometimes zig zag my calories to confuse my body. I'll eat my 1260 until I stall, then I'll eat 1300-1400 until I stall, then switch back. It sounds weird, but it helps. You may just have to play around to see what works for you. Also, how clean do you eat? I got through one plateau by switching to eating as clean as possible.
  • Gabby215
    Gabby215 Posts: 69
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    I definitely think you're making a wise choice! I saw a post yesterday about something called Michi's Ladder. Google it (it's on the Beachbody website) - it basically lists different levels of eating clean and I'm going to start paying attention to it because I also want to improve the quality of what I'm putting in my body. Also, my sister lost about 60 pounds by just changing what she ate and writing it down, not even paying attention to calories but just looking at what she was eating. Her nutritionist said the goal was to eat as few processed and pre-packaged things as possible and it worked!
  • BeetleChe13
    BeetleChe13 Posts: 498 Member
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    Your calorie goal is certainly small enough, so I would say start with cutting out processed foods. Limit the foods you get from out of a box, and definitely consider cutting out all white bread if you haven't already. I eat a big breakfast(400 calories), snack all day long on things like fruit and veggies, and eat fish and veggies for dinner. I've actually found myself with a 200 calorie deficit by the end of the day. I think you'll find your energy level is more stable, even without caffeine, and your whole body may even feel better.
  • 2006AESB
    2006AESB Posts: 7 Member
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    I'll be very interested to see how it goes. Good luck!! xx
  • snockers3112
    snockers3112 Posts: 190 Member
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    I need to do something too as I haven't lost any weight the last couple of weeks, despite keeping to my recommended figures and increasing my exercise. It starts to get you down after a while, especially as you see others consistently losing each week.

    I won't give up, I will just try changing tact!
  • sunshine79
    sunshine79 Posts: 758 Member
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    am in the same boat - am revising my eating today

    bump for later as I'm on a lunch break at the moment so time is short
  • Robin1117
    Robin1117 Posts: 1,768 Member
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    I definitely agree--did not know this was an actual diet, but I eat every few hours throughout the day. Early B-fast, later B-fast, Mid-morning snack, Lunch, Afternoon snack, Dinner. I think it works very well but am motivated to exercise more because I need those calories to be able to have this many "meals".

    Your point about not focusing on "how many calories" but making sure you eat right is good but I find you can do both..... Stick with whole foods, measure with good consistency to find out how much of each item is ok for each meal and satisfies you and you should be on the right track.

    Good luck!!
  • CharlieJuliette
    CharlieJuliette Posts: 459 Member
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    I definitely think you're making a wise choice! I saw a post yesterday about something called Michi's Ladder. Google it (it's on the Beachbody website) - it basically lists different levels of eating clean and I'm going to start paying attention to it because I also want to improve the quality of what I'm putting in my body. Also, my sister lost about 60 pounds by just changing what she ate and writing it down, not even paying attention to calories but just looking at what she was eating. Her nutritionist said the goal was to eat as few processed and pre-packaged things as possible and it worked!

    I've been pondering the whole clean eating thing a lot lately. "Mitchi's Ladder looks really useful - thanks for posting.
  • pixietoes
    pixietoes Posts: 1,591 Member
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    It has been my observation that when you have a small amount to lose you really do have to pay attention to the quality of your food, and not just the quantity. It's definitely NOT just calories in, calories out.

    This link to a video on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

    It's a great 90 minute investment in your future. Before you decide you don't have 90 minutes to spend, watch the first 10 and see if you don't want to find the time for the rest of it. :)
  • emadigan
    emadigan Posts: 89 Member
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    This is sort of how I ended a two month plateau this winter, except I didn't know it had a name! I eat three small meals (around 300 calories each) and two to three small snacks (50-100 calories each). This puts me right around my calorie goal of 1200 calories. I find that a 200-300 calorie meal is more than enough for me. Ever since I got past the plateau, I've been doing pretty well.
  • nicmacc
    nicmacc Posts: 35 Member
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    Sounds like a good plan. I know what you mean about overprocessed stuff we eat just because it is low fat/low sugar/lite/reduced salt doesnt mean it's good 4 u. Let's go back to basics!
  • DaddyMantz
    DaddyMantz Posts: 145 Member
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    I agree completely with spreading out the meals and eating protein at each. It has worked fabulously for me. I have read a lot of books and articles on the subject of losing fat while retaining muscle. They all say that for lower calorie eating plans like 1260/day, you will be just as well served by splitting your meals into 5 instead of 6. It just allows for bigger meals without compromising anything. A couple things you might want to also consider:
    - I have read that most people on a plateau are a little off in their calculations of either calories consumed or burned. Even if one was off 10%, it could stall a weight loss plan.
    - You were talking about not counting calories. This may work very well but it will work because your net calories are lower. It is hard if not impossible to intuitively eat the right amount of calories every day.

    "Plateau is not failure, it's just your body giving you feedback to do something different."
  • tsansome
    tsansome Posts: 14
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    Never heard this phrase 'eating clean' before. Cool! Thanks for all the tips and the encouragement. It means so much to have all you wise and supportive people out there! :happy:

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