Becoming very disheartened :(

DanExcalibur wrote: »

Too many carbs, too little protein.

Irrelevant.
OP are you actually using a food scale? You have 75 grams of chicken-that's less than 3 ounces? As far as actual weight loss, don't worry about it, it will come. When incorporating a new exercise program its normal to retain water. Additionally, remember these things take time.

The estimate MFP and most other programs make to determine your daily calorie requirement is only that: an estimate based on your age, sex and current weight. Your 'true' basal caloric requirement can vary widely from this estimate based on many factors (and therefore the estimate it gives you may not be accurate). And as many other posters have suggested, water balance can play a major factor in day to day fluctuations, but over the longer term should balance out. If you are accurately recording calorie intake over a sufficient length of time (1-2 months) and there is no weight loss, then the conclusion should be that your calorie intake exceeds your caloric expenditure; therefore you should decrease your caloric intake further. Trendweight is a great tool to help filter out the day-to-day fluctuations and keep you sane, and the concepts on which Trendweight is based is described very well in "The Hacker's Diet", which I recommend reading for its down to earth mechanistic approach to weight loss. In terms of macronutrient balance, practically any approach will 'work' as long as calories out is greater than calories in; there may be important health ramifications for any given approach (e.g. extreme low carb vs Paleo vs Mediterranean, etc), but these continue to be subject to scientific study and proponents of each approach will argue the fine points and benefits and long-term effects on weight loss and general health. You may have to educate yourself on nutrition and various dietary management strategies, and you may need to experiment somewhat to find an approach that 'works' for you in the sense that it provides an interesting diet that you can stick to over the long term. For example, many people achieve weight loss on Atkins but find that long-term adherence is problematic because too many 'favorite' foods are excluded and it is easy to slip up. Many diets are difficult to adhere to if they have lots of specific rules or require hard to find ingredients simply because dining out becomes a problem and you find yourself cooking one meal for yourself and a different meal for the other members of your family; you may find this acceptable but it requires a lot of discipline.

A couple of parting words. Check in with your doctor to make sure that your diet plan is safe and healthy for you, and also to inquire about potential metabolic issues that may be present that could be responsible for poor response to your diet (such as hypothyroidism). You are fortunate to have a supportive spouse who is on the same nutritional path, this clearly is going to be very helpful, but as others have pointed out don't make it a competition or compare your weight loss to his. Men have quite different body structures, fat distributions and hormonal factors that contribute in general to weight loss rate. Finally, be patient! You will succeed, but it takes time (more than two weeks!).

DanExcalibur wrote: »

Nony_Mouse wrote: »

DanExcalibur wrote: »

Too many carbs, too little protein.

Unless she has a medical condition that requires a lower carb approach that's completely irrelevant to weight loss.

Nonsense. Eat nothing but carbs and zero protein and watch what happens...

Nobody is recommending eliminating protein. Saying that one will lose weight on a deficit even if carbs are eaten has nothing to do with the ridiculous suggestion to eliminate protein.

helen772010 wrote: »

Thank you for your replies, I always weigh out food and if not practical then I always over estimate the calories so as not to cheat myself and go over. I measured my self on day one of 30 day shred and again on day 10, no change, I'm gutted because I'm putting everything in.
Yes I well definatley try and drink more water as your right I don't drink enough, I would like to lose 16 pound to be at the weight I was 3 years ago.
Please from my diet what items are full of carbs and which are the protein foods ? I'm not very savvy on on carbs, proteins
It hurts more that my partner although on the same diet but no exercise at all is losing weight albeit just a pound a week but still a loss.

Sounds like you're doing awesome things for yourself! Congratulations! Wanted to make sure that you know that exercise has nothing to do with weight loss though. I think some people feel like if they're killing themselves in the gym, they should lose weight faster. This isn't true. It's all about being in a calorie deficit. If working out super hard is demotivating to you, maybe you should scale back a bit and just focus on your calories? I know this is the case for me. In past weight loss attempts I would get very frustrated when I worked hard in the gym and didn't see the scale move. Now I have different priorities. Weight loss is number 1. Exercise is number 2. So, as long as I'm in a good calorie place right now, I'm ecstatic. Exercising is a bonus. This approach will change when I reach my goal (another 5 pounds). At that point I plant I slowly switch to maintenance calories, and to focus instead on amount of exercise every week. I've lost 12 pounds in 9 weeks, with 18 pounds total to lose. Feel free to check out my diary- it's open.