Help!! Can't Loose Weight!!

Let me start with the basics, I'm a 26 year old British male, 5'8" and weigh 107kg (236lbs).

About a year ago I weighed 75kg and have since piled on the pounds due to lack of exercise and poor diet.

For the past 2 months my exercise regime has been an hourly brisk walk everyday (approx 8000 steps) consisting of downhill, uphill, flat and unever pathways.

I have completely cut out the takeaways and have started eating more healthy foods.

In the mornings I'll have only a banana for breakfast, a bottle of water and a green tea, after an hour I'll go for my daily hourly walk.

In the afternoon I'll have either a chicken salad with coconut aminos seasoning OR a slimming world carrot and red pepper soup with an apple.

In the evenings I'll have either a slimming world chicken in black bean sauce OR a slimming world chicken hot pot.

My average calorie intake therefore consists of between 600 - 800 calories a day compared to my old diet which consisted of between 2000 - 2500 calories a day (sometimes more).

I weigh myself each week with the same electronic scales on the same flat surface.

So my question is, why am I not loosing weight? Am I doing something wrong?

I'd be very thankful for any response as it's driving me insane!
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Replies

  • benjaminfields25
    benjaminfields25 Posts: 7 Member
    Thank you both for your advice and voicing your concerns with my diet.

    In terms of other activity during the day, I must admit I am pretty sedentary. I work from home so I'm stuck in front of a computer screen most of the day (lockdown certainly hasn't helped).

    I have strong willpower when it comes to the temptation of ordering junk food, I do sometimes induldge once a week (usually Friday) on a small chicken shish kebab which is a healthier alternative.

    I honestly don't think I'm eating too little, I can't force myself to eat more and I don't feel hungry during the day.

    I recently had blood tests done and they all came back as normal so can't put it down to thyroid, maybe it's my metabolism or is that considered psuedo on MFP?

    I've worked it out this evening and today I consumed 664kcal, maybe the information on the back of the packaging is incorrect?

    I mean salads, fruits, vegatables and chicken is low in calories and that's all I tend to eat.
  • penguinmama87
    penguinmama87 Posts: 1,158 Member
    It might be helpful to include a few healthy high calorie items in your diet. Remember that fat is an essential nutrient just like carbs and protein. Nuts, seeds, oils, avocado are good ideas of things that are calorie dense (so they don't take up much room) and very nutritious. Not everybody likes or tolerates dairy, but on days my calorie intake is on the low side I often have a glass of milk.

    How long have you been following a diet plan like this? Are you eating mostly things that are prepackaged or are you prepping yourself?

    There are other posters who are more knowledgeable and can explain better the myths and facts about metabolism, but the basic math of calories in and calories out doesn't change. Your body might do a lot to slow down calorie burn, but it can't run on nothing. As a man you likely burn at least 1500 calories a day just from existing. Stress can increase water retention (and eating very little would stress your body quite a lot), but if you've been doing this for a while (a month or more) and not lost weight, you're probably eating a lot more than you think. Depending on how often those indulgences like takeaways happen, you might be wiping out a deficit and not knowing it. It's better for your health and peace of mind to just eat more the rest of the time.

    That's good you've had blood work, but have your habits changed since then? Also, your body being able to handle something now doesn't mean it will be able to handle it after a year, or five or ten or more.

    As I said before - how many calories does MFP say you can eat per day if you want to lose 1 or 1.5 lbs per week?
  • heatherbest01
    heatherbest01 Posts: 3 Member
    maybe you're losing inches sometimes we see the difference in our clothes before the scale.
  • FallGirl84
    FallGirl84 Posts: 33 Member
    I have to agree with the previous commenters, 600 calories for a guy your size is way too little. You can't lose weight because your body thinks it must hold on to anything it can since it doesn't get enough to function as it should. Please check on how you're measuring food and marking it to MFP, and do increase your calorie intake. I'm a female, just an inch shorter than you but have a couple of kilos more on my waist - and even I'm losing weight while eating 1500-1700 kcal per day and not doing any exercise.
  • benjaminfields25
    benjaminfields25 Posts: 7 Member
    I appreciate everyone's responses, however I think some of you should some research before posting.

    In regards to the Iceland Frozen Ready Meals, check the calories per 100g and then times the amount by 5 to give you a total of how many calories are in each 500g meal.

    I don't have a serious eating disorder, I am merely trying to loose weight, I thought the ideal calorie intake for someone who isn't active all day would between 600 - 800 calories and that would surfice.

    In terms of my weight gain, it was down to eating a lot of junk food, big portion sizes almost every day.

    NHS calculator doesn't give an accurate result and I don't think anyone should follow the suggested calorie intake provided by the NHS, the same goes with the BMI calculator which states that I'm clinically obese.

    I'm not trying to hate on anyone's suggestions, I know you are all trying to help, but it gets a bit confusing when there are posts that conflict.

    Maybe it's just water retention as I've noticed swelling around my ankles and feet and I can't point my toes outwards.

    Oh and trust me the scales work, a friend of mine weighed himself and he eats a lot of food and somehow he lost 5lbs in a week and I'm just sat at 235lbs.

    I'm going to try and increase my daily calorie intake to 800 - 1000 kcals a day and see if that makes a difference.