Need motivation and advice please from UK

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sodaisy
sodaisy Posts: 69
in Motivation and Support
Hi all,

I decided to change the way I eat about a month ago, I am doing the following:

No dairy (only about 300ml of skimmed milk per day)
No wheat
No alcohol (I don't drink anyway as I am allergic to alcohol)
No sugar
No carb after 6pm
MFP calories count (1200 net daily)

I am not strictly sticking to these and I do have the occication of eating out at weekends. Also rather than eat a whole chocolate bar when I am hungry, I am only having a low cal hot chocolate when I really crave for it. Having just the main course when I eat out rather than 3 courses and swapped water with diet coke. I'm about 600 calories over the MFP count per week.

I am also doing Jillian's 30DS + another 10 to 15 mins of banish fat exercise almost everyday. I have a 9 - 5 sit down job, but when I get home I don't normally sit down until 9pm ish (have cats to feed and clean, doing the video exercise, cooking, general house work etc).

I'm 5'3 and weight 155 lbs 3 weeks ago, Lost 4 lbs by last week by this week I've gone back up to 153! I don't feel any changes or different, I did take the measure but my clothes still fit the way it was 3 weeks ago.

Can anyone tell me if I'm doing something wrong? Also since I started this routine, I am more hungry than ever, I don't seems to feel full? Is it because my metabolism had increased by the type of food that I eat and the extra exercise?

Replies

  • roachhaley
    roachhaley Posts: 978 Member
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    Hi.

    I'm a bit confused by your changes. Why don't you just count calories and eat that stuff in moderation (besides alcohol, obviously). A quick look at your diary and it seems okay. You seem to be eating the right kind of foods, for the most part.

    You can consider upping your calories if you legitimately feel hungry. If you just feel like eating or are craving something, it's probably just a side effect from cutting stuff out and eating less of the old stuff in general.

    As far as your weight loss is concerned, the first 5 pounds was probably water weight. If youre gaining weight back, all I can say is make sure you're being honest with yourself about how much youre eating (get a food scale and measuring cups) and how much exercise you're doing.

    Your clothes more than likely wont fit any differently after 5 pounds. It takes (for most people) about 15-20 pounds to notice a clothing size difference. It took me 20 pounds.

    Just dont give up and eventually the weight loss will start up again if you're doing everything right!
  • Tanny3
    Tanny3 Posts: 26
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    hiya, is your diary open to read on your profile? just thinking maybe your not eating enough in the week so that when you do eat out at weekends you bosy holds onto excess water etc. also if your working out are you taking your measurements not just weight as you may have lost inches??
  • Ravenesque_
    Ravenesque_ Posts: 257 Member
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    looking through your diary :

    Well done for eating back your execise cals. I've found that MFP actually overestimates the burn, so maybe only eat 3/4 of them back? better still to invest in an HRM and take it from there.

    are you drinking enough water to flush the salt out of your system?

    Ive found too that eating irregularly makes me keep the kilos on. I now eat at the exact times each day and it's helped immensely.
  • bigbugboo
    bigbugboo Posts: 161
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    You are eating below BMR. Go to fat2fitradio.com and read the advice on there, & use the fitness tools. It totally transformed things for me, now almost at goal weight after getting stuck and not knowing why. Good luck.
  • sodaisy
    sodaisy Posts: 69
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    Thanks for all the reponse, didn't expect it to be this quick! :-)

    Hi Bigbugboo, I've been to fat2fitradio.com to check my BMR, it should be 2184 for Moderately Active, does this mean I need to eat this much + the exercise cal that I burnt?

    Hi Ravenesque, I'm drinking lots of water, about 5 pints + 1 cup of tea while I'm at work, another 2 to 3 pints when I'm home.

    Hi Roachhaley& Tanny3, thanks for your comment, all noted!
  • bigbugboo
    bigbugboo Posts: 161
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    Thanks for all the reponse, didn't expect it to be this quick! :-)

    Hi Bigbugboo, I've been to fat2fitradio.com to check my BMR, it should be 2184 for Moderately Active, does this mean I need to eat this much + the exercise cal that I burnt?


    2184 calories is the amount of calories you would need to maintain at your goal weight. The philosophy of F2F is that you eat like the slim person you want to become. Thus by eating 2184 you will become that slimmer person.

    That figure of 2184 takes care of all that you will need when undertaking the lifestyle you have selected from the chart; ie. Moderately active. You can tweak the figures to reduce the numbers slightly by a couple of hundred, but only when you hit a plateau.

    You may gain a little at first, but then you will notice the weight start to steadily come off as your Leptin (hormone that plays a key role in regulating energy intake and energy expenditure) levels increase and your body starts to let go of your body fat again.

    Listen to as many of their shows (F2F) as you can. You will find them motivational and common sense, and will pick up lots of great tips and ideas to help you on your journey.

    You can friend me if you like, I'm just down the road from you in Devon, UK
  • purplep41n
    purplep41n Posts: 40 Member
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    Hello,

    It is very confusing. I was not in a good place by following the suggestion of cals that MFP suggests but I've now upped my cals as per fat2fitradio and at this level I actually feel physically and mentally that I can do this.
  • Aperture_Science
    Aperture_Science Posts: 840 Member
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    No dairy (only about 300ml of skimmed milk per day) : Why?
    No wheat ; Why?
    No alcohol (I don't drink anyway as I am allergic to alcohol) : If you don;t enjoy it and feel it doesn' agree with you then, yep ditch it.
    No sugar : Why?
    No carb after 6pm :Why?

    Genuinely interested in why you have chosen to reduce and eliminate these food groups, and the no carbs after 6pm is puzzling. You may have great reasons for it but it's difficult to constructively comment without knowing the reasons/logic behind your choices. I'd also echo roachhaley's comment "why don;t you just count calories"?

    Generally people who eliminate in the way you are tend to struggle maintaining if over long periods. I'd encourage you to think of this less as a diet and more as a lifestyle change where nothing is banned or bad but you build a sensible eating plan based upon what you like to eat. so, if you like chocolate eat chocolate; but ensure that you build it into your food allowance for that day.

    Best wishes.
  • bigbugboo
    bigbugboo Posts: 161
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    Hello,

    It is very confusing. I was not in a good place by following the suggestion of cals that MFP suggests but I've now upped my cals as per fat2fitradio and at this level I actually feel physically and mentally that I can do this.

    1200 calories is just too low for many people. I notice that MFP will use this benchmark for almost everybody regardless! You should not be eating below your BMR or you will not be getting all the nutrients you need, and will feel lethargic and will plainly not thrive. BMR is what you need to just stay alive if you were in a coma, so it's obvious to eat below that will result in deprivation and starvation.

    Fat2Fit adopts a sensible approach to weight loss and fitness, and I have personally found success since switching to their methodology.
  • grrrlface
    grrrlface Posts: 1,204 Member
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    Do you have Anna Richardson's Body Blitz Diet book by any chance...? They're her 'rules' for a two week diet and the whole book is based around what works for her. As she keeps mentioning on every page...

    It's not a sustainable diet and I would just stick to eating less, moving more, sticking with your macros and not depriving yourself. That will only lead to you crashing and you'll, more than likely, gain your weight back. As I did on this fad diet.

    Good luck.
  • sodaisy
    sodaisy Posts: 69
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    Hi Aperture,

    I read the book by Anna Richardson, those are the "rules" that she suggested.

    I'm not keen on dairy, so the milk allowance is purely for my breakfast and tea. It doesn't bother me if I don't touch cheese ever again. As for the wheat and sugar, I used to get most of these from junk food, i.e. cake, biscuit and chocolate, I don't eat that much bread anyway, so this give me a prefect reason to limit them.

    As for the no carb after 6, I read about this from various books and website and this will help weigh loss as carb will turn into sugar which in turn your body will store this as fat. I'm getting my carb from breakfast and lunch so I'm not cutting this out, just leave them out in the evening.

    I tried the calories count and other diets many times, they simply didn't work, not that I lost the weight then gain it back, my body doesn't react to diet, no weight loss at all!

    Last time when I managed to get reach my goal weight of 133lbs, I was working out at the gym 6 days a week (1 hour prior work and 1 hour after work).

    Also this new eat habit is a change to the way I eat, I'm can't binge on junk like I used to. Like I said before, I'm still eating out and have the bad stuff but not to have as much as I used to.

    Thanks.
  • Aperture_Science
    Aperture_Science Posts: 840 Member
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    I read the book by Anna Richardson, those are the "rules" that she suggested.

    I'm not familiar with her book or her but...
    I'm not keen on dairy, so the milk allowance is purely for my breakfast and tea. It doesn't bother me if I don't touch cheese ever again. As for the wheat and sugar, I used to get most of these from junk food, i.e. cake, biscuit and chocolate, I don't eat that much bread anyway, so this give me a prefect reason to limit them.

    It's also the perfect reason not to limit them. If you don't like something just don't eat it, there is not point or value in imposing a limit. I don't like pineapple so it's not necessary for me to impose a limit on it.
    As for the no carb after 6, I read about this from various books and website and this will help weigh loss as carb will turn into sugar which in turn your body will store this as fat. I'm getting my carb from breakfast and lunch so I'm not cutting this out, just leave them out in the evening.

    This is a dieting myth from the 80's. It has been disproved many times by clinical studies. My advice is to ignore that rule and anyone who repeats/propagates it.
    I tried the calories count and other diets many times, they simply didn't work, not that I lost the weight then gain it back, my body doesn't react to diet, no weight loss at all!

    I've heard this a few times from people. Personally I don't buy it, calories in versus calories out obeys the basic rules of physics and in my (limited) experience taking a close look at the diary and calorific burns form activity always flags up errors which when fixed result in weight loss. It's worth noting that often the error is under eating. But if you feel you've given it your best shot and it doesn't work for you then I wouldn't criticise you for trying something different.

    Best wishes with it.
  • Dragonfly1996
    Dragonfly1996 Posts: 196 Member
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    Hi

    I am the same height as you & when I started on here I weighed 154lb so also similar to you. It took me 6 months to lose 18lb last year & a few inches. It does take time if u want to keep it off in the long term. I know it's frustrating & I was the same last year. Accept that this is a life change & give ur body time to adjust. Eventually u will feel less hungry but up ur cals if u stay hungry. I am on the lightly active setting & my cals are set up as 1540 by MFP.

    I have put on 4lb this year so still have a stone I want to lose but I have just done a marathon so had to go on maintenance whilst I was doing that. I have now returned to weight loss. I have maintained my weight over this period so am
    Pleased with that.

    I also wouldn't completely cut out food groups either as ur body will miss out on nutrients. I don't eat much dairy - only occasionally but I do use other products like soya milk & cottage cheese plus the same with wheat as it bloats me so use Genius gluten free bread (keep it in the freezer & use for toast) & oats. Tesco has a huge gluten/wheat/dairy free range so worth taking a look.

    The calories burnt on here aren't that accurate so I use an HRM which has become my best friend - again worth getting if u don't have one. I mostly eat up to 3/4 of my exercise cals & only occasionally all of them.

    Above all don't give up as it will come but 3 weeks isn't a long time if u don't have loads of weight to lose.

    Good luck with ur journey :flowerforyou:
  • grrrlface
    grrrlface Posts: 1,204 Member
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    I read the book by Anna Richardson, those are the "rules" that she suggested.

    I'm not familiar with her book or her but...


    She's a TV presenter, she used to be on Supersize vs. Superskinny doing a small section on fad diets. She did them all, apple diet, baby food diet, cabbage soup diet. Basically she is just a fad diet junkie.

    I don't agree with her and what she does. She basically just spreads diet myths around and her 'rules' are ridiculous, especially coming from someone who is not a medical professional.



    Food groups shouldn't really be cut out unless you have an intolerance or other medical reason, it's not healthy but if you want to go ahead with it you should maybe go speak with your GP first so they can keep an eye on your general health over time.

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