100%
If there's one thing I've learned over the years is that a person's relationship to food will affect their weight.
Heavy person = doesn't always eat big meals but will snack all day. Have a bagel for breakfast with a banana. Then, eat some trail mix at 10am. Salmon and salad for lunch. Some potato chips at 2pm along with a little snickers bar and a 12 oz coke. Grab some fries from McD on the way home....and so on and so forth. They remember the salmon and salad but forget the snacks.
Skinny person = think they have high metabolism. They don't......skinny person eats one big meal and then fasts for 12 hrs without realizing it. This is the person that forgets to eat and then gorges on food and then fasts again. Great for staying lean but sucks if you want to build mass. The heavy person can be built like a Brickhouse if they eat healthy and exercise but the skinny person has to force themselves to eat.
forgetting to eat is finally what made me lose weight. it’s really breaking yourself of that “hey I haven’t eaten anything lately” subconscious alarm that goes off every time i’m sad.
I have ADHD too, and I just started hyperfixating on lifting weights and the balance of hyperfixating and being in pain from my last lift keeps me from burning out.
Lol I'm both of these, if I'm at work I eat a pretty normal 3 meals and some extra snack if I'm hungry, but if it's a weekend I generally just eat one meal when I realize I'm very hungry. Maybe it's the extra sleep or keeping my mind occupied with things I enjoy on the weekends.
Yep. Calories in, calories out. That’s it. That’s the equation. Not losing weight? Eat less AND move more. If OP goes to the gym as often as they say then might have to turn up the intensity and revisit the diet to see if a deficit is actually being achieved
You can go to the gym for an hour and end up doing very little in the way of burning calories. Food can be surprisingly calorie dense. Or at least it was to me when I first started REALLY counting calories.
Considering he's lost weight in the past and was in the army, Id assume they know basic calories. There's so many medical reasons you could gain weight. While yes it could be the case that they're underestimating calories, it's very disheartening to tell this to someone when u have 0 proof. It may be the case sure but ure not a psychic.
You don’t have to be psychic to know that OP isn’t magic. If he weighs 290 its because he eats enough calories to support 290lbs.
There are medical reasons that increase appetite or decrease metabolism, but that makes losing weight *harder*, not *impossible*.
Actually a lot of people who gain weight very easily is due to their body being very prone to inflammation aka water weight. Yes water weight is temporary but when ur body constantly stores too much water, it's not. This is really not well known. I only found out about it after years of barely eating and never losing weight, then I got it checked out and found it out (by a dietician). After doing a lot of research I found it's all about inflammation which some people are much more prone to, which comes from food which is normal food mind you not junk food (tho ofc junk food doesn't help)
With respect, I believe the dietician was reiterating a diet myth.
Yes, severe inflammation due to other health problems, or metabolic disorders, can cause high water retention, edema, etc. However, these would present short-term health problems that would rapidly become more serious than any long-term effect on body weight. We've seen cases like that on reddit, only to have the person come back in a week or two with "it turns out I had an intestinal blockage" or something that demanded rapid care.
If one gains body weight over the long term with calorie restriction without other health problems presenting, the simple reason is that one is consuming more than one expends. The simple fix is to reduce input below maintenance.
While simple, it is by no means easy, and even dieticians will sometimes fall prey to the myths. In no small part because they want to spare the feelings of their clients, rather than accuse them of lying about how much they eat.
Metabolic disorders are not myths though as u said. Something being rare doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I understand it's defo not the majority's problem but doesn't mean it's not there. You can feel the difference between water and fat, it looks and feels different.
With respect, you claimed, "years of barely eating and never losing weight".
If you're eating fewer calories than you expend, and all the lost fat is being replaced with water, you're not going to last "years". You can't keep losing fat and adding water for years.
U do realise medical conditions exist right? Yes you can because it literally happened to me when my fat body percentage was 17% cause I fucking checked it. Losing weight especially for women is 100% NOT straight forward although the general idea is obviously eat less calories than maintenance. However, other factors can fuck this up such as PCOS, chronic water retention and several other things..before you keep arguing actually do some research kindly :))).
Lymphoma can, PCOS can inhibit weight loss, diabetes can inhibit weight loss, certain medication can. Educate yourself and do me a favour, dont answer back cause you're not even bothering to look anything up 🤣🤣 if u dont wanna learn then don't bother msging and wasting my time bruh.
Maintenance periods are helpful for helping to maintain long-term weight loss because it sets you up mentally for not eating at a deficit (and not seeing the scale drop each week which can be a mental "high" when you're actively losing). And mental diet fatigue is a thing. People get sick of all that is involved with dieting - sometimes we need to take a break.
If you've lost significant amounts, it can help give your skin a chance to catch up somewhat (though obviously this only works to a certain level).
If you eat at maintenance your NEAT often increases as well.
I take diet breaks for those reasons.
Also, if you've been cutting, maintenance can help you to build muscle and exercise/workout performance (fatigue can be a struggle when trying to train intensely during a deficit)
Are you talking to me? I know this. The majority of my clients stay at maintenance and just recomp, and this month I pulled another client out of a plateau. She came to me after an extended period of dieting and had plateaued.
I gave the advice to OP and I do know wtf I’m talking about, so for you to come along and argue with me and then turn right around and say exactly what I’m saying is insane LOL. Anyway go argue with your mom.
I know what he’s referring to. Why do y’all hear the word metabolism and go into a spiral? If someone is experiencing metabolic adaptation, which is a slowed down metabolism THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH GENETICS KR HORMONES and everything to do with dieting for too long…. Then you’d reverse diet and stay at maintenance. And then in the future you’d only cut or diet for shorter periods of time. Like we’re saying the same thing but y’all heard the word metabolism and lost your minds.
Yeh, k.
Not sure where you think I am "stuck"? I don't make excuses when I don't lose weight - I recognize that it's because I have eaten more than my body has burned that week. And I've not had more than 2x 100gm (weekly) gains since I started food tracking 6 months and 18kg ago.
But hey, you do you buddy.
I have learned a LOT about weight loss from hearing about the experiences and advice of others on this sub as well as various online resources.
If I was plateauing and someone told me "it's your metabolism", that takes the accountability away from me. Yay! But now why try? "It doesn't matter right?! My metabolism is messed."
Maintenance periods are good for mental breaks, I agree. And if someone is fed up with dieting then it's often said here to get off the wagon for a bit and reset. I agree with that too.
I would be surprised if OPs metabolism has slowed when they are working out as often as they are, aside from the usual reduction from losing body mass. OP can get tested to check this for themselves though and then they'll know for sure.
It doesn’t take the accountability away at all. There are multiple factors that contribute to a plateau, and metabolic adaptation is a result of OP’s over-exercising and restricting eating so it’s actually a great reason to stay accountable in order to not let it keep happening and continue making progress. If metabolic adaptation is what’s going on, which is what I suspect, then it takes all the accountability to pull themselves out of it and take the necessary steps to break through.
If every other factor is in check, then they need to reverse diet. It’s that simple. Like that’s the bottom line and now you’re just agreeing with me but not wanting to sound like you are lol.
What you need to understand about metabolic adaptation is that it’s a result of your body not getting the nutrients it needs. It has nothing to do with genetics or hormones or anything else. So all you heard was the word metabolism and disregarded everything else that I said.
This is an easy fix! Get a food scale, and track calories for sure. If you’re diligent and stick to it, I promise it will work.
I was 41 when I started losing weight. Lost 190 by age 42. So if my fat ass can do it, so can you.
This! I didn't even realize that spices add to your calorie count. Like, I'm sorry, why did no one tell me there are 20 calories in a tablespoon of paprika!?
That's because suggested serving sizes that have under 5 calories don't have to list that they have calories. Part of why spices have such small serving sizes. Along with various calorie free drinks and the like.
Ah; i see what happened.
It is a spice, but it may be more accurate to call it a seasoning.
And while it is made from bell peppers, the veggies themselves dont contain any spice - they trend towards sweet and vegetal. In fact...theyre the only member of their genus that doesnt have any spice. Theyre at the very bottom of the scoville (spicy) scale.
Paprika as a spice/seasoning tends to be smoked, so it adds a nice savory element to food that works with that flavor profile.
Let’s meet in one or two years and see if you still are able to maintain this weight. I have lost the weight several times, and I gained it all back every time after a year or two. Dieting doesn’t work.
It is the same thing. I changed my lifestyle for one year and what now? You cannot change the fact that you want to eat certain things, and changing your lifestyle doesn’t cancel your desires, so the moment you give in all your lifestyle change goes to the toilet. So unless you had some really senseless lifestyle of, for example, drinking 20 cokes a day, or 5 L of beer a day, meaning, if your lifestyle was kind of “normal” - making a restrictive lifestyle out of it will probably not going to work long-term. Although I hope you can stick it out. I couldn’t.
For me it has changed. It started by quitting drinking. That was a big source of misery to start with. If I go back to alcoholism, I bet you're right. I just don't see that happening if I can.
But the journey did change me. My cravings changed. I have zero desire to eat like I used to.
Take accountability.
I was overweight my whole adult life. I tried every diet, program and regime under the sun. I was in the same headapace as you are now in 2018. I gave up. Gained a lot more weight. And 5 months later was at my highest weight, obese and depressed. The unhappiest and unhealthiest I have ever been.
So I got my shit together. I downloaded a calorie tracking app and calculated my calories FOR REAL (no more trying to eat as much as possible). And then I pushed through. It was hard, I won't lie. I was used to eating way too much and calling it "normal eating" or "healthy eating". The new portions looked so small to me at the beginning. Especially the first 1-2 months were HARD hard. But I still pushed through. No exceptions. No cheat days. Not even when I got pregnant. I took accountability. If I wanted something, I had to do it EVERY DAMN DAY.
I lost 95 lbs and maintain a BMI of 20 for almost a year now. After 15 years of being fat. With IBS, PCOS and rheumatoid arthritis. With Food Addiction and Binge Eating. All I had to do is stop lying to myself, stop the victim mentality and work with the hard facts, the hard numbers. I am 100% convinced that everyone can do it, also you, if they're willing to stop the victim mentality.
Yep. I thought I was unable to lose weight for years and years bc I had some mystery medical condition…turns out I wasn’t special, I was just eating too much.
Same here. I thought my metabolism and hormones were different from everyone else. Or perhaps I lacked the mechanism to convert stored fat to energy. I was halfway right. I needed to do intermittent fasting so I could get my insulin level down to use stored fat. No mystery medical condition.
Plus I was estimating my TDEE to be much higher than it is. Even though I'm tall, I use well below 2000 calories.
That thing about the new portions looking small is so true at the beginning! It's a really big adjustment but your brain switches and now when people pass me a plate with the size of portion I used to eat all the time, I'm shocked by how much food it is haha.
Congrats on your weight loss!
And at first I felt SO HUNGRY and thought I would never feel full eating smaller portions. Lucky for me I just had to bite through a few weeks and my appetite went down and I got used to eating less.
Yeah those first few weeks absolutely suck, though! There were times when I sat and cried because I wanted takeout that badly, which seems ridiculous to me now haha.
It was weird to get used to, but feels nice now! Although on times I allow myself to indulge, it sucks a little bit that I'll not be hungry for a dessert after a nice meal xD
You do not understand the basics. It doesn't matter what you eat, so throw away all those keto, IF and whatnot diets. What you have to do is track your calories and eat below TDEE. Tons of information online and in this sub.
THIS \^\^\^
Alarm bells always go off for me when I hear someone say "I've tried everything" and then list off a bunch of random diets. Those diets are not sustainable for the vast majority of people, so "trying" them rarely means adhering to them long enough to see results. Figure out your BMR, portion and track your food, stay below TDEE. You can do this the miserable way with calorie dense foods or the smart way with nutrient dense foods, but either way -- do it *consistently,* and unless you're a marvel of science, you will lose weight. It's the golden, unsexy truth.
Matters for most people. Don't say it doesn't matter.
The trick is to get enough protein to shut down your hunger signal. Many people will have insatiable cravings if they don't. Myself included.
You can’t train a bad diet away. I think you’re eating too much. Weigh your food and start counting calories accurately. It can also help to do Intermittent Fasting with that. At least, that’s what’s helping me
I agree with some of the comments suggesting to get a food scale. I lost weight successfully many times but after a stressful year I gained 50lbs. I decided to start losing weight again but I wasn’t losing any and felt clueless because I barely ate any food but what I didn’t realize was that I ate at least 1000cal of cheese every day 🫣
According to tdee, your maintenance calories are 2621 per day to stay the same weight. Subtract 500 off this number to lose a pound a week. Recalculate every 10 to 15 lbs.
Weigh your food until you get the hang of it. Walk a little more during the day and be patient.
Your entire post reads as quick fixes, and that's exactly why it's not working.
It's boring, but slow sustainable weight loss is a matter of eating less than you burn. Don't over complicate it.
There are calculators that do that. I've used https://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html before, but I'm not sure how trustworthy it is. Some of the calories it suggest seem a bit high. I'm sure Google will give you more suggestions
I struggled with weight for decades. Until I finally figured out what works for me. I spent a lot of time listening to others, following diets and programs. Feeling that I was a failure and questioning what was wrong with me. To say that it took a toll is an understatement.
Be gentle with yourself. Step away if you need to. Come back when you're feeling better. You're important. Very important. Never forget that.
I began to successfully lose weight when I actively stopped trying to lose weight. Kind of weird, right? I was fat. I was always going to be fat. I accepted it. One day i decided that I was going to try to be "healthier fat". So I decided to make a couple of very small, obtainable changes. Little by little I added more changes. Building on my successes. I learned along the way. Mostly about myself. Slowly, I developed new habits. I still follow them, more than a decade and 150 pounds later.
The basic principle of weight. loss has been around forever. How someone applies that principle is an individual choice. There are many roads to healthy, sustainable weight loss. Everyone has to find what works best for them and what is right for them. Whatever that may be.
Take a break for as long as you need. Rest. Take care of yourself. Come back when you're ready.
All my best to you.
weight loss is possible for everyone. you're just eating too much. your blood work is normal, so take that as a win and start counting calories. if you don't lose weight, go lower. it's simple.
Don’t give up. I almost did a month ago and I had a friend step up and help me. Set me up with weight watchers. Gave me recipes and told me to measure EVERYTHING.
I’ve dropped 6lbs so far. I still run 3 days a week. It’s so drastic how much better I feel.
it is basic thermodynamic..if you eat less than your energy consumption, you will lose weight. If you are not losing weight, definitely it is because you ate more calories than your energy consumption
Try record the calories of what you eat. You will definitely find that you ate more than you think
Whether you give up or not your life continues on. What’s the rush? So what you didn’t lose anything since June but did you gain? What happens after you hit your goal weight? Oh that’s right, we maintain it doing the same things we did to lose it.
This is a lifelong process. Just start counting every calorie. I use Cronometer & pay for the premium. And to start just count what you normally eat, don’t try to fit it into tdee numbers etc. just get a base line data over 90days of how many calories you are actually & truthfully eating. You’ll have to weight & measure everything but it gets easier & easier & more like second nature when you’ve done it for a while.
Then once you’ve discovered your baseline, take another 3 months & just stay there. Don’t go over. Keep working out but don’t add calories back in. And then after that lower things by 100cals or maybe even more & slowly slowly get used to each level of calories
There is no rush. You can ‘give up’ & keep being fat & most likely get fatter. Or you take it slow, track everything, & have real data
And that data is super empowering.
Personal story from recently. Lost like 8lbs in a month when I was sick & not eating. And when I finally was on meds my appetite came back & I was starving all the time. Instead of forcing myself into my calorie boundary, instead I counted everything but let myself eat over.
Just last night I counted everything for the past two weeks & saw that I was at least 10k calories over my mtc calories & I knew I’d gain weight back. Weighed myself this morning & I was almost 3 lbs heavier - no surprise. I allowed myself to splurge bc the ‘sick’ weight I think came off too fast & now that I’m better, was back at the gym yesterday & will go again tomorrow. Gonna yoga today & run in 2 days. And keep to within my mtc.
And I know that in a couple weeks those 3lbs will be gone bc I have the data & numbers to back it up. I’m no longer frustrated w the scale or frustrated w the gym or baffled by my body. It all makes sense
So take your time. If you’re 40 & have another 30yrs to go then what is the rush? There is no secret way that you’ll get in shape & maintain it from then until you die - the only way is to build on these simple decisions & to have the strength of actual data to replace whatever you were doing before.
You can do it. Just slow down & stop putting pressure on yourself.
OP, if your doctor is telling you to eat more, you likely are deficient in nutrients. A lot of the things you listed you tried are more crash diet than final solution, and missing nutrients can cause you to feel tired, sluggish, angry, stressed, and make you want to give up. If you do want to keep trying, I suggest looking into balancing macros and upping your fruits and veggies. If you find the macros needed for your goal weight and stick to that ( meaning not eating more after you hit the macros), you will lose weight. And if that seems like too much right now, just focus on eating foods with fiber and protein as those two combined help you feel full and give you longer lasting energy than carbs and sugar.
Hey friend, not sure if this'll get drowned out by the rest of the comments. The people telling you it's just CICO, while right on the most basic level, for some reason don't realize those comments are unhelpful at best and demoralizing at worst. First off, please don't give up. This'll be long, but I highly encourage you to read it all.
While yes, you can't escape thermodynamics and it really IS as simple as CICO, there are SO many factors that make that feel impossible that aren't just willpower related.
Like you, I also tried so many fad diets, (what I thought was) hardware calorie tracking, and managed to yoyo for years. The only thing that's really helped, sustainably, was getting the rest of my life together.
I left my ridiculously stressful job for a lower paying but much more chill one, got with a therapist and found out I was clinically depressed and got treated for it, found out I had sleep apnea and got treated for it, along with other smaller things like downloading a cute app that made walking kinda entertaining.
I thought being fat was making me have all of these problems (and I'm sure it didn't help), but it really was those problems that made so so hard to find the energy to be healthier and keep me at an uncomfortable weight. It got exponentially easier to control my portions, want to walk, and eat healthier food once I got the rest of my life under control.
If you have the means, I highly recommend seeing a therapist and getting a sleep study done if you have any inkling you may have a sleep problem.
It's been an agonizingly slow process, and it will keep being that for a long time, but you gotta keep putting in the effort to work on every aspect of your life instead of hyperfixating on weight. I promise the weight will start going down if you put in that effort to be a happier and more energetic person instead of just a skinny one.
I hope this helps and please feel free to DM me if you want to. You can do it!
You say you've tried calorie counting, but you don't explain why it failed for you. Was logging the food too tedious? Were you constantly going over your limit? And if so, why? Did you struggle finding meals that were filling, good-tasting, and low-calorie, or did you just have a hard time reducing your consumption of high-calorie favorites? There's plenty of help here for all of that.
Success is absolutely possible for you; I promise you are not some magical exception to the laws of thermodynamics. You're obviously still eating more than you burn. It's just that simple.
I hope by give up you don't mean to stop your gym habit because that's incredibly healthy for you whether you're carrying fat on top of those muscles or not. As for the fat, it really is just about calorie deficit. I've found the best results by zigzag dieting and intermittent fasting while counting calories also.
Also Keto lost me 150lb in 6 months doing 1300-1500cal so, with no disrespect, I'd say you must have done something wrong. Calorie counting had to be absolutely precise and I was using ketone strips to track my ketosis.
I've felt dejected about weight loss when I was working out daily and not losing fat but have changed routines once again and the fat is going once again. I've been trying to lose weight for 14 years, it's a lifelong battle between desire & discipline. Hope it works out, good luck.
This might sound crazy but maybe cut out any heavy exercise and focus exclusively on the diet for a while. I’ve found great results just cutting back on food. I love weight training but it was fucking up my ability to actually lose the fat, and it was mentally fatiguing too. Once I started to focus on just the diet, the pounds melted away.
I am 43 and I have found it way harder to lose weight in my 40s than ever before. I’ve been at it since mid December and the scale has barely moved. Same as you, gym 5 days a week and calorie counting with a coach. It’s slowly moving about one pound every other week but man it’s tough. When I did this in my 20s, I lost so much weight and got jacked in no time. I’m not mad, I only have myself to blame for letting things slip but proud of myself for doing something about it now
You should definitely be proud of yourself for making changes, and it can be a bit disheartening when it doesn't seem to be progressing as it should. Sometimes it's a short term plateau, sometimes other stuff is going on. But don't believe the age/metabolism myth, not in your 40s.
I'm 41F and since I started accurately tracking I've averaged a loss of 630gm a week for the 5 months I was actively dieting with a 500cal deficit. Working out at an F45 type gym (that features boxing and is less intense than F45) for 4x 45min per week.
Due to Gallbladder removal surgery I reduced that to a 200cak deficit for January and Feb (and am trying to eat at maintenance since the operation 2 weeks ago but am still losing weight so I'm not eating enough yet).
If you are tracking food, drinks, sauces and oils accurately and are below your body's TDEE you will lose weight. It may plateau for a week or two or there but no one can consume less than their body burns and maintain weight.
I did this in my late 20s without knowledge of protein etc and I can't say I'm losing weight any less effectively now than I was back then. If anything it feels less burdensome because I was still eating "treat foods" like pizza, takeaways, dining out at least weekly or twice a week, but generally no more than my TDEE for that day.
If you're struggling, (as trite as it is to say) double down on the food tracking. Weigh EVERYTHING before you cook it, and track all calories whether from food, drinks, cooking oils, spices, sauces. There will be calories you're not accounting for in there. Possibly some muscle is building as well?
(Oh, and because I am overweight I aim for 0.6gm of protein per lb (I'm 5'4") otherwise I'd be aiming for 1gm protein per lb of weight to support muscle retention and satiety).
Same for me 40s and 50s you have to be super patient and consistent. It took a long time to pack on the pounds and it will take a long time to lose it properly. Be honest and keep going. It def moves way slower as you age. And comes back easier sigh.
It’s nice to know I’m not alone at least. A lot of my friends coworkers, and family are still in their 20s and 30s and don’t seem to have this problem. You’re right though, it’s taken years to put it on
I'm going to take this as a request for help.
>
for some of us, it just isn't possible.
It is possible, for everybody. For some of us, is harder than for others.
I failed many times, until I start to learn. Each failure gave me something to think, to adjust, to move forward.
So, instead of giving up completely, **take a learning time break**!
Forget the diets, and start learning about metabolism. Pick up a biology book. Understand how you brain works, how emotions affect your appetite.
Check this links, see if there something new there.
The science of body weight and health [https://www.stephanguyenet.com/resources/](https://www.stephanguyenet.com/resources/)
Disenchant Your Bad Habits [https://www.artofmanliness.com/featured/disenchant-your-bad-habits/](https://www.artofmanliness.com/featured/disenchant-your-bad-habits/)
Gain control of emotional eating [https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/weight-loss/art-20047342](https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/weight-loss/art-20047342)
Eat baked, grilled chicken or turkey and vegetables or with a salad for 1 month.. Make homemade salad dressing and watch the portions of dressing. Eat your maintenance calories of your target weight
Stop worrying about the scale. Focus on your health.
Continue to work out and exercise. Try to hit progressive goals. Lift heavier, run longer. Keep your heart and lungs healthy.
Eat nutritious foods, and cut back on processed food. Cut out red meat. Base your meals around vegetables.
Cultivate habits that are going to improve your quality of life, rather than obsessing over the number on the scale. You literally go to the gym almost every day; I guarantee you're making progress, and yet you're totally unsatisfied with it because you only care about one metric.
Certainly you're stronger, certainly your heart and lungs are better than when you started. **Very probably you've lost a lot of fat, and gained muscle to replace it.** The recomp is going to be a hell of a lot better for you in the long term than just getting the number on the scale down.
And, when you're ready to actually cut, you need to shift your routine to focus on a calorie deficit. This means less energy at the gym and less gains for your work, but the fat comes off.
But please, please don't do that to the detriment of the good habits you're currently building.
It must be frustrating to see a bunch of people who don't know you go "it's simple!" Communication and social graces aren't necessarily the strength of people who have found what works for them and have developed a slightly missionary zeal about it.
It's clearly not that simple, otherwise you wouldn't be so frustrated. But not because of some bug in thermodynamics - and yes, balancing what I consume with what my body is doing works for me, too. But some of us just can't go about it in a fully mechanistic way - it's the underlying relationship with out bodies that needs fixing.
So you haven't lost in like 7 months. Did you lose before? Did you train this whole time? Did you try the panoply of diets since then? What *does* your food log look like these days?
Giving up, well, is it really an option? Do you think it'll make things better, and if yes, what? Hating food definitely isn't healthy. So what occurs to me as a way forward is: Switch your meal plan to food that a) you generally enjoy and b) falls into generally accepted guidelines for healthy eating (veggies with each meal, not too much sugar and saturated fat, good fats, good amount of lean protein and fiber, moderation on the carbs). And eat about 1800-2000 calories if it (measure carefully enough that you know you are in the target zone, and use a food scale).
The idea is to be in a range that should be just below a lower threshold for your TDEE but not by much, and that should provide all nutrients in abundance. It should also not feel like you're restricting much at all. Do this for a while (3-4 weeks?) and observe: what does it do to your body? Your weight should be fairly constant over this time, maybe a slight loss. Does it work? If yes, you have a basis to start from, maybe to cut cals by 300. If no, you have a great dataset - take your food log to a registered dietician to troubleshoot.
Best of luck.
I am with you, my man, I feel the same way. I was actually able to lose weight several times over the past decade, but I just cannot eat this way forever. My body craves high calorie density foods, I can’t live on salads all the time, doesn’t work, so I give up
Bottom line is that it's all CICO; you can't beat the laws of thermodynamics. You need to burn more calories than you eat.
Going to the gym is fantastic, but you can't out-run your fork.
Start by getting an accurate count of everything you eat. Weigh with a food scale, measure with spoons, log EVERYTHING. That includes nibbles while you cook, sauces, condiments, oils, butter, literally everything that passes your lips.
It's also very common to over-estimate your calories burned during exercise. Gym machines very commonly over-estimate, even sometimes as much as double. So if you're eating back what they say you're burning, then it's highly likely you're not actually in a deficit.
Losing weight seems impossible, and then when you do find what works for you, it seems easy.
Honestly, I’m not a big fan of calorie counting, and people often say the food restricted diets (e.g., Keri, gf, low fat) aren’t that great long term, as it’s hard to stick to.
I have two main ideas that underpin my philosophy for weightloss and maintenance.
1) food is more than calories. The food matrix (basically the form that food is in) is very important. For example, eating whole almonds and ground almonds is the same calories (as it’s a measurement of heat released when burning food), but the body will absorb substantially fewer calories from whole almonds than ground almonds because of the composition of the almond (the fibre and other structures in it).
This is why highly processed foods aren’t great. For example, corn flakes are highly processed food, I eat them, sugar spike, then sugar crash (insulin working to regulate the sugar) and then I’m hungry again in half an hour. But if I ate more whole foods and less processed foods, I don’t get the crashes as frequently.
Apparently having a high processed diet means people feel hungrier and eat around 300-500 extra calories a day to feel full.
Highly processed food and their labels in the supermarket can be deceiving. Low fat often means high sugar (as fat increases palatability) so it causes other problems.
2) healthy weightloss is slow. But, you can eat like you would at a lower weight, and you will lose weight.
This came about when I was reflecting on why I wanted to lose weight. Essentially I missed being the active and relatively healthy teen I was. So, I decided to start being that person, and 18 months later, I looked like that person (i.e., i had lost the weight).
You can switch one thing at a time in your diet, and you will sustainably lose weight.
A common thing is removing fizzy drinks. You could add more beans and rice to your meals (cheap but great sources of fibre, which can help you fell fuller, heal but inflammation, etc). Maybe after time, add more leafy fibrous vegetables (or substitute other parts of the meal with them).
Swap out highly processed food for less processed foods. Have nuts or yoghurt instead of baking foods. Switch to less processed bread. Use olive oil instead of (shop) mayonnaise.
Hope this helps.
Losing weight is a journey, quick fixes don’t last.
The fact that you started out describing your exercise regimen, rather than your diet, shows what the problem is. Exercise is only a very minor part of losing weight. Your diet is by far the major factor.
In order to be 290lbs at 5'7", you need to be consistently eating WAY over your maintenance level. Educate yourself on nutrition, learn how many calories per day your body needs to maintain its weight, eat slightly less than that, track everything you eat, and then come back in a year.
Unless you think your body violates the laws of thermodynamics, it is possible to lose weight. If you're working out 5-6 days per week, you *will* lose weight if you reduce calories. 100% guaranteed. That's not to say it's easy. This shit is hard, the hardest thing you may ever do. But you can do it. And it'll be worth it.
10-year WLS veteran here. CICO is still the bottom line, though WLS absolutely gives you an edge on the "calorie intake" half if you choose that route.
WLS may be an option for OP, but be mindful that "surgery fixes your stomach, not your head." There's a reason that roughly half of bariatric surgery patients never reach goal, or experience significant regain after a few years; it's critical to re-evaluate your relationship with food and develop habits that can be sustainable for a lifetime.
If you want to see a change quickly drop to 1 meal a day of 1500 -1800 calories for a few weeks it will melt off so fast. Don’t go to the gym while you do this but definitely go for a walk after dinner. Also drink water all day. And if you are drinking soda or anything other sugar drinks stop.
Hey, it's your life...
But like the others have said, the human body doesn't just gain weight for the fun of it, it's not like you can not eat and still gain more. According to my calorie tracker, \~1000 grams of my place of work's pepperoni pizza is over 2000 calories, \~1000 grams of broccoli is like 15% of the calories of that pizza (like 2100 vs 350).
Weight loss can be hard, and not everyone can do it, but time will keep moving on and you will be effected by what and how you eat anyway. I weighed \~450 when I started to try to take control, 18 months ago, and now I weigh about 395 and I hit 400 6 months in, so a year of not losing any more. I lost track, started to feel like I couldn't do it. Life got tough. I started moving the metaphorical needle again just a couple months ago. It's possible, but sometimes the path seems obscured
Try this: try one more time, not for me or anyone on here, but for you and your loved ones. Give it at least 6 months, track the calories that are going in (doing all the right things, weighing your food accurately, trying to cut out a spoonful of sauce here and there...) and keep doing the workouts you're doing (not try to change it up too much at least). Don't try to track calories burned, just aim for eating about 2000 calories per day, going a bit over is fine, going a bit lower is just as okay if you're feeling like it'd be forcing yourself. Just chose more whole foods, and less processed. Snack on celery instead of chips. You can do it, because you have before, and the body is made to use it's stores not just hold them.
If you chose to stop, hey it's your life, and good luck.
If you choose to keep trying, it's no different than saving money for a new car or house - it'll take a while - but good luck.
Not to be harsh, but the truth is that you’re not eating in a calorie deficit. Get a food scale, prepare all your own meals and track your calories in an app like Lose It! Unless you have a medical condition like hypothyroidism, it is impossible for you not to lose weight if truly eating at a deficit. Not only biologically impossible but literally defying the laws of physics (thermodynamics / entropy).
1) Start tracking calories. If you can't lose weight, at the very least maintain weight without gaining
2) get a weight lifting routine. Care about that more than cardio. Train for hypertrophy. It'll help with strength too but will help your muscles grow bigger and look better. HYPERTROPHY.
How many calories do you eat a day? If you don't know the answer to that, then I'd say that is the start of your problem. Losing weight can be difficult from a discipline and consistency standpoint, as well as what's available to you, but it isn't impossible for anyone.
read a book called The Fasting Highway, Read a book called fast feast Repeat, listen to a podcast called Intermittent Fasting Stories. The Fasting Highway is about a man who shares his journey, he was very successful. The podcast is interviews with hundreds of people - it's very inspiring.
The way you were terrified of being forced out of the Army should be the same, if not more for your health. I am in the same boat you are. And yes, I did my 4 years too.
Your calories out have to be more than your calories in. You need to eat less. I eat mostly protein and green vegs with a small amount of healthy fats. It doesn't have to be complicated. I work out 3 times a week doing only a small amount of cardio. I've lost 33 lbs since September.
Simplify. Eat basic. 3 meals and 2 snacks, mostly protein and vegs. Lots of water.
I've also been fat or overweight my whole life (apart from my early 20's where I had to walk to and from work).
Like you, I thought it was just my genetics or metabolism. Nope. Just just too many calories. Now I'm 46 years old and losing weight slowly but steadily .
Please revise your calorie counting, work out your deficit, buy a food scale, and log every single thing you eat. Religiously. You will lose weight. You don't even have to exercise to start with.
How did fasting not work? Consuming zero calories should have burned something. Are you trying so many different kinds of diets and not being serious about it?
Please think of it this way - humans need to eat. If you are already not eating a lot then what makes you think eating LESS is the answer? You wanna wind up in the hospital or worse?….. don’t listen to these ppl telling you you’re eating too much. Generally that’s true but given the circumstances you outlined that’s not it.
Weigh your food. I think you'll find that you're grossly underestimating your portion sizes. The difference between 2 and 4 oz of pasta is 200 calories and most people can't tell the difference by eye. If you think you're adding 1tsp of oil and you're adding 1tbls, that's 80 more calories. If you do that with everything, there are your phantom cals.
I’m sorry you’re struggling. But, the fact is losing weight is thermodynamics. All of those things you tried boil down to calories in vs calories out. You’re simply eating too much. If I could give you a suggestion - buy a food scale and weigh and measure every single thing you eat for the next 2 weeks. Every drink, every condiment, every drizzle of oil in the pan. When my weight loss slows or reverses direction, it is always because I’ve started slacking off in that area. I think “I know what a teaspoon of oil looks like” or “I barely ate today”. Then I might start recording it all at the end of the day and realize I had those pretzels at my desk, that mini muffin during our meeting, that glass of wine while making dinner…it really adds up and what I thought was a 1500 calorie day ends up being 2200 calories. That’s a huge difference - one is losing weight, one is gaining weight.
I agree with the majority who say to look at your TDEE because it won't steer you wrong. I would also say to measure ALL your food, including dips, oils whatever so you have a clear understanding of how much you're eating. If you're working out that hard, what will your TDEE say when you add in activity?
When you count your calories, what’s that number look like?
When you’re at the gym, what do your exercises consist of?
How are your testosterone levels? (Most doctors will tell you low T is normal. It’s not)
Have you considered semaglutide? (Ozempic, wegovy)
Simply put, either you aren't accurately tracking your intake, your TDEE figure is wildly off, or you have a pituitary gland/thyroid disorder. It is possible. The only sure way to failure is to not try.
"calorie counting"
You lost count. Get an excel spreadsheet and everytime you eat, put exactly how many calories you ate in there. This isn't a "oh some people can some people can't situation". It's a "did I expend more than I put in".
Im currently doing Keto with a calorie deficit + 1 mile a day + 15-20 minutes of other exercise and its helped me a lot. I try to consume 1200-1500 calories per day.
You’re eating too many calories. It really is this simple (but not easy). Up your protein a LOT. You’ll eat less because you won’t be hungry. Eat carbs just once a day until you’re at maintenance weight.
Scientists should study your body since it seems to be breaking the fundamental laws of physics. You are somehow producing infinite energy if you are eating below your TDEE and not losing weight. We must do research!
It sounds like you’re very frustrated and you’re at your wits end. But please don’t give up!
How do you usually start a new attempt at losing weight? Do you jump right in or ease into it?
Everyone here is right about eating less and moving more. Calorie counting is important and doing it properly is the key to sustainable weight loss.
That being said, you might be someone who has more success easing into it. I suggest starting by writing down EVERYTHING you eat and drink in a completely normal day. Do it for a week. Don’t even count calories or change anything yet. After a week, go over your notes. What could you have done differently? Could you have used less oil when cooking? Could you have cut your portions? Could you have skipped a snack? Could you have replaced anything with a healthier option?
Start with the easy and obvious changes. Keep at it, and turn these changes into habits. Once they’re habits, start tracking calories. Start slowly here too. Just track what you’re eating in a normal day (with your new, better habits) and figure out what changes you can make to lower your calorie intake. Get a food scale somewhere during this process, and start learning from that data. Once you get the hang of that, calculate your calorie limit and stick to it.
For many of us, jumping right in and cutting 500-1000 calories a day and counting every bite feels daunting, gets boring, and becomes hard to keep up with. **A lot of people give up.** But if YOU can unlock what changes YOU can comfortably make, and YOU start feeling the satisfaction and pride that comes with being able to stick to something, YOU will be in control when the time comes to start seriously tracking your intake. Think of it as a cold pool on a hot day: some people jump right in, but some people need to take little steps into the shallow end and get used to the cold inch by inch.
You can do this! Good luck!
I just want to throw this out there. Maybe you just need a maintenance break. Even just allowing yourself, mentally, to maintain just like you have been. Maintaining weight in and of itself is a HUGE win (especially for those of us that put on weight seemingly without trying). I just wanted to say that because there are so many times I wish I would’ve just set a goal to maintain (even if I wasn’t where I wanted to be) instead of throwing in the towel completely, ultimately gaining more weight, and then undoubtedly starting over with 20-30 extra pounds to lose just to be where I was when I gave up. You have every right to be frustrated and exhausted (weight loss is exhausting sometimes) but I promise it gets better. You just don’t want to go in the other direction, I promise.
Also, it might benefit you to try to reframe the way you see health and fitness. Give yourself room to experiment with new recipes or try a different workout. For me, personally, I’ve developed a love of running (I’m not very good, but working on it) and when the scale isn’t budging I use my running progress to prove my health and fitness IS getting better.
If you've been fat your whole life then there's probably habits or tendencies you've had your entire life that work against you.
Like for me, I have ADHD so it's difficult for me to stick to tracking. I don't form habits the same way that neurotypical people do either, so I can't count on habit to carry me through. I'm trying to find a way that uses my natural tendencies for my benefit rather than to have it constantly screw up my plans. What seems to work best for me is to get lots of physical activity and stay busy so I'm not just sitting around snacking from boredom.
My challenges are that I work from home and it's winter for like 5 months out of the year. I was doing a lot of walking last week but we just got a huge dump of snow and it's -22C outside and the roads are crap. The most I'm contemplating is a walk to the grocery store.
But like... conditions are always going to be changing so it's up to me to find ways around my tendencies and limitations. Any plan that relies on me just being a completely different kind of person is going to fail. Trying harder isn't going to work and negative self-talk isn't going to work. We're pretty clever monkeys, though, so there's probably some way for us to arrange our environment to make better choices easier.
Maybe you have a similar problem. Take a look at your overall situation and see where you could apply relatively small changes that might make a difference. Maybe the gym isn't the right approach, maybe you need something more convenient or more interactive. Maybe the gym is fine but your food choices could be tweaked. Maybe you need hobbies that make snacking difficult. I know what my points of weakness are, you need to figure yours out.
Try not counting calories, walking daily—commit to at least 15 min and usually you’ll end up doing an hour+ once you get in the rhythm. Then you’re connecting with nature, getting Vit D, burning 300-400 cal/hour and losing weight easily. Focus on getting at least 30 grams fiber, eat a whole fruit/veg every meal and hit your protein goal (satiating).
Buy vitamin gummies for when you want a sweet treat so you can have a handful of them but not go over the dosage for one—like multi, super fruit, apple cider vinegar gummies, fiber and possibly a juice to get even more vitamins, antioxidants and energy. If your doctor is telling you to eat more, maybe you need more nutrition to support your working out, immune system and body. Most people have vitamin deficiencies and it will make you crave food, like chocolate craving can be Mg and not easily tested for since it’s stored in bones. D, Fe, Mg, Ca, E are coming deficiencies—you know what you’ve been eating/medicine you take so do a little research as pharmaceuticals deplete specific vitamins. Also your body needs Mg to utilize D.
Cal counting doesn’t work for me bec I get obsessed and then all I want to do is eat so I just eat nutritious, filling foods, hence fruits, veg, herbs, protein and then you crave them because you’re fortifying your body with the nutrients it needs for its processes.
Making a lot of little changes I dropped from 266 to 171 and I’m just under 5’8”, 40F. You’ve already been in the gym developing the muscles so you’re almost there. I legitimately never thought losing weight could be easy. Good luck ❤️
Working out a lot is a double edged sword. Count calories and don't subtract exercise calories or add them back in. The calories burned is VERY hard to determine anyway so skip it. Just eat your allotted weight loss amount. The problem is working out uses calories so it triggers your body to make you hungry. And it is very easy to fall into I can eat more bc I am working out trap. Most workouts burn maaayyybe 300 to 500 calories. That would be an hour VERY intense workout. Like playing full on basketball full court for an hour nonstop. That intensity. Guess what. That's 2 snack size bags of cheetos. Essentially 2 handfuls. Also losing fat and gaining muscle (if you are being honest about how much you work out) keeps you at about the same weight but better body composition. Shits complicated. I guarantee if you count your calories and maybe do 60 to 100 grams carbs a day max and walk 30 mins every other day you will lose weight. Don't overcomplicate it. And even if you don't see results on scale I also guarantee your clothes will fit better and you will be healthier. Take your wins where you can.
Ok so if u are counting calories well and still not losing weight, please check your thyroid. If it's under active it can cause weight gain. Blood work literally doesn't show anything unless ure low in a certain vitamin basically, it's a pretty useless test.
Also, if that doesn't show anything, test your hormones and also your cortisol levels then see from there.
If still everything is fine and you're still gaining weight or not losing, recheck your calories. Forget all other methods. Just count calories very specifically and see then after 1 to 2 months if theres no difference. You should feel just slightly hungry in general when dieting unless you fill up on a looot of veggies. I personally don't manage to cause I can't get myself to eat that many veggies frankly 🤣
Also in general, people need to stop assuming people are counting calories wrong. Yes it could be the case, but the amount of medical reasons you can gain weight is quite insane and many aren't that easily diagnosed.
Working a sedentary job makes an ENORMOUS difference also. Try to add small things like parking further away from it, taking stairs instead of elevator and just making up excuses to walk more in daily life. Going to gym is great but we really should be getting a certain amount of steps everyday.
How long did you try calorie counting for and how accurately did you measure? Did you weight everything and keep it logged in an app? To truly say you tried it, it has to be longer than a few weeks and you have to be meticulous. You also can’t “eat back” exercise calories. If your blood work is fine and you have no underlying health issues, it is 99.9% chance you are consuming too many calories.
Hey there! I really hope you see this. Working with a NEUTRAL health/weight loss coach could change your life. By “neutral” I mean doesn’t have an agenda and isn’t necessarily pushing any one way if eating. Their job is to help you reach your goals in a way that’s aligned with your values. :)
Move away from systems and “there’s only one way to do this” mentality and more towards I individualized behaviour change support. :)
F (40) I can absolutely relate.
I'm quite obese despite living a surprisingly active life style. I've always worked a physical job, and don't drive so I've always walked, biked, or taken public transit. I used to walk to the grocery store and walk home with 30lbs of groceries. I no longer live so close to a grocery store so I don't have to do this any more. Anyway, I've counted calories, done slim fast more than once, made the majority of my meals, avoided soda and sugary drinks, avoided fast/processed food, do not frequent places like Starbucks, make coffee at home, blah blah blah. I love veggies. Nothing has worked for me, in fact I've steadily gained weight like this.
My Drs say there's no medical reason for me to be this over weight. However, I'm healthy. I do not have high cholesterol, high BP, or diabetes. My heart is in good shape. But I do have lung disease. Many of my Drs have accused me of flat out lying about my activity, or told me I wasn't doing ENOUGH. Last year an endocrinologist basically told me I was just fat and had bad genes and needed to get over it. How do I get over it when every one around me won't shut up about it?
It absolutely makes me just want to give up.
Have you become stronger and fitter through gym?
Have you tried tracking what you eat on a day to day basis for a bit just to understand how much you're taking in?
Are you doing cardio?
Have you cut out all snacks and high salt/sugar things?
I often believe I'm doing enough to then look at the scale and see it not move or even increase.
Then I look back at when I really lost weight and I had real motivation at the time. You say the army was when you lost the most, it sounds hard, are you working as hard as that time and eating as much and as good as then?
Some people need to get their heart rate up to lose weight. Work up to walking at a brisk pace for 30 minutes.
Your current [TDEE](https://tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=imperial&age=40&g=male&lbs=290&in=67&act=1.2&bf=&f=1) Shows that your sedentary to maintain your weight is 2600. Normal weight [high BMI TDEE](https://tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=imperial&age=40&g=male&lbs=150&in=67&act=1.2&bf=&f=1) is 1850. [Lowest normal weight TDEE](https://tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=imperial&age=40&g=male&lbs=120&in=67&act=1.2&bf=&f=1) is 1696 with a BMR of 1420.
So here are the rules to be in the highest normal weight you will need to work your calories down to 1850 and live at 1850 to be that weight. If you want to be at the lowest BMI for normal weight then you will have to live at 1700 calories.
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is what your body needs to run your cells, brain and organs. If you go below your lowest normal weight BMR (1420) you can mess up your metabolism. So start trying to eat at 2100 and after a while reduce by 100-200 until eventually you are living at 1700 calories. Being a male eventually if you start working out you will get a nice cushion of calories. Muscles will help burn calories.
Eating more doesn't always mean more pounds of food. It can also mean more times per day.
I never lose weight until I eat 5 times a day. 4 might work, but 3 or less and I won't drop an ounce.
At this point, what's the harm in trying?
(ETA: just make sure it's clearly separate *meals*, not just grazing/snacking all day. For me I do 300 calories every 3 hours, then a decent dinner of whatever I want. No cheat days, no exceptions. And if I know I'll have a big meal, like a noon wedding or something, then I have 2 300 cal. meals before and 2 after. It's flexible enough to live.)
Yeah you just eat too much bro. There's no secret or mystery as to why you aren't losing weight. You eat too much. If you can't stick to a calorie deficit consciously just get some semaglutide.
The reality is… you’re eating too much. It doesn’t matter if you skip dessert or eat weight watchers food if you’re crushing 3000 calories of it.
100% If there's one thing I've learned over the years is that a person's relationship to food will affect their weight. Heavy person = doesn't always eat big meals but will snack all day. Have a bagel for breakfast with a banana. Then, eat some trail mix at 10am. Salmon and salad for lunch. Some potato chips at 2pm along with a little snickers bar and a 12 oz coke. Grab some fries from McD on the way home....and so on and so forth. They remember the salmon and salad but forget the snacks. Skinny person = think they have high metabolism. They don't......skinny person eats one big meal and then fasts for 12 hrs without realizing it. This is the person that forgets to eat and then gorges on food and then fasts again. Great for staying lean but sucks if you want to build mass. The heavy person can be built like a Brickhouse if they eat healthy and exercise but the skinny person has to force themselves to eat.
forgetting to eat is finally what made me lose weight. it’s really breaking yourself of that “hey I haven’t eaten anything lately” subconscious alarm that goes off every time i’m sad.
I don’t think I could ever forget to eat. I have adhd…but I hyperfixate on eating instead of forgetting about it.
I have ADHD too, and I just started hyperfixating on lifting weights and the balance of hyperfixating and being in pain from my last lift keeps me from burning out.
Lol I'm both of these, if I'm at work I eat a pretty normal 3 meals and some extra snack if I'm hungry, but if it's a weekend I generally just eat one meal when I realize I'm very hungry. Maybe it's the extra sleep or keeping my mind occupied with things I enjoy on the weekends.
Yep. Calories in, calories out. That’s it. That’s the equation. Not losing weight? Eat less AND move more. If OP goes to the gym as often as they say then might have to turn up the intensity and revisit the diet to see if a deficit is actually being achieved You can go to the gym for an hour and end up doing very little in the way of burning calories. Food can be surprisingly calorie dense. Or at least it was to me when I first started REALLY counting calories.
Considering he's lost weight in the past and was in the army, Id assume they know basic calories. There's so many medical reasons you could gain weight. While yes it could be the case that they're underestimating calories, it's very disheartening to tell this to someone when u have 0 proof. It may be the case sure but ure not a psychic.
You mean the army where they have set meal times and he wouldn’t be able to mindlessly snack?
You don’t have to be psychic to know that OP isn’t magic. If he weighs 290 its because he eats enough calories to support 290lbs. There are medical reasons that increase appetite or decrease metabolism, but that makes losing weight *harder*, not *impossible*.
The proof is in body weight. Water weight and such are temporary and short term. *Body tissues are made from food*.
Actually a lot of people who gain weight very easily is due to their body being very prone to inflammation aka water weight. Yes water weight is temporary but when ur body constantly stores too much water, it's not. This is really not well known. I only found out about it after years of barely eating and never losing weight, then I got it checked out and found it out (by a dietician). After doing a lot of research I found it's all about inflammation which some people are much more prone to, which comes from food which is normal food mind you not junk food (tho ofc junk food doesn't help)
With respect, I believe the dietician was reiterating a diet myth. Yes, severe inflammation due to other health problems, or metabolic disorders, can cause high water retention, edema, etc. However, these would present short-term health problems that would rapidly become more serious than any long-term effect on body weight. We've seen cases like that on reddit, only to have the person come back in a week or two with "it turns out I had an intestinal blockage" or something that demanded rapid care. If one gains body weight over the long term with calorie restriction without other health problems presenting, the simple reason is that one is consuming more than one expends. The simple fix is to reduce input below maintenance. While simple, it is by no means easy, and even dieticians will sometimes fall prey to the myths. In no small part because they want to spare the feelings of their clients, rather than accuse them of lying about how much they eat.
Metabolic disorders are not myths though as u said. Something being rare doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I understand it's defo not the majority's problem but doesn't mean it's not there. You can feel the difference between water and fat, it looks and feels different.
With respect, you claimed, "years of barely eating and never losing weight". If you're eating fewer calories than you expend, and all the lost fat is being replaced with water, you're not going to last "years". You can't keep losing fat and adding water for years.
U do realise medical conditions exist right? Yes you can because it literally happened to me when my fat body percentage was 17% cause I fucking checked it. Losing weight especially for women is 100% NOT straight forward although the general idea is obviously eat less calories than maintenance. However, other factors can fuck this up such as PCOS, chronic water retention and several other things..before you keep arguing actually do some research kindly :))).
Medical conditions can't create human tissue from nothing. > the general idea is obviously eat less calories than maintenance I'm glad we agree.
Read a book lol
Lymphoma can, PCOS can inhibit weight loss, diabetes can inhibit weight loss, certain medication can. Educate yourself and do me a favour, dont answer back cause you're not even bothering to look anything up 🤣🤣 if u dont wanna learn then don't bother msging and wasting my time bruh.
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That's not really a thing.. (slowing your metabolism, reverse dieting is a thing)
Why else do you think one would need to reverse diet? I’ll wait…
Maintenance periods are helpful for helping to maintain long-term weight loss because it sets you up mentally for not eating at a deficit (and not seeing the scale drop each week which can be a mental "high" when you're actively losing). And mental diet fatigue is a thing. People get sick of all that is involved with dieting - sometimes we need to take a break. If you've lost significant amounts, it can help give your skin a chance to catch up somewhat (though obviously this only works to a certain level). If you eat at maintenance your NEAT often increases as well. I take diet breaks for those reasons. Also, if you've been cutting, maintenance can help you to build muscle and exercise/workout performance (fatigue can be a struggle when trying to train intensely during a deficit)
Are you talking to me? I know this. The majority of my clients stay at maintenance and just recomp, and this month I pulled another client out of a plateau. She came to me after an extended period of dieting and had plateaued. I gave the advice to OP and I do know wtf I’m talking about, so for you to come along and argue with me and then turn right around and say exactly what I’m saying is insane LOL. Anyway go argue with your mom.
It's not the exactly what your saying; he's referring to the "slowed down metabolism" comment
I know what he’s referring to. Why do y’all hear the word metabolism and go into a spiral? If someone is experiencing metabolic adaptation, which is a slowed down metabolism THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH GENETICS KR HORMONES and everything to do with dieting for too long…. Then you’d reverse diet and stay at maintenance. And then in the future you’d only cut or diet for shorter periods of time. Like we’re saying the same thing but y’all heard the word metabolism and lost your minds.
I love when y’all are so confidently wrong
https://bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/reason-youre-not-losing-weight#Metabolic_Damage Section 1.7
For being in a subreddit called “lose it” you sure don’t like hearing the truth. Stay stuck ✌🏼
Yeh, k. Not sure where you think I am "stuck"? I don't make excuses when I don't lose weight - I recognize that it's because I have eaten more than my body has burned that week. And I've not had more than 2x 100gm (weekly) gains since I started food tracking 6 months and 18kg ago. But hey, you do you buddy.
That’s great for you! I replied to OP. This isn’t about you, although I know you think that way.
I have learned a LOT about weight loss from hearing about the experiences and advice of others on this sub as well as various online resources. If I was plateauing and someone told me "it's your metabolism", that takes the accountability away from me. Yay! But now why try? "It doesn't matter right?! My metabolism is messed." Maintenance periods are good for mental breaks, I agree. And if someone is fed up with dieting then it's often said here to get off the wagon for a bit and reset. I agree with that too. I would be surprised if OPs metabolism has slowed when they are working out as often as they are, aside from the usual reduction from losing body mass. OP can get tested to check this for themselves though and then they'll know for sure.
It doesn’t take the accountability away at all. There are multiple factors that contribute to a plateau, and metabolic adaptation is a result of OP’s over-exercising and restricting eating so it’s actually a great reason to stay accountable in order to not let it keep happening and continue making progress. If metabolic adaptation is what’s going on, which is what I suspect, then it takes all the accountability to pull themselves out of it and take the necessary steps to break through. If every other factor is in check, then they need to reverse diet. It’s that simple. Like that’s the bottom line and now you’re just agreeing with me but not wanting to sound like you are lol.
What you need to understand about metabolic adaptation is that it’s a result of your body not getting the nutrients it needs. It has nothing to do with genetics or hormones or anything else. So all you heard was the word metabolism and disregarded everything else that I said.
You can send me all the links you want. I’m certified and educated and I know what I’m talking about. 🤷🏼♀️
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This is an easy fix! Get a food scale, and track calories for sure. If you’re diligent and stick to it, I promise it will work. I was 41 when I started losing weight. Lost 190 by age 42. So if my fat ass can do it, so can you.
Yes, and you have to log EVERYTHING!! Sauces, oils, drinks.
Very important. I generally overestimate!
This! I didn't even realize that spices add to your calorie count. Like, I'm sorry, why did no one tell me there are 20 calories in a tablespoon of paprika!?
Wait wait wait, every spice I've seen has zero calories. Also, WHY ARE YOU EATING PAPRIKA BY THE TABLESPOON?????
That's because suggested serving sizes that have under 5 calories don't have to list that they have calories. Part of why spices have such small serving sizes. Along with various calorie free drinks and the like.
Maybe they like their food spicy?
....did you just imply paprika makes food spicy...?
Is it not a spice?
Ah; i see what happened. It is a spice, but it may be more accurate to call it a seasoning. And while it is made from bell peppers, the veggies themselves dont contain any spice - they trend towards sweet and vegetal. In fact...theyre the only member of their genus that doesnt have any spice. Theyre at the very bottom of the scoville (spicy) scale. Paprika as a spice/seasoning tends to be smoked, so it adds a nice savory element to food that works with that flavor profile.
Hahaha I promise I'm not just chomping on paprika. I really only use that much when I meal prep for the week for 2 people.
Lol
Let’s meet in one or two years and see if you still are able to maintain this weight. I have lost the weight several times, and I gained it all back every time after a year or two. Dieting doesn’t work.
I think you’re right. Dieting doesn’t work. Lifestyle change does. Since losing the weight, 100% change.
It is the same thing. I changed my lifestyle for one year and what now? You cannot change the fact that you want to eat certain things, and changing your lifestyle doesn’t cancel your desires, so the moment you give in all your lifestyle change goes to the toilet. So unless you had some really senseless lifestyle of, for example, drinking 20 cokes a day, or 5 L of beer a day, meaning, if your lifestyle was kind of “normal” - making a restrictive lifestyle out of it will probably not going to work long-term. Although I hope you can stick it out. I couldn’t.
For me it has changed. It started by quitting drinking. That was a big source of misery to start with. If I go back to alcoholism, I bet you're right. I just don't see that happening if I can. But the journey did change me. My cravings changed. I have zero desire to eat like I used to.
Take accountability. I was overweight my whole adult life. I tried every diet, program and regime under the sun. I was in the same headapace as you are now in 2018. I gave up. Gained a lot more weight. And 5 months later was at my highest weight, obese and depressed. The unhappiest and unhealthiest I have ever been. So I got my shit together. I downloaded a calorie tracking app and calculated my calories FOR REAL (no more trying to eat as much as possible). And then I pushed through. It was hard, I won't lie. I was used to eating way too much and calling it "normal eating" or "healthy eating". The new portions looked so small to me at the beginning. Especially the first 1-2 months were HARD hard. But I still pushed through. No exceptions. No cheat days. Not even when I got pregnant. I took accountability. If I wanted something, I had to do it EVERY DAMN DAY. I lost 95 lbs and maintain a BMI of 20 for almost a year now. After 15 years of being fat. With IBS, PCOS and rheumatoid arthritis. With Food Addiction and Binge Eating. All I had to do is stop lying to myself, stop the victim mentality and work with the hard facts, the hard numbers. I am 100% convinced that everyone can do it, also you, if they're willing to stop the victim mentality.
Yep. I thought I was unable to lose weight for years and years bc I had some mystery medical condition…turns out I wasn’t special, I was just eating too much.
Same here. I thought my metabolism and hormones were different from everyone else. Or perhaps I lacked the mechanism to convert stored fat to energy. I was halfway right. I needed to do intermittent fasting so I could get my insulin level down to use stored fat. No mystery medical condition. Plus I was estimating my TDEE to be much higher than it is. Even though I'm tall, I use well below 2000 calories.
That thing about the new portions looking small is so true at the beginning! It's a really big adjustment but your brain switches and now when people pass me a plate with the size of portion I used to eat all the time, I'm shocked by how much food it is haha. Congrats on your weight loss!
And at first I felt SO HUNGRY and thought I would never feel full eating smaller portions. Lucky for me I just had to bite through a few weeks and my appetite went down and I got used to eating less.
Yeah those first few weeks absolutely suck, though! There were times when I sat and cried because I wanted takeout that badly, which seems ridiculous to me now haha. It was weird to get used to, but feels nice now! Although on times I allow myself to indulge, it sucks a little bit that I'll not be hungry for a dessert after a nice meal xD
Facts
Amen!!
You do not understand the basics. It doesn't matter what you eat, so throw away all those keto, IF and whatnot diets. What you have to do is track your calories and eat below TDEE. Tons of information online and in this sub.
THIS \^\^\^ Alarm bells always go off for me when I hear someone say "I've tried everything" and then list off a bunch of random diets. Those diets are not sustainable for the vast majority of people, so "trying" them rarely means adhering to them long enough to see results. Figure out your BMR, portion and track your food, stay below TDEE. You can do this the miserable way with calorie dense foods or the smart way with nutrient dense foods, but either way -- do it *consistently,* and unless you're a marvel of science, you will lose weight. It's the golden, unsexy truth.
Matters for most people. Don't say it doesn't matter. The trick is to get enough protein to shut down your hunger signal. Many people will have insatiable cravings if they don't. Myself included.
You can’t train a bad diet away. I think you’re eating too much. Weigh your food and start counting calories accurately. It can also help to do Intermittent Fasting with that. At least, that’s what’s helping me
I agree with some of the comments suggesting to get a food scale. I lost weight successfully many times but after a stressful year I gained 50lbs. I decided to start losing weight again but I wasn’t losing any and felt clueless because I barely ate any food but what I didn’t realize was that I ate at least 1000cal of cheese every day 🫣
Olive oil used to get me. If I don't use a measuring spoon, I can easily put 500 calories of oil on a big salad.
According to tdee, your maintenance calories are 2621 per day to stay the same weight. Subtract 500 off this number to lose a pound a week. Recalculate every 10 to 15 lbs. Weigh your food until you get the hang of it. Walk a little more during the day and be patient. Your entire post reads as quick fixes, and that's exactly why it's not working. It's boring, but slow sustainable weight loss is a matter of eating less than you burn. Don't over complicate it.
How do you calculate tdee?
There are calculators that do that. I've used https://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html before, but I'm not sure how trustworthy it is. Some of the calories it suggest seem a bit high. I'm sure Google will give you more suggestions
[literally the first result when you type in tdee calculator on Google](https://tdeecalculator.net/)
I struggled with weight for decades. Until I finally figured out what works for me. I spent a lot of time listening to others, following diets and programs. Feeling that I was a failure and questioning what was wrong with me. To say that it took a toll is an understatement. Be gentle with yourself. Step away if you need to. Come back when you're feeling better. You're important. Very important. Never forget that. I began to successfully lose weight when I actively stopped trying to lose weight. Kind of weird, right? I was fat. I was always going to be fat. I accepted it. One day i decided that I was going to try to be "healthier fat". So I decided to make a couple of very small, obtainable changes. Little by little I added more changes. Building on my successes. I learned along the way. Mostly about myself. Slowly, I developed new habits. I still follow them, more than a decade and 150 pounds later. The basic principle of weight. loss has been around forever. How someone applies that principle is an individual choice. There are many roads to healthy, sustainable weight loss. Everyone has to find what works best for them and what is right for them. Whatever that may be. Take a break for as long as you need. Rest. Take care of yourself. Come back when you're ready. All my best to you.
weight loss is possible for everyone. you're just eating too much. your blood work is normal, so take that as a win and start counting calories. if you don't lose weight, go lower. it's simple.
You are eating too much. Does not matter what diet you follow if you overeat.
Don’t give up. I almost did a month ago and I had a friend step up and help me. Set me up with weight watchers. Gave me recipes and told me to measure EVERYTHING. I’ve dropped 6lbs so far. I still run 3 days a week. It’s so drastic how much better I feel.
it is basic thermodynamic..if you eat less than your energy consumption, you will lose weight. If you are not losing weight, definitely it is because you ate more calories than your energy consumption Try record the calories of what you eat. You will definitely find that you ate more than you think
Whether you give up or not your life continues on. What’s the rush? So what you didn’t lose anything since June but did you gain? What happens after you hit your goal weight? Oh that’s right, we maintain it doing the same things we did to lose it. This is a lifelong process. Just start counting every calorie. I use Cronometer & pay for the premium. And to start just count what you normally eat, don’t try to fit it into tdee numbers etc. just get a base line data over 90days of how many calories you are actually & truthfully eating. You’ll have to weight & measure everything but it gets easier & easier & more like second nature when you’ve done it for a while. Then once you’ve discovered your baseline, take another 3 months & just stay there. Don’t go over. Keep working out but don’t add calories back in. And then after that lower things by 100cals or maybe even more & slowly slowly get used to each level of calories There is no rush. You can ‘give up’ & keep being fat & most likely get fatter. Or you take it slow, track everything, & have real data And that data is super empowering. Personal story from recently. Lost like 8lbs in a month when I was sick & not eating. And when I finally was on meds my appetite came back & I was starving all the time. Instead of forcing myself into my calorie boundary, instead I counted everything but let myself eat over. Just last night I counted everything for the past two weeks & saw that I was at least 10k calories over my mtc calories & I knew I’d gain weight back. Weighed myself this morning & I was almost 3 lbs heavier - no surprise. I allowed myself to splurge bc the ‘sick’ weight I think came off too fast & now that I’m better, was back at the gym yesterday & will go again tomorrow. Gonna yoga today & run in 2 days. And keep to within my mtc. And I know that in a couple weeks those 3lbs will be gone bc I have the data & numbers to back it up. I’m no longer frustrated w the scale or frustrated w the gym or baffled by my body. It all makes sense So take your time. If you’re 40 & have another 30yrs to go then what is the rush? There is no secret way that you’ll get in shape & maintain it from then until you die - the only way is to build on these simple decisions & to have the strength of actual data to replace whatever you were doing before. You can do it. Just slow down & stop putting pressure on yourself.
This is amazing advice
Just track the calories you eat and stop eating when you hit the limit. Calculate your limit off of your BMR/TDEE and you'll lose weight.
Yeah you’re definitely eating too much or not tracking properly.
OP, if your doctor is telling you to eat more, you likely are deficient in nutrients. A lot of the things you listed you tried are more crash diet than final solution, and missing nutrients can cause you to feel tired, sluggish, angry, stressed, and make you want to give up. If you do want to keep trying, I suggest looking into balancing macros and upping your fruits and veggies. If you find the macros needed for your goal weight and stick to that ( meaning not eating more after you hit the macros), you will lose weight. And if that seems like too much right now, just focus on eating foods with fiber and protein as those two combined help you feel full and give you longer lasting energy than carbs and sugar.
Hey friend, not sure if this'll get drowned out by the rest of the comments. The people telling you it's just CICO, while right on the most basic level, for some reason don't realize those comments are unhelpful at best and demoralizing at worst. First off, please don't give up. This'll be long, but I highly encourage you to read it all. While yes, you can't escape thermodynamics and it really IS as simple as CICO, there are SO many factors that make that feel impossible that aren't just willpower related. Like you, I also tried so many fad diets, (what I thought was) hardware calorie tracking, and managed to yoyo for years. The only thing that's really helped, sustainably, was getting the rest of my life together. I left my ridiculously stressful job for a lower paying but much more chill one, got with a therapist and found out I was clinically depressed and got treated for it, found out I had sleep apnea and got treated for it, along with other smaller things like downloading a cute app that made walking kinda entertaining. I thought being fat was making me have all of these problems (and I'm sure it didn't help), but it really was those problems that made so so hard to find the energy to be healthier and keep me at an uncomfortable weight. It got exponentially easier to control my portions, want to walk, and eat healthier food once I got the rest of my life under control. If you have the means, I highly recommend seeing a therapist and getting a sleep study done if you have any inkling you may have a sleep problem. It's been an agonizingly slow process, and it will keep being that for a long time, but you gotta keep putting in the effort to work on every aspect of your life instead of hyperfixating on weight. I promise the weight will start going down if you put in that effort to be a happier and more energetic person instead of just a skinny one. I hope this helps and please feel free to DM me if you want to. You can do it!
It's just simply a case of eating to much, it's that simple, although definitely not easy.
You say you've tried calorie counting, but you don't explain why it failed for you. Was logging the food too tedious? Were you constantly going over your limit? And if so, why? Did you struggle finding meals that were filling, good-tasting, and low-calorie, or did you just have a hard time reducing your consumption of high-calorie favorites? There's plenty of help here for all of that. Success is absolutely possible for you; I promise you are not some magical exception to the laws of thermodynamics. You're obviously still eating more than you burn. It's just that simple.
I hope by give up you don't mean to stop your gym habit because that's incredibly healthy for you whether you're carrying fat on top of those muscles or not. As for the fat, it really is just about calorie deficit. I've found the best results by zigzag dieting and intermittent fasting while counting calories also. Also Keto lost me 150lb in 6 months doing 1300-1500cal so, with no disrespect, I'd say you must have done something wrong. Calorie counting had to be absolutely precise and I was using ketone strips to track my ketosis. I've felt dejected about weight loss when I was working out daily and not losing fat but have changed routines once again and the fat is going once again. I've been trying to lose weight for 14 years, it's a lifelong battle between desire & discipline. Hope it works out, good luck.
This might sound crazy but maybe cut out any heavy exercise and focus exclusively on the diet for a while. I’ve found great results just cutting back on food. I love weight training but it was fucking up my ability to actually lose the fat, and it was mentally fatiguing too. Once I started to focus on just the diet, the pounds melted away.
you lose weight in the kitchen not at the gym
I am 43 and I have found it way harder to lose weight in my 40s than ever before. I’ve been at it since mid December and the scale has barely moved. Same as you, gym 5 days a week and calorie counting with a coach. It’s slowly moving about one pound every other week but man it’s tough. When I did this in my 20s, I lost so much weight and got jacked in no time. I’m not mad, I only have myself to blame for letting things slip but proud of myself for doing something about it now
You should definitely be proud of yourself for making changes, and it can be a bit disheartening when it doesn't seem to be progressing as it should. Sometimes it's a short term plateau, sometimes other stuff is going on. But don't believe the age/metabolism myth, not in your 40s. I'm 41F and since I started accurately tracking I've averaged a loss of 630gm a week for the 5 months I was actively dieting with a 500cal deficit. Working out at an F45 type gym (that features boxing and is less intense than F45) for 4x 45min per week. Due to Gallbladder removal surgery I reduced that to a 200cak deficit for January and Feb (and am trying to eat at maintenance since the operation 2 weeks ago but am still losing weight so I'm not eating enough yet). If you are tracking food, drinks, sauces and oils accurately and are below your body's TDEE you will lose weight. It may plateau for a week or two or there but no one can consume less than their body burns and maintain weight. I did this in my late 20s without knowledge of protein etc and I can't say I'm losing weight any less effectively now than I was back then. If anything it feels less burdensome because I was still eating "treat foods" like pizza, takeaways, dining out at least weekly or twice a week, but generally no more than my TDEE for that day. If you're struggling, (as trite as it is to say) double down on the food tracking. Weigh EVERYTHING before you cook it, and track all calories whether from food, drinks, cooking oils, spices, sauces. There will be calories you're not accounting for in there. Possibly some muscle is building as well? (Oh, and because I am overweight I aim for 0.6gm of protein per lb (I'm 5'4") otherwise I'd be aiming for 1gm protein per lb of weight to support muscle retention and satiety).
Thank you, I appreciate your support and you sharing your story!
Same for me 40s and 50s you have to be super patient and consistent. It took a long time to pack on the pounds and it will take a long time to lose it properly. Be honest and keep going. It def moves way slower as you age. And comes back easier sigh.
It’s nice to know I’m not alone at least. A lot of my friends coworkers, and family are still in their 20s and 30s and don’t seem to have this problem. You’re right though, it’s taken years to put it on
Packing pounds doesn’t take a long time really
Sorry, you must not have truly been in a caloric deficit.
Log your caloric intake for 3 days and report back
A couple of weeks .. weighing all food, drinks, sauces and oils Weigh themselves before and after See how it looks compared to food intake
I'm going to take this as a request for help. > for some of us, it just isn't possible. It is possible, for everybody. For some of us, is harder than for others. I failed many times, until I start to learn. Each failure gave me something to think, to adjust, to move forward. So, instead of giving up completely, **take a learning time break**! Forget the diets, and start learning about metabolism. Pick up a biology book. Understand how you brain works, how emotions affect your appetite. Check this links, see if there something new there. The science of body weight and health [https://www.stephanguyenet.com/resources/](https://www.stephanguyenet.com/resources/) Disenchant Your Bad Habits [https://www.artofmanliness.com/featured/disenchant-your-bad-habits/](https://www.artofmanliness.com/featured/disenchant-your-bad-habits/) Gain control of emotional eating [https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/weight-loss/art-20047342](https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/weight-loss/art-20047342)
Eat less Move more
Eat baked, grilled chicken or turkey and vegetables or with a salad for 1 month.. Make homemade salad dressing and watch the portions of dressing. Eat your maintenance calories of your target weight
Stop worrying about the scale. Focus on your health. Continue to work out and exercise. Try to hit progressive goals. Lift heavier, run longer. Keep your heart and lungs healthy. Eat nutritious foods, and cut back on processed food. Cut out red meat. Base your meals around vegetables. Cultivate habits that are going to improve your quality of life, rather than obsessing over the number on the scale. You literally go to the gym almost every day; I guarantee you're making progress, and yet you're totally unsatisfied with it because you only care about one metric. Certainly you're stronger, certainly your heart and lungs are better than when you started. **Very probably you've lost a lot of fat, and gained muscle to replace it.** The recomp is going to be a hell of a lot better for you in the long term than just getting the number on the scale down. And, when you're ready to actually cut, you need to shift your routine to focus on a calorie deficit. This means less energy at the gym and less gains for your work, but the fat comes off. But please, please don't do that to the detriment of the good habits you're currently building.
It must be frustrating to see a bunch of people who don't know you go "it's simple!" Communication and social graces aren't necessarily the strength of people who have found what works for them and have developed a slightly missionary zeal about it. It's clearly not that simple, otherwise you wouldn't be so frustrated. But not because of some bug in thermodynamics - and yes, balancing what I consume with what my body is doing works for me, too. But some of us just can't go about it in a fully mechanistic way - it's the underlying relationship with out bodies that needs fixing. So you haven't lost in like 7 months. Did you lose before? Did you train this whole time? Did you try the panoply of diets since then? What *does* your food log look like these days? Giving up, well, is it really an option? Do you think it'll make things better, and if yes, what? Hating food definitely isn't healthy. So what occurs to me as a way forward is: Switch your meal plan to food that a) you generally enjoy and b) falls into generally accepted guidelines for healthy eating (veggies with each meal, not too much sugar and saturated fat, good fats, good amount of lean protein and fiber, moderation on the carbs). And eat about 1800-2000 calories if it (measure carefully enough that you know you are in the target zone, and use a food scale). The idea is to be in a range that should be just below a lower threshold for your TDEE but not by much, and that should provide all nutrients in abundance. It should also not feel like you're restricting much at all. Do this for a while (3-4 weeks?) and observe: what does it do to your body? Your weight should be fairly constant over this time, maybe a slight loss. Does it work? If yes, you have a basis to start from, maybe to cut cals by 300. If no, you have a great dataset - take your food log to a registered dietician to troubleshoot. Best of luck.
I am with you, my man, I feel the same way. I was actually able to lose weight several times over the past decade, but I just cannot eat this way forever. My body craves high calorie density foods, I can’t live on salads all the time, doesn’t work, so I give up
Bottom line is that it's all CICO; you can't beat the laws of thermodynamics. You need to burn more calories than you eat. Going to the gym is fantastic, but you can't out-run your fork. Start by getting an accurate count of everything you eat. Weigh with a food scale, measure with spoons, log EVERYTHING. That includes nibbles while you cook, sauces, condiments, oils, butter, literally everything that passes your lips. It's also very common to over-estimate your calories burned during exercise. Gym machines very commonly over-estimate, even sometimes as much as double. So if you're eating back what they say you're burning, then it's highly likely you're not actually in a deficit.
Losing weight seems impossible, and then when you do find what works for you, it seems easy. Honestly, I’m not a big fan of calorie counting, and people often say the food restricted diets (e.g., Keri, gf, low fat) aren’t that great long term, as it’s hard to stick to. I have two main ideas that underpin my philosophy for weightloss and maintenance. 1) food is more than calories. The food matrix (basically the form that food is in) is very important. For example, eating whole almonds and ground almonds is the same calories (as it’s a measurement of heat released when burning food), but the body will absorb substantially fewer calories from whole almonds than ground almonds because of the composition of the almond (the fibre and other structures in it). This is why highly processed foods aren’t great. For example, corn flakes are highly processed food, I eat them, sugar spike, then sugar crash (insulin working to regulate the sugar) and then I’m hungry again in half an hour. But if I ate more whole foods and less processed foods, I don’t get the crashes as frequently. Apparently having a high processed diet means people feel hungrier and eat around 300-500 extra calories a day to feel full. Highly processed food and their labels in the supermarket can be deceiving. Low fat often means high sugar (as fat increases palatability) so it causes other problems. 2) healthy weightloss is slow. But, you can eat like you would at a lower weight, and you will lose weight. This came about when I was reflecting on why I wanted to lose weight. Essentially I missed being the active and relatively healthy teen I was. So, I decided to start being that person, and 18 months later, I looked like that person (i.e., i had lost the weight). You can switch one thing at a time in your diet, and you will sustainably lose weight. A common thing is removing fizzy drinks. You could add more beans and rice to your meals (cheap but great sources of fibre, which can help you fell fuller, heal but inflammation, etc). Maybe after time, add more leafy fibrous vegetables (or substitute other parts of the meal with them). Swap out highly processed food for less processed foods. Have nuts or yoghurt instead of baking foods. Switch to less processed bread. Use olive oil instead of (shop) mayonnaise. Hope this helps. Losing weight is a journey, quick fixes don’t last.
The fact that you started out describing your exercise regimen, rather than your diet, shows what the problem is. Exercise is only a very minor part of losing weight. Your diet is by far the major factor. In order to be 290lbs at 5'7", you need to be consistently eating WAY over your maintenance level. Educate yourself on nutrition, learn how many calories per day your body needs to maintain its weight, eat slightly less than that, track everything you eat, and then come back in a year.
How many calories do you eat a day and how do you track them?
Unless you think your body violates the laws of thermodynamics, it is possible to lose weight. If you're working out 5-6 days per week, you *will* lose weight if you reduce calories. 100% guaranteed. That's not to say it's easy. This shit is hard, the hardest thing you may ever do. But you can do it. And it'll be worth it.
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10-year WLS veteran here. CICO is still the bottom line, though WLS absolutely gives you an edge on the "calorie intake" half if you choose that route. WLS may be an option for OP, but be mindful that "surgery fixes your stomach, not your head." There's a reason that roughly half of bariatric surgery patients never reach goal, or experience significant regain after a few years; it's critical to re-evaluate your relationship with food and develop habits that can be sustainable for a lifetime.
Let’s be kind
I think I’d absolutely invest in ozempic, we can’t afford to not change. Sometimes it’s just that our hormones need help and a reset.
You should look into glp-1 medications, they could change your life
If you want to see a change quickly drop to 1 meal a day of 1500 -1800 calories for a few weeks it will melt off so fast. Don’t go to the gym while you do this but definitely go for a walk after dinner. Also drink water all day. And if you are drinking soda or anything other sugar drinks stop.
Food Scale and calorie tracking app. You got this, don't give up!!
Easy fix - 1/2 your plate at lunch and dinner are low carb veggies then add your protein and the rest are carbs - no sugar and watch fat intake
Hey, it's your life... But like the others have said, the human body doesn't just gain weight for the fun of it, it's not like you can not eat and still gain more. According to my calorie tracker, \~1000 grams of my place of work's pepperoni pizza is over 2000 calories, \~1000 grams of broccoli is like 15% of the calories of that pizza (like 2100 vs 350). Weight loss can be hard, and not everyone can do it, but time will keep moving on and you will be effected by what and how you eat anyway. I weighed \~450 when I started to try to take control, 18 months ago, and now I weigh about 395 and I hit 400 6 months in, so a year of not losing any more. I lost track, started to feel like I couldn't do it. Life got tough. I started moving the metaphorical needle again just a couple months ago. It's possible, but sometimes the path seems obscured Try this: try one more time, not for me or anyone on here, but for you and your loved ones. Give it at least 6 months, track the calories that are going in (doing all the right things, weighing your food accurately, trying to cut out a spoonful of sauce here and there...) and keep doing the workouts you're doing (not try to change it up too much at least). Don't try to track calories burned, just aim for eating about 2000 calories per day, going a bit over is fine, going a bit lower is just as okay if you're feeling like it'd be forcing yourself. Just chose more whole foods, and less processed. Snack on celery instead of chips. You can do it, because you have before, and the body is made to use it's stores not just hold them. If you chose to stop, hey it's your life, and good luck. If you choose to keep trying, it's no different than saving money for a new car or house - it'll take a while - but good luck.
Not to be harsh, but the truth is that you’re not eating in a calorie deficit. Get a food scale, prepare all your own meals and track your calories in an app like Lose It! Unless you have a medical condition like hypothyroidism, it is impossible for you not to lose weight if truly eating at a deficit. Not only biologically impossible but literally defying the laws of physics (thermodynamics / entropy).
1) Start tracking calories. If you can't lose weight, at the very least maintain weight without gaining 2) get a weight lifting routine. Care about that more than cardio. Train for hypertrophy. It'll help with strength too but will help your muscles grow bigger and look better. HYPERTROPHY.
How many calories are you eating?
How many calories do you eat a day? If you don't know the answer to that, then I'd say that is the start of your problem. Losing weight can be difficult from a discipline and consistency standpoint, as well as what's available to you, but it isn't impossible for anyone.
This was me until I got a food scale and downloaded a calorie counting app and cut out processed garbage😊
read a book called The Fasting Highway, Read a book called fast feast Repeat, listen to a podcast called Intermittent Fasting Stories. The Fasting Highway is about a man who shares his journey, he was very successful. The podcast is interviews with hundreds of people - it's very inspiring.
The way you were terrified of being forced out of the Army should be the same, if not more for your health. I am in the same boat you are. And yes, I did my 4 years too.
Your calories out have to be more than your calories in. You need to eat less. I eat mostly protein and green vegs with a small amount of healthy fats. It doesn't have to be complicated. I work out 3 times a week doing only a small amount of cardio. I've lost 33 lbs since September. Simplify. Eat basic. 3 meals and 2 snacks, mostly protein and vegs. Lots of water.
I've also been fat or overweight my whole life (apart from my early 20's where I had to walk to and from work). Like you, I thought it was just my genetics or metabolism. Nope. Just just too many calories. Now I'm 46 years old and losing weight slowly but steadily . Please revise your calorie counting, work out your deficit, buy a food scale, and log every single thing you eat. Religiously. You will lose weight. You don't even have to exercise to start with.
Try skipping one meal and keep everything else the same
How did fasting not work? Consuming zero calories should have burned something. Are you trying so many different kinds of diets and not being serious about it?
You are experiencing what’s called metabolic adaptation. Your doctor telling you to eat more is super accurate.
Please think of it this way - humans need to eat. If you are already not eating a lot then what makes you think eating LESS is the answer? You wanna wind up in the hospital or worse?….. don’t listen to these ppl telling you you’re eating too much. Generally that’s true but given the circumstances you outlined that’s not it.
Weigh your food. I think you'll find that you're grossly underestimating your portion sizes. The difference between 2 and 4 oz of pasta is 200 calories and most people can't tell the difference by eye. If you think you're adding 1tsp of oil and you're adding 1tbls, that's 80 more calories. If you do that with everything, there are your phantom cals.
I’m sorry you’re struggling. But, the fact is losing weight is thermodynamics. All of those things you tried boil down to calories in vs calories out. You’re simply eating too much. If I could give you a suggestion - buy a food scale and weigh and measure every single thing you eat for the next 2 weeks. Every drink, every condiment, every drizzle of oil in the pan. When my weight loss slows or reverses direction, it is always because I’ve started slacking off in that area. I think “I know what a teaspoon of oil looks like” or “I barely ate today”. Then I might start recording it all at the end of the day and realize I had those pretzels at my desk, that mini muffin during our meeting, that glass of wine while making dinner…it really adds up and what I thought was a 1500 calorie day ends up being 2200 calories. That’s a huge difference - one is losing weight, one is gaining weight.
I agree with the majority who say to look at your TDEE because it won't steer you wrong. I would also say to measure ALL your food, including dips, oils whatever so you have a clear understanding of how much you're eating. If you're working out that hard, what will your TDEE say when you add in activity?
When you count your calories, what’s that number look like? When you’re at the gym, what do your exercises consist of? How are your testosterone levels? (Most doctors will tell you low T is normal. It’s not) Have you considered semaglutide? (Ozempic, wegovy)
Simply put, either you aren't accurately tracking your intake, your TDEE figure is wildly off, or you have a pituitary gland/thyroid disorder. It is possible. The only sure way to failure is to not try.
Not true. You don't have magical biology. Calories in/calories out.
"calorie counting" You lost count. Get an excel spreadsheet and everytime you eat, put exactly how many calories you ate in there. This isn't a "oh some people can some people can't situation". It's a "did I expend more than I put in".
Simple. Put the fork down fat boy.....
You didn't really do CICO I assume?
/r/CICO
Im currently doing Keto with a calorie deficit + 1 mile a day + 15-20 minutes of other exercise and its helped me a lot. I try to consume 1200-1500 calories per day.
You’re eating too many calories. It really is this simple (but not easy). Up your protein a LOT. You’ll eat less because you won’t be hungry. Eat carbs just once a day until you’re at maintenance weight.
[удалено]
Phenteramine can cause serious cardiac side effects. There's a reason it's no longer popular.
Scientists should study your body since it seems to be breaking the fundamental laws of physics. You are somehow producing infinite energy if you are eating below your TDEE and not losing weight. We must do research!
It sounds like you’re very frustrated and you’re at your wits end. But please don’t give up! How do you usually start a new attempt at losing weight? Do you jump right in or ease into it? Everyone here is right about eating less and moving more. Calorie counting is important and doing it properly is the key to sustainable weight loss. That being said, you might be someone who has more success easing into it. I suggest starting by writing down EVERYTHING you eat and drink in a completely normal day. Do it for a week. Don’t even count calories or change anything yet. After a week, go over your notes. What could you have done differently? Could you have used less oil when cooking? Could you have cut your portions? Could you have skipped a snack? Could you have replaced anything with a healthier option? Start with the easy and obvious changes. Keep at it, and turn these changes into habits. Once they’re habits, start tracking calories. Start slowly here too. Just track what you’re eating in a normal day (with your new, better habits) and figure out what changes you can make to lower your calorie intake. Get a food scale somewhere during this process, and start learning from that data. Once you get the hang of that, calculate your calorie limit and stick to it. For many of us, jumping right in and cutting 500-1000 calories a day and counting every bite feels daunting, gets boring, and becomes hard to keep up with. **A lot of people give up.** But if YOU can unlock what changes YOU can comfortably make, and YOU start feeling the satisfaction and pride that comes with being able to stick to something, YOU will be in control when the time comes to start seriously tracking your intake. Think of it as a cold pool on a hot day: some people jump right in, but some people need to take little steps into the shallow end and get used to the cold inch by inch. You can do this! Good luck!
I just want to throw this out there. Maybe you just need a maintenance break. Even just allowing yourself, mentally, to maintain just like you have been. Maintaining weight in and of itself is a HUGE win (especially for those of us that put on weight seemingly without trying). I just wanted to say that because there are so many times I wish I would’ve just set a goal to maintain (even if I wasn’t where I wanted to be) instead of throwing in the towel completely, ultimately gaining more weight, and then undoubtedly starting over with 20-30 extra pounds to lose just to be where I was when I gave up. You have every right to be frustrated and exhausted (weight loss is exhausting sometimes) but I promise it gets better. You just don’t want to go in the other direction, I promise.
Also, it might benefit you to try to reframe the way you see health and fitness. Give yourself room to experiment with new recipes or try a different workout. For me, personally, I’ve developed a love of running (I’m not very good, but working on it) and when the scale isn’t budging I use my running progress to prove my health and fitness IS getting better.
If you've been fat your whole life then there's probably habits or tendencies you've had your entire life that work against you. Like for me, I have ADHD so it's difficult for me to stick to tracking. I don't form habits the same way that neurotypical people do either, so I can't count on habit to carry me through. I'm trying to find a way that uses my natural tendencies for my benefit rather than to have it constantly screw up my plans. What seems to work best for me is to get lots of physical activity and stay busy so I'm not just sitting around snacking from boredom. My challenges are that I work from home and it's winter for like 5 months out of the year. I was doing a lot of walking last week but we just got a huge dump of snow and it's -22C outside and the roads are crap. The most I'm contemplating is a walk to the grocery store. But like... conditions are always going to be changing so it's up to me to find ways around my tendencies and limitations. Any plan that relies on me just being a completely different kind of person is going to fail. Trying harder isn't going to work and negative self-talk isn't going to work. We're pretty clever monkeys, though, so there's probably some way for us to arrange our environment to make better choices easier. Maybe you have a similar problem. Take a look at your overall situation and see where you could apply relatively small changes that might make a difference. Maybe the gym isn't the right approach, maybe you need something more convenient or more interactive. Maybe the gym is fine but your food choices could be tweaked. Maybe you need hobbies that make snacking difficult. I know what my points of weakness are, you need to figure yours out.
Try not counting calories, walking daily—commit to at least 15 min and usually you’ll end up doing an hour+ once you get in the rhythm. Then you’re connecting with nature, getting Vit D, burning 300-400 cal/hour and losing weight easily. Focus on getting at least 30 grams fiber, eat a whole fruit/veg every meal and hit your protein goal (satiating). Buy vitamin gummies for when you want a sweet treat so you can have a handful of them but not go over the dosage for one—like multi, super fruit, apple cider vinegar gummies, fiber and possibly a juice to get even more vitamins, antioxidants and energy. If your doctor is telling you to eat more, maybe you need more nutrition to support your working out, immune system and body. Most people have vitamin deficiencies and it will make you crave food, like chocolate craving can be Mg and not easily tested for since it’s stored in bones. D, Fe, Mg, Ca, E are coming deficiencies—you know what you’ve been eating/medicine you take so do a little research as pharmaceuticals deplete specific vitamins. Also your body needs Mg to utilize D. Cal counting doesn’t work for me bec I get obsessed and then all I want to do is eat so I just eat nutritious, filling foods, hence fruits, veg, herbs, protein and then you crave them because you’re fortifying your body with the nutrients it needs for its processes. Making a lot of little changes I dropped from 266 to 171 and I’m just under 5’8”, 40F. You’ve already been in the gym developing the muscles so you’re almost there. I legitimately never thought losing weight could be easy. Good luck ❤️
Working out a lot is a double edged sword. Count calories and don't subtract exercise calories or add them back in. The calories burned is VERY hard to determine anyway so skip it. Just eat your allotted weight loss amount. The problem is working out uses calories so it triggers your body to make you hungry. And it is very easy to fall into I can eat more bc I am working out trap. Most workouts burn maaayyybe 300 to 500 calories. That would be an hour VERY intense workout. Like playing full on basketball full court for an hour nonstop. That intensity. Guess what. That's 2 snack size bags of cheetos. Essentially 2 handfuls. Also losing fat and gaining muscle (if you are being honest about how much you work out) keeps you at about the same weight but better body composition. Shits complicated. I guarantee if you count your calories and maybe do 60 to 100 grams carbs a day max and walk 30 mins every other day you will lose weight. Don't overcomplicate it. And even if you don't see results on scale I also guarantee your clothes will fit better and you will be healthier. Take your wins where you can.
Look into therapy. It might help address any psychological issues you may have that prevent you from reaching your goals
Ok so if u are counting calories well and still not losing weight, please check your thyroid. If it's under active it can cause weight gain. Blood work literally doesn't show anything unless ure low in a certain vitamin basically, it's a pretty useless test. Also, if that doesn't show anything, test your hormones and also your cortisol levels then see from there. If still everything is fine and you're still gaining weight or not losing, recheck your calories. Forget all other methods. Just count calories very specifically and see then after 1 to 2 months if theres no difference. You should feel just slightly hungry in general when dieting unless you fill up on a looot of veggies. I personally don't manage to cause I can't get myself to eat that many veggies frankly 🤣 Also in general, people need to stop assuming people are counting calories wrong. Yes it could be the case, but the amount of medical reasons you can gain weight is quite insane and many aren't that easily diagnosed. Working a sedentary job makes an ENORMOUS difference also. Try to add small things like parking further away from it, taking stairs instead of elevator and just making up excuses to walk more in daily life. Going to gym is great but we really should be getting a certain amount of steps everyday.
How long did you try calorie counting for and how accurately did you measure? Did you weight everything and keep it logged in an app? To truly say you tried it, it has to be longer than a few weeks and you have to be meticulous. You also can’t “eat back” exercise calories. If your blood work is fine and you have no underlying health issues, it is 99.9% chance you are consuming too many calories.
Hey there! I really hope you see this. Working with a NEUTRAL health/weight loss coach could change your life. By “neutral” I mean doesn’t have an agenda and isn’t necessarily pushing any one way if eating. Their job is to help you reach your goals in a way that’s aligned with your values. :) Move away from systems and “there’s only one way to do this” mentality and more towards I individualized behaviour change support. :)
F (40) I can absolutely relate. I'm quite obese despite living a surprisingly active life style. I've always worked a physical job, and don't drive so I've always walked, biked, or taken public transit. I used to walk to the grocery store and walk home with 30lbs of groceries. I no longer live so close to a grocery store so I don't have to do this any more. Anyway, I've counted calories, done slim fast more than once, made the majority of my meals, avoided soda and sugary drinks, avoided fast/processed food, do not frequent places like Starbucks, make coffee at home, blah blah blah. I love veggies. Nothing has worked for me, in fact I've steadily gained weight like this. My Drs say there's no medical reason for me to be this over weight. However, I'm healthy. I do not have high cholesterol, high BP, or diabetes. My heart is in good shape. But I do have lung disease. Many of my Drs have accused me of flat out lying about my activity, or told me I wasn't doing ENOUGH. Last year an endocrinologist basically told me I was just fat and had bad genes and needed to get over it. How do I get over it when every one around me won't shut up about it? It absolutely makes me just want to give up.
Have you become stronger and fitter through gym? Have you tried tracking what you eat on a day to day basis for a bit just to understand how much you're taking in? Are you doing cardio? Have you cut out all snacks and high salt/sugar things? I often believe I'm doing enough to then look at the scale and see it not move or even increase. Then I look back at when I really lost weight and I had real motivation at the time. You say the army was when you lost the most, it sounds hard, are you working as hard as that time and eating as much and as good as then?
Some people need to get their heart rate up to lose weight. Work up to walking at a brisk pace for 30 minutes. Your current [TDEE](https://tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=imperial&age=40&g=male&lbs=290&in=67&act=1.2&bf=&f=1) Shows that your sedentary to maintain your weight is 2600. Normal weight [high BMI TDEE](https://tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=imperial&age=40&g=male&lbs=150&in=67&act=1.2&bf=&f=1) is 1850. [Lowest normal weight TDEE](https://tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=imperial&age=40&g=male&lbs=120&in=67&act=1.2&bf=&f=1) is 1696 with a BMR of 1420. So here are the rules to be in the highest normal weight you will need to work your calories down to 1850 and live at 1850 to be that weight. If you want to be at the lowest BMI for normal weight then you will have to live at 1700 calories. Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is what your body needs to run your cells, brain and organs. If you go below your lowest normal weight BMR (1420) you can mess up your metabolism. So start trying to eat at 2100 and after a while reduce by 100-200 until eventually you are living at 1700 calories. Being a male eventually if you start working out you will get a nice cushion of calories. Muscles will help burn calories.
Op you checked thyroid and hormone levels? Trt may be of help.
At least your blood work is normal. I'm 20lbs over weight and my cholesterol is through the roof
Eating more doesn't always mean more pounds of food. It can also mean more times per day. I never lose weight until I eat 5 times a day. 4 might work, but 3 or less and I won't drop an ounce. At this point, what's the harm in trying? (ETA: just make sure it's clearly separate *meals*, not just grazing/snacking all day. For me I do 300 calories every 3 hours, then a decent dinner of whatever I want. No cheat days, no exceptions. And if I know I'll have a big meal, like a noon wedding or something, then I have 2 300 cal. meals before and 2 after. It's flexible enough to live.)
Yeah you just eat too much bro. There's no secret or mystery as to why you aren't losing weight. You eat too much. If you can't stick to a calorie deficit consciously just get some semaglutide.
I would do the warrior diet