Hi folks
I don't know what to do with myself. I've been trying so hard to lose weight and yet it has made no difference, in fact I have gained weight instead and don't understand why. I've had all the tests so there seems to be no medical reason. I've tried slimming world, 5:2 and just eating healthily. I've cut down portion sizes, totally changed the way I eat and shop to make sure I get loads of fresh fruit and veg and yet I'm now round a stone heavier than when I started. So now I'm faced with the prospect of it taking a stone of loss to even get back where I started, if that makes sense. I struggle with exercise as I work long hours and find it hard to find the energy, but I really thought I'd been doing well with what I eat. I'm at my wits end. Any ideas or help much appreciated.
From a sad dejected fattie!

Have you been to a doc to rule out a medical issue? Many medical issues can make it difficult to lose weight, and even cause weight gain.

Other than that, I'd focus on overall caloric reduction, rather than exercise. You lose weight with diet, you get fit with exercise. No idea of your age, but exercise stopped being effective for weight loss/maintenance for me in my 20's. By the time I was 30, it was 100% diet to control my weight. One thing I tried that worked really well for me was reduction of carbs. I cut wheat out entirely, stopped eating all processed foods entirely, and kept my intake of other carbs (potatoes, yams, rice) low. Some people are very sensitive to carbohydrates. And if you are, carbohydrates trigger your body to release insulin, and insulin is the hormone that transports the carbs to your fat cells. Watch "Sugar, the bitter truth" on youtube for more about that- it will make you see sugar, alcohol, juice and most processed foods in the grocery store as poison for your body.

Hmm. It's a puzzle. Could it be water retention?

Or maybe a snack you're having and don't realise how much you're having? Have you tried counting your calories, if so, what was the result? I ask because a while ago I cut portion sizes too, changed what I buy to healither stuff, and still didn't lose weight. It just turned out I was accidentally having more calories than I thought. Just chewing too quickly, filling myself up on "healthy" brown bread, etc. etc.

The first thing to do is to not beat yourself up about it. You should consider talking to a fitness professional to rule out issues that you may not be aware of. In my experience in working with clients, there can be issues that the person is not fully aware of, for instance eating too many calories despite practicing portion control (like AlfredLarsen mentioned above, which is extremely common), eating foods that don't support weight loss (macros being out of whack etc), intensity of exercise being too low etc. Sometimes it can be insulin resistance, sometimes it can be a thyroid issue. Feeling bad and blaming yourself isn't a healthy approach mentally. There is a solution for you but it may be time to get a professional to help you find that solution.

Hi.
I think the advice to check your calorie count is good, and the simplest way forward given that you've had all the medical tests. If you use an app like MyFitnessPal and track what you eat for a week, without modifying it any more, then you'd have a clearer picture of how much you're eating/how much you're burning. Make sure you don't go too low on the calories, it doesn't help!

Good luck

What is your daily eating ? Post it here with calorie counts and we can take a look at it.

If your not tracking that's the first thing you should do. As you may think you've cut your portion size down. But if your portion size was hugs before ( assuming that's why we are all over weight ) it may be you've cut it down but your still eating more than your body needs. Tracking your calories will keep that in check.