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I get you don’t want to count calories, but if you’re eating at or above your TDEE you’re gonna stay the same or gain.
Are you able to meal prep/plan? Just work it out in one shot and not need to stress about it everyday? I do that, I make lunches & snacks for the week so it’s not a daily thing, just grab and go. I don’t log then, as long as I stick to my plan, I know roughly the calories I’m getting in a day
I think if calorie counting is not something that you’re able to do that’s fine, but likely your portion sizes are off.
Id definitely cut out things like Muffins and additional sauces like homemade ranch dip for starters, id also just introduce something along the lines of a plain chicken breast with each meal or alternate protein source.
Lastly, if you’re gaining weight, it happens, the scale is not everything, but keep going and gradually adjust the foods you’re eating until things move in the right direction
Firstly, one week is a very short period of time to judge how it’s going, it’s takes a long time to put this weight on, it’s going to take some time to let it go.Secondly, the pattern I’m seeing here is that you are eating constantly throughout your eating window. It’s an adjustment to make, but you should be looking at eating 2 meals and no snacks in that period of time. I found it took me a few weeks to mentally adjust, and physically deal with such a big change to my habits, but it really worked. Dr Jason Fung has some brilliant books that explain the whys and wherefores of eating like this, and why it can have such amazing benefits to our health.. Not just weight loss !Persevere, you’ve got this!
Just so you know… weight loss and weight gain along with weight maintenance is all calories in, calories out. Even when haters say but …but medical hormonal stuff. That all goes to affect your metabolic rate, which then ultimately impacts what you should consider in relation to calories in, calories out.
You don’t have to be meticulous all the time, but once you start learning and understanding what you’re eating, how much you’re eating, and can safely gauge it’s calorie count; you won’t need to jot everything down. But until you do, jot things down. Read the labels. Weigh your food. Check out r/CICO if you need some help and support.
First thing I would do is cut the protein shakes. Why supplement calories when you’re trying to lose weight?
For some people it might make sense if they are carefully tracking macros, but it sounds like you just need a calorie deficit.
Books that have helped me understand cool things about IF:Delay, Don’t DenyFast, Feast, Repeat The Obesity Code
I read thru all the comments so far and I think you might like them.
I’ve done IF for 5 months for autoimmune disease reasons and dropped 3 points off my BMI, which was in a healthy range. Lost excess weight and maintained and built muscle without excessive exercise. I’m also a gluten free vegetarian.
The books can explain how IF can increase Human Growth Hormone and help build muscle. It was some stranger on Reddit who recommended them, and they were life changing.
I’m 5’4 and that seems like quite a lot of food for a woman of our approximate height. IF won’t do much for you just by restricting the times you eat, you might want to consider redoing your meal plan and also stopping when you feel satiated, not ‘full’. For example, two pieces of toast and a glass of milk after you’ve just eaten ham, eggs, and onions might be causing the gain.