NutriThrive Moringa Powder, $11/100gShade-dried · Melbourne · ~50 servings

I'm Neer (NutriThrive, Truganina). This is one person's weight story, not a diet plan. If you have unexplained weight change, diabetes, or eating-disorder history, see your GP first.

I Ate in a Deficit for 8 Months. The Scale Didn't Move.

Breakfast: overnight oats and berries. Lunch: salad with chicken. Dinner: stir-fry. Steps: 8,000 to 10,000/day. Calories: tracked in MyFitnessPal.

According to the maths, I should have lost 6 to 8 kg. I lost maybe 1.5 kg, then stalled for months.

My GP ran thyroid and diabetes tests, fine. A dietitian said "be patient." I wasn't binge eating. I was just… stuck.

The turning point: a GP who asked about bloating, bowel habits, and antibiotics. Turns out my gut was a mess, and fixing that came before any further calorie tinkering.

Signs Your Gut Might Be Blocking Weight Loss

I had 6 of these:

Bloating that made me look 3 months pregnant by evening
Constipation alternating with urgent diarrhoea
Sugar cravings that felt physical, not emotional
Brain fog and afternoon crashes
New food sensitivities (dairy, wheat)
Skin breakouts alongside digestive issues

If that sounds familiar, calories might not be your first lever. See also gut health and skin and moringa & digestion evidence.

What I Tried That Didn't Work

❌ Cutting calories lower

Dropped to 1,200 kcal/day. Hungrier, moodier, still bloated. Scale stuck.

❌ Keto for 6 weeks

Lost water weight fast, regained when I added carbs. Gut symptoms unchanged.

❌ "Detox" teas

Mostly laxative effect. Not sustainable. Waste of money.

❌ Random probiotic from Chemist Warehouse

No strain info, no change after 4 weeks.

What Actually Worked (In Order)

Step 1: Repair the gut (Weeks 1 to 4)

Removed triggers for 30 days: alcohol, ultra-processed snacks, excess dairy
Added fibre gradually: vegetables at lunch and dinner, not all at once
Targeted probiotic: multi-strain with L. rhamnosus and B. lactis (GP suggested)
2 tsp moringa daily in morning smoothie, fibre + micronutrients without harsh laxatives

Result by Week 4: bloating down ~70%. Bathroom regular for the first time in years.

Step 2: Protein and blood sugar (Weeks 5 to 8)

Once bloating eased, I could actually feel hunger signals again. Added 30g protein per meal, walked after dinner, kept moringa in the morning routine.

Result: fewer 3pm sugar hunts. Scale finally moved, 2 kg over 6 weeks without dropping calories further.

Step 3: Sleep and stress (Weeks 9 to 12)

Poor sleep raises cortisol, which can drive belly fat and cravings. Fixed sleep hygiene (from my fatigue protocol).

Result: another 2.5 kg over 8 weeks, mostly sustainable habits not crash dieting.

Honest Timeline

4 wk

Bloating improved (no scale change)

6 wk

First real scale movement

~5 kg

Total over 5 months (slow)

Not a 30-day transformation reel. Slow, boring, sustainable.

Where Moringa Fit In

Moringa wasn't a fat burner. It was a daily whole-food habit that added fibre, iron, and B vitamins while I rebuilt eating patterns. Easier than swallowing five separate pills. See plants per week for gut diversity.

FAQs

Should I fix gut health before counting calories?

If you're bloated, irregular, or craving sugar constantly, gut work often comes first. Once symptoms improve, calorie balance matters again.

Do I need to cut gluten or dairy forever?

I did a strict 30-day elimination, then reintroduced slowly. Dairy is a trigger for me; wheat is fine in small amounts. Test your own response.

When should I see a doctor?

Unexplained weight gain or loss, blood in stool, severe pain, or symptoms that don't improve in 6 to 8 weeks, book a GP visit.

Bottom Line

I couldn't lose weight until I stopped fighting bloating with more restriction and started fixing digestion first. Moringa, probiotics, and boring whole foods, not a juice cleanse.