To think I’ll be stuck at 16 stone forever

Someone needed to change the batteries in my scales; they needed to take them out and hide them from me for a month

I agree with this. I have failed at dieting multiple times. This is largely because I end up fed up at the 1lb loss after being starving all week. For clarity's sake, I am taking mounjaro and for the pharmacy each week, I take away 1lb to get the next month's pen but I only actually weigh myself every 8 weeks. This has had a massive psychological impact on how I feel about dieting - because there is a clear shift when I do weigh myself. Whole heartedly recommended as a weight loss tactic when you have loads to lose. I am never disappointed!

Are you measuring yourself? It’s probably something to do with lifting that makes the scale look like you are not losing any fat - perhaps you are building muscle and losing fat? You can tell from body measurements

I feel your pain. I’m stuck at my overweight weight and have been for 7 months. I tried asking ChatGPT for advice yesterday and it was surprisingly helpful. Maybe run your meals through it and see what it recommends? Far better than all the posters on here that claim you are lying about what you eat, how many snacks you have and that you dare to eat carbs.

The person I saw replying to said thermodynamics were nothing to do with this because the body isn't a machine and nothing in your post supports your conclusion:

That's why the calories in calories out advice is nonsense.

In calorie deficit long enough you lose weight and then die. If you're not in calorie deficit you don't. That's not coincidence.

Cold turkey on both will a) Remove temptation b) Is a good habit for life c) Free up some calorie budget for something more filling.

Yes up to a couple of kilos of water retention so I suppose it depends how long the plateau is. If it’s under 4-6 weeks need to keep on plodding on.

No-one is saying the human body is exempt from the laws of thermodynamics. The point is that the energy you expend when you exercise does not come from body fat. It comes from your glycogen stores in muscle and liver. So it doesn't cancel out calories from food. That's why the calories in calories out advice is nonsense. And why it doesn't help people lose weight.

If she's working out and not used to working out, her muscles will also be holding onto water, but I agree that muscle growth is slow. Water would explain the plateau, though, given that her clothes are looser.

The truth of muscle gain is that it’s really really slow. 1kg gain over 4-5 months would be a big win. Yes she could be gaining muscle but not enough to cancel out all the fat loss.

OP don't stop. Sometime it takes time. Get those 3 extra walk/runs in a week as soon as you can and just be consistent. You'll get there.

Whole milk is a really good source of protein and calcium. If you can incorporate it into your diet without going over on calories and fat, you should keep it.

Sugar is a little more complicated. Your body can use sugar as a direct energy source, so while it's burning sugar, you're not burning fat, however sugar is still a calorie i.e a unit of energy. Unless you're eating 1500 calories of sugar a day, you're golden. Your weight loss might be ever so slightly slower than someone who is sugar-free, but not by a measurable amount (unless we're measuring over years instead of weeks and months).

DD's boyfriend is an exercise scientist, and I went through all of these questions with him when I was losing weight. I once, rather rudely because of my frustration, demanded that he evaluate my diet and training in minute detail, and tell me what I needed to change when I hit a plateau. His answer was the same as I am giving you. Someone needed to change the batteries in my scales; they needed to take them out and hide them from me for a month.

The one tip he did give regarding Nutracheck is that their protein goal is way too low for someone looking to build muscle. It's fine for maintaining muscle, but if you're on 1500 calories (same as me), you should be aiming for 120g of protein per day minimum. He was impressed by the carbs and fat goals and thought they were pretty spot on.

Well yes but you're only 4 months in. Maybe in 10 years time because there's sugar and whole milk in the house the quantities will creep up. Once the habit is broken I never miss stuff, I'm sure you'd find it easier to go cold turkey. You're making life hard for yourself having temptation lying around. (IMHO)

I’d cut back on the carbs at dinner eg pasta bake / cottage pie and try more chicken stir fry and veg.

Aim for at least 120g protein a day and keep carbs below 150g.

Increase weight lifting to 3x a week. If you can’t shift it at 1,550 cut back to 1,400.

Not surprised on 500 calories. You don't have to go to extremes just by cutting carbs.

It’s hard isn’t it?

I started trying to lose weight in January and was eating 800 calories a day because I’m only 4 foot 10 and that’s pretty much my allowance to lose and 1000 to maintain.

I am doing 10,000 steps a day, an hour swim every day and 3 times a week doing cardio and weights in the gym.

I have been losing weight but slowly and had only lost a stone until two weeks ago. I had dropped two dress sizes from a 14 to a 10 but I should be a size 6-8 at my height.
I joined slimming world 8 years ago and lost 2.5 stone in 7 months.
I’ve realised calorie counting wasn’t working and decided to try slimming world again.

I joined 2 weeks ago and followed the plan meticulously and I’ve lost 6.5 pounds so far so I’m absolutely over the moon.
I was shocked at how many swips some of the food I’d been eating when I was calorie counting is.
You get 15 swips a day and I’d have been having at least 35 when calorie counting but I am probably eating more than 800 a day most days now.
This is good because it’s so hard to sustain off that little and you have to be very careful with what you eat so you are still getting adequate nutrition, at my height my body just needs less fuel.

I had been considering WLI but I’ll put that on hold as my doctor said it’ll be easier to maintain if I lose it myself and being so small my start weight wasn’t that high despite being in the obese BMI category.

My start weight was 11 stone but according to my BMI I can weigh 6 stone 7 and be in the normal category, I have been that weight before and I looked ill and was far too thin.
I looked my best at around 7 stone 12 but even at 8 stone 5 I was a size 6-8 and didn’t look overweight at all so BMI isn’t always helpful, I think it depends on the individual.

My goal weight is 8 stone and hopefully I’ll reach it this year but for me it’s proved that it’s what you eat and calorie counting just doesn’t work if I wanted to have a good significant loss each week.

You haven’t mentioned your height but it really makes a difference and if you were doing slimming world the sourdough bread would be very high in swips. I do eat carbs on the plan but I fill a third of my plate with veg and eat a lot of protein now and I’ve noticed I’m feeling full all of the time and rarely snacking.

If you haven’t tried it then it might be worth giving it a go?

One thing I have noticed is that when I lost weight on slimming world 8 years ago in my early thirties I was one of the youngest there and was slimmer of the week a lot of weeks and having 4/5lb losses a lot of weeks whilst the older women were losing 1-3lb I thought I must just be trying harder to lose it.

Now I’m noticing that the women in their thirties are having those losses and I still lost 3lb then 3.5lb in the two weeks I’ve gone so far but I had my old book from years ago and on my first weigh in I’d lost 5.5lb and the 2nd I’d lost 4lb.
I wasn’t doing much exercise either back then so it’s very frustrating!

Why would your clothes fit better if there is no movement on the scales?

Does your body change shape?

This isn't a snippy comment. I'm really interested because I think I have noticed this very self same thing as well.

What a horrible set of responses you have had OP. What struck me is you are only weighing yourself, not taking measurements or progress photographs.

You are in prime body recomposition territory as a person who is overweight, on a small calorie deficit and consistently lifting weights. It is highly probable that you are losing fat while gaining muscle and just not tracking this.

I'm not trying to be dismissive, and do think there is an argument for you seeking medical support with this if the situation continues and you are unhappy. If exercise and diet really isn't working for you, and you have had a good go at it with a PT and calorie counting, I do think it is fair to look at further medical/surgical steps.

I believe you that you are tracking correctly.
I would try these (in order):

• continue what you're doing for a week and see if the plateau breaks, especially as you said you were a bit lighter this morning

• try a few days eating your maintenance calories, then return to your deficit calories. This can 'rev up' your metabolism and get you off the plateau

• if still no weight loss after trying these, then cut calories further. Just because the internet says your TDEE is xyz does not mean it is exactly right for you. Especially (but not exclusively) if you are older/peri/postmenopausal.

PS keep the honey and full fat milk. These are real unadulterated foods which humans have been eating for millennia. They are not the problem.

How on earth would you know if she’s gaining muscle or not?

Why do you think you got 16 stone (or 17, whatever you were at you highest) in the first place?
Figure that out and address that
Eg. Thyroid levels
Perimenopause (get on some HRT)
Because until you address the underlying cause then you will be fighting a losing battle. There is no shame in WLI, and when used in conjunction with a health diet and exercise (strength training particularly) then they'll work even better.

I had classic perimenopause symptoms for years but no one would listen because i was 'too young and periods too regular' ended up with insanely low oestrogen and testosterone unmeasurable. It caused me to gain 6 stone all centrally, and ultimately even with HRT, diet and exercise i needed mounjaro to shift the abdominal obesity.

I suppose if you were waiting a long time, you could do some squats or lunges?

It’s much better to incorporate things into diet than remove and fall into a cycle of being off it or on it or bingeing crap.
Greek yoghurt, berries and small amount of nuts all weighed. If Op wants to add honey and count it that’s absolutely fine. Add and weigh scales. You stick bowl on, drizzle on 10g or whatever and log it on nutracheck. I can’t see why the cals entered wouldn’t be 100% spot on.

The hate on this thread is so bizarre.

I would keep going OP if you're feeling fitter and clothes fit is changing. You must be doing something right! Wouldn't be surprised if you see a drop soon.

The only thing I would say is that not all calories are equal. Lots of good stuff about this in the ultraprocessed people book. You've more than got this! 💪

I feel your frustration Op at people doubting your intake.
I was weighing everything including blueberries, broccoli and salad. My young pt was flummoxed. I must be doing her plan wrong.
I can only speak for myself as a 50 ish peri menopausal woman but whatever the online TDEE calculation said it was too high for me to lose. So if I was supposed to be on 1600 cals a day at lightly active (3 weights sessions a week and 10,000 steps a day) in reality that was my maintenance and 1200 was all I could eat.
It’s so frustrating to be gas lit that you aren’t tracking correctly. Scales and log on nutracheck before you eat, it’s a habit. I don’t eat butter, sugar. Weigh sauce so I’m not using spoons so can’t be measuring wrong.
I suspect I’m insulin resistant. Big fluctuations at certain times of month, one meal out and 3lb on.
I have developed over time what works for me. Lots of steps. Mainly protein and veg. Some whole grain carbs. I actually find Slimmingworld the best fit as I don’t have to weigh everything. I cook from scratch and focus on healthy varied diet. 2 meals a day suits me. I’m not eating pasta by bucketful, maybe a weighed portion every 2 weeks.
I was over 16 stone at heaviest. Now half a stone over healthy bmi.