To think I’ll be stuck at 16 stone forever

I read an article recently that said Zoe are quietly dropping their claims on glucose spikes and moving to being focused on gut health. Quite often their claims in the past (and the Glucose Goddess) have been based on some pretty weak evidence.

That all said, insulin resistance is thought to be a contributor to weight gain or at least making weight loss hard. But it doesn't mean glucose spikes or avoiding them is the answer. Or at least not the advice GG gives. I'd be more keen on reducing or avoiding refined carbs as a strategy than worrying about necking vinegar.

Its a massive oversimplification and not particularly helpful. This is a good article which explains why.
https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2023/07/05/its-time-to-bust-the-calories-in-calories-out-weight-loss-myth.html

From the sound of what you're eating, you need more protein and fewer carbs like bread and pasta.

I lost 3 stone in 5 months by intermittent fasting, no/low carbs, unlimited veggies, good lean protein at every meal, and walking every day.
(built up from a mile a day, having to stop frequently, to an easy 3 or 4 miles including uphill with no problems).

I went from 14 stone 4 to 11 stone.

Good luck!

You need to kind off mess around with your system. So have a high calorie day then a very low one... do one day juice only.

I would not be eating cottage pie on a diet.

But glucose spikes usually only come from eating carbs.

So what did you eat and not eat?

I've done the Zoe gut assessment and I monitored my glucose for 2 weeks with an arm patch. It rose after carbs including food like bananas but dropped quickly with exercise.

I've said it before and will say so again. Calories are legally allowed to be up to 20% incorrect on packaged food. Even if they're more incorrect than that, they wouldn't recall it.

But that can be fine if you're eating a wide range of foods (theory being all the inaccuracy eventually cancels itself out).

Calorie counting only worked for me when I was in my 20s. Paul McKenna "I can make you thin" (intuitive eating mainly) worked for me in my 30s and the weight stayed off till I hit perimenopause. Intermittent fasting is working for me in my 40s. I'm not sure what to make of all that apart from to suggest to try something different? Not necessarily what I've tried but as we age, things change for us and what worked before might not work now? At least that's the conclusion I've come to with a sample size of one.

You’ve lost a stone in 4 months! That’s amazing!

I do get the frustration though. I had a very similar problem and I was absolutely tracking my calories correctly!

I think everyone’s bodies are different and what works for one person, doesn’t necessarily work for others.

But for me what helped me lose weight was prioritising protein and veg.
Protein is less likely to be stored as fat compared to any other food groups. It also helps keep you full.
The veg was to fill my plate up and make it a larger meal.

Carbs are not the devil but they are so easy to overeat on and so when I reduce my carbs and focus on protein and veg I lose more weight than when I don’t.

I also went to bed early.
I’d read and then sleep.
I didn’t realise how much sleep impacted by weight loss.

Wow. I can't believe how horrid people are being here.

I was in exactly the same position as you OP. I was defeated and miserable. I KNEW I was tracking everything. I was on 950 caleries (I am very short) as my professionally approved 'deficit'. I was eating a 'healthy' diet. The reason I say 'healthy' is because it transpires that although it was healthy it was not healthy for me. I tried the Glucoss Goddess method and have finally started shifting weight. For me, it was all to do with glucose spikes. I changed what I ate and, importantly, the order I ate it.

Exactly the same caleries, same excercise, same everything else as before but just changing what/when and order and now the weight was dropping off. For me, it was all hormone/insulin related.

Before giving up, I would see if you could give it a go. She has a great book that explains the science behind it.

I belive you, I 've been there, and I know how miserable it is.

Sorry to keep adding OP but the guides you are using to show how many calories you need can be bullshit.

If I followed those guides I'd gain weight.

I think you need to accept that you need to eat less, maybe dropping the carbs significantly and trying 1200 cals a day. But better than counting, just eat 3 smallish portions of protein, loads of veg and fruit, some dairy and a small portion of one carb a day.

That will work.

My sympathies OP. Since I hit my 40s, I only lose on about 800 calories a day despite all the websites saying 1600 maintenance. No breakfast (so 16/8 fasting), tiny lunch, normal dinner during week and more at weekend when I gain but then lose the gain the following week.

Maybe try a longer fasting window 14 or 16 hours between your last meal and breakfast and apple cider vinegar to balance blood sugar

I raised my eyebrows at 'lots of lovely sourdough'.

Don't know how that fits into the daily calorie total but it's something that could go.

I was a few stone heavier. Watched what I ate. Trained with a PT 3 times a week and I kid you not also exercised at least another 3-4 a week myself.

There were times in my weight loss the scale would go up or just stay the same. My clothes would sometimes feel the same too and other times even if the scales hadn’t moved clothes felt looser.

But every 5 weeks I used to take my body measurements- even if I had period bloat. It didn’t matter if I felt I hadn’t lost weight, I always lost centimetres.

Please measure your body in centimetres, you’ll see real changes.

Ah the old calories in calories out BS. Of course its true to an extent, however its not a simple as many people like to make out (particularly on these threads). Its not a case of thermodynamics as we are not machines,

Calories are a measure of energy, fat is how your body stores excess energy.

It's not BS, it is thermodynamics. If there's less energy going in than out and no fat is consumed where is the energy to make up the shortfall coming from?.Answer there is no magic energy. It's being released from fat, there is no other source.

We need to do a lot more exercise & heavy weights to lose weight than we think. How heavy are the weights, how long are the sessions? Are you pooped at the end of them??

Im currently gaining weight but losing fat. Heavy weights, building more muscle but still doing some targeted cardio. I also find it better when I reduce my (obvious) carbs like bread, potatoes, pasta but eat more beans/Pulses and 'good' carbs. Lots of veg & protein & reduced carbs in the week, bit more relaxed on a weekend.

@justmeandthedogs If your clothes are fitting better but the scales are staying the same, you are losing body fat but gaining muscle (very slowly), and your muscles are holding onto water as they recover from training and grow.

Keep plugging away, doing exactly what you're doing now, and you'll get there, and by gaining muscle at the same time as losing fat, you'll avoid a lot of the nasty side effects of weightloss.

If you change anything, up the protein intake, lower the carb intake, but you don't need to. You're doing fine.

Do not cut your calories to 900 a day. Unless you are in a coma, you burn more than that just staying alive. 900 cals a day will make you ill.

Sorry but if you're eating lots of lovely sourdough how does that fit into your daily calories?

I lose weight on low carb. I don't need to lose weight at the moment but I'm short and every pound shows. I need to eat no more than 30 to 50gms of carbs a day to lose weight.

That equates for me to one portion of carbs a day.
Either a few oat cakes, 30gms oats (porridge), ditto for brown rice or pasta.

The rest is protein, fat (yoghurt), nuts, fruit and veg.

I don't think you're facing the reality of what you're eating.

I also do a very strenuous uphill walk most days ( about 3 miles) and for my height and weight it only uses 250 calories.

The carbs issue is interesting. There's nothing wrong with carbs per se but they are calorie dense so you end up eating more calories than you would if you swapped them for something else.
The big issue with carbs for me is that having some gives you an appetite for more. I loved sourdough and made it regularly but it's heavy. I cut back massively on carbs and now I really don't even want a slice because it feels like it would be too dense for me.
You can't get away from the fact that carbs are calorific and if you want to lose weight you need to cut carbs.
Disclaimer - I am on WLI now and I've been surprised at how little I need to eat compared to previously. I never get to 1500 calories now and am steadily losing 2lb a week.

Cut carbs. Increase non-carb veg.

Drop your calories to1250. OR try intermittent fasting. OR (extreme but works for me) fast for 24 hours once a week.

If it helps I believe you. 😊

Hi OP it appears that you are doing well with exercise and eating good. I would suggest that if you are feeling a difference in how your clothes fit but the scales aren't going down that you may well be loosing fat but gaining muscle which weighs more. Sometimes the scales aren't the best way to measure progress so keep doing what your doing and reconsider in a month or so. Best of luck.

No it hasn't. It's not even a catch phrase, it's a fact.

You aren't doing much exercise.

2 walks of 10K a week? What kind of walking? Out in the countryside? Are you getting up to 3.5mph? Or strolling? Or is this walking around town, the house, office?

The two gym sessions won't make much difference until you build muscle that eats up calories.

It's great you're doing it but it will make little difference to your weight.

weightloss is 80% food and 20% exercise.

Ah the old calories in calories out BS. Of course its true to an extent, however its not a simple as many people like to make out (particularly on these threads). Its not a case of thermodynamics as we are not machines, our bodies store fat through many complex mechanisms and hormones (including insulin) play a huge role.
I was the same as you, meticulously counted calories, weighing food and eating between 1200 - 1500 per day (Im 167cm tall and run 5km a day) for years but my weight would not budge, it was soul destroying.
I have a strong family history of diabetes and I think I have insulin resistance (I do not have diabetes though). In the end I gave WLI a try and guess what. On 1200-1500 Kcal a day I lost 0.5kg a week. Ive been off the jabs for over 6 months and on my 1500kcal a day I have not gained it back. You might not want to consider WLI but I think they level the biochemical playing field so that you can actually lose with a reasonable calorie deficit.