To think I’ll be stuck at 16 stone forever

Absolute bollocks
The homemade element is good in that it contains only 4 ingredients including added vegan pea protein and no, I wouldn't lose more weight. My macros are perfect for my needs. Bread has zero impact on weight loss whether positive or negative. That's the point.

I swear by this too. It's like my body thinks 'oh you're starving me I think I'll hang on to this fat to survive' so I eat more for a couple of days and then back down and it kick starts again. Worth a try?

I’m 48 and over 15 stone. I lose absolutely no weight if I’m lifting weights and basically have to eat nothing more than one meal to lose any weight. I also lose and gain the same pounds. I was hoping HRT might help somehow - it hasn’t. 7 years ago I lost 3 stone in 8 months. It just doesn’t happen like that anymore.

It is tough OP.

No you wouldnt see that because they were on grotesquely low calories. The effect of insulin/blood sugar metabolism on weight is not undetermined.

The most efficient macro for the body to turn into fat is... fat. The pathway to turn sugar into fat is a lot less straightforward and there are multiple studies demonstrating that. This is just one of them off the top of my head. It's a small study, I accept.
Fat and carbohydrate overfeeding in humans: different effects on energy storage - PubMed

Are you also tracking your body fat? It sounds like you're gaining muscle from the strength training which weighs more than the fat you're losing. I had a health assesment recently which showed body fat down, waist measurement down, overall weight slightly up. I'm happy with that because I look better and feel healthier. May be worth getting some scales which measure body fat%. Sounds like you're doing everything right though- you'll get there!

Also I don't eat bread because it's too many calories for very little satiety or nutritional value, but the OP is right. You can eat your entire daily allowance of calories in bread, and if you've set that daily allowance to be at deficit, you will lose weight.

At 16 stone, you'll lose weight eating a Quarter Pounder Meal a day for dinner and a Greggs sausage roll for lunch.

I used to believe carbs are the enemy. They are not, at all. It's just that protein and fibre really are your friends.

Inches not kg I would say. If your clothes are fitting better then you are losing the fat. Keep going op. You are doing great.

Sorry if it's already been said but as well as tracking calories do you track macros on something like MyFitnessPal? I used this, managed protein to be at least 1g for every kg of body weight per day and only had carbs to fill in the calorie gaps. Mounjaro helped with appetite suppression off this base and didn't deplete energy for cardio or strength training. Maybe shifting the balance to more protein would help. This is only hoping to help since you're asking why the current plan isn't working but better fitting clothes is already great.

Focus on what you've said here. You want to be healthy. The weight is a frustration, but its one metric. And not always a reliable one. Your weight is a combination of bones, muscle, fat, water and other things.

Your clothes are fitting better. As you are sure you are tracking correctly, you must be in a deficit. I wouldn't recommend going lower, for your weight and activity levels it would be ridiculous for that to not be a deficit. Its only been a few weeks at the plateau I think you said. Just try and be patient. Think of the scale as a number, same as calories and steps. If you stay consistent, at those levels of activity and calories, it will move down.

You are aiming for fat loss, which can't be measured fully on home scales. As you could have lost fat but increased muscle or have water retention masking the fat loss on the scales. Some of the drastic measures people have mentioned here can absolutely work, but they can also lead to unhealthy behaviours. Some people can cut drastically for a period of time, go on niche diets etc and it doesn't spiral or lead to binging later. But it sounds like you have done this before and know it doesn't work for you. There is no need to rush things.

Personally I had better results when I didn't run. When I focussed on weights, walking and calories I lost more weight consistently. I have chosen to incorporate it more now as I want to feel fitter, but am seeing slower progress. But that doesn't mean stopping running is the healthy thing to do. It might slow progress with weight loss, but it has other health benefits.

Try and be patient, keep going as you are. You are doing amazing.

And you absolutely could run a marathon at your weight, many do. I have heard training for a marathon isn't always great for weight loss though, as you also need to fuel yourself for long runs. So often best to stick to one goal at a time.

its normal to plateau on the scales for a while. You've probably been gaining muscle but still losing fat, which is why its showing on the scales as a maintain or small gain.

If you’ve lost 13lbs since the start of the year then you can’t have plateaued for long!
Do exactly what you’re doing and stay off the scales for a month. I’m sure you will have lost when you get back on.
Your diet and exercise sounds fabulous and you must feel great.
The calorie deficit HAS worked as you’ve lost a stone. It is working and it has and will continue to work.
Just stop looking at it for a bit.

You're doing all the right things. Your body will respond - it's impossible for it not to. Plateaus happen, and they always seem to happen around a stone marker or milestone. I have been flirting around 90kg for weeks. WEEKS. I cannot get into the 80s. Sometimes I get to 90.8kg. Then I'm back up in the 91s.

As others have said, you have to stop weighing and focus on a fitness goal instead when this happens else you'll go insane.

Running for cardio health, weights for muscle mass, bone health and weight loss... You are doing all the good exercise. You know that your diet is nutritionally balanced and leaving you in a calorie deficit.

It's not you. It happens to all of us. Keep enjoying the running and notice the changes in your body. I don't run - though I do enjoy it. I am not feeling joggly at the moment. But I do fast walk - 4.6mph. And I am currently enjoying the fact that my arse is tighter and higher, and my hips are getting narrower, and I am getting stronger and my posture and gait no longer read as 'fat', even though objectively I still am. This is all I can do, because the scales are NOT rewarding me.

Keep going, soldier.

The thing it there are simple pathways in the body which turn sugars and starch into fat, so, 1500 kcal made up mostly of bread and pasta is not the same as 1500 kcal made up mostly of Chicken, or butter

wow. I eat 1900 calories a day, walk 10k steps and weigh 8 stone.

I use MFP all day every day without fail. I went from 10st 7 to where I am now on 1400 calories a day, so I don’t know why you aren’t losing weight op.

It could be your carb intake, some people's bodies just don't process them well, way back in the day when slimming world was red & green days, I would lose 3lb a week if I did all red (high protein low carb) as soon as I introduced a green day (hi carb low protein) I would lose 0.5lb or even maintain and that was with going to the gym and I was early 20s then.

Muscle weighs more than fat, maybe that has something to do with it if you're doing weight training? I weigh more in kg now than ever but I do more training than ever too

No. Your understanding of science is wrong Hummingbird.

The OP is 16 stone... said they eat "lots of lovely wholemeal sourdough "... if I was 16 st... I'd stop eating lots of bread. She's gonna have to eat steamed spinach and egg whites for a while.

But its effect on weight remains largely undetermined.
To deliberately take this point to absurdity - Do you know what they fed concentration camp "detainees"? Bread. Only bread. Were any of them overweight because of the insulin loop? I don't recall seeing that.

Which is fair but my issue was with your other point that slim people eat egg whites on steam spinach rather than pasta and potatoes.
Food is food. Method of prep is irrelevant, I agree with you. One can get fat eating "healthy" and slim eating twinkies.

How wonderful for you that you were born with superior genetics that mean weight is not something you struggle with. Why are there still so many uneducated people on the science of weight loss.

I've yoyo dieted over the years but I did stick until the last year when I've injured my shoulder and had a stress fracture in my foot, which all stopped me doing my weights and classes and I've piled it on and become sloth like. I've just kick started myself but I know it's going to be hellish slow because I'm 55 and past menopause, whereas in past years I could lose a stone a month easily.

Pasta is an absolute no-no for me, and although people are different, I would cut out the pasta and potatoes. Bread isn't so bad on me, but again, be careful with it. I found fasting and no breakfast worked and only a small amount in the day, easier if you're busy. It's bloody hard and good for you on your weight loss so far. You're building muscle as well, which can actually put weight on, but your body sort of redefines itself, which is why your clothes are fitting.

I found swimming more than anything defines my shape and takes off the weight. Good luck :)