To think I’ll be stuck at 16 stone forever

No. Muscle increase (hyper trophy) is actually difficult to achieve. It's not just a result of lifting weights. Additionally, muscle has to be created from energy. If the body isn't taking in enough energy to create muscle then muscle can't be created. I also don't understand your question about clothes feeling looser - increasing muscle makes them bigger not smaller

You need to weigh and measure everything (yes tedious i know) you'd be suprised how many calories are in things and how much they weigh. Have you entered your details in a TDEE calculator?
Also a calorie counting app on your phone can help x

If you're not losing weight on 1500 cals then you need to cut to 1000. It sucks but the equation is calories in vs calories out, if you're in deficit you'll lose weight.

A "drizzle of honey" needs to go IMHO. Its hard to measure and if you go cold turkey on sugar you forget you ever liked it after a few weeks. I can't think of anything worse than taunting yourself with an occasional taste of sugar.

Fill up on something with few calories like bare naked rice or salad and veg.

Good luck, it's totally doable.

It’s not the calorie counting it’s could be the fat/muscle body change.

A colleague started a strict diet, similar to your own, gym four times a week, weight bearing, swimming etc.
She cried her heart out to find she put on a stone!

She had certainly changed shaped too, nice trim waist for the wedding dress she was aiming for. Muscle is heavier than body fat.
She changed her exercises to swimming and running and then lost the stone again, but also her waistline and the dress was a wrong fit…

Don't dispair, maybe ask for more advice at the gym on another option for exercise.

Well you can keep asserting it, but unless you have a citation I'm not going to believe you 😁.

Intermittent fasting kick started by body into losing weight. I stopped running but carried on with the gym and walking while doing it.

You've made that assertion a couple of times, I'm interested to know if you have a citation for it?

I don't think anyone is suggesting that our bodies can actually convert fat into muscle. I think what is happening is that the dieter can continue to lose fat (through diet) whilst at the same time building muscle through weight training, resulting in zero movement on the scales.

The good news is that muscle burns more energy (calories) at rest than fat does, so the weight loss should start again eventually.

@RoseisMadder thanks for the info on fibre and protein, I had to up my fibre as read it was the best thing to fight high cholesterol as my readings were a bit high. The effect by having Mums nut and seed cupboard has been positive for the cholesterol but I have also lost weight. I was a bran flakes and big veg eater anyway so did have an ok amount but now it’s quite dominant.

What age are you? You said carbs are nothing to be afraid of, but pasta, bread and potatoes turn rapidly to glucose which goes straight to fat storage if not used. This effect intensifies in your 40s. It's crap but a fact of life for many women. Do you eat later in the evenings (after 6/7) because that's linked to weight gain too.

Well that’s spiffing for you. People have different food requirements. Your thinking is so outdated.people need different amounts of calories different type of food. Bodies are very complicated.. your mind is stuck in a thin superiority rut generated by the diet industry

Oh yes I know that! But its just so frustrating when it then takes weeks again to see it 'lost' on the scales. Am just grumpy and menopausal and fed up of being fat whilst trying so hard to lose it.

I've always liked that saying! I think it would be worth a try!

With all respect to all the posters who have stated that the OP should definitely be able to lose on 1500 cals a day, how on earth do you know that?!!

People are unique, and there are multiple reasons why OP might not be losing on that daily amount.

I needed to eat 1,000 cals daily to lose 1.5lbs a week. For six months. I tracked everything that went in. I could only do that with the help of WLI. I'm now off and maintain on 1600/1700 cals, exercising 6 times per week. We are all different.

OP - it's tough when you know you are doing the right things. But, if you want the scales to go down it sounds like you are going to need to eat less cals, and switch out some of your food choices. And I know that isn't as easy as someone saying it to you. Losing weight is bloody hard.

It sounds like you are doing brilliantly, especially with the muscle building and fitness. I think if you know exactly what is going in (and assuming your scales are accurate it sounds like you do) then your current calorie intake is your maintenance amount. I don’t understand why you are believing the accuracy of a website which says you should eat 1550 calories a day when your own eyes show that you don’t lose weight on that amount. I’m a shortarse and far more sedentary and need around 1000 to lose. You are likely taller, and much fitter but you clearly need less than 1550.
I’m not scared of carbs but I can’t do calorie deficit with them in substantial amount - especially the big “rice, pasta, bread, spuds” as a main part of a meal but I do eat a lot of lentil/dahl (no chapatti). I have kefir, banana, berry smoothie with whey powder, chia seeds, flaxseed (300cal) , Greek yoghurt and protein granola (200 cal - it’s fecking tiny) and 500 cal of something else like some meat/fish with green veg or salad, or lentils, eggs, beans etc.

Well there lays your problem 😂

Try cutting down to 16.

This could be me - frustrating that the scale hasn’t moved for ages despite increased movement and running, tracking food and being in deficit. Looking at non-scale victories will help. If clothes are fitting better and you’re able to do more exercise, that is good. The number will follow.

Exactly. A personal trainer once said the old saying, "Eat breakfast like a King, lunch like a Queen, dinner like a pauper"....

Not in a defecit they are not.

@canyon2000 apologies for digressing but total hats off to you for doing 25k steps a day!! I did 10k every day without fail in January and it helped me enormously to not feel sluggish in the winter months - but - it is v hard to maintain daily😐.

I sometimes think photos of what people are eating would be helpful but could lead to disordered eating habits.

I don’t calorie count I just use a small 1970’s dinner plate and have my cereal in a small bowl. Since hitting 50 I have to eat like a bloody tiny bird if I want to lose weight. I just eat a lot of veg, seeds nuts of different varieties every day, fish and chicken or pulses as my protein, limited fruit and carbs. Hardly anything processed. I was creeping towards top of my BMI last year, I have never been overweight but once over 50 the amount you can eat is small and I’m also quite active. I also gave up alcohol it’s just birthdays and weddings type drinking now.

You can't convert fat to muscle and even if weight training you can't grow significant new muscle in a calorie deficit

If you’re not losing weight you need to cut your calories. The only way I lost it was by going down to 1200. I was over 15 stone. Are you weighing all your food? Up to you. Carry on what you’re doing or make a change and see what happens.

OP doesn’t weigh less, that’s her point!

Really? Because if I want to lose weight I stop eating bread, pasta and potatoes....works EVERY TIME.