So bloody annoyed that I can't lose more weight. Any tips?

[Sweetpeaa]

I've lost 2 stone 2lbs over the past 4 months. And now? I'm at a standstill which isn't good enough as I still have 21lbs to lose to achieve a normal BMI, it's currently 28 so I am still overweight and these are not vanity pounds!

However I've not lost a lb over the last 3 weeks or so. Just at a standstill. How on earth can I get this moving again?

I exercise daily. 45 mins of swimming and a 5K walk usually. I play badminton once a week. I cannot run due to a foot injury and I can't lift weights due to a shoulder pull but I feel I am active enough

I eat a plant based diet. A typical day would be

Breakfast - porridge with chia seeds and berries, soya yogurt. Maybe a green smoothie or a bircher

Lunch - quinoa salad or lentils or baked feta , veg etc

Dinner - tofu stir fry, burrito bowl, roasted veg with a protein source

Snacks are usually a few nuts or a piece of fruit or hummus

I don't drink alcohol and I don't 'take days off.' I eat low ish sugar and want to be a fad free as possible. I know the diet works as I've lost over 2 stone in 16 weeks

So WHY am I now stalling? I honestly can't up my exercise and I can't see what I can cut out of my diet. Portions are 'normal.' I'm not super sizing or anything

Is it just me being impatient?

I got so cross about it last week that I ate 3 magnums. That'll show me who's boss eh?

Anyway, I drew a line under that and just carried on as normal but I am at a loss as to what to do now to get the weight moving again

Any advice please?

Too much cheese?
i love cheese, but that puts weight on me. You’re better eating meat sources of protein when losing weight sometimes and the iron is better. Or more eggs.

@underneaththeash I mean, yes. It could be too much cheese I suppose! I only eat feta, mozzarella and goats cheeses as a rule and I try to just eat one of those once a day.

@underneaththeash I also can't eat meat sources as I'm vegetarian. I also don't eat eggs - unless they're in a cake!

Be careful you haven’t crept out of a calorie deficit. Maybe worth tracking calories for a week or so and see how that’s looking. It’s quite normal to have a bit of a stall, I did a few weeks ago and it’s so so frustrating but my weight has started shifting again.

You need to build more muscle so that you increase your BMR. Doing stuff like barre or pilates will also help you look more lean and toned.

Have you got a recovery plan for your shoulder? Meanwhile you can still do bodyweight exercises - squats, and variations, lunges, etc.

@imshapedlikeatoenail you could be right with this. Now I think about it. And it'll just be a 'creep' as I'm not putting any weight on.

Are you counting calories? You need to expend more calories than you take in in order to lose weight. First step is to work out your TDEE and then cut back to get a calorie deficit.

Try to up your protein intake - 1g of protein for every pound of weight. A shoulder pull doesn't mean you can't do any weight bearing exercise. Exercise the larger muscles in your body, e.g. squats, lunges, etc. If you build muscle your body will be burning more calories even when you're not being active.

I guarantee someone will post some garbage about your body being in starvation mode. Not true, you'll just be eating more calories than will give you a deficit.

Cottage cheese and skyr/quark are other lower calorie veggie protein sources.

@Whataretheodds I detest all exercise so it's a miracle I do what I do in a day tbh. I'll maybe have to consider shaking things up a bit

You sound like your doing so well. Stick at it, I got a high standstill in my weight loss journey. Almost 5 weeks and then it started moving again, it’s very frustrating and tempting to binge.

@WeAreTheHeroes i haven't counted a single calorie as I wanted freedom from all that tbh.

And it seemed to be working but now I'm clearly overeating it seems

@Strangerthings4NW the temptation to throw in the towel is immense! But what stops me is that I've come so far. I've really tried hard and I just can't bear to see 33 lbs just pile back on

@Whataretheodds I like cottage cheese so I'll get some of that tomorrow I think

While you can't lift weights, you can still do lower body-based workouts - are you a member of a gym?

Seated leg press, quad-based machines, step-ups, lunges, anything like that to exercise your quads/glutes, which are the biggest muscle groups in your body and burn LOTS of calories!

Unfortunately humans are omnivores. I can’t eat that much cheese!

Are you getting out of breath swimming and walking? It sounds like you have about 1 1/2hrs free to exercise, which is great, I just wonder if you could use it more effectively?
Do you mix the swim up with drills etc? Power walk?

@TheOrigRights no, I don't like to get breathless 😀. I work on the fact that weight loss is overwhelmingly down to what you eat but I'm beginning to see where I'm potentially going wrong

But it feels good to get out of breath - exhilarating!
Try it! Push yourself every 1 out of 4 lengths of the pool, pick up the walk speed for 1/4 of every K.
Your body will soon get used to it, you'll tone up, feel stronger and I bet it'll kick start the weight loss.

Well done BTW. Also I think you have a very healthy attitude to the Magnum "incident". Put it behind you and move on.

If you don’t like exercise what about walking? Either get a treadmill and watch Below Deck or walk outside and listen to an audiobook.

Whenever I’ve had a bit of weight to lose I only walk as I have a chronic illness. It still works.

Hit the gym?

@IrisVersicolor I walk 5K at least every day

@TheOrigRights I think you're right. I don't push myself because I don't want to. I feel all virtuous because I'm actually doing two different things a day plus my extra badminton! But I do need to pick up the pace so I'll try some power swimming tomorrow every other length

Maybe cut out breakfast and have lunch a little earlier?

Not always possible though if you tend to wake up hungry.

Sympathies - this is inevitable when losing moderate or large amounts of weight - and hugely frustrating. Google ‘weight loss plateau’ or ‘weight set point’.

The theory says that as you lose weight, your hunger regulation hormones will get out of sync and your hunger levels will increase, while your energy levels decrease. You can continue to lose weight if you weigh everything you eat, never pick at food and reduce calories week by week as you lose weight. But it will be a massive battle against your body, and the loss will be hard to maintain. The alternative approach is to continue as you are with healthy habits and exercise but expect a period of maintenance (before weight loss re-commences). The reality is that it takes around a year to lose 3 or 4 stone and keep it off.

I have been on the same journey (now using second nature, which I find excellent, and where I got this info ). I have attached my own weight loss graph so you can see my plateaus. I had a similar amount to lose, started at 94kg and now 71kg with another 3kg to go to reach a healthy bmi. I had a plateau for several weeks before I spontaneously started losing again.

I recognise your frustration, but you really are doing incredibly well! It is hard!

How many steps/miles are you doing in total a day? Because if its only 5k that's a very sedentary lifestyle. You need to be active/ on your feet as much as you can (work/commute permitting).

You also need some 'zone' minutes. The recommendation is 150 mins a week/ 20 mins a day or 30 mins 5 days a week. This is just the MINIMUM not what you need if you want to lose weight.

You also need to track your calories. Nuts are healthy but ridiculously calorific. Same with cheese.