To think I should be losing more weight?!

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I’ve been on a significant lifestyle/diet overhaul since Jan, ive given up smoking, joined a gym with a personal trainer, and currently aim for around 1500 kcal per day.

I go to the gym 4 x per week, sometimes more. Of this two sessions are high intensity spin, one is body pump (weights), one hiit work out and one hour per week with the personal trainer.

I eat 1500 kcals most days. Occasionally on a weekend I have 1800. I track it all on MFP.

I started at 19stone. I’ve lost 1 stone.

I have had 2 children and since I hit 30 I cannot lose it. This is the most I’ve ever lost, usually it’s around 5lb and no more.

You're doing really well just keep at it. Everyday I start logging on MFP and I fail.

Did you take your measurements? If you didn't at least do them now and do them again at intervals. You should see the change there even if the scales aren't moving much.

I’ve dropped nearly 2 dress sizes, my fitness has improved 100%

There's your answer. Who cares about weight when you're slimming down so much and feeling so much better?! Muscle weighs more than fat and they won't check your weight at the church.

I know how you feel! Since I had my daughter at 30 (2 years ago) I am really struggling to lose weight!
My GP just says yes it is hard!
It's so frustrating!

I really Wouldn’t worry so much about weight, if you have dropped 2 dress sizes that’s amazing. I know it can be disheartening to not see the numbers on the scale go down but your dress sizes are so that’s the main thing. Have you been measuring yourself? A few years ago i did A bootcamp and was told not to weight myself and just use measurements. Maybe take a photo once a month and compare your progress, I’m sure you’ll be shocked!

Have you tried cutting carbs?

I have similar problems losing weight. I honestly must have a stupendously low metabolism. It feels awful to see my tiny colleagues tucking into chunks of bread and cheese at lunch whilst I graze on undressed salad.

I've lost about 10lbs in about 2 months. No way would 2 dress sizes with a stone be possible for me. You must have made a lot more progress than you realise

Also consider introducing natural probiotics into diet. Saur kraut, kimchi, apple cider vinegar. These increase the good bacteria in your gut and help you metabolise food better. Increasing the range of fruit and veg you eat also helps with this - apparently we only eat about 12 fruit/veg in U.K. In places like Japan its more like 50.

X posted. Just seen your updates:

I’ve dropped nearly 2 dress sizes,

Amazing! A stone on me = 1 dress size. You've gone down two, which suggests some significant muscle tone and fat loss.

Ok so my plan this week - extra cardio.
I’m going to cut out bread entirely - I’ve been having limited whole meal but going to cut out totally. Increase water intake

I'd pick weights over cardio for fat loss. As you work your muscles they need to recover afterwards, which means continued burn.

More water: YES! Also monitor your sodium intake. It really does matter.

Cutting out bread: I wouldn't bother. Just fit it in to your calories. Cutting carbs and gluten won't help you lose weight, a deficit will. In fact, you do need carbs for energy. Just try to stick to 40-40-20 or 40-30-30 carb-protein-fat when it comes to macros. And maybe pick wholemeal/granary over white.

The best diet is the one you are on, just with a few little tweaks. When you start cutting things out you are more likely to crave those things. I eat everything. I fit chocolate bars in to my diet because if I don't I have a binge session. Yet now that I allow it within my diet (along with more healthy options) my cravings have reduced, and I don't binge anywhere near as often as I used to.

Honestly, don't be too hard on yourself. And get some friends on MFP and engage on the forum. That has really changed things for me compared to previous attempts.

Throw away your scales! Keep up with the strength and ignore the folk telling you to do more cardio/ditch the strength. Strength training is going to tighten you up, shrink you down and make you feel fantastic! It is working, your dress size is telling you that and please don't start restricting or cutting out food groups because it is clearly working and you will make yourself thoroughly miserable if you enjoy your sarnies etc!

No one one is going to weigh you on your wedding day remember! You could well be due a woosh anyway, and suddenly drop 7lbs in a oner.

I don't know if you like instagram but I have found these accounts very helpful to switch my mindset to enjoy all foods and still lose weight and get fit:
www.instagram.com/sarahdufflifestyleandfitness/?hl=en
www.instagram.com/coachjackk/?hl=en
www.instagram.com/easywinfitness?hl=en

Good luck and keep going!

Please don't stop the strength work. To be honest, I wouldn't actually even class Body Pump as strength work as it's such light weights. Strength work is one of the best ways to transform your body but the focus is more on measurements and % body fat than actual weight. The big name transformation gyms such as Ultimate Performance base all their transformations on strength work and diet.

How's your diet? You're tracking calories but are you eating clean, with lots of protein and fresh veg? Saying that you're now going to cut off bread makes me think that you aren't eating so healthily? (apologies if this is wrong). 100 calories from a chocolate biscuit is not the same as 100 calories from an egg. This will make a difference.

What does your trainer say about your weight loss?

I would cut carbs down to be honest. I'm doing that now because a man I know stopped eating carbs in February and has lost 5 stone. He was big before though so a healthier diet will do a dramatic decrease from what he was eating, but it's still good progress. He mainly eats meat and veg, but no potatoes either.

A calorie is a calorie and ignore anyone who thinks otherwise. I guarantee you are eating more than 1500 if you are not losing weight even slowly. Cut to 1200 or 1000

It does sound like you should have lost more to me- especially at a high weight where fat should drop more easily. Have you worked out your basal metabolic rate? There are websites that can give you a rough guide.

If the gym is the only exercise you're doing and the rest of the time you're basically sedentary, you might not be running a huge calorie deficit, which might be why your weight loss is so slow. Do you know how many steps you do a day? Is your work mainly sat at a desk?

Could you try introducing one or two "fast" days into your week, to build up a bigger calorie deficit?

I recommend this Instagram page for the sheer reason that it cuts out the crap when it comes to weight/fat loss.

@Barbaro Cutting out bread will have reduced that man's calorie intake. No wonder he's lost more weight. It's not the cutting out of something that's done it, it's the greater calorie deficit.

this instagram page

You're doing brilliantly well! I've lost 2.5 stone and only gone down one dress size.

My partner is a body builder and he sheds to a skeleton size just before comps in a very short space of time. He swears by eating natural foods for example plain meat potatoes in moderation, natural dairy and natural sugars like honey and lots of veg and fruit. Nothing with gluten or any kind of wheat nothing with sugar that isn't natural and limited dairy. No pasta no sauces and no bread. Google body builders diet and you will be surprised I did it with him last year and lost 2 stone in 12 weeks iv never been able to lose weight I was amazed

MUSCLE DOES NOT WEIGH MORE THAN FAT.

A POUND OF FEATHERS WEIGHS THE SAME AS A POUND OF WOOD.

That said, a pound of muscle is more compacted / dense per cubic whatever and therefore takes up less space. Hence the dropped dress sizes (well done).

You are doing it correctly - converting fat to muscle, slow and steady.

Don’t give up - it took me 2 years to lose 4 stone this way ten years ago. And I’ve kept it off.

Good luck!

Iv not read past your first post but the big thing that jumps out to me is are you measuring?

Measure your thigh
The top of your arm
Your waist
Your hips
Every 4-6 weeks

Diet and Exercise means you will be gaining muscle while losing fat
Muscle takes up far far less room

Think about feathers and rocks both might way 1ton but they would take up much different spaces from each other!

Scales are not the only and for some people definitely not the most important sign of change or how well your doing!

I know everyone wants to lose weight quickly. You have done very well though with going down dress sizes. I would suggest that you stop weighing yourself and start using measurements. It would be better for you. I assume your deadline is to fit to a certain size anyways and not be certain weight so better take measurements and go by how your clothes fit you.

Good luck with it all!

I would try lowering your daily calories by a 100 until you start losing again (obviously not going lower than a safe amount for your height).

Exercise is great (I've done everything from power lifting to triathlons) but weight loss always comes down to diet for me.

I would have thought only eating 1500 calories at 19 stone without exercise you should be losing weight. It does sound a bit odd. I used to weigh 18 stone & just dieted to lose weight with a little walking thrown in & it would drop off me.
Your body does get used to the same exercise & needs a shock sometimes.
I'd do another another cardio class like spinning or body combat/attack Or running, I can eat what I want as a runner.

Also is the spin class tough? I've done a few & some instructors are crap & don't push you at all. The one I do now is brilliant & I'm always knackered at the end.

Your still doing brilliantly though & while giving up smoking too. Well done!

It might help to think about how active you are outside of the gym and when you are eating the bulk of your calories.

I found that I was exercising in the morning but ate most of my calories at dinner and being fairly inactive outside of the gym, I wasn’t moving enough to burn this off. Once I started eating most of my calories which a couple of hours around my active times and keeping meals light at all other times, the weight began to drop off.

Well done for losing a stone but l am sure you could be losing faster, l had 2 stone to lose a year ago and lost 1.5 stone in around 8 weeks without massive exercise by religiously following the Louise Parker fit for life plan.

It really works.

I’d also say look at how much exercise you’re doing out of the gym, for example a body pump class really only burns about 300 calories, if you’re quite sedentary the rest of the day, eating 1500 calories isn’t creating much of a deficit, depending of course of what your tdee is

You may not actually be eating enough food to be honest. You should be eating back your calories. Also well done on dropping two dress sizes. That’s amazing.