To think I’ll be stuck at 16 stone forever

[justmeandthedogs]

I’m in the process of losing weight and since the start of the year I’ve lost about 13lbs.

But I seem to be in a loop. I’ll hit 16 stone 0.3 on the scales and then go back up to 16 stone 4, then go back down, then back up. It’s like an annoying cycle.

I eat well:

breakfast - yoghurt with berries and sometimes a drizzle of honey. On low protein days I’ll add some skyr.

lunch - something from home. Usually soup, a salad or a bit of meat with some veg.

dinner - again something prepped. Can be another big salad, cottage pie, pasta bake.

I eat 1550 calories a day, which is a deficit for my height and weight. I go to the gym twice a week (under the direction of a PT, to lift weights), try to run 3 times a week but I’m waiting on some new running shoes, and the other two days a week I’ll walk 10k steps minimum. I try to drink 4 litres of water a day at least.

my clothes fit better but the scale just won’t change 😥 do I just accept I’m stuck here?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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

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

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.

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?

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.

If your clothes are fitting better then it sounds like you’re gaining muscle at the same time! Which is good news!

My suggestion was going to be to up your calories to maintenance for a week or two, if anything it gives you a break mentally for a bit, then go again.

I thought we’d left the demonisation of carbs in the 2010s but still it goes on apparently. Carbs give energy, if you’re exercising a lot, you need carbs.

OP - I am in a similar position to you. Gym, run, cycle, track food which shows I am in a definite deficit. Eat well with homemade meals, no fizzy drinks, no takeouts and glass of wine once in a blue moon etc. My PT is convinced it is because I am not eating enough & my metabolism has fallen off a cliff. Experimenting with eating a bit more now, which is actually quite hard but will see what happens.

I could have written this OP and I was a similar weight. I found that my old ways of losing weight no longer worked once I was perimenopausal. I have had great success with intermittent fasting and would highly recommend it! If you’re interested I’d recommend reading Fast, Feast, Repeat by Gin Stephens and The Obesity Code by Dr Jason Fung. Honestly give it a go, you’ll never go back to calorie counting. Good luck!

Hi, it sounds like you're doing great- you're feeling fitter, stronger and clothes are fitting better- so you're healthier and slimmer which is everything you're working for... Your body composition will be changing from fat to muscle- muscle weighs more than fat hence why clothes are fitting better whilst you're staying the same weight. You'll get there, so don't be disheartened, ignore the scales for a while and keep going! Maybe have an item of clothing as your guide rather than scales- if it's getting looser you're right on track... Good luck, ignore the deluge of unsupportive criticism

Is it your scales? I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t losing weight but my clothes were getting looser, until I was weighed at my surgery. My scales at home would show a heavier weight when I first got on, if I got off and got back on again they showed a lower weight which matched the weight from my surgery.

Not strictly true. I often eat 3000 cals and I have visible abs.

Do you have lipoedema? If you do, then the mutated fat cells are resistant to calorie deficit.

I think you have to experiment, to me you are eating too few calories
What Happens When You Eat Too Few Calories

Try inputting your metrics here
Calorie Calculator UK — Free NHS Aligned BMR & TDEE Tool 2026

It will tell you largely what you need to eat to lose weight. I lost 2 stone but found if I ate too little it wouldn't budge, so ended up on the suggested 1700 calories a day (which I monitored religiously!) and then it worked. Might take a bit of trial and error. I don't know your age or height but I took their defaults and for 16 stone you should be eating over 2000 cals a day

Also I am very active but totally disregard exercise ie don't add any cals on for it. I don't think exercise helps with weight loss particularly though clearly you need to do it for your health!

OP, your height makes quite a big difference to how much you can eat.

Upping your protein will help you feel fuller. Get out and run as soon as your shoes turn up. I'd also do the 10k steps (and possibly more) whether you're going to the gym or not.

Can your PT help you with nutrition?

I was 16 stones and am now 10.5, it can be done! Did it slowly over 2-3 years but its stayed off.

I feel for you OP and have seen many a thread like this on Mumsnet. If you say that you are tracking all your calories then people should believe you.

On these threads some people come along to critique your diet, give random suggestions and pay insufficient attention to what you, the person concerned, are actually saying: ‘Unless you are only gnawing on a twig twice a day you must clearly be overeating and deserve to be a fatty. Oh and it must be an evergreen twig as deciduous twigs are too carb-heavy.’ 😂

I don’t know what to suggest but good luck @justmeandthedogs.

@Satsuma55I don’t think it has magical properties but I do know it’s good for your gut and it tastes nice!

Weigh your portions and check calorie count for everything you eat and drink (read the package labels or websites). I found this worked for me, you will be surprized where the high calories are.

You need to find/reduce your calories intake by 3500 calories a week (500 calories a day). 3500 calories is equivalent to 1 ib of body fat.

Burning more calories by exercise will help

Jeez some of these comments :(

Try to get some impact sessions in - ie Spinning / HIT workouts in which will improve cardio fitness levels

Weight is one indicator of BMI
Height / weight / activity is an indicator of what would be a calorie deficit
Take measurements and compare those week on week
If you can get scales that calculate fat / muscle ratio etc
Your PT should be able to set up a programme for you to track goals against.