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?

I ended up having to see a private GP, who ordered much more in-depth tests. That one doesn’t test insulin resistance. She was happy to prescribe metformin anyway though based on reported symptoms and my complete inability to lose weight.

I think science has moved on from this particular catch phase now, though.

@justmeandthedogs just in case you weren't aware, there is a good weight loss forum here and it can be very supportive.

Oh, 100%. But I like to be aware of what I’m eating (calories, fibre, protein, fruit & veg) anyway

Oh. And it sounds like you're doing great, by the way. Have you looked into intermittent fasting?

Have you listened to the zoe podcasts. So many science- backed topics discussed there!

Sorry if someone has already asked but have you had blood tests for under active thyroid? And a scan to see if you have PCOS? Both of these can cause the original weight gain and make it almost impossible to lose even on an extremely restrictive diet. PCOS management relies heavily on management of sugars- all of them, not just sweets! - and noting your cereals and breads, your diet could be working against you if you do indeed have PCOS. Many women have no symptoms other than weight and go through their lives beating themselves up and despairing over their weight loss “failure”. Be kind to yourself whether you go for the tests or not, you are making your body happier with what you’re doing!

I don’t know why I am getting drawn in, but whatever:

It will come off if you keep up the exercise and stick to what you're doing. I'd add a bit of fibre to your breakfast though, to help your metabolism. If you're doing weight training, you're building muscle which weighs more than fat, so the scales might not be relative to how your actual health is changing.

More impressed that your rings are full by 11am today!

Op, what age are you? Have you been to the doctors to get you thyroid checked and a full blood count? Do you have polycycstic ovaries that could affect weight loss?

I lost 8 stone 5 years ago and went from a size 16 to a size 8
I focused on fibre and hitting my protein goal. Cut out on complex carbs and replaced with simple carbs. Cut sugar out my diet. Do you know your macro split and are you hitting your daily goal? I actually found personally that I'd lose weight best when I calculated my weekly calorie goal and had less during the week and banked the remainder for the weekend. Are you weighing daily and taking the weekly average?

Edited to add, didn't mean to quote that post.

I've done a lot of reading and research (from doctors) on this and my take away from medical experts is that it is very hard to estimate your own calorie intake.

I think you are miscalculating.

It's also a PITA to track calories and if you're eating as little as you say there should be no need.

for example, what is in your salad and evening meal?

A lunchtime , salad for me would be either 2 hard boiled eggs, or 100gms cottage cheese, 2 sardines in olive oil, or 2 slices of chicken with green salad and a teaspoon of olive oil.

You could drop to 2 meals a day- for lunch just have fruit- an apple, banana, orange, whatever.

Also maybe get your thyroid checked.

Perhaps you could restrict when you eat to an 8/10/12 hour window? My DH and I only eat between 11am and 7pm and that has really helped both of us lose a lot of weight in the last four years (four stone each) among other things we do that are not WLIs.

Ah the old calories in calories out BS. Of course its true to an extent, however its not a simple as many people like to make out (particularly on these threads). Its not a case of thermodynamics as we are not machines, our bodies store fat through many complex mechanisms and hormones (including insulin) play a huge role.
I was the same as you, meticulously counted calories, weighing food and eating between 1200 - 1500 per day (Im 167cm tall and run 5km a day) for years but my weight would not budge, it was soul destroying.
I have a strong family history of diabetes and I think I have insulin resistance (I do not have diabetes though). In the end I gave WLI a try and guess what. On 1200-1500 Kcal a day I lost 0.5kg a week. Ive been off the jabs for over 6 months and on my 1500kcal a day I have not gained it back. You might not want to consider WLI but I think they level the biochemical playing field so that you can actually lose with a reasonable calorie deficit.

You aren't doing much exercise.

2 walks of 10K a week? What kind of walking? Out in the countryside? Are you getting up to 3.5mph? Or strolling? Or is this walking around town, the house, office?

The two gym sessions won't make much difference until you build muscle that eats up calories.

It's great you're doing it but it will make little difference to your weight.

weightloss is 80% food and 20% exercise.

No it hasn't. It's not even a catch phrase, it's a fact.

Hi OP it appears that you are doing well with exercise and eating good. I would suggest that if you are feeling a difference in how your clothes fit but the scales aren't going down that you may well be loosing fat but gaining muscle which weighs more. Sometimes the scales aren't the best way to measure progress so keep doing what your doing and reconsider in a month or so. Best of luck.

If it helps I believe you. 😊

Cut carbs. Increase non-carb veg.

Drop your calories to1250. OR try intermittent fasting. OR (extreme but works for me) fast for 24 hours once a week.

The carbs issue is interesting. There's nothing wrong with carbs per se but they are calorie dense so you end up eating more calories than you would if you swapped them for something else.
The big issue with carbs for me is that having some gives you an appetite for more. I loved sourdough and made it regularly but it's heavy. I cut back massively on carbs and now I really don't even want a slice because it feels like it would be too dense for me.
You can't get away from the fact that carbs are calorific and if you want to lose weight you need to cut carbs.
Disclaimer - I am on WLI now and I've been surprised at how little I need to eat compared to previously. I never get to 1500 calories now and am steadily losing 2lb a week.

Sorry but if you're eating lots of lovely sourdough how does that fit into your daily calories?

I lose weight on low carb. I don't need to lose weight at the moment but I'm short and every pound shows. I need to eat no more than 30 to 50gms of carbs a day to lose weight.

That equates for me to one portion of carbs a day.
Either a few oat cakes, 30gms oats (porridge), ditto for brown rice or pasta.

The rest is protein, fat (yoghurt), nuts, fruit and veg.

I don't think you're facing the reality of what you're eating.

I also do a very strenuous uphill walk most days ( about 3 miles) and for my height and weight it only uses 250 calories.

@justmeandthedogs If your clothes are fitting better but the scales are staying the same, you are losing body fat but gaining muscle (very slowly), and your muscles are holding onto water as they recover from training and grow.

Keep plugging away, doing exactly what you're doing now, and you'll get there, and by gaining muscle at the same time as losing fat, you'll avoid a lot of the nasty side effects of weightloss.

If you change anything, up the protein intake, lower the carb intake, but you don't need to. You're doing fine.

Do not cut your calories to 900 a day. Unless you are in a coma, you burn more than that just staying alive. 900 cals a day will make you ill.

We need to do a lot more exercise & heavy weights to lose weight than we think. How heavy are the weights, how long are the sessions? Are you pooped at the end of them??

Im currently gaining weight but losing fat. Heavy weights, building more muscle but still doing some targeted cardio. I also find it better when I reduce my (obvious) carbs like bread, potatoes, pasta but eat more beans/Pulses and 'good' carbs. Lots of veg & protein & reduced carbs in the week, bit more relaxed on a weekend.

Ah the old calories in calories out BS. Of course its true to an extent, however its not a simple as many people like to make out (particularly on these threads). Its not a case of thermodynamics as we are not machines,

Calories are a measure of energy, fat is how your body stores excess energy.

It's not BS, it is thermodynamics. If there's less energy going in than out and no fat is consumed where is the energy to make up the shortfall coming from?.Answer there is no magic energy. It's being released from fat, there is no other source.

I was a few stone heavier. Watched what I ate. Trained with a PT 3 times a week and I kid you not also exercised at least another 3-4 a week myself.

There were times in my weight loss the scale would go up or just stay the same. My clothes would sometimes feel the same too and other times even if the scales hadn’t moved clothes felt looser.

But every 5 weeks I used to take my body measurements- even if I had period bloat. It didn’t matter if I felt I hadn’t lost weight, I always lost centimetres.

Please measure your body in centimetres, you’ll see real changes.

I raised my eyebrows at 'lots of lovely sourdough'.

Don't know how that fits into the daily calorie total but it's something that could go.