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?

Wow- that's a pretty tetchy response OP.
You okay?

I said an avocado can be 250 cals. And?

I made the point that you shouldn't need to calorie count at all if you focus on the general principles of smallish portions of lean protein, lots of fruit, veg, bit of dairy and some nuts.

Anyway I tried to help and I'm not here to take swearing etc..

All the best.

.

...and the fact you've lost a stone demonstrates that. But now you've plateaued and the original calculation is wrong, you need to adjust intake. You'll get used to it just as you did before.

I would cut down on the carbs and up your veg and protein. See if it makes a difference.

Because it’s so easy to go over on your calories when you’re not counting them properly.

dips/oil in cooking/milk in tea all the little things really do add up.

if OP is really having a 1500calories at her weight she should be loosing.

Take a look at Team RH. Not everyone's cup of tea granted but honestly, they are brilliant ( to me anyway).

I was just a little bit overweight but wanted to feel better in my clothes and not look pregnant by the evening.

I'm 5ft 3, starting weight was 67kgs. Started March 9th do a little over a month. Calories set for me are 1550, I walk 7 to 10,000 steps a day, no running. 20 minutes of weight training x 3 weekly and 2 to 3 weekly sessions on exer ise bike. My weight has dropped to 63.kgs.

Their app is brilliant, much much better than MFP. It is so easy to underestimate your calories even when tracking. Take a look if you haven't already. Good luck, it sounds like you're determined and are doing all the right things. I would absolutely not drop further, this will cause you to binge and lose muscle. I suspect your tracking is not as accurate as you think.

Yes but actively challenging what I say I eat. I count the calories in a slice of avocado and sourdough and egg and people are going “no you’re wrong”

Ahhh @justmeandthedogs - I feel your pain.

A reminder to the snipers: Weight loss isn't linear. It is personal.

I think you're doing an amazing job if your clothes feel better. Scales are not your mate - perhaps hide them for a week or two. Take the pressure off.

I would suggest some slight tweaks and see if it makes a difference? Drop some carbs (mix courgetti with spaghetti/cauliflower rice with normal rice) and up the protein on the calories you're having at the moment. Think about intermittent fasting perhaps a day or two a week - just in essence dropping one or two meals a week - it might shift something in the scales for you. It works a treat for some of my friends.

I had to give up oats (completely - overnight oats with water, berries/banana/0% yogurt had to go, I was devastated!) and everything bread based that wasn't sourdough (I only have sourdough rarely now). That was all that was needed for me to see a shift on the scales - and I maintained the suggested calories via Nutracheck, so it wasn't a calories thing, for me, it was a food that didn't agree with my body and my goals.

Good luck OP.

Op to lose less than a pound a week I am doing

• intermittent fasting
• 1200-1400 cals
• wli
• walk at least 10k steps a day
• exercise various ways and jog

I remember doing atkins and losing 10lb in a week, doing slim fast and losing half a stone in a week etc etc in my 20s. In my 30s gym and calorie counting worked. In my early 40s Body Coach eating plan and exercise worked. Zoe I didn’t lose a pound in the year I did it. Now mid 40s I’m doing all of the above to lose weight slowly. What I will say with doing wli is it shows there are other things happening in your body that impact weight loss - I have plateaued and gained weight even when taking the same medication week in, week out.

Weight loss injections?

https://teamrhfitness.com/
I meant to add this to my post. If you dont like people swearing then probably best to avoid!

Also, running and the gym absolutely work me - for e.g. a 5K (35mins) run I can burn 350 calories for me, according to my stats.

Are you on any medication OP?

I am amazed at the amount of medications that ‘may gain weight’ as stated in the side effects. As if it is nothing to worry over.
I once gained two stone on medication that my consultant changed. I didn’t eat or exercise differently. I still cannot shift it. When I talked to him about it he said at least it wasn’t five stone !

Some medicines can make people gain weight.

I’m sorry you’re being so nitpicked OP.

I am having eggs and avocado on sourdough for my lunch and it’s about 420 calories for me. I have this quite often for lunch or tea during the week! Half a normal sized avocado is 100 cals, not sure who is eating a whole avocado on the daily. And bread is not the devil!

If you can afford it, it might be worth getting a private test to see what your resting metabolic rate actually is.

Also, look at getting your nutrients tested as if you are deficient in anything, it is worth correcting that so that your body is working optimally.

If you're not losing weight eating what you're currently eating then if you continue doing the same it will likely be the same.

I’ve got 7 hours on you,….

She's only plateaued for a couple of weeks; that's pretty normal when you're losing weight the right way.

OP mentioned Nutracheck. I also use this app, and it automatically adjusts your calories for you when you weigh in. I've lost 8 stone using Nutracheck, and I also had a few frustrating plateaus. I now only weigh in once a month, and no longer notice any plateaus, which could be an idea for OP.

@justmeandthedogs Try changing the settings to also track carbs and protien and set to higher protein, and see how that goes. You'll still be able to have your sourdough, you'll just need to adjust your meals to account for it.

Overall, though, what you're doing is working; it's just not showing on the scales as fast as you'd like.

How old are you? Hormone changes in women massively affect "calories in/out" and unfortunately your body will be clinging onto carbs (wholemeal pasta and sourdough are still most definitely carbs).

Just for reference the British Heart Foundation has a long feature on avocado. Their nutritional guide says half a medium one = 140 cals.

OP is it possible you're gaining muscle and this is causing the plateau?

Well a slice of sourdough an average slice is 140 cals. An egg 155, you said egg plural, so 300, then the avocado , a half is about 130 cals. So closer to 600 than 400 cals, assuming you’ve no butter or spread on it and don’t eat a whole avocado, at which point it’s closer to 800 cals. A large slice of sourdough as about 260 cals.

There is no way to know how much energy our bodies actually use (without testing) so the idea that if you weigh X amount you need X calories is all based on averages. Some peoples bodies will need far less energy in, as their system will be very efficient and function on less fuel. Body composition make a huge difference here.
On top of that, again its impossible to know how much energy one body can extract from the fuel going in. The measure of kcal is really simplistic (based on burning it in the lab - A Calorie (kcal) is the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water 1 degree Celsius) so the idea that 100g of food = 100kcal is meaningless because perhaps my body is very good at extracting all of the energy in the food while yours is less efficient so for each 100g of food I get 100Kcal but you only get 85Kcal. Again averages.
Add in the fact that bodies can (and do) also get rid of excess energy without storing it (its not always stored as fat) and this is where hormones come into play. Some bodies will store every last drop of excess energy while some will excrete it/ burn as heat and not store as much. This is extremely complex and affected by genetics, hormones, environment and even the type of food.
Human bodies are complex, biochemically driven organisms not a combustion engine with simple thermodynamics.
While we can talk in general concepts and averages, if the OP says she is only eating 1500kcal per day and not losing I believe her. The posters telling her she is wrong and must be eating more than that are not helpful.

Wtf is wrong with cottage pie?!
it’s meat, potatoes and veg
use lean meat, don’t add loads of butter or cheese to the mash and it’s absolutely fine. Depending on the portion it could be 500-700 cals which is a normal evening meal

Your metabolism is shot.
You need to go keto to fix it.
and you should never have a low protein day.

You do not need to ever eat any carbs except a few berries every few days for the vitamin c. Eat eggs every day for breakfast (with no grain based products).

Your body can make all the sugar it needs/wants (for your cardio) from protein but it’s far better to burn your bodyfat as fuel than carbs you’ve eaten.

No- an egg is not 155 cals. Have a look online. Max is about 80 for large egg.