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?

Of course it tastes nice...its bread

Agree. When I was younger I would easily lose weight eating 1400 calories per day. Now if I eat 1400 calories at age 44 it's a slow process and I'm lucky if 0.5lbs comes off. Some weeks nothing comes off.

If I reduce carbs and exercise (10k steps per day) and a cycle or run at the weekends. I see better results. It's hard.

How long have you been 'stuck'? If you are new to weight training then you could easily be building muscle so actually gaining weight but losing fat. Ultimately, that makes you thinner. It will balance out and the weight should start to come off. I have also read that our bodies like to stay at a set weight and can retain water to be at that weight. But then that comes off too. Keep going with the exercise and tracking

I think you’re in a normal plateau.

Keep going.

I am not a carb hater but even in deficit, anything like bread, pasta or potato won’t work on me. Other carbs are fine but those three are killers. For me. My body clings to it.

I hate to say it but…… Mounjaro. I am now off if after losing 4 stone and now fighting the daily battle of calories in/calories out and I’m maintaining without much effort but pasta, potatoes and bread are my killer. Despite exercising. I will go up 2lbs if I eat spaghetti for example.

Going against the grain here, but you ARE losing weight, aren’t you?
13lbs this year is great. We’re 16 (ish) weeks into the year so that’s roughly 0.8lbs per week. That’s great! Slow and steady does it. I’d set myself a daily checklist:

-track calories
-10k steps
-workout two / three times per week
-7 hours of sleep minimum
-5 a day fruit and veg

Do that consistently for a month no days off, then reassess. If absolutely no progress I’d add an extra 1-2k steps per day or reduce calories by 100 (not a nutritionist) but I suspect you won’t need to because progress also means

-have you took measurements?
-have you took photos?
-do you feel better in yourself?

Ugh, so much to hate about this thread, don't know why I let myself read it.

OP, you're doing fine. Down 13lbs, and it's what, 16 weeks into the year? You just need consistency and patience.

I am 53 and am just about 6 stone lighter than when I turned 50. My life has been transformed. For the last three years I have done minimum 12k steps a day, 4 or 5 sessions at the gym every week, 1500 calories paying attention to protein and fibre. My losses per week/month are unspectacular and inconsistent. My average over those three years is a measly half a pound a week. No-one even noticed (except my trainer) for the first three stone, now every few pounds I lose someone notices.You just need to keep on keeping on and trying to enjoy the journey, because even if/when you get where you want to go, you have to carry on doing this forever.

I expect at 16 stone you are at least somewhat insulin resistant even if your HbA1c is normal. You need to look at macros, and if you are insulin resistant carbs matter a LOT. If you are 100% sure of your calorie intake, then you need to adjust the ratios of carb/ protein/ fibre etc. as you et older you need less calories than you did when you were younger, even if you are moving and exercising. verall, exercise makes a negligible contribution to weight loss although it is vitally important for muscle strength and maintenance. I would suggest IF with at least an 18 hour fasting window and a significant reduction in carbohydrate intake.

None of that means calories in/calories out is BS and the human body is outside of the laws of thermodynamics. All it means is the rough averages they use as a starting point need to be tweaked to suit each individual and tweaked with time as the individual's body changes. Which we already know.

That looks like a sensible diet overall, but has your thyroid ever been tested? Something's wrong somewhere because I don't think it's normal to have to measure even the honey you drizzle on toast or similar, and you should be able to have a biscuit a day, or something like a pizza once a month without ballooning in weight.

I wonder if some people just don't respond that well to bursts of exercise, like running or going to the gym. If you have a desk job, I'd be interested to know how you'd do using a standing desk for half of the week.

Stick with it. I lost 2kg between Jan-end of Feb; then carried on exactly the same and literally the scale didn’t budge for 5 weeks. I nearly gave up and it dropped 0.7kg and now I’m hovering around this lower weight. It’s definitely not always linear and I really did nearly throw the towel in. I have no idea why it got stuck for so long.

In the words of Dr Nowzaran "you haven't lost any weight so you're still eating too much."

Yes and it’s not the devil? I’ve done the whole 500 calories, no carbs, no sugar, bollocks and I just lost hair.

Hi OP, I believe you re calories and exercise!

Have you tried/ looked into intermittent fasting? I stopped doing it but it was great at kick starting weight loss I had struggled to shift. You may be able to shift when you eat, but eat the same calories, and see results.

It's got to do with your metabolic health (I don't know much more!). Look into Gin Stephens' podcasts and books where she is quite helpful.

You need Mounjaro. If it’s possible for you then I can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s a life changer.
it will be the difference you need.

You do not need Moujanro FFS.

OP, you are experiencing a very normal, very expected plateau. What you need is to put the scales away for a couple of weeks and be patient.

Hi OP,

That sounds very frustrating. I'm a similar weight (7lbs heavier) and would find it so frustrating if I was doing all of the right things (I'm not!) and facing that.

Could you try calorie cycling where you have for example 1200 cals one day and then 1700 the next? but to a total of 10500 (which is 7x 1500) each week?

Everyone’s metabolism is different, so it comes across as a bit presumptuous to suggest you know better than someone else about theirs. If the intention was genuine concern, you could’ve written about hidden calories or offered suggestions on tracking. As it’s written, it reads less like concern and more like a humblebrag about your own self-control.

As I’ve seen someone else say I would go for intermittent fasting plus calorie counting - I use an app called Zero so eat my designated calories in an 8 hour or 6 hour window and found this helped get things moving again. You’ll get there, it’s so disheartening when things feel stuck

Could you go somewhere to check body fat every two weeks? Might be a better measure than just how much you weigh?

This is my gym routine, as set by my PT. The order I do the machines varies based on what’s available and when.

15 minute fast walk

machine chest press

cable row

perfect squat machine

lat pull down

shoulder press machine

single leg press machine

kettle bell rdl

ab machine

7 minute stairmaster

15 minute fast walk

I don't think you're in a plateau OP, from what you've said it sounds like you're gaining muscle and losing fat.

I'm doing the same, trying to up my protein and eat a reasonable amount of carbs for energy.

I haven't lost a pound according to my scales but my clothes are looking better on.

I’m really surprised at how little many people know about the human body, people keep repeating this and it is clearly not feasible. She doesn’t eat enough protein, and none of us can say how heavy the resistance is in her work outs.

she isn’t gaining muscle. She is simply under estimating her cals. I suspect the sourdough avocado and eggs is a clear example of that.

Maybe ditch the scales for a bit and just focus on how you feel and how your clothes fit etc. Focusing on a number can be disheartening.

I've read that it helps to think of weight loss as steps downward rather than a slope - you are on a plateau for a moment but the likelihood is you will step down again. If your clothes size is decreasing it sounds like you are losing fat, but with your training regime you are probably getting stronger abd gaining muscle (which weighs more than fat)

I’d thank you to not be so condescending and rude as you have been across this post.

this is the last time I had avocado and eggs on toast. 448 when you discount my coffee, 379 when you remove the bacon I added.