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?

Forgot the picture!

OP - you’re lifting weights with PT support so more than likely an effective routine - muscle is heavier then fat. Your clothes fit better and, if you plan to stick to strength routine, as you should, I would focus on that.:)
I’ve read a fascinating study recently about whether highly processed food leads to weight gain in kids. There’s a small effect but only in kids genetically predisposed to obesity (not saying you’re obese!), which in itself adds a lot of shades to regular healthy living advice. But more interestingly the size of the effect that’s due to genetics dwarves everything else. This is all to say, that all the people here telling you „you’re lying on your calorie intake as „I” I’d be thin as a stick on that amount”- could use doing some more reading before they criticise others.
For what it’s worth- I think you’re doing great, maybe focus on how your clothes fit and all the amazing things your body can do and chuck the scales.;)

OP has said her clothes are feeling looser, therefore it is unlikely she is underestimating her calories, as she is demonstrably losing fat, therefore the weight on the scale can only be either muscle or water.

How many calories are in the drizzle of honey?

Depends, usually under 60.

Ditch the honey or at least 100 calories a day, and check your weight after a week. I have to eat around 1400 a day to lose weight and I'm 8 stone 9, 5ft 3, do resistance band workout 3 hours a week/3 times a week. I was 14 stone 7 and it took years to drop the weight, I always had to drop calories to shift anything.

Have you considered that your weight may not be decreasing because you’re putting on muscle through the weight training too? I weight myself weekly and in the last two weeks I have not lost weight but have lost body fat % and gained muscle according to the smart scale…

You mentioned honey. There's a heaped teaspoon of sugar in that screenshot.

You've got to cut out sugar. You won't miss it after three weeks and losing the taste for sugar is the low hanging fruit for weight loss.

And whole milk! Switch to skimmed.

If you have a taste for whole milk and sugar no matter how good you are at calorie counting one day you'll fall off the wagon. Just lose the taste for sugar and whole milk. Go cold turkey.

How tall are you? I am stuck around 11.5 stone and do similar to you. I am 5 ft 6”. I have given up on the scales and trying to eat sensibly and work out more with weights. Try to walk 10K a day. Have you checked thyroid?

I imagine you have gained muscle and lost fat - muscle is heavier so your scales won’t move for a while but please done go under 1500 calories a day that is mental and youll have no energy, keep going you are doing great!

Yes, I have honey on yoghurt and sugar in coffee. It’s far better for you than artificial sweeteners. I have not “fallen off the wagon” for 4 months so far.

This is such bullshit, honey is so good for you, cutting sugar won’t make any difference, she has gained muscle mass

I feel your frustration Op at people doubting your intake.
I was weighing everything including blueberries, broccoli and salad. My young pt was flummoxed. I must be doing her plan wrong.
I can only speak for myself as a 50 ish peri menopausal woman but whatever the online TDEE calculation said it was too high for me to lose. So if I was supposed to be on 1600 cals a day at lightly active (3 weights sessions a week and 10,000 steps a day) in reality that was my maintenance and 1200 was all I could eat.
It’s so frustrating to be gas lit that you aren’t tracking correctly. Scales and log on nutracheck before you eat, it’s a habit. I don’t eat butter, sugar. Weigh sauce so I’m not using spoons so can’t be measuring wrong.
I suspect I’m insulin resistant. Big fluctuations at certain times of month, one meal out and 3lb on.
I have developed over time what works for me. Lots of steps. Mainly protein and veg. Some whole grain carbs. I actually find Slimmingworld the best fit as I don’t have to weigh everything. I cook from scratch and focus on healthy varied diet. 2 meals a day suits me. I’m not eating pasta by bucketful, maybe a weighed portion every 2 weeks.
I was over 16 stone at heaviest. Now half a stone over healthy bmi.

The hate on this thread is so bizarre.

I would keep going OP if you're feeling fitter and clothes fit is changing. You must be doing something right! Wouldn't be surprised if you see a drop soon.

The only thing I would say is that not all calories are equal. Lots of good stuff about this in the ultraprocessed people book. You've more than got this! 💪

It’s much better to incorporate things into diet than remove and fall into a cycle of being off it or on it or bingeing crap.
Greek yoghurt, berries and small amount of nuts all weighed. If Op wants to add honey and count it that’s absolutely fine. Add and weigh scales. You stick bowl on, drizzle on 10g or whatever and log it on nutracheck. I can’t see why the cals entered wouldn’t be 100% spot on.

I suppose if you were waiting a long time, you could do some squats or lunges?

Why do you think you got 16 stone (or 17, whatever you were at you highest) in the first place?
Figure that out and address that
Eg. Thyroid levels
Perimenopause (get on some HRT)
Because until you address the underlying cause then you will be fighting a losing battle. There is no shame in WLI, and when used in conjunction with a health diet and exercise (strength training particularly) then they'll work even better.

I had classic perimenopause symptoms for years but no one would listen because i was 'too young and periods too regular' ended up with insanely low oestrogen and testosterone unmeasurable. It caused me to gain 6 stone all centrally, and ultimately even with HRT, diet and exercise i needed mounjaro to shift the abdominal obesity.

How on earth would you know if she’s gaining muscle or not?

I believe you that you are tracking correctly.
I would try these (in order):

• continue what you're doing for a week and see if the plateau breaks, especially as you said you were a bit lighter this morning

• try a few days eating your maintenance calories, then return to your deficit calories. This can 'rev up' your metabolism and get you off the plateau

• if still no weight loss after trying these, then cut calories further. Just because the internet says your TDEE is xyz does not mean it is exactly right for you. Especially (but not exclusively) if you are older/peri/postmenopausal.

PS keep the honey and full fat milk. These are real unadulterated foods which humans have been eating for millennia. They are not the problem.

What a horrible set of responses you have had OP. What struck me is you are only weighing yourself, not taking measurements or progress photographs.

You are in prime body recomposition territory as a person who is overweight, on a small calorie deficit and consistently lifting weights. It is highly probable that you are losing fat while gaining muscle and just not tracking this.

I'm not trying to be dismissive, and do think there is an argument for you seeking medical support with this if the situation continues and you are unhappy. If exercise and diet really isn't working for you, and you have had a good go at it with a PT and calorie counting, I do think it is fair to look at further medical/surgical steps.

Why would your clothes fit better if there is no movement on the scales?

Does your body change shape?

This isn't a snippy comment. I'm really interested because I think I have noticed this very self same thing as well.

It’s hard isn’t it?

I started trying to lose weight in January and was eating 800 calories a day because I’m only 4 foot 10 and that’s pretty much my allowance to lose and 1000 to maintain.

I am doing 10,000 steps a day, an hour swim every day and 3 times a week doing cardio and weights in the gym.

I have been losing weight but slowly and had only lost a stone until two weeks ago. I had dropped two dress sizes from a 14 to a 10 but I should be a size 6-8 at my height.
I joined slimming world 8 years ago and lost 2.5 stone in 7 months.
I’ve realised calorie counting wasn’t working and decided to try slimming world again.

I joined 2 weeks ago and followed the plan meticulously and I’ve lost 6.5 pounds so far so I’m absolutely over the moon.
I was shocked at how many swips some of the food I’d been eating when I was calorie counting is.
You get 15 swips a day and I’d have been having at least 35 when calorie counting but I am probably eating more than 800 a day most days now.
This is good because it’s so hard to sustain off that little and you have to be very careful with what you eat so you are still getting adequate nutrition, at my height my body just needs less fuel.

I had been considering WLI but I’ll put that on hold as my doctor said it’ll be easier to maintain if I lose it myself and being so small my start weight wasn’t that high despite being in the obese BMI category.

My start weight was 11 stone but according to my BMI I can weigh 6 stone 7 and be in the normal category, I have been that weight before and I looked ill and was far too thin.
I looked my best at around 7 stone 12 but even at 8 stone 5 I was a size 6-8 and didn’t look overweight at all so BMI isn’t always helpful, I think it depends on the individual.

My goal weight is 8 stone and hopefully I’ll reach it this year but for me it’s proved that it’s what you eat and calorie counting just doesn’t work if I wanted to have a good significant loss each week.

You haven’t mentioned your height but it really makes a difference and if you were doing slimming world the sourdough bread would be very high in swips. I do eat carbs on the plan but I fill a third of my plate with veg and eat a lot of protein now and I’ve noticed I’m feeling full all of the time and rarely snacking.

If you haven’t tried it then it might be worth giving it a go?

One thing I have noticed is that when I lost weight on slimming world 8 years ago in my early thirties I was one of the youngest there and was slimmer of the week a lot of weeks and having 4/5lb losses a lot of weeks whilst the older women were losing 1-3lb I thought I must just be trying harder to lose it.

Now I’m noticing that the women in their thirties are having those losses and I still lost 3lb then 3.5lb in the two weeks I’ve gone so far but I had my old book from years ago and on my first weigh in I’d lost 5.5lb and the 2nd I’d lost 4lb.
I wasn’t doing much exercise either back then so it’s very frustrating!

Not surprised on 500 calories. You don't have to go to extremes just by cutting carbs.

I’d cut back on the carbs at dinner eg pasta bake / cottage pie and try more chicken stir fry and veg.

Aim for at least 120g protein a day and keep carbs below 150g.

Increase weight lifting to 3x a week. If you can’t shift it at 1,550 cut back to 1,400.

Well yes but you're only 4 months in. Maybe in 10 years time because there's sugar and whole milk in the house the quantities will creep up. Once the habit is broken I never miss stuff, I'm sure you'd find it easier to go cold turkey. You're making life hard for yourself having temptation lying around. (IMHO)