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?

The 10k is arbitrary but it’s more likely to be a case of the more the better. I get an average of 16k aim for a minimum of 12k - desk job but 10-12 min walk to train and I walk my dog.

Thank you! If the 15s13 sticks on the scales I’m down a stone since the start of the year. A lot, lot slower than I wanted but it feels more sustainable.

There is no evidence red meat causes anything but great health. I never touch processed meat as it's full of chemicals and preservatives. I eat mostly minced meat because I am on a budget. Lots of eggs and butter. some fish (tinned and fresh). I also sprout and grow low oxalate veggies - mung, alfalfa, lentils, black eye, chick and marrowfat peas. I probably eat what my ancestors eat pretty much although in the ice ages there would have been only meat of course. My maternal haplogroup is from Siberia.

Are you taking progress photos and body measurements? The scale is only one piece of information.

I have taken some when I started, it might be worth updating them and seeing if there’s a difference

What a load of tosh

I think you've got the right mindset. Sustainability is always better than speed (although speed would be nice too).

Good luck!

Yes and if you were stuck in a survival situation then red meat is one of the most nutritionally complete foods you can eat.

It also contains all nine essential amino acids required for muscle growth, tissue repair, and immune function and contains iron, zinc, and B vitamins (especially B12) in forms that are much easier for the body to absorb compared to other sources, zinc, iron, selenium, and phosphorus and beneficial compounds not found in many other foods, including taurine, carnitine, creatine, and carnosine, which support metabolic and cardiovascular health

Op you mention protein days; have you tried eating protein daily at every meal (30g approx) with plenty of fibrous veg? So always a big salad to start lunch and dinner,

10K = 6.2 miles

You're walking at less than 3 mph. (You said 2.7mph.)

At 3mph, 6.2 miles would take you just over 2 hrs.

2.7 mph is looking more like 2.5 hrs.

Also, everyone's steps are different.
Some people take tiny steps, others take huge strides.
Gadgets need calibrating - I'm sure yours is.

This @justmeandthedogs

I don’t know if It’s just because of my weight that you’re being like this, but again you’re incorrect. I’ve sat around 9k so far daily this week, which is entirely my own fault and something I’ll work on but the day in the picture is entirely representative

You're the one who is 16 stone though.

And you’re the one staring down the barrel of colon cancer, high cholesterol and other such things. Yes I’m losing weight slowly but I’d rather that than eating red meat only all day

And I already know you’ll come back with a snippy response about Sunday but it was one lazy day out of about 130 so far this year, so I don’t want to hear it.

I feel your pain OP and can't see that you're doing anything wrong, it's great what you've achieved so far. I honestly have come to believe that there is no "one size fits all" approach to weightloss, and am weary / wary of every "magic bullet offered. During my adult life (57 and post menopausal since my late forties) I've swung from just under nine stone to 14 at my heaviest, and the liqest I've managed in the last 4 years was 12 stone. Currently 13 and holding.

One thing I do think is that stress abd hormones can have quite an impact. Pre menopause, stress and erratic even unhealthy eating would see me drop pounds without trying or noticing till clothes stopped fitting, post menopause it's been largely the opposite. For example, I spent about 3 weeks with my dying father in hospital, forcing myself to eat one bacon roll a day, and doing more steps than I think I've ever done because hospitals are big and I also had lots of outside errands to do as well. I was 14 stone when Dad went in, and 14 stone when he died.

After about a month of considerably less activity, appalling self care and questionable "nutrition" and all the usual sadmin, I noticed my skirts dropping onto my hips, weighed myself, and lo, a stone had vanished and my stomach had noticeably shrunk. Have been trying to capitalise on that a bit for months, and not an ounce has shifted. Am currently OMAD / keto -ish, but with a slight lack of consistency. It's almost as though the more I focus and fret about it, the more stubbornly the fat cells cling on. I've not gained any back though, so am thinking I need to improve fitness and pretend I'm content the way I am 😂 That said I'm wearing a size 12 skirt and people have commented I have cheekbones again. Appreciate the skirt us probably a vanity sizing thing.

Anyway, just wanted to wish you all the best, and that you achieve what you want to at the pace that suits you.

Well there is actually quite a bit to suggest that red meat could cause cancer. Best not to eat it too often.

How many of us are currently in survival situations..?

That’s some good progress on the running, OP! Your fitness is definitely improving.

I do between 10-20k steps a day most days and most of that is functional walking (so walking to get places as part of my normal routine). Today I’m on 12k steps and have walked 8.8km (my Garmin tracks via GPS) which is a pretty normal day for me with school/nursery runs and then I walked to get my hair cut and back. I’ve made it a mission to walk wherever it is feasible to walk, and although I’m not sure it’s that effective for weight control, it’s certainly improved my functional fitness and is a nice complement to my running. Just keep on keeping on!

A pound of muscle and a pound of fat both weigh… a pound.

It doesn't imply anything. You burn calories on the sofa. As long as you intake less calories than you burn you will lose weight. Nothing to do with exercise. You can eat calories far faster that you can burn. I just cycled 25k. I could eat the calories I've burned in three mouthfuls.

Easier not to eat three mouthfuls than to cycle 75 minutes.

You might want to reread me. I eat my own sprouted legumes and seeds.

You are also wrong about cholesterol but you do you.

I love walking. My colleagues don’t understand why I get the bus rather than driving but it adds 30+ minutes of walking on to my day. I would rather walk 50+ minutes than drive, sometimes!

Google Andrew Chaffee. He's looking pretty good considering he's killing himself with meat.

Good looking people get cancer and die too, you know. Sorry but I’m not sure what you’re trying to prove with that one.

As your clothes are looser, and you’re lifting weights, it may be that you’ve gained muscle which weighs more but will eventually burn more fat. Your diet sounds very sensible and lifting weights is great for you as you get older too. Well done 🙂