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?

Twinkie diet helps nutrition professor lose 27 pounds - CNN.com

Well this is about people who struggle to get 10k.

But you’re not losing weight, which was why you started the thread.

im not sure what you want from the thread, you just seem to want to be told you’re right.

so, you’re right, you’re doing everything right, you’re just stuck at 16 stone for ever more.

@Catza oh my - I used to live in the States and absolutely loved Twinkies 😍

If I ever need to lose weight this could be the way forward.

@justmeandthedogs - re 10k - I know that different things for different people. Personally I do try and do at least 10k a day.

@LillyoftheValleys I'm a little confused about your numbers.

Earlier you said 10k steps would be just under 5 miles. Obvs it would depend on stride length - so 4.5 - 5 miles at 2.7 mph wouldn't be unreasonable.

But here you're talking about 10 kilometres. I wonder if you have conflated two different things?

Despite your opinion @justmeandthedogs and that of many others on here, it ISN'T simply calories in, calories out. This has been disproven so many times and yet it's parroted.

It's types of calories, when you eat them, your personal metabolism, your hormonal level (hence why many, many women gain weight at menopause even when regulating calories.

I only lose weight on under 1000 cals a day. I can't lose weight if I'm eating carbs. Intermittent fasting doesn't work for me BUT fasting one day a week does. If I fast one day a week, I can have some limited carbs for breakfast and still lose. But if I eat them later in the day, I can't.

I'd start trying one new thing a week in your position. Enough to see a slight reduction in the scale, but not long enough to waste too much time/energy on if it isn't working.

Have you redone your TDEE calculation based on being 16 stone? We can sometimes forget to reduce this as we lose?

Only other suggestion would be to do a couple of very low calorie days or a short run of very low carb days, not viable long term if you run but it might shock things into moving.

For me, it's about portion control. It is so easy to underestimate the size of a portion when you are trying to lose weight! I have been buying ready meals for which I know the number of calories and supplementing them with green veg and salad. Apart from the veg and salad EVERYTHING I put in my mouth is pre-portioned. I'm just under what you weigh now, but was just a little over. I'm losing weight slowly but steadily, based on around 1200 calories a day, but I'm not very mobile and can't do much exercise.

Ok - but one third of his diet was vegetables and protein shakes still. And we don't know what he would have lost in the same amount of time on 1800 calories of brown rice, fish and veggies.

I'm not saying you wouldn't lost any weight eating chocolate, more that it would take longer to do so.

My friend of a similar weight seemed to kick start hers by doing 5/2 diet for a couple of weeks. Obviously not recommended long term (and she didn't go to the gym on the fast days obviously).

How long have you been stuck in this loop?

You're doing a lot of exercise, including weights, and you drink a lot of water. You say your body is getting smaller but the scale isn't changing.

My guess is that you are losing fat and gaining muscle, and also that your muscles are retaining water when you train, which is normal. Muscle is much denser than fat, so if you're putting on a muscle, that might mean the scales don't change even though you're losing fat. It's also why some professional athletes have a higher BMI than you'd expect.

I would focus more on fat loss than weight loss here.

It's also possible you're consuming more calories than you think - eg a tablespoon of oil doesn't look like much at all in a pan, but adds about 160 calories to a stir-fry. But if you're measuring what you eat and sticking to lean meat, I suspect you're doing things right and you will get out of your plateau soon.

She's said multiple times she counts every single calorie, she's shared the app she uses, other people have backed her up regarding the efficacy of the app and the fact that it adjusts recommended deficit to accommodate weight loss...

...and still people are arguing the toss over the calories in an avocado, how big a slice of sourdough toast is, and how she must be counting wrong.

I think she's being the model of patience and restraint, myself.

Yes - but that’s one of the flaws with CICO
a) the online TDEE calculators are an estimate only
b) different macronutrients etc are absorbed different ways

On the basis that she is eating what she said there are two options
a) her stall is because she has retained water etc at the outset of her weight lifting journey - but it’s unlikely to be over 2-3kg and so that would only stall things for 3-4 weeks or
b) her TDEE is lower than the estimates

My personal recommendation would be to do 2 weeks of a bodybuilder type diet at 1,500 (chicken fish eggs fat free dairy and green veg) and see if the scales moves and then reassess.

I agree. OP has been admirably restrained in the face of posters deciding they know better than she does about how she's been logging her calories and the amount of steps she's been doing etc. It's bizarre how those posters are so insistent they are right and she – the person whose lived experience it is – is wrong!

A bodybuilder-type diet could very easily include sourdough. They love carbs. Carbs give them the energy to get through a workout. They carb load before lifting sessions, especially if they're bulking.

If they're cutting, it's generally an even split of carbs and protein, and a small amount of fat, unless they're trying to get to competition-level bodyfat %, which is not how they eat long-term as it's neither healthy nor sustainable.

The sources of carbs they prefer are wholegrains such as brown rice, root vegetables, and... sourdough.

I meant a bodybuilder cutting diet. Yes even carbs and protein. Not sustainable - but I only suggest for 2-3 weeks to see if it helps get out of plateau.

Again, that’s not a test for insulin resistance. There are really only two options to explain the weight situation. The first is you can’t weigh/measure/count calories/are eating secret calories, the second is you are insulin resistant. The test you have had won’t show you that. Personally, I’d try metformin

30 is healthy though. And not going to get metformin easily.

I suggested earlier try cutting a bit perhaps to 1,400 and following a low carb diet - ideally just low fat protein, pulses for carbs and cruciferous veg.

I found at 13 and a half stone I had to eat <1400 to lose weight, in spite of doing a fair bit of exercise I think if you sit down a lot - which I do due to my job, even though I swim, do spin class, running, yoga, weights and other cardio and 10k+ a day average steps.

The good thing is my maintenance at 11 stone odd is about 1700 which is manageable.

I had some success with variable calories/5:2/fasting but it was really mounjaro that helped me finally get two stone+off. For years I'd get to twelve stone something and give up as it was so slow. With mj I lost a pound a week so nothing alarming but nice and steady. I'd stopped taking it now and have kept the weight off.

Yes, but that test doesn’t measure insulin resistance, so a healthy marker doesn’t tell you anything. I was normal on that test too but my actual insulin resistance was off the charts. It’s also linked to PCOS and hormonal issues, rather than simply diabetes!
Mine didn’t respond to anything other than meds. The OP doesn’t seem to phased by it though. I got to the point my desperation was enough that I begged my GP to try it. Funnily enough I read about it on this forum and recognised it as my issue immediately.

As others have said previous I don't think 10k steps average speed alone is hugely beneficial, although it's a better thing to aim for than nothing. I was doing 10k easily doing 2 school runs on foot per day and a trip around town/the supermarket but I only saw weight loss from walking when I was on mat leave and doing 20k plus. I do about 18k steps on days I run.

That could work if OP's progress is that frustrating to her, but it's worth bearing in mind she's also mentioned running and that her goal is to improve her running times.

If she's running and doing everything she listed with her PT and 10k steps a day, that's a lot of activity to manage on little to no carbs. She's going to feel like shit, and her progress in the gym and with running will stall, so I suppose it depends on what her main goal is weightloss or fitness, and whether it's worth stalling progress in one to accelerate the other.

I've accidentally eaten low-carb the last few days because I ran out of money and had to cope with what we had in the house to eat, which was eggs, mostly, inordinate amounts of eggs.

I cut my run short by just less than half this morning because I was physically struggling and mentally just could not...

Even though I've finally been paid, and just munched my way through 600 calories of quinoa, rocket, edamame, pickled slaw, and smoked salmon, I still feel like shit and the idea of strength training this evening is just no... Before I ate the salad, the dog was starting to look like an appealing snack.

She did say her plateau has only been a "few weeks," so if it were me, I'd stick with it another couple of weeks before thinking about tweaking anything. If I did feel like I needed to tweak something in a couple of weeks.

No but it indicates that I’m not having any issues in that department

Because I mentioned my weight in the title and i’m obese, so therefore I must be in denial and sitting stuffing my face everyday. Because I just lack self control apparently