Weight loss has stalled

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I’m 5.4ft and weigh 11stone, I have lost 8 pounds recently over the last couple of months or so by being in a calorie deficit, I would say my body has got used to this as I can no comfortably go without snacking and just eat main meals.
For example yesterday I ate -
piece of toast and a protein shake
Greek yogurt with flax seed and blueberries
for lunch I had a tuna salad
dinner was actually a bbq, I usually let myself have carbs etc for tea.
I’ll usually have another protein shake in the afternoon.

I haven’t been calorie tracking for a while now but I was trying to initially stay under 1500 but I found it miserable, so I’d say it’s around 1800 calories, some days less.

What am I doing wrong ? You would think the weight should be falling off but it’s definitely stalled.

If relevant I do have pcos and bloat terribly from carbs, even the good ones. I also take metformin for insulin resistance due to the pcos.

I’ve been tracking today and so far I’ve ate 647 calories, if I’m aiming for no more than 1500 a day that leaves me quite a bit for dinner. Eating what I normally do, I don’t snack, so I don’t think I’m eating more than I realise.

Yes, it's absolutely correct. It's very possible to gain and lose several pounds through water alone, and lots of things influence it, including certain foods, salt intake, heat, and certain types of exercise.

Oh god what exercise ?

Flying can also lead to water retention.

If I remember correctly, I think exercise can lead to water weight while the muscle repairs itself after strenuous use. It goes quickly but if you weigh yourself the morning after you get back from trekking up mountains (if you're not used to it), you'll probably weigh more than you would if you waited a couple of days for things to settle and stop aching.

Most exercise can cause water retention but it's only temporary and not a reason to avoid exercise

Am cutting down on caffeine which raises cortisol. Hope it helps as I love my tea! Not keen on decaffeinated tea.

Congratulations on your losses so far! I love calorie counting and consistently lose by being in one. It works, it’s transparent and reliable. I don’t agree at all that it’s a sure fire way to misery, that’s an individual take.

Go to a TDEE calculator to see what you need to lose vs maintain. If you lift weights, you’ll be better off in the long term as your body will need more calories to maintain, so you’ll get to eat more. But in the short term, weight loss will be slower (as you gain muscle which weighs more), this is when you need to use other metrics such as measurements. If you decide to do that, you can use a body recomposition calculator.

i only drink my calories (especially in protein shakes) when I am trying to build muscle as they’re not a great volume food and don’t fill me up especially.

Try not to focus exclusively on weight- as others have mentioned, SO many things affect it like muscle! And water retention Andrew so much more. Fat loss is king imo.

I notice a lot of responses saying give up or drastically reduce carbs. I have lost 73 pounds over the last 18 months, and given up no food groups. I eat carbs every day. You are not extremely overweight for your height, so it may take some time for you to lose more weight. I would go for a balanced diet, prioritising protein, but not giving up other food groups, and increase your exercise if possible.

I am really fat, over the years I have tried slimming world, weight watchers, calorie tracking and lost weight then gained more. I read the book ultra processed people and it has changed the way I see food and my relationship with food. I have lost a stone and a half in the 6 weeks since I read it without it feeling like a diet. I would totally recommend the book!

If the gap between lunch and tea is leading to snack/wanting to snack, can you push lunch back by say 90mins? I’m often not massively hungry at traditional lunch time (particularly if breakfast has been good quality) so don’t feel you have to eat at a specific time if it doesn’t work for you

HRT for the future health benefits alone.

Cheap protein can tins be tins of tuna, various beans & bags dried red lentils and Oats. The latter three can all be used to bulk out mince dishes too.

I’m about your weight, probably not as active as you apple watch says my maintenance is between 1900 -2100 a day. The problem with a small deficit is that it’s easy to obliterate with an extra bite here of there. I’ve been in a bit if a funk recently but I do better at weight loss if I’m pretty strict for at least 4 days a week. I try to stick to 1500 calories or less for 4 days, that gives me 2200 a day for 3 days over the weekend, I try to still stick to 1500 but if I have an extra glass of wine or a frozen yoghurt I have a little more space in the bank. I literally cannot bring myself to consistently eat less than 1400 calories. I will lose less than a Lb a week but it’s bearable. I don’t know of something like that would work for you?

The thing about protein shakes is I just don’t think they are as filling as actual protein, plus you get the thermic effect of eating meat based protein (which isn’t loads but if you are trying to maintain a tiny deficit to lose weight an extra 100 calories will make a difference).

Pcos is not helping you here I’m afraid. Start doing weightlifting/crossfit. Weights give a massive calorie burn

Try rooibos, it's lovely. I drink with milk and don't miss standard tea at all.

Annoyingly cannot enjoy rooibos or even green tea.

Decaffeinated coffee is bearable with a tiny bit of stevia in.

I get too many sudeeffects from meds.

May have to eat tuna and mince yes.

Have you calculated your TDEE? At 5ft 4, unless you’re very active, I don’t think the weight would be falling off. Plus it’s easy to underestimate how many calories you’re consuming unless you’re weighing and tracking everything.

Thanks for all the great replies, it’s really helpful as I’m pretty new to all this but I am determined to lose the excess weight, I just don’t want to be miserable and hungry all the time. I do eat tins of tuna and they help fill the gap, it just gets a bit boring! And I have turned myself off boiled eggs as I ate way too many of them 😆

Yes my tdee was 2000calories

Lots of people recommending nuts which are very high in calories, there was a thread on here not too long ago about a woman who ate copious amounts of meat, cheese and nuts and couldn’t understand why she was gaining so much weight and there was hundreds of posters telling her no wonder she’s that size if she’s eating cheese and nuts thinking she’s eating a healthy snack.
Carbs aren’t the enemy only refined carbs but people hear the word carb and put a potato in the same box as a cake or a cookie.
Potato, rice or pasta are normal food, a spaghetti’s bolognaise or lasagne is a normal dinner, curry with rice or a jacket potato with healthy filling is perfectly healthy for a standard meal, a wrap, sandwich or some toast is all fine I eat these things daily and I am 7 stone at 5’2 in my 40s what I don’t eat is cakes, crisps, cookies, sugary cereal, sweets, chocolate, beer and pudding etc but there’s nothing wrong with normal food, it’s sugar and processed food that’s the problem refined carbs not all carbs.
My own mother is 63 and I don’t know her weight but she’s also a size 4-6 but she doesn’t eat meat so swaps that for chickpeas or beans in dishes, I’m not saying metabolism is one size fits all but you need a varied and healthy diet because cutting out entire foods groups will cause nutrient deficiencies, hair loss and fatigue.
Fruit is healthy and fine to eat but contains fructose, a natural sugar which while comes under the name sugar should not be confused with refined sugar found in processed junk food that’s not healthy but because it’s called sugar it’s also put in the same box as a cake or cookie.

The main reason people eat rubbish is because processed food is pumped full of addictive chemicals that cause you to want more even though you’re not hungry that’s the reason you find them so moorish, you can’t just have one biscuit or one crisp but how many times can you not stop at one slice of cucumber so keep going back for more even though you’re not hungry? None because there’s no chemicals in it luring you back but please don’t cut out healthy food groups because they share a name with processed food.
Just not refined sugar or refined carbs, call it processed food to avoid the correlation.

Carbs are pretty essential if you’re active. You can’t convert fat to glucose at a fast enough rate when exercising hard for a significant time. I tried it and failed. If you’re inactive or do low intensity exercise that’s different but to say anyone saying the importance of carbs is ignorant or lying is unfair and potentially harmful,

Yes. If I don't eat carbs I don't have the energy to exercise and my brain doesn't function as well.

Respectfully, I disagree. Just like you, I have my own n = 1 scenario for myself who is very active and don’t eat carbs. My wife also just ran a marathon on zero carbs. There’s so many people out there on zero carbs thriving and very active.

If what you’re saying is true then humans would never have survived in Northern Europe through the winter when there’s zero carbs. Or they would never have survived a prolonged fast.

@downloadtoadim the same height and also have pcos/pmos.
i do have to take my calorie intake quite low (yes miserable), but if you can, try and add slow full body weighted exercises (at least 3 times a week). With insulin resistance, I’ve also found it’s so important to walk for at least 20 mins after each meal. This isn’t always possible, but it has meant purchasing a walking pad and trying to walk after breakfast and dinner at least.
I’ve gone from 12 stone to 9; but when I stop watching what I eat unfortunately I allow myself to over indulge in high sugar carbs foods, and end up back up to 10 stone.
i also started berberine (am taking a break from it at the moment), and it really helped reduce cravings. From my understanding you cannot continue to take it over long periods of time so currently stopped for a month and then will restart. Another supplement that tends to really help is myo inositol. (Apologies if all of this has been mentioned before i haven’t read all the replies).