Stuck in a rut and struggling with progress

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I have very very slowly worked myself up using 2kg dumbbells to using 7.5kg dumbbells over the course of 2.5 years since 2 baby was born. I've been doing the body fit by Amy exercise videos on YouTube.

whilst I feel good and have lost 10kg over 2.5yesrs, I'm struggling with seeing any definition whatsoever and also struggling lose the last 10kg of weight despite eating 1600 cals a day. I train for 30 mins 3 times a week. Weightloss has completely stalled over the past year and clothes don't feel any looser.

I've taken up couch to 5k to improve my fitness.

i'd say over the past 6 months I feel like I could go up in weight but can't adjust my dumbbells anymore and also don't have the space for more weights.

is there anything else I can do to improve my fitness and see better toning/weight loss that doesn't involve buying new weights? Cutting calories seems like the obvious answer but I'm so wobbly still and would like to be a bit firmer. More protein?

I know I could go to the gym but my closest one is always full of men trying to offer advice and l so uncomfortable in there.

To see muscle definition, you need to lower your body fat.
You haven't lost in a year, yet keep doing something that isn't working.

A few considerations.
You have lost weight, so now you might need less than 1600 calories a day to keep losing. You need to adjust as you lose.
Even with light weight you can totally challenge your muscle, do 6 sets of 12 reps with controlled and slow movement, vary the workout you use, there is so much stuff online for free.
3x30 min isn't much, especially with light weight. Add some HIIT. Plenty of bodyweight exercises to pick from.

Do you use the same 7.5kg weight for all exercises?

You don’t need new weights! My heaviest dumbbells are 5kg and I have some visible muscle definition. I don't spend more than 30min a week in total lifting because I find it super boring so having a low % body fat definitely helps

Thanks all for the tips. It sounds like I need to lower my calories which is going to be a challenge and do more HIIT.

@MiddleAgedDread yes mainly, I also have 2.5kg for things like chest flys and lateral raises.

You need to mix your weights up a bit then because different muscles should be capable of using heavier weights - e.g. squats using your big leg muscles would use heavier than your arms and shoulders. It's hard to get a good mix though if you're only working out at home and don't have the full range available in a gym.
Aerobic cardio (relatively low heart rate zone) is best for burning fat.

It is about being calorie smart. What are your 1600 calories made of?

@MiddleAgedDread it is hard - I might see if I can find some weights second hand.

@Cormoran i think this is where I need to focus - it's usually a bean soup for lunch, tea with milk and apples/grapes as a snack then I have whatever the kids are having for dinner plus Greek yoghurt with fruit. Tonight for dinner I had tuna, cottage cheese and pumpkin (random leftovers) and a slice of toast with peanut butter and honey. I'm probably eating more calories than I think and I'm not prioritising protein.

Focus on your goal. Identify your goal. You want to lift heavy or do you want to look good and feel strong? You can gain muscle definition, tone and strengths with low weights. You can reach muscle failure with light weights.

Keep an eye on your diet, but it is very likely it has become very relaxed. Toast with peanut butter and honey is not going to help you. Ditto for grapes. Or the family dinner depending on what is on the menu.
I don't share the protein obsession and carb aversion. Excess of anything, including excess protein will not make you lose.
Be honest for three days and record every morsel. Use cronometer.com it is free. Then make changes to remove any processed food. Is your bean soup a homemade minestrone or a can/pot from the supermarket. Is it just vegetables and pulses or is there bacon, butter, flour...Do you have supermarket bread with it. Think fresh, colourful and yes to fish, seafood, chicken, legumes, as a complement to a vegetables based meal. A Niçoise salad is green beans, tomatoes, onion , 1 boiled egg, and a bit of tuna in water. Vegetables are free, you add as many green beans as you want, you just need to be careful with the dressing.

Then the snacks, ... do you need to snack? I don't know a single French woman who snacks. Especially given how early people eat. Is it hunger or habit? If really you are starving, make it an opportunity to eat vegetables, baby Roma tomatoes, sliced bell pepper, again green beans. An apple, pear or berries are fine but cut the habit of eating between meals, eating in front of tv, as you walk, drive, ... Eating only happens sitting down at a dressed table with no screens.
Nut butters leave aside, and have no more than 25 gr a day of nuts and seeds combined. Do not go for protein shakes, protein bars, protein yoghurt . Think authentic.

Change also the fitness you are doing if you are not seeing progress. Watch for some bogy weights exercise, because in fitness variation matters, https://zuzkalight.com/zgym/#zl_zgym_search and even new things such as yoga 0 , These ones have been doing videos for more than 10 years. and why not even ballet workout https://www.youtube.com/@MariaKhoreva/videos Maria has plenty of workout videos that will leave you our of breath and sweating without any dumbbells.

In order to gain muscle you need to lift close to failure so you will either need to increase weights or number of reps if you find it is too easy.

You also need to train each muscle 2 x a week so at a minimum you need to do 2 full body days or 2 upper plus 2 lower.

I recommend trying caroline girvan iron which is well structured to cover all muscle groups. You mind find that a change of workout ups the intensity for you.

An alternative could be adding a weighted vest to lower body days or incorporating more calisthenics. The bowflex 3 minute plank is good or try a daily push up challenge. A pull up door bar is also good, just try hanging at first and then work on negatives where you lower yourself.