Is anyone else finding weightless a slow & tedious process

[Murtette]

I am feeling so disheartened this morning. I weighed myself this morning and am 11st4. This seems to be the weight I plateau at whatever I do. I was this weight for the year or so before I got pregnant with DC1 (now 3.10), briefly got back down to it before getting pregnant with DC2 (now 15mths) and have been between this and 11st 7 for most of the year. On about 8 different days, I have been 11st 3 (yes, I do weigh myself daily) but have never got down to 11st 2. It seems impossible. At only 5'4", I need to get down to 10st 6 just to be a healthy BMI.
At the moment, I am eating 1300 cals a day & doing the Shred. Given I'd done no exercise for ages (hip issues), I was hoping merely doing the Shred (20 mins a day for the uninitiated) was going to work miracles but it hasn't. What can I do? It's enough of a struggle fitting in the Shred and the two weekly Zumba classes I do so I can't increase exercise. Nor do I feel I can eat less. I haven't drunk for months.
Is anyone else struggling like this? So many posters on here seem to be able to lose a stone a month. I'm not! I do have PCOS but does that really make a difference? I feel as though I'm becoming a complete diet bore. I also want to get the weight gone & work out what I can eat & maintain sooner rather than later as DC1 is currently oblivious to the fact that I've spent most of her lifetime on a diet but she's getting ever more aware and I don't want her to know.
Sorry, this is a complete whinge but its such a dull topic and I don't want to bore any of my RL friends or DP any more.

I used to have a plateau weight that I just couldn't get past. I tried for year using MFP and keeping my calories to 1200 a day and couldn't break through it even though I was spending hours in the gym doing cardio to burn extra calories.

I was bored, frustrated and a diet bore. Constantly working out calories and stressing about burning them off.

I'm now 10lbs lighter than that plateau weight. I managed it by eating MORE, lowering carbs and shifting to resistance training. Six of those pounds fell off me in a fortnight. Seriously try reducing your carb intake - all calories are not created equal - and focus on having protein at every meal and at your morning and afternoon snacks. Don't worry about calorie logging, though I still do this to make sure I'm eating enough - aiming for around 1,800 a day.

There are lots of threads on low carb dieting in the weightloss boards, with loads of tips and recipes. Do give it a try. I was entirely sceptical of such things, incidentally, before I had such results.

That's interesting. I was wondering if my body had got a bit bored of the same old stuff all the time. I do keep toying with doing low carb but am worried about how it would fit into my life. I will do some reading about it.

My plateau weight on previous diets has been almost the same as yours - 11 st 2 in my case. I thought I'd never get down below 11 stone. This time I've done a kind of cycling. I have around 4 days a week at 1000-1100 calories, one/two days at about 1500 and one day a week/fortnight at more than that (basically eating whatever I like!). The days aren't set in stone but are flexible depending on what's going on in my life, and I try to earn my high-cal treat days in advance. I know that I'm aiming at an average of 1200-1300 a day, so four days at 1000 will 'earn' me a day at around 2200. It sounds complicated, but I'm used to it and have a pretty good sense of how to balance light days with indulgent ones. I can't do low carb myself - I've tried but I like carbs too much and I don't want to live my life feeling deprived. I'm around 9 st 5 now and losing about a pound a week - I was losing more when I was heavier. I don't do any serious working out, but I do a lot of walking including hill walking.

I used to plateau at a similar weight to yourself (and I'm 5'5.) I think maybe a change of exercise, or maybe more intensive exercise might help.

Have you tried 5:2?

Many on here have had success on that diet

All interesting ideas and its reassuring to know I'm not the only one its happened to. I think it's time for a change... I just have to decide what change.

I was also going to suggest cutting the carbs. Look at the bootcamp threads for easy info.

Does anyone on Mumsnet go in for some kind of weight loss buddy system? I've been precisely 11 stone 1 for three months and I could really do with some encouragement to give it another go.

I would also suggest 5:2. I've lost 2st in six months and I could not have coped with 6 months of restricted eating 7 days a week.