What am I doing wrong? Why is the weight not coming off?

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The first stone was easy.

I was calorie counting, eating 1600 calories a day, and then slowly started to put the weight back on.

I have now spent two months on 1200 calories a day approximately, and I have only lost 2.5 lbs. I eat plenty of veg, two fruits a day, just 50 grams of rice/potato/couscous, plenty of fish, etc. Meals go into an app like my fitness pal, so I know where I stand in terms of calories, etc.

I exercise 2-4 times per week, including a one hour session of weights.
I am generally active and on my feet.

I just dont understand why the weight is not coming off!

I snack frequently

Blood Sugar Diet. 800 cals per day for 8-12 weeks based on Mediterranean diet. Low carb, high fat, high protein. No snacking. No diet drinks.

I've lost 2.5 stone in 12 weeks.

Loubilou09 Good to hear, it sounds like I might be on the right track. Well done on your weight loss!

I am 45, I am 1.75 tall, and weigh 88.5kg.

I could not live on 800 calories. I dont think I would get through the day.

I have two part time jobs (One desk based, and one on my feet from 8.30 to 16.30), and i am also a full time student, mum of two kids, and my husband works away monday till thursday. I honestly dont think I can reduce my calorie intake by more than 400-500 calories per day.

I did actually ask my PT about it today and whereas he normally advocates long gap between meals, (most of his meal plans state breakfast 11 o clock!) he does not think it is for me. I get up 6 am, and dont get to bed until midnight. I dont think I can do just 800 calories!

I work full time in a demanding job with a 3 hour a day commute, chair a charity, study for a degree, look after a 6 year old most of the time as DH works away during the week (can be anywhere in the world). I'm vegetarian and thought 800 cals would be impossible. In reality on many days I struggled to get to 800 because veg is so low in cals.

The science behind it is sound. Even if you could do it 2 days a week and just follow principles (5:2) it would benefit you, I bet. I've never had so much energy.

I might try as a 5:2. I am not a great vegetarian cook, though. I wish I was. Would love to be able to make a vegetable pakora!
Any rice or couscous in your diet?

I have only eaten 1000 calories today, and I feel fine, I could easily go to bed now and not eat anything more. What pushed it up today was an ice cream I could have done without..... I am supposed to have little treats.

Tittygolightly,could you give some examples of what you would eat to be full on 800 calls of food / veg pls...I need ideas thanks

700g is a respectable loss for a week.

No rice or couscous - both carbs and neither allowed. Lots of cauliflower rice though.

Typical weekday would be full fat Greek yogurt, frozen berries and some ground flax at 11ish (I can't stomach breakfast any earlier). Lunch would be either soup (no potato or flour) or feta and lentil salad (at around 3pm) and then protein with veg/stir fry or a cheese omelette with coleslaw or mushroom and spinach risotto (made with cauliflower rice). At weekends I'd have brunch (eggs, mushrooms, baked beans and maybe veggie sausage) and dinner (curry with cauli rice or one of the above).

Loads of recipes in the diet books. Much easier than you'd think. When you eat full fat and protein rather than sugars (carbs) you don't tend to feel hungry. I'm on 4 weeks maintenance now and regularly fast until 5-6pm without any problems.

What weight are you now?

I would suggest op, that you are not eating enough. I only have 2.5kg left to lose now and will calorie count for a couple of weeks with a small deficit and then not calorie count for a week, but still watch what I eat and I still weigh. I am aiming for a small but sustainable weight loss now and it is working. I have lost 3kg in six weeks with virtually no effort by mixing it up a bit.
When I first started I was losing roughly 1kg a week on 1600cals a day and I weighed 83kg. I wasn't doing any exercise beyond a 20 mins walk to school and back twice a day.
Try not calorie counting for a week or two and then start again and see what that does.

Have you tried either 5:2 or low carb high fat?

Both worked excellently for me, though I'm on 5:2 now as I've found it more sustainable long term than LCHF.

I found this very helpful, and since I have tailored my plan to incorporate it's recommendations I seem to be losing more quickly than normal.

www.precisionnutrition.com/?s=Weight%20loss%20calculator

(I should have added that I do intermittent fasting).