What should I try to get out of this plateau?

[ImbarbaraB]

I am trying to lose weight to get back down to a healthy BMI.

I am currently a BMI of 27 and just want to get under 25, this would take about a 1 stone loss roughly.

I am 5ft4, size 12/14 and hoping to get down to a comfortable 12 once I have done this.

I had a baby 14 months ago, i still breastfeed, but only twice a day. (morning and night), which means I can't use Orlistat, which was what I had considered.

I started exercising 3-4x a week 6 months ago, and I generally dont sit down at all in the day.

I count calories and keep at around 1600 per day. Have cut down on alcohol, and dont add sugar to anything in my diet. Tea is black, coffee is black, dont drink juices, not a fan of cake.

My main vice is creme eggs, but luckily they aren't for sale at the moment.

I lost about half a stone doing all of the above and nothing else will move. The most its done is made my clothes a little bit more comfy but no where near a big change i had expected after 6 months of exercise and diet.

Exercise is typically running 5km, or 30mins of Hiit, or powerflow yoga. On top of this I generally do a lot of walking.

So, i really need some help to actually lose weight, and I am feeling really disheartened by my efforts not paying off.

The things I am considering:

Orlistat - but I cant until I stop breastfeeding
Slimfast shakes ?
Drinking loads of redbush tea & peppermint tea?
Weightwatchers? (as long as I dont have to attend meetings)

Please could someone give me an idea of where to start? Any of the above be a good place?

I’d suggest trying out TRE, time restricted eating. Start at 12/12 if you are used to having breakfast. Then work to 14/10 or 16/8 and eventually to 18/6.

When I say 14/10 it means you have a 10 hr eating window and for 14 hours you don’t eat. Letting your body to have longer break from having to digest is hugely beneficial health wise and it also will bring your insulin down which in turn will allow your body to burn your own fat stores.

Was meant to add that I found TRE increadibly effective. I’m now on maintenance and on most days practise 13/11 - only because it slots well in our family routine. TRE/fasting is so flexible and no need to spend money on any supplements, gear, shakes etc.

Your diet seems fine to me, steer away from slimfast etc, full of artifical sweetners which mess up with your gut bacteria.

I don't like the sound of any of your options, sorry, they all sound a bit faddy! I would do as PP said and explore some intermittent fasting, you could even work up to doing the 5:2 (possible while breastfeeding although you should eat 800 cals on the fast days not 500), and/or look at your diet composition, particularly wrt white carbs and sugar - you may not add sugar to anything but do you have a large 'hidden' intake through things like processed foods, alcohol, sweet treats? If so you might want to cut back on that and also on on unrefined white flour/wheat products i.e. bread, pasta. There's a great thread on here called 'Why We Eat (Too Much)' which gives some links to some of the science around why, for many of us, white, processed carbs are the enemy for weight loss. You don't have to go total keto, simply reducing how often you eat bread/pasta, having potatos or rice instead and avoiding too many processed foods can be a simple, healthy and sustainable weight loss method...

@maxelly I agree 5:2 is also a good option. 800 calories is now the recommended amount anyway by Michael Mosley. According to him there wasn’t much in it in terms of weightloss in between 500 and 800 cal. And 800 calories is the recommended minimum, it’s ok to go over a little, even to 1000 cal, especially if you are breastfeeding. By keeping two days low calorie and the other five days on your full allowed 1500-1600 cal will keep your metabolism guessing. Just watch out of the hidden sugars.

I would suggest weight training. Look at Caroline Girvan's videos on YouTube as a starting point.

Thank you
I actually didn’t realise 5:2 was an option breastfeeding so that’s a good start with the 800 on the fast days

Also - swapping carbs out for better versions is something I’m becoming more mindful of but not too clued up on.
I was carb free before having children but realised I struggled on that once I was pregnant and have eaten carbs ever since.
That being said, I don’t have carbs at breakfast or at night, mainly just for lunch.

Those carbs I do eat at lunch is usually nice crusty white bread though…

Is rice a better choice? I’d be happy swapping out bread for rice or bread for potatoes.

Actually I do sometimes eat pasta at dinner if DH has bought one of those filled pastas for time saving purposes.
Otherwise we occasionally have brown pasta.

Breakfast is one of either two things - if I’m in work it’s natural yoghurt with a banana and a sprinkle of oats on top, or if I’m at home I do 2 eggs. Il add thing depending on what’s in the fridge, so maybe tomato or ham.

Lunch seems to be where I fall down. I’m either in too much of a rush to make me some lunch

Also, if I don’t go straight for 5:2, but wanted to do intermittent fasting and started on a 14/10, so I would eat breakfast at 10 am and then my window of eating closes at 8pm?

16/8 would be I could eat at 11, but close the window at 7?

It’s the late eating I really need to work on. By time kids are in bed and we get sorted for it we often eat 8:30ish at best.

Must try harder

@JonahofArk

I would suggest weight training. Look at Caroline Girvan's videos on YouTube as a starting point.

Thanks for the recommendation

I had bought some weights and had done a few workouts but needed to find a guide to follow.
I definitely felt better for it but need to do it more for sure

@ImbarbaraB

Also, if I don’t go straight for 5:2, but wanted to do intermittent fasting and started on a 14/10, so I would eat breakfast at 10 am and then my window of eating closes at 8pm?

16/8 would be I could eat at 11, but close the window at 7?

It’s the late eating I really need to work on. By time kids are in bed and we get sorted for it we often eat 8:30ish at best.

Must try harder

Yes that's it, probably the easiest thing is to gradually push your breakfast time later and later until eventually you are able to skip breakfast/make it an early lunch instead. Personally these days I find I never eat breakfast and just am not hungry in the mornings but if you are a breakfast eater you could try altering your day at the other end to have an earlier dinner instead?

Re the carbs, yes some more recent scientific evidence seems to be suggesting that wheat and/or heavily processed white carbs are the worst in terms of weight gain, so choosing potatos or rice would potentially be better choices, or brown rice or pasta as you are doing, and limiting it to once a day at most. This is anec-data but I certainly find it far easier to over-eat bread and pasta than any other kind of carb, particularly when combined with lots of delicious fats e.g. buttered toast, pizza etc. So even if there's nothing to the idea that these kind of carbs do something particularly bad to the metabolism, I've found cutting back on these foods (as well as chocolate, cake, biscuits etc) means I'm at least eating fewer calories as it's easier to have a moderate portion and stop when full...

Re lunches, could you try making a batch of something tasty to reheat for your lunches rather than reaching for the bread/sandwiches? I like a nice thick hearty soup (with beans or lentils or similar in it) which is enough for me without bread, or I have the notorious MN 'huge salad' with grains and some protein as well as leaves and tomotos etc. Or these days hot lunches are not crazy difficult if I make extra at dinner the night before and have that reheated, often minus the carb element so e.g. if we've have chilli or bolognese I'll just microwave a bowl of the sauce without any carb, sounds weird but I've grown to like it! Or have a second breakfast, this could tie in with your 16:8, so have your yoghurt or eggs or whatever as an early lunch rather than first thing?

Thanks
That is so helpful

What is the huge MN salad? It sounds like my kind of salad