Last stone

[Thomasina79]

I have written before about my four to five stone weight loss. My problem is that II just cannot lose the last stone. I am following a calorie controlled diet as before and have now taken up swimming several times a week, but my weight just won’t shift any more it is so disheartening and I feel very down. Everyone told me to exercise, so I did but nothing has changed.

It sounds like what has happened is your body has adjusted to the reduced calories that you have been consuming as you are almost at your body's ideal weight. Even though you are exercising more, your body is in preservation mode because it is short on fat supplies. This makes it harder for the body to let go of fat.

This is why calorie restricted diets do not work well in the long term as you will now have to reduce your calories further to see more weight loss.

What exercise have you been doing? You have been told this to create a calorie deficit so in effect, you burn more calories than you consume.

You can work on resetting your metabolism but that will not be a quick fix.

@HealthierHabits2023 what is the best way to lose weight then?

Well done for losing so much already. I need to shift a stone and a half. Just not doing very well with it and just trying to get back into smaller portions and moving more

In the nicest way, when you go swimming do you push yourself? Or do you tootle up and down? Making myself work hard when swimming made such a difference. I used to slowly go up and down for an hour
It was better than nowt but didn't make me tone up.

Regarding swimming I am going as fast as I can, but I have only just got back into it, so it will take a while. My endurance is building up but after a while I get very tired. I’ve tried the eating less calories but that didn’t work either. It’s all such a hard slog!

How many calories are you eating, how much do you weigh now and how tall are you?

How long have you been dieting for? Your body might just be diet fatigued, stay at maintenance calories for the same duration as your diet or at least a good few months and then go again with a push to lose the last stone. You have probably reached a set point and your body is going to fight hammer and tongs to keep you there until it gets used to

Also swimming is a pretty poor choice of exercise to supplement weight loss, it increases post exercise hunger more than other forms of cardio. I know it's not for everyone but you would be better off with lifting weights and a really simple form of steady state cardio like incline walking on a treadmill.

More muscle mass increases your BMR and incline walking isn't taxing on the body and easy to get better at over time so more calories burnt in the same time frame.

@pinkyponkyplink
Honestly, by going low carb and cutting out refined sugars.

When you eat carbohydrates and refined sugars, it converts into glucose which causes insulin to spike. When there is too much insulin in the body through constantly eating high carb meals throughout the day, the body is unable to get rid of this ( due to lack of time before the next spike or inactivity to burn it off) As a result of this, it gets converted to fat and this is how it is stored.

So to get rid of it, you reduce your intake of carbs and sugar, so your body doesn't have so much of it to deal with and you allow your body to tap into its own fat stores. This is what results in the weight loss. Have a look at low carb eating and get some more information. I am currently following a ketogenic/carnivore lifestyle and have been since April 2023. I have lost over 16kgs in the first 15 weeks which brought me to my goal weight. I have been in maintenance mode since. In addition to this I do not have the pain in my joints that I get when eating carbs known as inflammation. I wake up with ease in the mornings, not groggy and slow to start, concentration has improved, less hunger throughout the day, I mainly eat one meal a day due to the correct foods keeping me satisfied and do Intermittent fasting with around 20 hours between meals (this can be adapted to suite individual preference)

This has made me change my mind set and relationship with food as I now know foods that hurt me and foods that help me. This helps me make certain decisions when buying/eating.

When loosing weight, the change has to be sustainable and its not just about loosing the weight and then eating how you previously did as this will cause weight regain. This is something I have learned so continue with the lifestyle I have chose.

Hope this helps and sorry for the long post.

@HealthierHabits2023 the insulin model has been debunked numerous times, The science doesn't stack up. You lost weight because you cut out food groups and lowered your intake of calories.

I’m in a similar position OP. I have lost 46 lbs since January but the last 12 are proving stubborn.

I’m so happy with what I’ve achieved and I look pretty good and feel fit but it’s disheartening to have lost nothing in 4 weeks. Zilch.

I have continued to eat quite a lot of bread and pasta since January tbh. I guess it’s time to reduce or cut. I love savoury carb though.

Could you up your protein and reduce carbs. Go back to basics and ditch and dressings or sauces that have crept back into your diet. Try the old trick of a massive glass of water 20 minutes before a meal and cut your calories by 10%.