Cannot lose weight - plateau ?

[DreamerIzzy]

Since March I have gone from 11 stone ,
down to 10 st 3

however since end of May can’t seem to lose any more weight??

I seem to be stuck on 10st 3. I’m so upset by this as I’ve been working so hard

most days 10,000 steps, hardly any carbs. Calorie deficit etc

most days I barely have 1,100 calories and the scales still won’t shift??

I am 5’7 so I know I’m not over weight but I was happiest around 9st 7, and seemed to be able to achieve this and less in my 20’s and 30’s

now I’m 41 , could this be why I’m struggling?

please someone help give me advice what I’m doing wrong

I am afraid that I can’t give you any advice but I feel your pain. I am overweight and just can’t seem to loose the weight. I have been told to stop looking at weight and start taking measurements as the exercise classes that I have taken up will be building muscle.

How are your clothes fitting you? Do they feel looser?

You've lost weight since March and you should be proud of yourself. Plateaus can happen and they are frustrating, but try not to give up hope and throw in the towel.

Do you find your current diet sustainable? If so, carry on what you're doing. If not, maybe try a different type of diet. All diets work in one way or another as long as you're in a calorie defecit overall. The key is to find one that you can easily fit into your lifestyle and you don't feel deprived. In addition, make sure that you are drinking plenty of water.

This may sound counterproductive, but maybe try a "cheat meal" to include carbs. Make sure that your calories for the day at still under your tdee. Sometimes changing things up slightly every now and again triggers a whoosh, causing you to drop water weight,then get right back on track with counting calories and low caring tomorrow

1100 is very very little, I’m shorter and older and this is below my BMR. Usually the reasons are that you either don’t count correctly or are not active enough. Or it’s both combined.

If you do a lot of resistance training it’s possible that you have built some muscle that are slightly heavier than fat, but at calories below your BMR that’s not likely.

What is a typical day's food/drink like for you?

tea and coffee with semi skimmed milk in morning

30g cornflakes with semi skimmed milk and teaspoon sugar for breakfast

lunch either skip completely or have the same as I had for breakfast (cornflakes)

Afternoon, pack of lentil chips for snack

dinner small portion of new potatoes with half teaspoon of lurpak melted on, with some fish, with veg or salad

chocolate mousse (100 kcals)

satsuma or apple

lots water throughout day

thats it really

But in your OP you said you were eating 'hardly any carbs'! Whereas the reality is completely the opposite:

30g cornflakes with semi skimmed milk and teaspoon sugar for breakfast
lunch either skip completely or have the same as I had for breakfast (cornflakes)
Afternoon, pack of lentil chips for snack
dinner small portion of new potatoes with half teaspoon of lurpak melted on, with some fish, with veg or salad
chocolate mousse (100 kcals)
satsuma or apple

In the course a day, that will be adding up to a lot of carbs.

What kind of plan are you trying to follow?

I don’t really have a plan, I feel so hopeless! Please help! What would you recommend to eat instead?

the total calories I’m eating is not that much

Just off to bed @DreamerIzzy but will come back to you tomorrow

Do the Egg Fast diet for 3 days to get past the weight loss plateau

https://peopleschoicebeefjerky.com/blogs/news/3-day-egg-diet

You've said you don't have many carbs, but your example days meals was extremely carb heavy. I'd up your protein. Cornflakes with sugar won't fill you up at all and have no nutrition.
Can you try omelettes, smoked salmon and scrambled egg, bacon, poached egg and mushrooms etc, you could have that as a brunch so you could avoid a lunch and breakfast if that's not your style of eating. If you like cornflakes try and wean yourself off the added sugar, and try to limit them to a couple times a week.

OP,
If you're happy with that way of eating, stick with it. The only way my mum looses weight is by combining the "special k diet" with low fat, so she'll have a bowl of cereal for breakfast and lunch, then do tinned tomatoes on toast, soup or small portion of boiled potatoes and chicken breast for dinner and snack on fruit and low fat yogurt. It can very unhealthy in terms of nutrients, but it's the only diet that works for her.

Unless you're sneaking in little extras throughout the day, it sounds like you are indeed eating around 1100 calories per day, which you can absolutely lose on. I wouldn't say that you were doing a low carb diet- it sounds like low fat to me

If you feel that you are getting hungry during the day, you might want to replace breakfast with 40g porridge oats made with skimmed milk or an omlette with veggies.

If you want to do low carb, do eggs for breakfast, a salad with chicken or fish for lunch, have a small handful of nuts as a snack and then cut out your potatoes at dinner, but add a healthy fat instead, such as half an avocado. Low carbon works for some, but not everyone.

Another question that I'd be asking, just to make sure that you have explored every possible cause for the plateau is have you had your thyroid checked recently? If you have an underactive thyroid, then extreme diets can sometimes cause it to become even more underactive, even if you are supplementing thyroxine.

1100 is really not a lot, possible your body is trying to hang on to some weight. Try upping your calories and protein a bit whilst still in deficit and you might see a shift.

I quickly tried to add that food you listed to my calorie counting app and it comes back at more than 1200. Unless you are weighing and measuring absolutely everything, it can potentially be much more. 1200 is still, imo very little. If you are thinking about doing this long term, the key is to eat a varied, nutrient-dense diet. I would start with making sure that I eat at least 5 portions of vegetables and fruit a day (bare minimum) and with overhauling the breakfast into something more nutritious than just cornflakes and milk.

It’s also good to learn about macronutrients. You say you eat barely any carbs, but your meals are carb-heavy, especially breakfast is mainly carbs: cornflakes, milk and sugar have more carbs than anything else.

The same with counting steps. 10K is normal if you’re on your feet often during the day, but some of these steps should be brisk walking when you are out of breath to count as exercise.

Since when are fruits carbs? Lentils are not carbs either.

OP your carbs in your eg are cornflakes, sugar, potatoes.

You are utterly and completely wrong. Fruit and lentils are very carb heavy! There are more carbs in 100g banana than there are in 100g of potatoes, for a start.

Fruits have been carbohydrate since the first fruit was discovered 🤷🏻‍♀️.

OK @DreamerIzzy this is what I'd suggest. First, if you can, get hold of a copy of Why We Eat (Too Much) by Dr Andrew Jenkinson. It explains really clearly why calorie counting doesn't work in the longer term. As you've discovered, to keep losing, you need to go lower and lower with the calories. But that level of calorie intake is unsustainable in the longer term.

Second, looking at what you've been eating, you need to up the amount of protein you're having, and cut back on the amount of carbs. Definitely drop the refined carbs like the cereal and the lentil snacks.

Even within the context of calorie counting, if you want to continue that, you need to re-jig the macro nutrient ratios. You should be higher protein/fat and lower carbs.

I can really recommend the Fast800 Keto plan - essentially it focuses on a Mediterranean diet, so higher protein and fat but lower carbs.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fast-800-Keto-Bestseller-long-term-ebook/dp/B09CKTSQ1Z/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3RCHAAACW74CH&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.GPbPnjTKiOqmC48kwtw6V2piETomdtldOYtzpg7c4Gy7K_st3kTL-wXPquJvaUTvlpKNkCSRntz8HW4kMzbmkCRTpCF3deMBVJIHHjxKufw.od2PGsBE7EEuemBWSs-eXDKMhsdjnIpRGU2xwT6EM2k&dib_tag=se&keywords=fast800+keto&qid=1718526833&s=digital-text&sprefix=fast800+keto%2Cdigital-text%2C90&sr=1-1

My suggestions for your meals would be:

Breakfast (if you're having any) - boiled eggs or full fat Greek yoghurt. Depending on how low you want to take the carbs, you could have 1 slice of wholemeal toast with the eggs and some nuts/seeds if you have the yoghurt.

Lunch (obviously choices will depend if you're at home or at work) some kind of protein with veg or salad, e.g. tuna mayo or egg mayo with salad.

Dinner meat/poultry or fish/seafood with plenty of green veg and/or salad. Don't choose the new potatoes, but do choose butter on your veg - and plenty of it!

Ditch the fruit/lentil snacks - after a week or so of eating a low carb/higher protein and fat diet, you'll find that you're not hungry between meals.

Obviously these are just suggestions - but key thing is you need more protein, less carbohydrate and also must not fear the fat! Don't buy 'low' or 'light' anything.

Is this a joke?

Sadly not unusual @CortieTat - a lot of people think that carbs = bread/pasta/rice/sugar. No idea that there are carbs in fruit and veg!

BTW, I don’t advocate low carb diet. It’s hard to sustain long term and the only diets with actual proven and well-documented health benefits, such as Mediterranean diet and Okinawan diet are actually not low carb at all.

But since when are fruits or lentils considered low carb food? Fruits are fructose, water, fibre and micronutrients.

Nor am I advocating that the OP go low carb @CortieTat - but she definitely needs to cut them down and up the protein/fat if she wants to achieve her objective!