Frustrated with no progress!

[Lowin2024]

Arggh. I honestly do not understand why I cannot lose weight. I will preface by saying I am not really overweight in the sense my BMI is normal but I am about 10lbs more than I like to be. I am 40 and since turning 40 it’s like a switch has flipped and it just will not shift.

I have a very healthy diet, vegetarian and everything cooked from scratch. I do like a treat but I have cut them in order to try to lose a few lbs. I run 2-3 days a week, do weights 1-2x a week and Pilates once a week. Try to walk 10k steps a day. I am 5 ft 3 and it feels like I need to eat 1000-1200 to have any hope of dropping a single lb and I am 100% burning more than that daily. So what gives?! 😂

At 5ft 9 I did indeed have to eat 1200-1500 calories a day to lose weight. There is a huge shift when peri hits and weight just starts sticking to you. I did get down to target weight, but my maintenance calories are still only 1700!

How often do you have a treat? It really does all add up. Tracking on MFP (but not adding exercise as it gives you the calories back to eat, ruining weight loss) made a huge difference to me.

Try calorie tracking for a week, you may be eating more than you think.

I think its v v difficult to work out calories in home-made, cooked from scratch dishes.
I find it easier to follow v simple dishes where I can weigh the individual ingredients/components, tuna pasta bake, egg on toast etc.. or follow calorie controlled recipes, Fast 800 is good so you can adapt as necessary.

Do fasting overnight so don't eat from 5pm til 9am. Works like a dream and I'm 45.

Weigh and calorie track everything you eat or drink. At 5'3 to be near the top end of BMI is 60kg so if you're looking to lose 5kg try 1250 limit with low carbs (under 110g a day) for two weeks, 700kcal deficit for 14 days should shift 1.5-2kg.

The weight lifting may mean you're gaining muscle whilst losing fat and therefore bit losing weight as such.

*Not losing weight as such.

Weight loss is only 20% exercise. You need to cut the carbs. I've always been in average BMI range but. I've lost over 4 kg / 1/2 stone in 6 weeks on the Fast 800 vegetarian keto diet and slimmer than I've been in about 30 years; I'm nearly 63.

I really appreciate all of the kind and helpful responses, thank you!

Yes I am around 59kg at 5ft 3.

I actually do 16-8 or 18-6 fasting very often - it used to work like a dream for me but now is like it has no effect on me.
I probably do sadly have to start weighing food again which I used to do but fell out of the habit.
I do believe it is diet not exercise that is the issue even though what I am having is really healthy…I think sadly being short and over 40 probably means I really can’t eat that much. I think I maintain around 1500 which really isn’t that much. I’ll look at the fast 800 vegetarian thing and start weighing food.

I'm also in the same boat as you pretty much, I'm 46 and not losing any and it doesn't feel as though I eat much at all.

I'll also try the fast 800 when I'm ready mentally.

Good luck op it's so bloody hard.

I have similar measurements, lift weights and run and have come to the conclusion that it’s just incredibly slow progress when you’re already within a healthy bmi.

I have a pair of trousers that fit where they touch and I’m using these as a guide, rather than the scales too often and will just keep plodding along until I get there.