Can't lose weight anymore

PurpleHaze2

Hi everyone,

Two years ago I decided to lose weight; I was obese and extremely unhappy with how I looked. It was relatively easy to lose weight at the start, I stopped eating crappy food, ate less and exercised more. Before losing the weight I had a seriously bad relationship with food, I'd binge and eat food even when I wasn't hungry.

Anyway, since then I've lost a total of 3 stone 5 pounds, bearing in mind there were times when I didn't lose weight at all e.g on holidays, the few months at the beginning of first year in college, etc.

The problem is, I have another stone/stone and half left to lose and I'm finding it impossible to lose it. No matter what I do, I can't get past a certain figure on the scales, it's like my body is refusing to go below the weight I am now. I've been this weight about 8 months now and am getting seriously fed up. My inches haven't changed either. I've tried cutting calories, doing a metabolism reset (as I thought that from spending so long trying to lose weight I'd slowed my metabolism and needed to reset it), low carb, and changing around my exercise (such as starting to lift weights and doing interval training).

I'm 5'7'' and my BMI is currently 25, which I know isn't bad considering it used to be 32, but I'm teetering on the edge of being overweight too much for my liking!

Any advice ye could give me would be much appreciated. I've hit a serious wall and I feel seriously down about it. Thanks!

doctorwhogirl

I'm in a similar situation and I too have tried all of the above!

The last stone is going to be really REALLY hard and you want to lose it the right way so it stays off. I lost the last stone quickly but by not eating enough and I've been fighting against keeping it off ever since (and failing!)

I would say focus less on the scale and more on measurements, even though you say you haven't lost inches.
At the end of the day the scale doesn't tell you what your bodyfat is, what your bone density is etc... It literally tells you your mass. Same with your BMI.

I was obsessed by the scales (I've lost 6 stone) but I'm trying my best now to focus on what I actually look like and how my clothes fit. I'm measuring myself to to record inches lost.


Definitely keep up the weight lifting. Everything I've read and been told directs me to that method of training. Try and get into fairly heavy lifting if and when you can. You won't bulk, and you may even gain a couple of pounds but you'll build muscle.

Your BMI is 25 which is ok. Don't focus on that because again, it tells you very little. I know it's very easy to say this all but take it from someone who is in the same boat! It's so liberating not to be ruled by the scales and focus more on clothes. Keep an eye on the scales to make sure you're not veering way off track but don't let them rule you.

I've been lifting and eating a more balanced carbs/protein/fats ratio for only a few weeks and my clothes already fit better!

LeinsterDub

You to create a calorific deficit. There are no tricks or secrets. Are you using an app like my fitness pal. How many calories are you eating a day?

PurpleHaze2

@doctorwhogirl, thanks for that! I really got into weightlifting over the summer because I had the free time to do it and my dad has the equipment. Since I've started back at college though I find it hard to get time to do it, my course is pretty demanding. I liked how much my strength improved and I think I did gain a fair amount of muscle, removing the fat on top of it is the problem! Also, fair play to you and your weight loss, 6 stone is amazing! How have you adjusted your carb/fat/protein ratio? And how do you fit it into each meal? I've heard that getting the ratio right is important but I'm not sure how to work it in to my diet, I think I eat too much carbohydrate as most of my meals would be based on carbs e.g porridge etc for breakfast, usually a sandwich for lunch, dinner would always contain pasta/rice/potatoes etc. I'm really not creative when it comes to food, and I find lunch the hardest meal to vary, I nearly always have sandwiches!

@LeinsterDub, yes I have used my fitness pal and it tells me to eat 1400 cals a day, which I've been trying to do but it hasn't been working very well so I'm reluctant to keep it up.

Stench Blossoms

Ditch the pasta and bread.

Base your meals around a source of protein instead of a carb.

ie: Eggs for breakfast, chicken salad for lunch, steak/chicken/fish for dinner.

Aim for 40/30/30 protien/carbs/fats. You can change your MFP goals to this as well.

PurpleHaze2

Is there anything else I could have as well as eggs for breakfast? To be honest I'd get sick of eating eggs every morning, and since I'm a student it would get kind of expensive, I don't have a massive budget, so steak (as you mentioned above) is pretty much out of the question, not to mention the fact I'm not the biggest fan of red meat anyway.

sedric

Now that your weight is down , a brilliant achievement, and you are stronger , maybe it's time to use your new self!
How about taking up an activity that you can sustain 'cause your healthier and you will enjoy.
That way you move away from exercise to avoid weight to activity you enjoy and the rest follows.
Best of luck.

Stench Blossoms

PurpleHaze2 wrote: »

Is there anything else I could have as well as eggs for breakfast? To be honest I'd get sick of eating eggs every morning, and since I'm a student it would get kind of expensive, I don't have a massive budget, so steak (as you mentioned above) is pretty much out of the question, not to mention the fact I'm not the biggest fan of red meat anyway.

How about eggs every 2nd or 3rd day? If you weren't eating bread and pasta for lunch and dinner then the porridge in the morning wouldn't be too bad.

What about fish? Lidl have offers every week on different fish.

PurpleHaze2

That sounds good, I didn't know Lidl had offers on fish! Thanks!

redannie

Hi there I feel for you,have u gone to the doctor and had your bloods tested? If you have tried everything and the weight is not shifting ,you may have an under active thyroid.worth checking out

PurpleHaze2

redannie wrote: »

Hi there I feel for you,have u gone to the doctor and had your bloods tested? If you have tried everything and the weight is not shifting ,you may have an under active thyroid.worth checking out

I had a blood test over the summer and my thyroid was normal, so I don't think I have an underactive thyroid. I think I just need to change things up a bit and hope it works

ellee

This might be controversial but maybe you should sit back and hav a long think about whether you really need to lose any more weight? I don't know how old you are or what weight you are but I do think a lot of people make themselves very unhappy over what is actually quite a reasonable weight. Look in the mirror, put on your favourite clothes, do you like what you see? Can you run around? You might have a bit of a belly, so what? Most people do unless you're J Lo or someone!

I think it's brilliant that you've lost so much and KEPT IT OFF! That's fantastic. You've reached a happy equilibrium. You should see if maybe the thing for you is to relax a little and enjoy your life while maintaining your wonderful weight loss!

I certainly wouldn't make any drastic changes for the last 14lbs. One rule, make no changes you can't maintain!

good luck!

syklops

ellee wrote: »

You might have a bit of a belly, so what? Most people do unless you're J Lo or someone!

This might be controversial but, yes I do have a bit of a belly, but I have also worked in lots of countries and lived in a few as well. I worked in an office in the Czech repblic where there was me and one other guy who was considered chubby, and everyone else was slim and fit and healthy. That was 2 of us out of the other 78 slim people. I worked in an office in Poland with about 400 people and about 6 curvy people. I dont mean J lo curves, I mean Roseanne Barr curves, and me and my belly were in that category.

I still live in the CR and while I am hoping to go home soon, the number of large people you see in the course of the day is surprising for a people who seem to live on bread, beer, cheese and pork and not a lot else.

I started a weights programme and have lost about 4 inches off my waist in the last 6 months, and gained quite a bit on my arms. Not terrific, but I am very happy with it. Can't run very far though.

Good luck OP, but saying "its normal to be overweight" is untrue, and saying "Be happy with what you have" is untrue too. If you are not happy with what you have it has never been easier to change that. So if your not happy with your shape, go change it. Good luck!

iCosmopolis

PurpleHaze2 wrote: »

Is there anything else I could have as well as eggs for breakfast? To be honest I'd get sick of eating eggs every morning, and since I'm a student it would get kind of expensive, I don't have a massive budget, so steak (as you mentioned above) is pretty much out of the question, not to mention the fact I'm not the biggest fan of red meat anyway.

If you dislike red meat & are on a tight budget, for low carb options, if you can get hold of the lord of tofu range, they do some nice, different flavoured patties you can toss in a pan for two mins, and are low carb, high protein. They're around 1.79-2.79 a pack depending on which item. Or quorn fake bacon & burgers? Or if you like fish, go for the old fashioned kippers (cheap in a tin):)

PurpleHaze2

Apologies for the late reply! @skylops, I completely agree with what you're saying. And well done on losing 4 inches off your waist! I definitely don't look like J-Lo (one can dream!) but I really think I need to perservere with this. I just need to work on my patience a little bit...

@iCosmpolis, thanks for the suggestions, I'll definitely take them on board. It never occurred to me to try vegetarian options at all! Where can you buy that Lord of Tofu range? I've never heard of them before.

Thanks everyone for your help