Hey there everyone. New here, but I figure you all have more wisdom than I do.

I am having such a hard time! I am currently sitting in the 170's. Usually around 172-174. I am 5'5", and an athletic build. For instance, I wear a size 6 sometimes a size 4. I started out my weight loss journey at 280, but my SW was 241.

I workout often, and eat around 1200 calories a day, but for some strange reason I have literally not moved in over 2 months. I forget how long now, but basically since October when I hit the 170's.

Im feeling very frustrated. I don't know what to do differently. I track, I drink my water, I do weight lifting, I follow my plan that my nutritionist gave me. (most days). And yet, nothing. Is it possible my body is at my set weight?

I still feel like I have a lot to lose. I have a lot of loose skin, but I definitely have at least 20 lbs of fat left to lose. I don't know how I could do things any differently.

Im thinking of trying Intermittent fasting, or maybe Keto. or both.

But I just don't know. I am at a loss.

Do you guys have any advice? I can't afford to reach out to my NUT right now, (I don't have one with a program, I have to pay out of pocket), so I am following her getting back on track program, which is high protein low carb. But even that isn't making the scale budge.

A couple of thoughts pop into my head. One is you may actually be at your set weight. Was your goal realistic? Do you feel healthy and happy at the weight you're at? The second thought is that you said you follow what your nutritionist recommended on "most" days. While we can't be perfect, what are you doing on the other days? Sometimes, believe it or not, we are getting too FEW calories that is keeping us from losing weight. I know that sounds counterintuitive, but it happens. Is your weight lifting adding muscle weight so that even though you're losing inches and re-shaping, the scale isn't reflecting it? Keep in mind that the scale is only one measurement tool. Have you been tracking your inches lost and shape? By the way, you look GREAT! Good luck with your continued WLS journey.

Thanks for your input! As far as my goal weight, 147 puts me JUUUUST in the healthy range for BMI. But my real goal weight was just 160. I feel like it should be doable. But Im wondering if I am at my set weight. I just don't really like being this weight, I'd really like to hit at least 160.

Thank you. I have pretty bad body dysmorphia I think, because I look at myself and don't see a size 6. But I mean, the pants don't really lie. lol

Don't give up! I stalled for about 3 months and then the scale started rapidly moving again. I did a body scan and I had actually stayed the same weight but lost 4 kilos of fat/gained 4 kilos of muscle in that time. At this point I would focus on body measurements and body fat % instead of the scale.

I would really consider what your real goals are, 160 seems realistic. Many on here have said the last 10 are the hardest. I wouldn’t try anything extreme unless you’re going to do it the rest of your life to keep it off. Look closely at what you could shave off of food. Could you eat one less bite at each meal? Could you mix up your exercise routine? They body responds when we try new things. Have you met up with TOPS or WW? Do you have a group or friend to have a friendly competition? Sometimes I watch 70lbs of life on YouTube. She has an online Weightloss challenge.

I personally just broke a stall by reintroducing rubber bands on one lifting day, leaning into keto, and now use a noise machine for better sleep. Hopefully I’ll get your problem of the last 10 by next year. Good luck.

Thanks everyone! I think you're right, it definitely seems like the last 10-15 lbs are going to be a beast. Im switching up my workouts a little here and there as is, but I think Im actually going to make my major focus hydration. I can always try to drink more water.

Have you utilized a BMR calculator and or TDEE calculator? They can provide some helpful insight. BMR calculator tells you how many calories your body burns at complete rest in a day. TDEE calculator tells you how many calories you burn a day at your specific activity level. These calculators can give you an idea if you're perhaps eating too few calories a day, especially if you're burning more calories than you realize when you work out.

Also you mentioned weight lifting, and I was told by my trainer and bariatric surgeon to not lift heavy until I reach goal weight. Something about your body can't lose weight and build muscle simultaneously... so lower weights and higher reps is what I was told to do while losing weight.

Best of luck to you! You'll get there!

A menopause book I read a while ago suggested rubbing iodide in a 2 inch square on your belly. If it gets absorbed within 2 hours your body needs more iodine for your thyroid which regulates metabolism. I could be off with the time, but the solution is to repeat the iodine each day until it takes 6? Hours to absorb. I just eat dried seaweed. It does help, but slowly.

I just did a TDEE calculator and it says about 2300 calories a day when I am active. That is what my Fitbit says too. I do track my lifting. I don't lift heavy, the max I lift is 15 lb weights. I've contemplated giving up exercise because it seems like when I workout I don't lose weight but when I don't workout I do lose weight. But I don't want to just be skinny I want to be fit. I'll be the first to admit I graze too much and eat over my 1200 calorie limit more than I'd like so I don't think Im under eating- but I don't think Im OVER eating either. At least I don't think Im at maintenance calories. That would be sad if maintenance was 1300-1400 calories a day.

Your TDEE is 2300 per day. If you're even eating 1400 calories per day, that means you're in a calorie deficit of approximately 900 calories per day. It's recommended to eat 500 calories less than your TDEE for weight loss. So maybe you are under eating, given your 900 calorie deficit on work out days.

I would diligently track everything you eat on a tracking app and play around with adjusting calories for a couple of weeks and see if the scale moves. Right now I would increase daily calorie intake to 1600-1800 per day on the days you work out, and go with 1200 calories on the days you don't work out.

It's frustrating, I know. But you will break the plateau soon! Keep up the good work!

12 hours ago, cheesy_and_vsg said:

I just did a TDEE calculator and it says about 2300 calories a day when I am active. That is what my Fitbit says too. I do track my lifting. I don't lift heavy, the max I lift is 15 lb weights. I've contemplated giving up exercise because it seems like when I workout I don't lose weight but when I don't workout I do lose weight. But I don't want to just be skinny I want to be fit. I'll be the first to admit I graze too much and eat over my 1200 calorie limit more than I'd like so I don't think Im under eating- but I don't think Im OVER eating either. At least I don't think Im at maintenance calories. That would be sad if maintenance was 1300-1400 calories a day.

unfortunately, 1300-1400 calories a day IS maintenance level for some women. We're all over the board - some women can eat 2000 to maintain, others can only have 1200. It's dependent on so many factors (age, how much of your body weight is muscle, metabolic level, how active you are, etc). My TDEE says about the same (I'm 5'6" and fairly active (strength training or cardio every day)), but I would gain weight on 2300 calories. My maintenance range is 1500-1700. You'll have to kind of experiment with different ranges to see where you maintain, and at what point you start losing again. And of course, decide if you're willing to struggle long term to maintain a weight that's lower than what your body seems to prefer. Unfortunately, my new set point seems to be about 160 - which I don't like - but I know if I want to get or stay below that, I'm going to need to fight my biology.

and yes - the body weight your body likes might be higher than what your mind likes - AND - given you lift weights, you may already be leaner than you think. I had a DEXA scan when I weighed 146 lbs, because I wanted to see how much more weight I needed to lose. Turns out I only had 22% body fat, which is pretty lean for a woman - so both the scan technician - and my PCP - said I was already at an ideal weight and did not need to lose anymore (if you want to do a DEXA scan, those that you do at a medical facility will not give you the info you want. Those will only give you your bone density. You need to go to one of those commercial places, like DEXAfit, or something like a sports lab at a university for one that gives you info on body composition (percentage of fat/muscle/bone you have). They cost somewhere in the $100-150 range)