I only need to lose 4 more pounds having lost 13, but over the last 6 weeks I’ve stayed the same, gaining and losing 2lb during the week. I’m finding 800 calories hard, especially as I do shift work. I’m now eating 1200 calories a day with a maximum of 100 grams of carbs. But I’m only maintaining on this. This really concerns me as to what I can eat when I get to maintenance. Not helped as I take steroids, thyroxin and immunosuppressants for some chronic medical conditions. I walk daily, and do some long distance walks as well as yoga. I would welcome advise.

Hi Maryschoen, I know shift work is hard, I’ve done it for 40 years. I also take thyroxine though not the other medications you mention.

Can you give a day’s representative food to give an idea of what you’re eating? 100g carbs seems to be a lot. Most people have success even at 1200 cal if they reduce carbs to 50 or less. For me it’s got to be less than 40 but I only found that by trial and error.

Having said that, depending on your height and goal weight, 1200 might be close enough to your maintenance TDEE to make it very slow. I am 5’1″ and only need 1350 to maintain. Are you drinking lots of water and getting enough sleep? Going back to basics and weighing and recording if you’re not already may show that you’re actually consuming more than you think. Good luck ☺

Good solid advice from Mariet there, Maryschoen.

Given that you are looking to get the pounds moving again, I think I would be inclined to slash carb intake by half at least and see how it goes,possibly leaving the calories pretty much where they are, although I’m thinking you could may be look to compromise on the calories a little and drop them a little (?) – perhaps to around the 1000 mark, which would give you a potential saving of another 1400 cals a week – over a day’s worth of calories at the moment. Reducing carbs certainly helped me, when weight loss wasn’t happening as expected. There will be a little trial and error, but once you see the reading on the scales falling, you can be fairly confident you have found the right level for you carbs. If you struggle to keep the cals up and the carbs down, include a little more fat in your meals.

Good hydration is really important for dropping the pounds, so definitely worth reviewing what you drinking. I find I really need to concentrate on getting enough fluid intake, otherwise it slips and the scales don’t co-operate. Find an easy way to track how much you are drinking each day, even if it’s just a series of ticks in your diary.

Finally, going back to basics and weighing, measuring and recording everything consumed – and yourself as well – helps to show you where you might be slipping up (or progress made) and also helps you feel in control. I always find it very motivating to be keeping track in this way.

Hope you manage to find a way to get things shifting in the right direction again and will soon be at your goal.

Hi Maryschoen — your carb count is high — can you get strict with carbs and cut them down to less than 40 for a couple of weeks? Try to even get down to 20 carbs/day for a couple of days and see how that affects your weight loss.
If you have high background insulin levels (common in folk with weight issues) your carbohydrate intake might keep your insulin levels too high to lose weight.
Also, can you do a couple of 24 hour fasts? (Not on shift days because it might be too stressful) — fasting quickly moves the scale downward.

Many thanks to all the replies and sensible advice. I will cut my carbs to 40-50 grams and keep you posted

Hi, just a quick update. In the last week I have gone back to 800 calories and cut my carbs to between 20-40 grams. I have also walked 45 miles of the South West Coastal Path. I was disappointed this morning to find that I have lost no weight for 4 weeks. However I suddenly thought that weight doesn’t give the whole picture. My scales can also measure fat %age and this has dropped by 4% in the last 2 weeks. All my clothes are loose . My total weight loss is now a stone, but my fat%age is down 6%. Over numerous years I have gained and lost weight, but never before has my fat %age dropped like this. I hope this will help fellow “plateau people”

They say muscle is heavier than fat. I am not really bothered about my actual weight I just don’t want to look 8 months pregnant all the time as I am male! I took a picture of my side view – not a pretty sight!

That’s excellent Maryshoen! What a fantastic result in four weeks! Do strange that your scale hasn’t shown a drop but bodies can do weird things — the % numbers are probably better indicators anyway and you rocked it!
Yaaaay!!!

Yes I am thrilled and posted because if others are on a long term plateau regarding weight, then that doesn’t mean positive things aren’t happening to your body. Weight being static can be caused my numerous things and in my case it’s probably fluid as the walking I’ve done on my mini break has given me swollen feet and ankles. Feeling positive again