Diet Plateau

[Bod88]

Hello

I was pre-diabetic but managed to reverse this by going on a lower carb diet (around 110g per day on average) and by losing weight.

Over the past 18 months I have lost just over 2 and a half stone dropping from 16st 7lbs to 13st 12lbs.

I am 5ft 9in, male and 49 years old.

I just can't seem to drop below 13st 12lbs (been at this weight for 4 months). I had tried everything, increasing exercise, reducing calories, increasing calories to see if this will kick start my metabolism and then reducing calories again and so on.

My average calorie intake is 1500 per day (this is accurate based on food labels rather than a guess) so below my BMR of 1730 and I walk 3 times per week for an hour.

Based on my net calorie intake I should be losing weight but I can't figure out why not. I would like to get to 13st.

Any suggestions of how to break this plateau?

Thanks

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone]

Good work, Bod88, and I can see how frustrating and disappointing it can be, having got so far. There might be something of use in this piece dietdoctor.com/low-carb/ket...

[Bod88 2025 February in reply to BridgeGirl]

Thanks for the article BridgeGirl.

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone in reply to Bod88]

you're welcome, hope it gives you some different insights

[Gizmocat Moderator 13kg Maintainer]

Hello and welcome to our forum. Well done on reversing the prediabetes and losing 2 1/2 stone so far. You must be feeling much healthier. Weight loss does get slower as you get closer to your target but do keep perservering. Have you reviewed what you are eating? Keeping carbs low is more important than calories. Do you log your food on an app or keep a food diary. It can be useful to see where any tweaks can be made.

Here is a link to help you find your way aroundhealthunlocked.com/weight-l.... Do have a good look around and read the links. I would suggest you start by posting on the Weigh In with your start weight. The Daily Diary is good for meal ideas and posting your meal plans. You will get lots of support so do join in as much as possible.

I hope you find the link that BridgeGirl has given you helpful. There is a lot of useful information there. I also recommend Michael Moseley's books which have recipe books to go with them.

Keep coming back and chatting and let us know how you are doing

[Bod88 2025 February in reply to Gizmocat]

Hi Gizmocat

Thanks for the reply and the link.

Bod

[Dippyeggs 2 stone SS Supercook 2024 August]

Congratulations on your achievements so far! 🎊 I was diagnosed pre-diabetic October last year, and so I'm working on reversing it.

Have you tried strength training to restart your weightloss? Lifting weights helps to create muscle which burns more calories. And it will keep you looking and feeling fitter.

Good luck with whatever you decide! 🍀👍

[Bod88 2025 February in reply to Dippyeggs]

Thanks for the reply Dippyeggs and I hope your plan is working. I do a very small amount of strength training with resistance bands rather than weights and this helps to a point but typically I do more cardio.

[PandQs Maintainer 3st 7lbs]

Hi Bod, I had similar experience, using low carb. I had two plateaus, but the maximum was 6 weeks. I would just say stick with it and don’t give up hope that the scales will start to move again. Treat it as a time for your skin to shrink to catch up with the tremendous weight loss you’ve already achieved, but dont give up 👍

[Eryl Visitor]

Sop focusing on weight and focus instead on body composition indicators like waist measurement or appearance in a mirror. Calories aren't the only factor in weight management, the thing controling fat storage is insulin so the calories in foods which raise insulin will be stored while these which have little effect on insulin release will not be stored and can be eaten to satiety. There is no dietary requirement for carbohydrate which raises insulin levels so you can safely reduce them even further.

Inflammation causes fluid retention which will be adding to your weight so you should avoid all inflammatory foods which are not only foods containing refined carbohydrates but also refined seed oils (what supermarkets call vegetable oil).