As of May of last year I went to a gyno and found out I had insulin resistance. She put me on a low carb diet and since I have reversed it, dropping my insulin levels to a normal range. However since December my weight loss has stopped, and not only that I have gained four pounds back. I have been doing everything to lose weight. I even dedicated two months to working out two hours a day five times a week, following most of the same diet I initially lost the weight with (30 pounds), with just thirty grams of added carbs because my insulin is stable now. I am having a hard time tapping into the fat. I just recently started to include apple cider into my diet because of its weight loss benefits but even that isn't making the scale budge a little. I weigh 207 pounds as of right now and I want to lose forty more pounds to be a healthy weight. I don't think it is my diet since I eat around 1300 calories a day. And since the exercise I added just makes me fluctuate between 207 and 205 I don't really know what else could be wrong. Perhaps cortisol? Or a nutritional deficiency? How can I burn this unwanted fat? Are there any supplements or methods that have worked for someone else who has plateaued like this?

Hi jett, welcome! Congrats on losing 30 pounds and reversing your insulin resistance. Fantastic work! I can't imagine how frustrating it must be to be putting in the amount of work you are and not being rewarded with a drop. Have you been to the doctor to have your thyroid tested? I'd definitely rec seeing a doctor so they can run whatever tests they think may be explanatory. It's possible that with all of the exercise you're doing that you need to eat more in order to lose weight. I'm personally not a full believer in that theory though, so I'd first rule out medical conditions that could be the culprit. How confident are you that you're eating 1300 calories a day (i.e., do you weigh your food)?

I'm sorry you're experiencing this and I hope it gets sorted soon.

Now I only exercise for 30 minutes of walking. Yes the calories are always around 1300. My thyroid is within normal range.

My thyroid is in normal range. I walk and do 30 minutes of light boxing

If you eat 1300 calories a day, it doesn't mean your diet is healthy. What you eat is more important than how much you eat. Eating the wrong foods can slow down your metabolism. What do you eat?

I would suggest doing some strength training in addition to the walking and boxing.

jett - Could you get your resting metabolic rate tested? To be at a plateau at around 200 lbs for this long when eating 1300 calories and including some exercise is highly unusual. I presume that since you reversed your insulin resistance, that your diet is pretty good on the sugar/carb front. Have you spoken with your GP about this plateau and asked for referrals to specialists who may help provide answers?

ETA: If I were in your shoes, in addition to more medical investigating into your resting metabolic rate and any conditions that are causing this, I'd probably also up my calories quite a bit--to maybe 1700--for at least a month. That can help get the metabolism functioning well again. But I really do think it's important that you talk to doctors about this because there's something going on--it's not normal to be stalled so long when eating at a deficit. A resting metabolic rate test can confirm if you are indeed at a deficit or if your metabolism is unusually low.

Eat more - 1300 is pretty low and you could be at a point where your body is fighting to hang on to every calorie. Focus on clean food like lean protein and carbs from leafy greens. Increase calories by a little bit per week. You can Google "reverse dieting" for more info.

Sleep more - insufficient sleep triggers cortisol production, which makes you hungry. (Cardio can do this too, btw).

Lift heavy weights - it increases metabolic efficiency (and helps minimize loose skin).

ETA: You meant apple cider vinegar, right? Because if you really are drinking apple cider, that's the first thing I'd cut.

Your slower metabolism will slow your weight loss, even if you eat the same number of calories that helped you lose weight. When the calories you burn equal the calories you eat, you reach a plateau. To lose more weight, you need to either increase your physical activity or decrease the calories you eat.

I'm no MD but my take on is that your body gets used to being a certain weight, I guess 237 here and allows you to drop 30 to get 207 then fights back and resists more loss, same boat for me lose 30-50 lbs easily enough then plateua and get nowhere trying to lose 50-75 more lbs and the last ten lbs are impossible if you get that far . our bodies are made to retain fat as a survival thing as food was scarce in the early days of humans and fat was like gold, that's the problem,IMO.
The vast majority of people that lose signicant weight gain it back and a few more pounds within a few years

I'm no MD but my take on is that your body gets used to being a certain weight, I guess 237 here and allows you to drop 30 to get 207 then fights back and resists more loss, same boat for me lose 30-50 lbs easily enough then plateua and get nowhere trying to lose 50-75 more lbs and the last ten lbs are impossible if you get that far . our bodies are made to retain fat as a survival thing as food was scarce in the early days of humans and fat was like gold, that's the problem,IMO.
The vast majority of people that lose signicant weight gain it back and a few more pounds within a few years, that's why I pretty much gave
up after that initial substantial quick loss,and nothing doing after, well 295 is better than 340. I don't want to be negative just my experience.

Good luck and best wishes on success.

Try to have a few days off your diet and exercise regime. Sometimes organism needs few more calories for boost. I used to have insulin resistance as well a few years ago and this helped me. But just for 2/3 days no more. Then go back on your routine

1. Drink more water
2. Sleep more
3. Lift HEAVY
4. Do more cardio - specifically, do some HIIT training, and don't let your heart rate go back to normal until you're done
5. Be patient. Trust the process!!! I had I.S. too and reversed it, and if you're anything like me, even when i eat super clean and exercise, my weight loss is SO slow. Patience Patience Patience.