I am plagued with very slow weight loss. Over the past 4 months, I've lost an average of less than 1 pound per week. The last 4 weeks there has been no loss. I currently weigh 253. I've lost 18 pounds over the last 6 months.

I have been exercising regularly for 6 months. The last 4 weeks I've increased the intensity of my cardio sessions (3 sessions of 30 minutes on elliptical or treadmill). I also do lap swimming for an hour twice a week, typically do 1 aqua aerobics class (45 minutes), yoga/pilates (3 x 45 minutes) and a month ago started doing strength training 3 times a week for about 20 minutes each session.

I drink 1 & 1/2 to 2 L of water per day. No soda. 2 glasses of wine a week.

I've lost inches - but the pounds are hanging on.

I track my food on fitday and average about 1800 per day, with the split being 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fat. I don't eat sugar products and the only 'white' products I eat is a potato most evenings.

I'm 48, had a hysterectomy about 10 years ago, have been overweight forever, and have high blood pressure (controlled with drugs). I'm starting to wonder about insulin resistence and have started doing some reading on it.

I'm just kicking around ideas of what to try to get the weight loss going. Even though everything I read says 1800 calories is a good level for my current weight, should I try and drop it? Or, should I switch from calorie counting mode to low carb? I am trying so hard to do this healthy and in a manner that I can sustain for life rather than getting into crazy diet mentality but it's also frustrating to be doing so much better than I've ever done before in my life and yet having little success with the weight loss.

Sorry this is so long....I just wanted to give all the pertenant details up front.

Any advice?

Thank you for providing details!

Certainly if you're not losing the way you'd like at the calorie level you're at, you could try dropping it maybe 100 or 200 a day and giving it a shot for 2 weeks. It might break through, it might not, but I'd give it a try.

I'm so happy you're looking at this as a lifestyle change, and looking for something sustainable...its really the key. But if you keep going, the weight might come off slowly, but it WILL COME OFF.

How frustrating! It sounds from here as if you are doing everything right. Have you considered talking to your doctor to see if any medications you are on might be slowing your weight loss? Sometimes even the most innocuous drugs can make a huge difference depending on your body chemistry. (Speaking from personal experience here!)

Since you're losing inches, though, it could just be a case of the scale being incomprehensibly stubborn!

I'd personally explore the situation further before dropping calories, but that's my approach, and yours may vary. At any rate, good luck!

I'd try dropping to 1700 for a month. And on all your hard work so far!! I'll take inches over pds lost any day...but I totally understand the frustration factor.

Hey!

Metabolism is an individual thing. Although 1800 cals intake may be good for 'most' people, it may be too high for you. Factors like age and activity history are hard to measure. FitDay usually has given me too high a daily calorie burn estimate--so I set it for completely sedentary and only add exercise as I do it. That works well for me.

I'd say try 1600 (average) for two weeks. During those two weeks, I'd suggest you try to stay as close to 1600 as you can--no really wide variations. In other words, although 1200 one day and 2000 the next day is still 1600 average, don't do it like that. Instead, go no higher than 1700 and no lower than 1500. See if that works--but be sure to go for the full two weeks.

Jay

Hi,
I agree with everyone, about asking your doctor about the meds,and seeing what affect the have on weight loss.
When I started out at 279 I was eating about 1800-1900 calories a day and now have brought it down to 1400-1600 calories daily. I do not eat red meat, or poultry and do give myself treats sometimes( dark chocolate is a favorite ), and have fallen off the wagon 4 times. I eat 3 meals a day plus 3 snacks. I also exercise 6-7 days a wk. I do the elliptical for 5 days at 42-45 minutes , 1 day I do it for 35 minutes, and the 7th day I go hiking for 70+ minutes. I also do free weight lifting and general exercises( crunches, sit ups, leg lifts, leg bends.. 28 minutes for 4-5 days a wk.
Any questions please ask.
cheryl

All good advice. I'd also be asking for a thyroid check. You never know.

I see a huge difference in my weight loss when I stop eating 3 hours before bedtime. Even if I consume the same number of calories and do the same exercise, if I eat after 6:30 pm or so, the weight doesn't want to come off.

Thanks everyone for your advice and support. I'm taking it all under consideration and will make a decision on what I'm going to do and let you know. Also, to answer a few questions....thyroid is ok per recent physical, blood work is all within range and MD says he doesn't believe any meds should be interferring and wants to wait until January before making any changes.

At the gym today I spoke with a trainer and she gave a couple ideas also:
1) For my interval training, she suggested going in 20 second intervals but make the variations BIG.
2) Decrease my calories at my evening meal, shifting them earlier in the day. And like you said ggmugsy, stop eating 3 hours before bedtime. This is probably the hardest option as my partner prefers to eat European-style at about 7:30-8pm and I'm usually in bed by 10. It's simply not an option (relationshipwise) to not eat together but I think we could compromise at 7pm and I could stay up a bit later.

Thanks again everyone. It's such a good thing to be able to come here and get advice and encouragement!