okay so i started my weight loss yourney 1st jan this year, iv been eating smaller portion sizes and making better choises while also allowing my self the odd treat, i dont want to try and be unrealistic and make myself follow a diet that wont be forever. iv joined the gym a month ago and go at least 4 times a week.
i feel like im stuck at 14 stone 7lbs, iv been around this weight for a few months now. i started at 15 stone 10 lbs so i think that 1 stone 3 lbs weight loss in 10 months in pretty poor
am i destined to be this weight forever

Are you tracking exactly what you eat? Are you counting calories? If you aren't doing those things then I suggest you start. Grab yourself a good kitchen scale and start weighing out portions of everything you eat and track your food on one of the many online tracking websites. At the beginning of my weight loss journey I tried to do the smaller portions and healthier choices thing without actually tracking or measuring. When I stalled someone suggested tracking and I was shocked at the amount of calories my 'smaller portions' and 'better choices' had in them. They were smaller and better and enough to get me away from 245 pounds, but not small enough or good enough to get me where I wanted to be. I was also surprised at how often I was allowing myself an occasional treat, for me it has to be written down somewhere and I have to be accountable or it is not really occasional.

I agree, I have started tracking what I eat and I am now checking food labels all the time. The number of foods I thought were healthy and aren't is surprising.

I also try to challenge myself with food and not just weight goals. So I am trying more fruit and vegetables etc that I would never normally eat.

Agree with FitGirlyGirl and Lisa - it's not just about better choices (even assuming that there aren't more calories in those foods than you think), it's about lowering the overall calorie intake. You can get/stay heavy eating just healthy foods.

Definitely try measuring and tracking what you are eating, and then you can figure out a good calorie target to try to see if that helps get the scale moving again for you.

I learned a hard, hard lesson recently. I started my weight loss journey in January of this year too and I counted calories and carbs religiously. I joined a gym in March and worked out 5x a week. The weight FLEW off! A couple months ago, after my high school reunion, I started to slack. Well, in my mind, I was eating at maintenance. I was conscious of what I ate but didn't count calories or carbs. But I knew I was eating way less than I did before I decided to lose weight. Over the past couple months my clothes got tighter and I knew I gained a "few" pounds. To my horror when I stepped on the scale yesterday morning, it was TEN pounds. That is more than a pound a week.

My point is, FitGirlyGirl and Lisa are spot on when they say it is SO important to journal (track) what you eat. You are losing weight and that is FANTASTIC but I think you'd excelerate your weight loss more if you wrote down exactly what you are consuming. I think it may surprise you!

With that said, congrats on making changes in how and what you eat!! You leaped over the biggest hurdle of making a plan, implementing it and sticking with it. Now, it's time to ENHANCE IT!

Even making healthy food choices it is possible to eat too many calories.

Sometimes what we think is a serving is NOT a serving but more. It's true too much of a good thing isn't necessarily good. I have no idea how much a stone is so I'm not sure how much you've lost, but as we lose we need less calories. It's always an adjustment. So while you're doing/eating the right things, you might just need to tweak it a bit. Good luck

Like the others have said, try reading labels and counting everything for a while and see if that helps. If you always eat the same old things, changing your diet up might help. Sometimes I find just eating different things helpful, and I've read that other people have found that as well. Also, make sure you're getting enough water - that can make a big difference sometimes.

And really, although you've been on a plateau for a while, you're not doing badly. 17 lbs. over 10 months is an average loss of 1.7lbs. month. Maybe a bit slow, but still losing. FWIW, my doc recommended not losing more than 2-4 lbs. a month to help minimize the development of saggy skin. Your average is just under the low end of his rec., and your plateau is almost definitely giving your body some time to adjust. He also recommended lifting weights, which is starting to get pretty common in the weight loss advice lit, since lifting is supposed to result in metabolism-boosting muscle growth and help improve saggy skin - when you go to the gym are you lifting or just doing cardio?

Hang in there.

Simply put - calories matter.

Eating "healthy" is nice but calories matter.

Eating small portions is nice but calories matter.

Eating an odd treat is nice but calories matter.

I'm not trying to be redundant but trying to get you to understand the one singular and indisputable fact.

Eat more energy than your body needs and your body will store it.

Eat less energy than your body needs and your body will make up the difference by using stored energy.

Energy is measured in calories.

thanks for all your replys. surely you can loose weight without all the counting of every single cal and measuring foods as i really dont have the time to do it, im a working mum with 2 young kids and a dog lol, who doesnt get in the house till 7pm who has to try juggle homework, cleaning, dog walking and gym time.
i do a mixture of cardio and weights and i must say that, even if i havnt lost anything im 6inches smaller from hips, stomach and legs and i do feel fitter. i started of with around 20-25lbs and now im averaging 50-60lbs and uped my cardio from 5 minute sessions to half hour on each thing.
if i try the calories thing how many dya recon i should stick at?

First off, you seriously are NOT losing at a bad rate. I lose about 2lbs/month, which sounds about what you're losing. You're going in the right direction and that's by far the most important thing.

Second, are you tracking your measurements??? You can be at a plateau and still be losing inches.

Third, I agree with what the others of said. I don't calorie count BUT I do make myself aware of what a serving size is and how many calories the food that I put in my mouth has in it. I do track every now and then (maybe once a month or so?) just to sort of check in with my eating habits. It's great that you're working on the type of food that you eat but also check portion sizes and check the calories of some of your favorite foods.

counting calories helps, and seriously you have to eat fewer cals than you burn to lose weight. If you don't have the time to keep track and in turn don't eat fewer your body doesn't care if you're too busy. It sucks, but that's the truth of it. You could even keep a notebook with you,and jot the item down when you eat so you can at least keep a tally of your intake. There are a ton of online cal. calculators. I use those a lot to help me determine how much, but often, the number is unique to the individual. Eat too high, you won't lose. Eat too little, you'll stall. It's more of an art sometimes, figuring the number for you.

First congrats on your weight loss. No matter how slow you think it is you have still done a good job.

Also I agre with others if you want to excelerate the loss your diet has to be spot on. The diet is 80% of the success with genetics 10% and exercise 10%. I would get serious with journalling and back to weighing and measuring everything. I know for me after a while 1T of penut butter grows to 2T or more

But don't get discouraged and don't accept that you are meant to be overweight. You can achieve any goal you set your mind to and work for!

Good luck.

I hear you on being busy! I usually only get home after 7 every night and I'm out of the house before 7 in the morning. I took some time to make a list of foods I commonly eat (a chicken breast; a tablespoon of low fat mayo; a tin of tuna) and that's helped a lot since I know that I'm more or less under a certain number of calories. Also, I keep a notebook next to my bed and jot down what I ate during the day every night. It literally takes me 2 minutes.