So hungry - and no longer losing

I have been slowly but steadily losing weight since January of last year. Currently down to around 140 from 220, and I estimate I have at least another 10-15 pounds to lose to get rid of my PCOS belly.

Current calories are 1200-1500 / day depending on how hungry I get (cronometer gives me ~1350 as an average over the past 2 weeks with a TDEE average of ~1940). I exercise every day. 6 days of running ~50 mins, 1 day a week of yoga for an hour, 3-4 days a week of strength training for about 30 mins. I added in the strength training about a 6 weeks ago. Macros-wise cronometer is telling me I'm pretty much on target. I'm averaging about 80g of protein and 30g of fiber a day.

My weight loss has completely stalled for a month, while at the same time my appetite has increased. I used to eat ~1200 calories/day and I now find that almost impossible to stick to. I do "volume eat" - I will grab fresh veggies as a snack if I need to eat, and a lot of my diet is fruit & veg (I'm a vegetarian).

When I started adding the weight training to my routine, I also upped my protein intake, as that has always been a struggle for me (previously more like 40g / day). I started making myself overnight oats with protein powder in it to eat for breakfast and ensure I have protein at dinner. Previously I ate a banana and an apple for breakfast, and usually had a small avocado for lunch. Certainly my new breakfast has more calories than my previous meal, and yet I am far hungrier. I thought protein was supposed to keep you satiated. I do measure and weigh my food. If anything, I've gotten more strict about this over the past month.

I've been at this for so long, and this is the first time I've really struggled with continual hunger. I haven't been gaining weight yet, but the scale is not budging - indicating that I'm eating maintenance calories. The tape measure isn't moving either, so it's not like I'm losing fat but gaining muscle. My waist is the same size as it was at the beginning of the month. The hunger is making me miserable, and if I'm eating at maintenance, that means I need to eat this amount forever.

If you'd told me a month ago I had to stick strictly to my ~1200 calorie diet forever, I wouldn't have been thrilled, but it would have been doable for me. I wasn't constantly hungry. Now I have a hard time getting through each day, and thinking of eating like this forever is dogging my thoughts non-stop. It just doesn't seem sustainable.

Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong here?

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How should I begin incorporating exercise and lifting?

Hi, I am 24F and currently weigh 70kg at 157 cm (154lbs / 5'2). Since the start of this year I have been on a weight loss journey. I started at 87 kg / 191 lbs. I already feel super amazing and I did all this only by eating in a calorie deficit (1200 per day) and walking as much as I could (wasn't super consistent but hit ~5K most work days and then would walk up to 25K on the weekends when I could). Have not done any kind of exercise. I used to work out in the past but it's always been cardio.

As I've been learning about weight loss, I have found out that building muscle is important. I tried to measure my body fat percentage using measurements at home and it's around 45% even after all my weight loss! Then I learned that a higher bfp means that my tdee0 is also lowered (like 1400!!) which is horrible. I have also noticed that I've gotten super weak like can barely lift heavy stuff these days even though I definite used to pick up heavy stuff before. So I'm hoping to now start working out. I also have a lot of free time for at least the next three months.

I am wondering if you all could give me advice on a few things:

• How to start weightlifting? Are there any routines or you tubers you would suggest? My main goal would be arm strength. I still have a lot of belly and back fat to lose so idk if I need to work out those areas. I also don't really think I need bodyrecomp but my main goal would be to have a toned belly as that has been my insecurity my whole life. Happy with my glute and legs but anything to help strengthen is also great.

I literally tried to go weight lift at the gym the other day and just walked around all the machines and left because I didn't know what to do

• does my body fat percentage seem realistic? I was honestly shocked I was hoping at least for a 30% number given the weight I lost so far. Also my waist is pretty narrow so I was confused.

• has anyone else found themselves just feeling super weak? especially arms? I do take some medicine for anemia but it's managed so wondering if this is due to weight loss or I just really need to lift.

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Maintenance/weight fluctuation.

I know it’s normal for your weight to fluctuate throughout the date, but I’m so frustrated! I reached my goal weight, but I feel like I’m struggling with the maintenance part. When I was cutting, I ate about 1500-1700 calories/day. Now that I’m trying to maintain I’ve upped that to 2000. Nothing else has changed. My exercise routine is the same and I’m tracking everything I eat with My Fitness Pal (which is how I successfully lost weight in the first place). If I indulge in a meal I make sure I balance that out with the other meals.

Between Sunday and today this week I gained 6lbs which was really hard to see. I know about salt and water retention and bloating and I know that when women are on their period or close to having theirs, that can add a few more pounds. So I do know all of this. I’ve read all of this. And full transparency I’m currently dealing with all those things that already mentioned above.

What I’m looking for I think, is reassurance and firsthand personal experience. I know the facts, but I think it would just help to hear from others what they do or how they try to think so they don’t obsess over it. I don’t want this weight loss journey to be unhealthy for me. Thoughts? Feelings? Anyone just want to say “me too!” because I’m just really frustrated right now. 😭

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Temporarily using the IF method has worsened my relationship with food.

I have a feeling this might become a “true off my chest” moment, and I’m preparing for the downvotes. I just have to get it out.

First off, I believe in r/CICO. 100%. It works (of course there is a caveat for medical conditions). For me, I don’t believe in fad diets, completely eliminating food groups, extreme calorie restriction, extreme calorie burning through exercise that I “eat back” later, or any of the other little “tricks” that make me fall into dangerous habits.

I’m not sure if anyone else here struggles with trying out different methods for their weight loss, but I do. I can’t (or don’t, whatever) stick with one method for more than 4-6 months at a time. I have a history of disordered eating. I have ADHD. I get bored, stressed, burnt out, whatever you want to call it. Some will say I lack discipline. Maybe I do. The point is, I need to switch up how I approach my weight loss or I slip back into my old habits.

So, I tried IF (r/intermittentfasting). I had a window where I would skip breakfast and stop eating at 8pm. My kryptonite was late night snacking. I thought it would be great. Just nothing with calories after 8pm, then I couldn’t overindulge if I wasn’t indulging at all. Well, in order to satiate myself I paired this with a small dose of r/volumeeating recipes. Large low calorie meals so I could satisfy my large appetite.

Well, now I’m on some new ADHD medication and I have effectively stopped tracking my calories in a bit of a mental health break. I have to eat breakfast in order to take them in the morning or I get sick. I am trying to tone down the mental food noise by allowing myself to actually listen to my body.

Which brings me to my point. When I have a portion of food in front of me, I no longer feel like I stop when I’m full. My IF days and volume eating has made me feel like I need to finish my food because it’s the “last food” I’ll have for the day. I never really felt like that before. I hate it. And I just feel like I wish I had never restricted myself that way.

If you read this far, thank you for sharing in this frustration with me. I know it’s me, not the method. It works for many people. I’m just ranting about it because it didn’t work for me. It’s just a different approach to CICO and it made it harder for me in the long run to listen to my internal food triggers.

Anyway, once I get my meds figured out I’ll be back on the horse, so to speak.

Shoutout to my fellow neurodiverse people.

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Words to live by in your weight loss journey?

Do you have any maxims that help you get your mindset right in your journey to move more and eat better?

I find that sayings often help me understand how to prioritize health, as I have never been able to fully internalize healthy habits into my subconscious.

Examples Not every meal has to be the best meal you’ve ever eaten. Food is fuel. Nothing changes if you change nothing. [That food] will still be there tomorrow (so you don’t have to eat it all today).

I’d love it if you can share any words that inspire you, help you keep your priorities straight, or change the way you think about health and healthy habits for the better.

Thanks!!

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Suddenly unable to lose weight?

It's exactly as the title says. About 2 months ago now I was 231 lbs. I decided to go on a weight loss journey and started a calorie deficit to lose weight as well as going on walks or playing basketball daily. Things were going well and I went all the way down to 216 pounds after about a month and a half. But since then I haven't lost anything. For a week I tried but my weight sat at 216 so I thought maybe I was getting used to the calorie deficit or something so I tried eating 4k calories in 1 day. I gained 4 lbs and went up to 220 so then I simply cut the next day and dropped right back down the next day to 216. I thought I was good now so I went back to my usual diet and assumed I would go back to losing weight but it's been another week and I'm still at the exact same weight 216 with 0 movement on the scale, in fact somehow I gained a lbs throughout the week despite sticking to the exact same diet and only dropped it today. Idk what is going on and why I can't go below 216 anymore.

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Need HELP: Age 42 and I can't seem to get fat off my body

Hey Friends...thank you for being of assistance. I'll try to make this short:

-Overweight since age 9, so YES I have a very good idea of all diets/methods/weighing/measuring/MFP/etc.

-Lost 80 pounds when I was 28 yrs old, creeped back over past 10 years. I lost that in about 1.5 yrs with Weight Watchers (basically Cal in/out with some emphasis on nutrition).

-Past 5 years or so have been dealing with my mental/emotional health as well as restrictive/binge habits, was advised to NOT count/restrict (therapist), etc as a way to heal that mindset that had my weight up and down filled with shame for so many decades.

-I'm at a place where counting feels OK again as a way to learn whats good for me, prioritize protein and healthy eating at home.

-Been tracking in MFP for over 6 weeks, not a single pound lost. Doing 3-4 days of heavy compound lifting on a program from a trainer, walking 10k steps other days while I rest my knee (light arthritis). I do mentally feel better.

(INFO: TDEE is 3,298 maintenance, 2298 "extreme weight loss". Been eating between 1900-2,400/day for 5 weeks. Have a food scale, measure ALL oils, sauces, portions, etc. I aint messin' around. DO NOT eat my workout calories. Over-estimate on tracking if I eat out, like at chipotle for example).

Starting to wonder if there is a metabolic issue at all, hormonal issue with possibly the pressure of losing again or if my body is like "FUCK this, we're not moving". Makes it very tough to make all these changes because when I was eating "whatever, whenever" I also stayed the same...so big changes leading nowhere it seems.

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