Hello, I'm back.

Welcome to the forums @Challb7! Couldn't agree more, fad diets aren't necessary and largely do not work- healthy habits and consistency do.

Best of luck in this chapter in your journey!

Hi, Brenda, and welcome back!

I noticed your posts on other posts on other people's threads, saying things about losing several pounds this round, but apparently kind of stalling out since the initial drop, if I got that right? I came back to your intro post to comment, because I'm not sure it would be on-topic on those other threads. I hope it's OK if I answer here, and hope you will see it.

I gather from other posts that you're 57, lost some weight last year, 30-some pounds I think, which is great. You mentioned a recent stall, or fluctuating up and down through the same few pounds but not losing more, but having maybe 60 pounds you'd like to lose.

As background, I lost around 50 pounds with MFP at age 59-60, class 1 obese to a healthy weight, and have stayed in a healthy range since, now age 69. For me, the resulting quality of life improvement was huge, in so many ways. I want to see others have that, so would like to see you succeed with your goals.

So I'd like to help if I can, but I have some questions.

Since you posted this intro in early January, I'm tempted to assume you started a week or two ago, maybe after the holidays or at the start of the year, but I'm not sure. I think you said elsewhere you lost . . . what was it . . . something like 4 pounds since starting, having begun from 219 pounds? But have been cycling up and down since in about a 5-pound range.

I think you said you have a 1200 calorie goal and are sticking with that, are exercising on a treadmill for an hour 3-4 times a week, plus getting 10000 steps (which maybe includes your treadmill workout?).

When did you restart the weight loss effort this time, the effort that caused the drop of about 4 pounds?

Did the treadmill exercise start at the same time? Do you know what your typical daily steps were before you started the weight loss effort this time?

Are you eating roughly the same range of foods as before weight loss, or did you cut down a lot on carbs, or add a lot of veggies or whole grains and things like that way beyond what would've been usual for you before this recent loss effort? I know you will've cut calories quite a lot, but that's a slightly different question from whether eating patterns have also changed in some major way, I think.

Are you in menopause, peri-menopause, or still having cycles? I'd guess menopause at 57, but I know that's not universal.

How tall are you?

Know something about those things would give me more to work with. I'll make a couple of generic remarks speculatively, in the hopes you'll know I'm sincere about wanting to help.

In general, the first couple of weeks or so of a new weight loss effort can cause a bit of a roller coaster on the bodyweight scale. Changing what we eat can affect water retention, and our bodies can be up to 60%+ water, so that can be a multi-pound fluctuation. One common pattern is a big drop up front, part of which is a drop in water weight, the rest actual fat loss; then the water retention kind of rebalances, masking continuing fat loss on the scale. If that were true for you, my advice would be "stay the course", because it will sort itself out, usually after about 4-6 weeks total, or a whole menstrual cycle for those who have them.

If someone's actually losing 2 pounds of fat per week, as you may well be, the actual average fat loss per day would be just 4.5 ounces, just a bit over a quarter pound. By contrast, most of us see day to day water retention fluctuations of 2-5 pounds up and down across a day or few. You can see how those water fluctuations would mask the much smaller fat loss on the scale for a surprisingly long time sometimes!

Also, if the treadmill is pretty new, and the 10k steps pretty new, that can also increase water retention (for muscle repair) .

Also, the 1200 calories may not actually be a 1000 calorie deficit, if you got that goal from MFP. 1200 is the lowest goal MFP will give any woman, basically to ensure that we get minimally adequate nutrition. If someone asks for a 2 pound weekly loss, but their profile settings suggest they'd maintain weight at less than 2200 calories, they won't get the 1000 calorie deficit. That's IMO a good thing: Losing weight too fast can increase health risks, tank energy, and more. A common rule of thumb around here is to stick with 0.5%-1% of current weight per week, and I'd advocate sticking toward the lower end of that unless severely obese and under close medical supervision for deficiencies or complications. If you're currently 215 pounds, that would be just over 1 pound up to 2 pounds at the higher end. I know you feel you have quite a lot to lose, and if your doctor's on board, 2 pounds a week is probably OK for a while, but it's IMO slightly on the aggressive side for sustainability.

Believe me, I understand the impulse to lose fast. But I accidentally lost too fast at first (because MFP underestimates my calorie needs). I got weak and fatigued, then it took multiple weeks to recover even though I corrected quickly. No one with a busy, demanding life needs that!

I'm sorry, I think that's enough of a ramble for now. If you'd feel comfortable answering some of the questions I bolded above, I might be able to say something more personalized, or suggest information resources here that might help you.

Best wishes!