Looking for tips from those who have tried it all to lose weight. I have tried virtually every advice out there - IF, keto, plant-based, counting calories, etc. I just never seem to budge from my weight. I feel good when I eat clean and workout but my weight literally never changes and I’m about 30 lbs overweight. I have no idea what to do anymore

This might sound weird, but you might need to eat more to start losing weight. The calorie intake needed for the average woman is anywhere from 1,600 - 2,400 depending on height and weight. By eating only 1,500 calories, your body now has that as your maintenance mode, meaning you would have to eat less than that to lose weight. It would be dangerous to eat less than 1,500 calories a day as an adult woman. You first need to get your metabolic rate up, meaning you need to eat more. Use your height and weight to figure out how many calories you naturally burn in a day, then use that as a base point. You will need to eat more at first and will gain a little weight in the process (maybe a couple pounds), but then your metabolic rate will adjust and your body will naturally burn more calories now with a higher metabolism. Once your metabolism is boosted, then you can start cutting calories, but not drastically and all at once, otherwise you’re going to shoot your metabolism in the foot again. And don’t let any of those fad diets fool you - weight loss is literally calories in has to be less than calories out. Hope this helps!

DISCLAIMER: I'm not a doctor but been through a successful weight loss myself.
To lose weight, you need to be in a caloric deficit and be *consistent*. Based on the info you shared, I'd recommend that you further reduce your daily calorie intake by 500 (yes, 500, down to 1000 calories consumed a day) for the following 3 reasons:

1. You are currently eating almost as many calories as your maintenance calories, and that is a problem. You said that you eat 1500 calories a day, but your maintenance calories are around 1800 since you are "30 lbs overweight and a 5'6" female). This means you are in a 300 caloric deficit. At this rate, it will take you 12 full days to see a 1 lb weight drop - and this is under perfect conditions (i.e. you are NEVER having a cheat meal, drinks, eating out, etc.). Imagine you are having a cheat meal once a week of 1200-1600 calories (e.g. 3-4 pizza slices), that just messed up the whole week!

2. You may be overestimating how many calories your workouts are burning, leading you to eating more than you should during your weight loss (I don't blame you, calorie trackers found in fitness watches and gym equipments are extremely unreliable). Because it's usually easier to eat 500 less calories than to burn 500 calories every single day, I'd go with eating less.

3. You can always train harder and more frequently to burn more, but because you are already overweight this tells me that your diet was never great at the first place. So fix your diet first!

This is it! Eat less and be consistent! At a 800-caloric deficit rate, you would be losing 1lb of weight every 4-5 days (since 3500 calories lost equal to 1lb weight loss). Make sure you eat healthy food that will fill you up, no processed food, no soda (especially diet soda and other drinks with aspartame, these can block the weight loss even if at a high caloric deficit). Track your progress week over week (don't focus on daily fluctuations) and trust me it will work. I have lost 30 lbs over 3 months by being in a 1000-caloric deficit with just my diet + even more by working out (I was a 240 lb 6'0" man. General rule is the more fat you are, the more extreme the caloric deficit can be.)

You can message me again in a few weeks/months and I will be happy to send you an invoice.

Maybe check your hormones levels? Just simply talk to your primary doctor or nutritionist

How long did you try IF? For the first month I didn’t see much change but after my body realized it’s the new normal I lost 20lbs the next 2 mos. I stop eating at 7p each night and don’t eat again until 9am.
I also started eating 1 Brazil nut a day as I feel my thyroid function isn’t ideal. Brazil nuts are high in selenium and selenium is good for thyroid function. I’ve had my thyroid levels tested and no issues were identified but I just feel what is normal in the blood work may not be normal for me.

Check out inside tracker. It is a very comprehensive blood test that will provide a ton of metabolic and hormonal markers and then will provide an array of health recommendations on what specifically you need to do based on that info (exercises, diet, supplements, etc). I’m not a dr, but based on my understanding the hardest part is that everyone’s bodies/chemical makeup are so comprehensively different, it’s difficult to gauge what works well for you personally.

What’s your calorie intake, what’s your workout routine and do you drink?

I have this problem too and I was losing my MIND. I kept eating less and working out more and only maintained. If I ate like a normal human my size, gender, etc, I would GAIN weight. I tried all the things you did, including vegan, which was great but I realized that my body is not great at processing lots of carbs so I had to really re-think that one.

I recently started having success for the first time in an entire year by only eating 2-3 meals a day, NO snacks, so that my body can go into fat burning mode for more hours of the day (I was grazing on healthy snacks all day, which I think was messing with my blood sugar). I’m also eating almost no added sugar (some berries are ok), limiting healthy carbs a little but not cutting them out entirely, and eating a lot of food at those 2-3 meals (protein and healthy fat) to keep me satisfied until the next meal so there are really no cravings. If I am craving more food, I add more protein/healthy fat next time until I get the balance right.

I’ve definitely seen a kick start—- FINALLY! And I’m eating like a “normal person”, which is more than I was a month ago. I also laid off cardio and have been working on muscle (not hardcore lifting, but increasing muscle).

Long post, but it’s fun to finally share positive news. You can do it too!!!! This is way easier than what you are currently doing.

How’s your hydration and salt intake? If I had to guess you’re not eating enough. And not drinking enough water. The problem is it can be hard to up the calories without junk. Try some healthy fats abs increased water.

OP - have you had your metabolism checked? I did mine a few years ago and was surprised to learn that accounting for height, weight, and age, I had a slower than average metabolism (which was disheartening at first, but then I figured maybe it means I’ll age slower! 🤷🏻‍♀️). I’ve still been able to lose weight, but it’s helpful for me to keep in the back of my mind because my maintenance calories are nowhere close to 2000 and if I ate that many daily without exercising, I would absolutely gain weight.

I tried so many things, for ten years, with no long-term success. Weightlifting, cardio, eating way less, cutting out specific foods, you name it. On a whole spectrum from healthy to not so healthy, mentally and physically. So I feel you.

I thought I was doing everything right, but then I learned a lot more about how different foods affect your body (your hunger levels, fat storage, etc) and how to design a system that was easier to follow instead of something where I was fighting against my body and trying to force it to lose weight. I then finally managed to lose 30lbs in total and easily maintain it by doing a few things below.

1) progressively making my eating window smaller. IF at first didn't work (only lost 3lbs in 5 months) because 6/7/8 hours a day was way too long for me to be eating. You still have to get into an energy deficit with IF, and that only happened for me by having one filling, balanced meal a day. This saved a ton of time, energy, money, and effort doing dishes/meal prep too which is awesome! I worked up to it though, cold turkey would be pretty uncomfortable but now I don't feel lasting hunger or anything.

2) reducing, replacing, and removing refined carbs. They made me very bloated, incredibly hungry soon after eating (even when I ate a lot), and are too easy to eat too much of. Focus on protein, veggies, and healthy fats made my plan a lot easier to follow which is key!

3) drinking more water, especially by making that all I would drink during my non-eating times. Sometimes my hunger was dehydration, and this helped me in other ways too.

It takes at least six to nine *months* of continuous calorie restriction, if you eat all through the day, to see weight/fat loss. This is because your body will resist those changes, make you hungry/tired/miserable, and try to get you to eat more. So it's super hard to follow through with that type of plan. The things above worked much faster for me; I made a huge portion of my progress in one month and I never felt deprived, just that I now crave healthier foods : D

Happy to chat more via PM and send you some research on the importance of what and when you eat, not only how many calories - our bodies are not that simple! : )

FMD Hailey Pomroy eating plan.

It’s a food cycling plan backed by science. This is the only plan that has helped me. I can eat healthy foods normally but changing it up works!

Some people just have naturally larger body sizes - and no amount of dieting/exercise/etc will change this. This is in NO WAY meant to be critical...just don’t want anyone to go through life feeling like his/her body is “bad” and in need of change. If you’re eating healthy and exercising, weight really isn’t the end all be all, and it is definitely not the greatest indicator of health

How long have you tried these? They all usually take 3-6 months to really start to notice a difference. Quicker for some but you’re looking for long term loss, not yo-yo.

Thank you everyone, very encouraging and solid advice! I will work on being more consistent, cutting out snacking and focusing on high protein foods!

How consistent have you been? From my experience I need to be consistent over 90% of the time to see reach change and that consistency needs to last for many many months. It also needs to turn into a lifestyle so you don’t regain the weight after your “loss”

OP, I noticed a lot of advice around limiting calories and feeding periods. I actually subscribe to both when I am cutting. With either approach, you’ll find that your body is adjusting based on the approach you are taking. If you can IF 2-3 days per week (I.e. skip breakfast), limit your calories on days you aren’t working out, and eat healthy, I think you’ll shock your body consistently enough to lose the weight continuously.

Thyroid?

I’m following