Dear Kayla,
I wanted to get your opinion on my situation. I fasted consistently for 9 months (roughly 12–7, two meals a day) and got down to 63 kg (138 lbs). I stayed there for a few months, following your advice to give it time. After about 8 weeks in the 63s, I decided it was a true plateau and started focusing more on food quality, aiming for generally healthier choices.
Around this time, I also began playing pickleball regularly — I hadn’t been exercising before. The scale didn’t move, and then my weight gradually increased. I lost motivation and stopped fasting for a few weeks.
I’m now back to fasting for the feel-good factor — the mental clarity and better pace to my day — but my weight is still hovering at 65–66 kg (143 – 145 lbs). My goal is 56 kg (123 lbs), which always felt attainable with fasting, but stalling for so long at 63 kg made me question the process.
I’m feeling a bit stuck and disheartened, and would love your thoughts on where to go from here.
Thank you
Helena
Dear Helena,
I’m sorry you’re feeling disheartened. Here’s what I would suggest you do, step by step.
Step #1: Figure out a realistic goal weight.
The first thing that stood out to me was the weight you’re currently at, and where you want to be. Unfortunately, I don’t know how tall you are. And this is kind of a big deal. If you’re my height (5’6”), you’re already at a good weight.
Check your BMI here, and then see if your goal weight will keep you in the normal zone. It’s just as dangerous (maybe even a little more dangerous) to be underweight as it is to be obese. (Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/underweight-or-overweight-study-looks-at-which-is-deadlier/)
If you’re already at a good weight, I see no reason to try to lose more. But if you do find you need to lose, continue on to step #2.
Step #2: Go back to the plan that worked and get yourself back to 63.
You already know how to get down to 63 kg. So do that. Go back to the plan that got you there, and implement it. If you’re playing pickleball, resist the urge to eat more just because you’re more active. It’s easy to feel entitled to extra helpings because you worked out, but that can all too easily put you into a caloric surplus, which will lead to weight gain.
Be patient, and work your way back to 63. Look at your records to see how long it took you to go from 66 down to 63, and mentally prepare for it to take that long again. Once you’re down to 63, if that’s a good weight for you, give yourself permission to stop losing.
If you still need to lose more, and your plan is still helping you lose weight, stick with that until you hit your goal weight. If your weight plateaus for more than 8 weeks and you still haven’t hit your goal weight, then it’s time to move to step #3.
Step #3: Make a tiny tweak.
There’s a fine line between a plan that helps you lose 10 pounds a year, a plan that helps you maintain, and a plan that makes you gain 10 pounds a year. It’s subtle. We’re talking 100 calories. That’s hardly anything. It’s 1 and a half Double Stuf Oreo cookies. Not even a whole Sister Schubert’s yeast roll. A ramekin’s worth of ranch dressing.
The subtlety is actually good news. It means that you really don’t have to eat a lot less in order to lose weight. It means that in order to get the scale moving, it can really just come down to taking three or four fewer bites of food. You don’t even have to make a formal tweak. You can keep your fasting window the same, keep the same rules, and just endeavor to take a bite or two less than you’d normally take.
Small changes add up over time, and lead to excellent results. (Side note: this is also why plateaus and weight gain can seem so mystifying: it’s really just a few bites of food here or there that are to blame.)
The real challenge here is sticking with it. There’s an ever present temptation to rush. To get frustrated that the scale is not moving down fast enough. And then, once frustration is present, it all too easy to quit. The truth is, it’s okay to take your time. Focus on the big picture. Make changes that are sustainable. Have fun with it. Remember, there’s a lot of trial and error on the weight loss journey. The ones who lose the weight and keep it off are not the ones who did it perfectly. On the contrary, they’re the ones that kept making mistake after mistake after mistake, but just kept learning and kept going until they made it to their goal weight.
Above all, keep your plan enjoyable. If it’s enjoyable, you’ll stick with it. Resist the urge to change it to something that makes you dislike it.
Sincerely,
Kayla Cox