Hi there,

Thanks for your message and sorry to hear you're not losing weight as you have been doing previously. That said, you should be really proud of the weight you've lost so far - that's really fantastic, well done!

I notice you've lost another 2lbs this week so I can see that the weight is continuing to drop, and at about the rate I would expect. It's perfectly normal for weight loss to slow down a little if you've been on a diet for a while. Sometimes our bodies just start to adjust to the calories that we're eating and our weight loss can reduce slightly, or even stop sometimes. The best way to deal with this is to mix up your diet and your activity levels a little to give your body a little kickstart.

You mentioned you're a walker which is great exercise - if you can build in a bit extra into your day this will really help. Otherwise, if you can add a different sort of activity in - maybe swimming, an exercise class, cycling? Whatever it may be, just trying a new form of activity can really help to get things moving.

In terms of your diet, I noticed a couple of things when looking at your diary. Firstly you seem to be sticking to your allowance most of the time which is great, however as you said yourself, your diet isn't very varied. This can affect weight loss too as your body might just get used to 'dealing' with the same foods all the time. Try and be as varied as you can - why not try a few of the NC recipes to give you some inspiration?

The other thing I noticed is you have very little fibre in your diet. Although you do quite well with fruit and veg, you don't tend to have many complex carbohydrates in your diet. Particularly it seems to be lacking in wholegrains / wholemeal products such as wholegrain breakfast cereals or wholemeal breads / pasta etc.

Where you have Special K in the mornings, why not try replacing it a couple of times a week with something like Shredded Wheat, Weetabix, Porridge or All Bran? These are all high in fibre so will help to fill you up (they take longer to digest) but also have the added bonus of helping to bulk out the diet making it easier to go to the loo. Try and have at least 3 servings of fibre rich foods every day - wholegrain cereal for breakfast, wholemeal bread at lunchtime and perhaps wholegrain pasta or brown rice with dinner?

The final thing I noticed is that you don't seem to have much to drink during the day. It may be that you do drink but just don't record it, but this can have a real impact on weight loss and on constipation.

You should be aiming to have at least 6-8 glasses of fluid every day. Not only does this help to flush everything through and deal with constipation issues, but it also helps to cut down on any feelings of hunger you may have so can help with weight loss. Water is the best thing to drink, but juices, milk, tea and coffee (in moderation) also count towards your fluid intake.

When you're on a reduced calorie (and therefore reduced food) diet, we would expect to see a reduction in the amount of times you go to the loo. Often people who are regular as clockwork will cut down to once every few days when they're on a diet, so I wouldn't worry too much. However if you're experiencing discomfort with it, or if the steps I explained above don't help, I would have a chat with your local pharmacist or your GP about any solutions they might be able to recommend.

I hope this helps with both your weight loss and constipation. Best of luck with everything and please don't hesitate to get back in touch if you have any queries.

Janet