After losing 45 lbs in 45 weeks I got stuck. It’s been one year since then and I go up and down with the same 10 lbs and I actually need to lose another 30 lbs. IF for 19-20 hrs every day. Sometimes I do a 24-48 hr fast. I eat two meals a day always overnight oats w/ banana and peanut butter for my breakfast and usually a salad or something that is 500-600 calories. No sugar , meat , fast food , some dairy , some bread or processed and sometimes fish. I don’t go over 1200 a day based on my my TDEE with a sedentary lifestyle but I do walk 10k plus steps and do gardening etc.
If it’s been a year and you’ve already tried tightening down food and upping exercise, try the reverse. Eat more! Give yourself a high refeed day once a week. Wake up that metabolism! Shake things up. Let your body know it’s not in a continuous famine. I don’t know your age but I keep hearing for older women (I’m in my 40s) cortisol creeps up and more exercise counteracts weight loss. Eat
Personally, I’ve noticed that oatmeal causes me to gain weight very reliably, and the science behind why it happens for me makes sense. Maybe consider switching breakfast to something more high protein/low carb, like eggs and bacon? That may help keep insulin lower for longer and promote more weight loss.
If your fasting window and routine are down then the only thing you can tweak is what you’re consuming, but I’m not talking how much but rather what.
Experiment for a few weeks with different carb/protein/fat ratios and see if the needle moves. It’s an opportunity to see how that affects your body. Learn from it!
If you are consistently 1200 you need to reduce calories just a tiny bit, or activity level a little. 1200 seems pretty low, are you sure that is accurate? Peanut butter and dairy are sneaky high in calories.
What you eat doesn’t matter, it’s just the calories.