plateau won’t break — need advice
hi everyone! 26f, 5’2”. started at 172-174lbs last september, now stuck at 157-158lbs for the past 4 months.
been training consistently with a personal trainer since september, weightlifting with slow progressive overload and functional training, 3 times a week. lost about 15lbs, and adjusted my deficit along the way as i lost weight, went from 1500-1600kcal down to 1300-1400kcal, but the scale hasn’t moved since january/february no matter what i try. i track accurately and i know most people underestimate, i just don’t think that’s my case. i hit protein goals, do volume eating, don’t really have any cravings. tried both a diet break and upping calories for a few weeks, neither helped. also doing 10-15k steps daily and got more active overall in spring. bloodwork fine, no chronic illness, sleep is consistent and sufficient, stress levels are fine. feel much stronger and healthier overall, clothes fit differently & i’m genuinely happy with the progress, but i’d like to keep going. for my height this is still considered overweight, and i have aesthetic goals i want to work toward.
worth mentioning: i’ve always carried some muscle, so i run a bit heavier for my height and irl often look leaner than some people who weigh less than me. i also naturally store a lot of fat in my thighs and butt, and some in my upper arms.
going below my current deficit doesn’t feel realistic (?), i tend to feel fatigued on less since i’m naturally pretty active in daily life and move a lot regardless of the gym. not sure how to proceed. any advice? happy to answer questions or share more info if anything’s missing. photos attached: first 3 are before/after, last 4 are current shape (apologies if the pics aren’t the most informative!)