weight loss and metabolic syndrome

Question
Hi

female -
early 50s -
5'3"; 224 lbs

I started a lifestyle change program back on April 1st of last year#the date seemed appropriate ;## and have lost about 39 lbs from April to September.  From September to present haven't lost one darn pound #guess i should be happy i haven't gained any back#.  
I have metabolic syndrome #HTN;DM,excess fat around the middle, etc#and Afib#had ablation in October 2012 to address AFib#.  Daily caloric intake is anywhere from 1200-1500 calories.  Exercise is still challenging as the HTN/HR go out of whack even with the mildest exercise #after about 3 minutes, the BP is up above 200/115 and HR in the 170's# so i don't get sustained exercise #more like short bursts followed by much longer downtimes#.  I've adopted a high fiber/low carb diet.   
What steps can I take to break this darn plateau?  My goal was 52 lbs in 1 year and i am only 3 weeks from that date and clearly will not meet or even come close if i can't get the weight to move.  Any advise would be very greatly appreciated.

thank you

andey

Answer
Hi Andey,
Well, I have a couple of ideas for you.
The most obvious is that you are probably not consistently eating less than 1500 calories a day. Someone your size should definitely be losing at that level. It was working for a while (and very well!). So did something change?
The most helpful idea is to keep a food diary so you track every single thing you eat and drink. People often stray and little amounts add up during the week and prevent weight loss.
Another possibility is that you've been eating 1200 calories for a year and your metabolism has adjusted . In this case you may need to up your calorie level to 1600 or 1700 a few days a week.
And a third explanation is an under active thyroid which must be diagnosed and treated by a physician.

What do you think? Is one of these scenarios likely?

Congratulations on all the weight you lost. Until you figure out your next step you are sitting at a much healthier weight than you were a year ago!

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