I feel like the only way I lose weight is through energy drinks and starving myself. Nothing else works.

I’m 27F, 5’2, currently 151 lbs. A few months ago I was 145, and it felt like I was finally making progress. But now it’s like my body refuses to drop even a single pound unless I’m running on caffeine and empty.

Every time I try to eat “normally”—even clean, even low-cal—I either maintain or gain. If I have carbs? Bloated. If I hit 1400–1500 cals? Nothing changes. If I work out but eat? No shift. The only time I see the scale drop is when I’m fasting most of the day and living off energy drinks.

I know that’s not sustainable. I know that’s not healthy. But I’m exhausted. It feels like my metabolism is broken. Everyone says to eat enough, move your body, be kind to yourself—but when I do that, my weight climbs.

I’m scared that I’ve permanently messed up my body. Or that I’m just not meant to be smaller unless I suffer. I hate that my brain sees a Monster or Celsius and goes: “Finally, a weight loss plan.” It shouldn’t be that way. But it works. And I hate that it works.

Has anyone gone through this? Where fasting and caffeine are the only things that seem to make a dent? How do you transition into real, consistent fat loss without starving yourself or feeling like a failure?

I’m not asking for toxic positivity. I just want to know there’s another way. Because right now? It feels like I’m stuck in this cycle forever.