Doing all the right things but my weight won't budge.

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SoSusieQ
SoSusieQ Posts: 80 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, I am 55 and female. I exercise and diet (with MFP and occasionally WW) and my weight won't budge. I have been like this for over a year now. Does anyone else of my age have this annoying issue? I would love to hear from someone who has perhaps found a solution to a really long plateau. Thanks
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Replies

  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
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    Are you using a food scale to weigh out portions?
    Can you open your diary it would help to see if any advice on logging.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    SoSusieQ wrote: »
    Hi, I am 55 and female. I exercise and diet (with MFP and occasionally WW) and my weight won't budge. I have been like this for over a year now. Does anyone else of my age have this annoying issue? I would love to hear from someone who has perhaps found a solution to a really long plateau. Thanks

    Unfortunately you're quite simply eating at maintenance

    I agree with opening your diary so people can give advice
  • SoSusieQ
    SoSusieQ Posts: 80 Member
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    Yeah I do, I weigh mostly everything. How do I open my diary. Cheers
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
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    SoSusieQ wrote: »
    Yeah I do, I weigh mostly everything. How do I open my diary. Cheers
    Click "My Home" then "Settings" then "Diary settings" make public
  • SoSusieQ
    SoSusieQ Posts: 80 Member
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    Thanks done :)
  • pkw58
    pkw58 Posts: 2,038 Member
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    I highly recommend reading "The Menopause Makeover"... it is available on amazon for kindle or just google to get the website. It was life changing for me after i read it in 2012. I lost 46 pounds and now I weigh less than I did my senior year in high school. It emphasizes nutrition and exercise and sleep. All things that matter more and more. The last 5 pounds took 3 months to lose. I also believe in getting in 10000 steps a day and Barre3 10 to 60 minutes a day. I no longer see food as daily entertainment.
  • SoSusieQ
    SoSusieQ Posts: 80 Member
    edited December 2014
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    I would have thought that exercising for 45 minutes every day would reduce the amount of calories. And get ball rolling

  • mamadon
    mamadon Posts: 1,422 Member
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    Exercising every day wont do the trick unless you are eating at a calorie deficit.
  • SoSusieQ
    SoSusieQ Posts: 80 Member
    edited December 2014
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    Hi Mamadon I am eating a calorie deficit. 1300 cals a day :)
  • SoSusieQ
    SoSusieQ Posts: 80 Member
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    Hi pkw58, Yes I am menopausal I should have said. But I will definitely have a The Menopause Makeover. My sister is six years older than me and has the same problem. Thanks for that.
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    edited December 2014
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    You have rice often and every time it's logged in as .4 cups for 82 calories, are you using a scale to weigh that portion of rice out or using a measuring cup?

    Also are you really eating 1 macadamia nut?

    I would also recommend staying away from generic entries in the database, and homemade entries. If it's a recipe make sure you enter your recipe not someone else's.

    I'm menopausal as well and have lost over 100 lbs, so it is very possible
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Your food tracking looks pretty good - if it's honest that is- but you did miss Sunday

    on homemade I assume those are your own recipes that you built in the recipe builder

    How are you measuring and entering your exercise? you seem to be earning rather a lot daily - some days over 1000 calories?
  • SoSusieQ
    SoSusieQ Posts: 80 Member
    edited December 2014
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    Hi GiveMeCoffee, I am measuring the rice in a measuring cup, and sometimes I might eat two or three macadamia's but no more & they are my own recipes. Thanks for the info about the generic food, its good to know. Cheers, Thanks
  • harlequin0318
    harlequin0318 Posts: 415 Member
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    Everything that goes in the mouth - goes on the food scale first.
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
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    SoSusieQ wrote: »
    Hi GiveMeCoffee, I am measuring the rice in a measuring cup, and sometimes I might eat two or three macadamia's but no more & they are my own recipes. Thanks for the info about the generic food, its good to know.

    I would suggest getting and using a digital food scale. Measuring cups aren't going to give you an accurate measurement.
  • SoSusieQ
    SoSusieQ Posts: 80 Member
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    Hi GivemeCoffee I have digital food scale too.
  • SoSusieQ
    SoSusieQ Posts: 80 Member
    edited December 2014
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    hi Rabbitjb Yes, I am fairly honest, with logging. I did WW on Sunday, I do eat rather late at night though that may be a negative as well. All recipes are made by me with the recipe builder and I do step exercise for approx. 35 to 45 minutes a day. Thanks
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    Over a year at the same weight is not a plateau - it's maintenance. You need to be in a deficit. Exercise is great for your health, but it won't help weight loss unless you are in a calorie deficit. But I guess everyone has already pointed that out.

    Make sure you are weighing and measuring your food accurately, and CONSISTENTLY, and not overestimating your calorie burn. Also, even if you weigh your food, if you pick some of these crazy messed up entries in the database you might be getting inaccurate numbers. I've found some of them to be outrageously wrong - some are typos and some are just foolishness.

    If something isn't on my confirmed frequent foods list, I am double-checking entries in the database to make sure I don't get one of those ridiculous ones like "Grandma's chicken stew - 80 calories per bowl" or "Homemade Mini Pot Pie - 150 calories each." I mean, really, how do you know what a serving is and what's in those things? It's a random guess unless you put in the entry yourself and know for sure what the ingredients are and how big a serving is. And sometimes people even screw up entries for processed products when the info. is right there on the package. Be careful!!! :)

    Your tracking seems pretty consistent. Not sure what the problem is, but we know something's not quite right if you're still not budging after a year. Time to change it up because what you're doing isn't working. Maybe that menopause makeover thing a previous poster mentioned might have some good ideas for you. My Mom lost 4 sizes just using calorie deficit and she's in her 60's. It did seem like a slower process for her, but it was steady and she got there eventually, so if she can do it, I know this can work for a young thing like you! Hang in there! (*)
  • Quasita
    Quasita Posts: 1,530 Member
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    I see no one has asked, who calculated your TDEE, what formula are you using to calculate your daily intake need and your deficit, and what method of calorie burn tracking are you using?

    Menopause and other hormone changes in the body can really affect our metabolic rates, and it's typical that it slows for women during this time. Also, if you are always doing step exercises, the same routine, without weight resistance or other increasing challenge, the calorie burn you achieved a year ago is certainly not the same that you achieve now... Now it will be lower, as your body is accustomed to the exercise and becomes more efficient with practice.

    If you truly weigh and measure every bit of food, it means that you're likely miscalculating your burns. 45 minutes of step aerobics for a menopausal woman of age 55 is not going to burn nearly 1000 calories even at the earliest stages of burn efficiency, unless that woman is also extremely tall and heavy. I'm 32 years old with normal metabolic rate when fed, 6'1" and weigh around 430lbs, and I can only achieve a burn of 1000 in an hour if I bust my *kitten* on a bike or something. Now, we're not all in the same body, but if you're eating back your exercise calories, and using generic calculators such as what may be provided here on MFP or on a stair stepping machine, you're likely grossly over-estimating you burns.

    Weight loss is a simple matter, of burn more than you take in. If you're not budging, it means you're taking in what you burn. Try obtaining some accurate measuring tools for your burns, adjusting for post-menopause metabolic change, and varying the diet a bit.
  • SoSusieQ
    SoSusieQ Posts: 80 Member
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    Hi Jenilla1, Young thing..Ha ha thanks. Yes, the only frozen food I get are pizza subs and meat pies and that is only once a week I make all my other meals. I feel I am in a calorie deficit I eat just over 1300 cals per day. I have already lost about 30 kilo's. But I have about 13 to go and it is very annoying for me. Yes, I agree consistency is another area that is key. I exercise for 35 to 45 a day. But thanks for your information it all helps ;)

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