Plateau and already eating minimal calories?

vikkiitoria

So I'm currently netting 1300-1400 calories daily sometimes reaching 1500. I'm worried that once I started losing weight, (I have about 45lbs to lose) that ill plateau and won't be able to lower my calories. Any thoughts ?

auddii

People typically will not lose some weeks due to water retention or whatever reason, but weight loss is not linear. If you reach a true plateau (4-6 weeks), you are eating too much. With calories as low as you have them, my guess would be inaccurate logging. In theory, if you are accurate with your logging, you should not hit plateaus. It's a great theory, but it's not a perfect world.

My solution for you, tackle that problem when you get there, but start with making sure you are being as accurate as possible.

AliceDark

Yeah, that's a concern. Why are your goals set so low? Did you say you wanted to lose 2 pounds per week, because that's a little aggressive (not overly, just a little bit) when you only have 45 pounds total to lose. Here's a good rule of thumb:

If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,

LeanButNotMean44

Is your profile photo recent? If so, I am not sure where that 45lbs is going to come from.

vikkiitoria

I actually don't mind how fast I lose as long as I'm losing. Anytime I try higher though I only maintain I don't lose. I tried about 1700 for 2 months and nothing and I was weighing and measuring everything.

Mr_Knight

You might get more specific advice if you open your diary.

hstammen85

How much do you weigh now and your height? What is your goal weight? Do you workout? If so how many days a week? What was your starting weight and how long have you been on your journey? There are a lot of factors that play into overall weight loss. Its impossible to give GOOD advice without some more puzzle pieces.

AliceDark

Usually when people are at the lower end of the range (1300-1400 is pretty low), it's because they told MFP they wanted to lose 2 pounds per week, and that's not always the best idea. How many calories does MFP give you if you plug in 1.5 pounds per week? If you know 1700 is too many, maybe try 1500 for a month and see what happens? That would at least give you some room if you need to drop them later on.

JPZ98

What about exercise? Changing up how and when you exercise might help if you hit a plateau.

rand486

LeanButNotMean44 wrote: »

Is your profile photo recent? If so, I am not sure where that 45lbs is going to come from.

Yeah, you do not look like you have 45 lbs to lose...

vikkiitoria wrote: »

I'm worried that once I started losing weight, that ill plateau and won't be able to lower my calories. Any thoughts ?

Do what you can. Starvation mode is a myth, and you can always re-adjust your goals as time goes on.

Don't weigh-in daily - your body fluctuates. If you truly do "plateau" (edit: meaning your weight stays stable for 3 weeks or more), grab a digital scale, make sure you're logging food properly, and go back to MFP and have it re-calculate your caloric intake based on your new weight.