The slow down - what have you found?

Jmgkamp

Firstly, I am NOT complaining... I've been following MFP since March and have lost approx 59 pounds. From 220 to 161ish. I weigh myself every day, have since the start, and I'm happy to do it - doesn't make me nuts.

In the beginning the weight flew off. I was losing 2-4 pounds each week. I was obese and sedentary, so restricting calories to 1200 and adding exercise had a huge impact.

Now I'm much lighter. I'm 42 yo and 5'2". 1200 is the lowest I'll go because anything less is not sustainable. I accept this. What I'm finding now is it is a battle to lose the pounds. I find that I'm losing about 3-4 pounds each month, but in the strangest way. I bounce up and down 2 pounds almost daily, and yet I can see that over a month I've lost 3.7 pounds. But I still have 35 pounds to go.

Am I on the right track? Am I really looking at another 8-9 months????!!!

atypicalsmith

Have patience; it will come. Give up; it will not.

Jmgkamp

Ah yes... I will be patient. What choice have I got really? I just am so close to finally being overweight rather than obese. If I can get to 159 I'll be at that magic place. But my scale seems to love between 160.4 and 162. Damn scale!

BWBTrish

i have the same

i am 157.8 atm
But it slowed down a lot.

1. because i want to keep as much musle mass as possile so i upped my calories
2. because i have less to lose

Eating around the 1450 atm and still losing weight...and it is fine by me that it goes slower

Jmgkamp

So I'm normal. Well that's good . I just want the scale to say 15_ anything so I can finally be OVERWEIGHT!!! Maybe tomorrow... or the next day... or the day after...

BWBTrish

yes just relax about it makes it all a lot easier.

lorrpb

My weight bounces daily in a 2-4 pd range so I just track each new low.

Sued0nim

Sounds like my pathway

I hope you've slowed down your goal weight loss to get more calories ...a lb a week is great so is 0.5 a week

Kalikel

Yes, bouncing around is normal.

Have patience. It takes a long time. Progress is progress! Hang in there and it will come off!

victoria_1024

We have similar journeys! I started at 212 and now I'm 152 and I'm also 5'2. Started mfp in February. I wouldn't say my weight loss has slowed down, but like you I used to lose really consistently. Now I won't lose much for a couple weeks and then suddenly 3 pounds drop off. I don't know about you, but I've also been way more relaxed with my logging because of vacations and pot lucks and things like that over the summer. I am fine with my weight loss slowing at this point.

harlequin0318

rabbitjb wrote: »

Sounds like my pathway

I hope you've slowed down your goal weight loss to get more calories ...a lb a week is great so is 0.5 a week

This ^ when you lose a significant amount of weight - you should be adjusting your calories/weight loss per week

pineapple_peach10

I'm 5'10, HW 234.2 and CW 151.5. since getting into the 150's, my weight loss has been extremely slow. Guess we just need to keep at it and we will get there

lx3tx

The same exact thing is happening to me! I started at 220 and now I'm at about 163. I feel like I'm looking at another year of weight loss. Some days I'm perfectly fine with that and other days I feel frustrated.

canary_girl

Me, too. I started around 200, got to 160's and stayed there for a while. To the point I thought that I would just stay there. Then I started dropping again and am currently in the 140's, and I feel like I've been here for months. My eventual goal is somewhere around 130. Just trying to keep at it the best I can.

T1DCarnivoreRunner

I've been a bit slower at losing weight for various reasons, but fluctuate 2-3 lbs. from hour to hour and day to day just like everybody. Unfortunately, I don't normally see a weight change after a month except just hovering around the same weight amount. I'll go months before seeing a loss, and it is several lbs. in a few days when I do. (i.e. a "whoosh")

For the first 8 months, I lost like what the rest of you did. Then I started experiencing plateaus and whooshes. Plateaus last 4-6 months typicaly, and it is very difficult to stay motivated waiting for a whoosh. It is really great when it happens, though.

Just thought I would add a different experience to show that there really is more than one path.

SingRunTing

You're losing at a pound per week (3.7 pounds in a month). Sounds like a reasonable rate of loss for your size.

sars388

I too am going through this. Just got to keep on going. Good job on the weight loss. Keep it up you will reach your goal..

brightsideofpink

It does take some adjusting when you're used to seeing big scale drops, but I'd encourage you to change your perspective a bit. You've come far enough that you can spend less time looking at the scale and more time at the mirror. Rather than focus on the frustrations of slower loss, think of the benefits. Slower loss, especially coupled with some strength training, will help you to get not just the number you want, but the body you want. You'll likely keep more muscle with slower loss. Congrats on how far you've come already!

paulvmax

Start weight training strength training will not only burn calories it will tone muscles it also speeds up your metabolism. You may gain a little weight but loose body fat it will make your measurements smaller, IE; waist ect.

I suggest you stick with compound lifts if you would like any more advise please message me. Some times the scales are not the best measurement to go by, use body measurements because as you loose body fat via exercising, but your muscle mass will increase thus making you add llbs showing you a fake plateau.

DONT GIVE UP POWER ON THROUGH.

Kelleygirl79

Me, too! I'm 5'6", started around 200 (in May) and have consistently lost 2 lbs/wk until now. Currently I'm bouncing around the 171. I'm going to try to be patient because right here REALLY is ok.

Since maintenance is going to look alot like what my current feed-me status is, I'm trying to stay coolio And 99.9% of the massive quantity of clothes in my closet fit perfect right now! I want to lose another 20 lbs. to GW.

I'm glad to know there are others in the same place...!

atypicalsmith

Also, the less you weigh, the less calories you burn just because you aren't carrying that extra weight. The number of calories I burn walking a mile keep shrinking!!!!

Traveler120

Jmgkamp wrote: »

Am I on the right track? Am I really looking at another 8-9 months????!!!

I started in January at 152 lbs, I'm 5'5" and it's taken me 8 months to get to 127. I lost the first 15 in 3 months, maintained that for 3 months and then lost 10 more in the last 2 months. I'm giving myself another 2 months to lose the last 10.

So, yes it may take you that long but it depends on how agressive your efforts are. I chose to eat about 1700 cals and get my calorie deficit from exercise. I figured that at my goal weight of 118, if I was active, I could eat that much to maintain so I decided to start of with that amount of food so that I didn't have to change it when I was done.

I also eat a high carb, mostly plant based diet (starting 2 months ago) and it's working really well for me. Just be patient and if you hit a plateau, change something. Usually I get out of a plateau by increasing exercise.

arb037

The body makes adaptions. If you have been eating at a deficit since March with no time off ( aka refeeds) , where you eat at maintenance for 3 days then your metabolism has slowed down to adjust to the lower amount of calories.
So in essence you TDEE is now much closer to the level you are consuming.
Highly advise reading on Lyle McDonalds site, as he has books and tons of reasearch discussing this.
http://forums.lylemcdonald.com/showthread.php?t=11223

http://forums.lylemcdonald.com/index.php

42firm03

Jmgkamp wrote: »

Now I'm much lighter. I'm 42 yo

Snip

Am I on the right track? Am I really looking at another 8-9 months????!!!

If I were you I'd turn this thinking around. Hopefully you've got about 45 more years to enjoy that 'much lighter' self. There really is no end to what you're doing if that is your goal!

lemurcat12

You are normal. That's just what happens. I'm 45 and 5'3 and at a certain point your maintenance calories just aren't so high that you can reasonably maintain the kind of deficit that leads to 2 lb/week. 1 lb/week is still great -- like others said, take the long view and try to ignore the annoying fluctuations.

Lots of it is mental too -- when I was losing I'd always feel it would take a ridiculous amount of time to get from, say, 150 to 149, and then when I'd look back it took no longer than 156 to 155--just seemed slower because I wanted that 14_ so much.

What has helped me from the beginning is to think how fast time passes in other respects. At least as I get older I feel like I blink an eye and 6 months have gone by. ;-)

fvtfan

That happened to me - and I got frustrated and quit caring and now am looking at 25 pounds gained. Please don't follow my lead! I am also 5'2" and have been down to 162 twice and both times got stuck and bounced back up. Last year it was 15 pounds (which I lost over last summer), this year it is 25 - gained between November and August....crazy how fast it comes back on. Trying to get my mind back to where it needs to be to reverse the trend.

Jmgkamp

FYI - I weighed 159.9 this morning. How hilarious! But it's in the 150s right??? I seriously laughed.

Thanks for all of the comments. I'm in it for the long haul. Not too worried about having compromised my metabolism. I have eaten more from time to time. I really listen to my body and have found that I have hungry days and not-so-hungry days. It winds up okay over the week.

Strength training is key but I've got serious neck issues . But my legs are way worse than my torso so I could focus there.

I have adjusted my weight loss goals and going to .5 pounds gives me 1430 calories. Man, being short is a b!tc$ when you're working CICO!

Thanks again for the support and encouragement.

Sincerely,

A150-something pounder

AlabasterVerve

I calculate my TDEE each month from my MFP records so I know pretty much exactly what I'm going to lose for the month (depending on how much I eat of course). It doesn't speed up my weight loss but it helps knowing everything is working as intended and I'm losing the expected amount.

It also motivates me to up my NEAT when I see my TDEE getting lower than I'd like -- I don't want any surprises come maintenance.

And huge congrats on the hitting the 150's -- well done!

lemurcat12

Jmgkamp wrote: »

A150-something pounder

Yay!