Plateau after 3 good months

bmnicolosi

Just looking to see if any of you guys had some advice based on what I have been encountering. I am 6'3 with a large frame and started my weight loss this go round when my son was born in June. I was at my heaviest upon starting to watch what I ate in June, at 267lbs. I have stuck to using MFP to track what I eat daily. I try to overestimate versus underestimate what I take in. I do not log things like coffee (I drink it black) or EmergenC, but any food intake is logged. I have cut out all sodas, and drink only water or milk (which I do log). I have altered eating habits to eat majorly from home cooked meals, unless I have a meeting or a once a week "cheat" meal. I feel I have done a very detailed job of logging and if unsure, I try to err on the side of accounting for too much. I have also worked to ensure I do not under eat by too much, making a night snack fluctuate with how many calories I have under eaten for the day. For the first 3 months I saw weight melt off, by only watching my intake. We have tried to be a bit more active with taking nightly walks in our neighborhood(1.8 miles) or walking around a mall or store when it was too hot outside for him, but I have not logged any of this, as I had no intentions of eating back the little extra I burned. I am down to 232 lbs, but the past week I have hit a plateau and my weight has fluctuated up a tiny bit (between 232-234). My original plan was to diet only until I hit a plateau I could not overcome with my change in eating habits, then add in an exercise regime. I feel better than I have in a long time(played basketball at 215 - 230 lbs in college 5-9 years ago), so the motivation is still there since I see and feel results in a smaller stomach and chest, but wanted to see if there were opinions on what I am taking in that could be changed in order to leave this first plateau with diet alone. My diary is unlocked for those willing to take a look and weigh in. My goal is 210 lbs, but I did not assign myself a time frame. I wanted to reach it as my body allowed in a healthier fashion than just worrying about a number every week. I weigh myself twice a week (Wednesday morning and Sunday morning). Any input or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Alyssa_Is_LosingIt

First of all, a week is not a plateau. Your weight loss will not be linear. There will be some weeks that you won't lose at all, and then see a few lbs come off at once a couple weeks later. Some weeks you may even gain. Stick to logging accurately and staying in a deficit, and you will continue to lose.

That said, you need to adjust your calorie goals with your weight lost. You can go into the "Goals" section of MFP and enter your most recent weight. That should lower your calorie goal a bit, as our TDEEs go down as we lose weight.

diannethegeek

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1

bmnicolosi

Alyssa,

Thank you for the input. I update my weight in the app, which my past experience was this auto updated my calorie goals. When I went into the goals and forced an update, it actually raised my calories from 2300 to 2370, and I ensured my current body weight was in there.

bmnicolosi

Dianne,

Thank you for the link. I guess I should state my biggest reason for wanting someone to look over what I have been doing for 3 months is the idea I have not stuck to any restriction on a particular fat, carb, or protein. I focus on calories and sodium. If I have been eating too much of something at a particular time of day, I wanted to make adjustments to fix any "bad" habits i developed over the 3 months that could have contributed to a slow down over the past week.

kshama2001

Maybe this current thread will be useful: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10258082/if-you-are-confident-in-your-logging-wait-it-out-aka-whoosh#latest

bmnicolosi

KShama,

Thank you for the article. I actually had that pulled up in a separate tab as I submitted this.

krithsai

I'm hardly the person to be preaching because I take fluctuations really badly. But a fluctuation of about 2 lbs is nothing to be worried about. It's not as much of a plateau as it is some increased water weight.

bmnicolosi

The fluctuation hasn't concerned me, just going from consistent loses every Wednesday and Sunday to seeing no or slightly up movement made me second guess some of my approach.