Stalled out....help!

allysar

I am getting frustrated and this is the time that I start giving up each time. I have been tracking religiously and stay on track 99% of the time. I am within my calorie count and eat back maybe half of my exercise calories about half of the time. I am eating clean and balanced foods and exercise 5 days a week.

I have lost 13 pounds and would really like to lose about 7-8 more. I am working hard and being consistent but have been stalled for about 3 weeks now. Not one pound. I am happy with my progress so far but what am I doing wrong? Anyone that has been there and found something to jump start things again?

I am feeling like if I am working this hard and getting nowhere ....maybe I just have to accept where I am?

DeguelloTex

Three weeks just mean be more patient.

RodaRose

Be patient and give yourself some time. And broaden your idea of acceptable food : sometimes the "idea" of clean and well balanced gets in the way. Eat food. Hit your protein and fat targets whichever way gets you there.

SueInAz

The closer you get to goal the more accurate and patient you have to be. If you aren't losing weight, you probably are eating more than you think or burning less. You weigh less so you're burning less calories in everything you do. Have you adjusted your goal downward? Don't do that if you're already consuming 1200 calories, though. Perhaps increasing your exercise or instead of half the time of eating back half your exercise calories do it all of the time.

Keep in mind that it can take a long time to lose that last 10 pounds. Have you considered body recomposition and reducing your body fat percentage rather than simply trying to lose "weight"? When most of us get to the point that you are we're really looking to firm up more than anything and strength training would be a much better way of reaching that goal than cutting your calories even more or forcing yourself to do more exercise.

allysar

All good advice, thanks, I am consuming 1200 calories daily. On exercise days I sometimes take in up to 1300 or so.

Yi5hedr3

Gotta pump iron.

starwhisperer6

I bet if you wait it out you will be fine. Keep doing the right things and be proud of yourself for the weight you have lost

JustSomeEm

How tall are you, and what is your goal weight? I took nearly 2 years to lose 70 pounds. Sometimes the scale wouldn't move for weeks and then suddenly I'd see a bigger loss over a week than normal. At first it made me nuts, but then someone posted this link, and it really helped (and seemed to describe what I was going through): http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html Just keep doing what you're doing and be patient.

_benjammin

Hang in there, you are doing great. Patience is the hardest part.

allysar

I am 5'4" I started off at 146 am at 133 now. Shooting for 125 or so. I am 49 years old. Most of my 20s and 30s I was 117-123. I am hypothyroid but well controlled for over 10 years. I am active and just hate the thought of giving up and accepting my old body! I have young kids and want to be healthy for them.

I will look into the recomposition info....

choppie70

I just had a three 1/2 week stall. I was steadily losing about two pounds a week and it stopped. I kept logging my food and exercising anyway. Yesterday I stepped on the scale and I was down almost three pounds. I weigh myself every morning to see the trends so I was very surprised. This morning I was still three pounds down!

Keep at it, be patient!

SueInAz

allysar wrote: »

I am 5'4" I started off at 146 am at 133 now. Shooting for 125 or so. I am 49 years old. Most of my 20s and 30s I was 117-123. I am hypothyroid but well controlled for over 10 years. I am active and just hate the thought of giving up and accepting my old body! I have young kids and want to be healthy for them.

I will look into the recomposition info....

You are the same age and weight as me. I'll turn 50 in March. I also spent my 20s and 30s in the 115-120 range. So much in common!

Here's a little about what I've gone through and why I say what I do.... I started on MFP in 2011 and I went from 143 to 122 pounds by eating at a deficit and running. I got injured, lost focus put some of the weight back on and rededicated myself last May. This time around I started weight lifting and running while eating at a slight deficit or even at maintenance. I'm bouncing between 131 and 135 right now but wearing the same clothes I was wearing at 122 pounds. I can eat more to maintain my weight because of the extra muscle and I know that if I keep it up I'll be setting myself up to be in very good shape into my 50s and beyond.

Trust me, this has really changed my perspective what being "fit and healthy" is all about.

JustSomeEm

allysar wrote: »

I am 5'4" I started off at 146 am at 133 now. Shooting for 125 or so. I am 49 years old. Most of my 20s and 30s I was 117-123. I am hypothyroid but well controlled for over 10 years. I am active and just hate the thought of giving up and accepting my old body! I have young kids and want to be healthy for them.

I will look into the recomposition info....

I'm 5'4" and weigh in at about 125. I got there by eating about 1400 calories per day (before exercise - I ate exercise calories back). Now I'm in maintenance, and stay there by eating just less than 1600 calories per day (again, before exercise... when I exercise I eat. Lots.). If eating 1200 calories is working for you, that's fine, but I just wanted to let you know that you CAN get to goal eating more than you're eating right now - I tried 1200 calories for a while and found that I was ravenous, which caused me to sneak a bite here and there that I didn't log... which slowed down my weight loss (which is part of the reason it took me so long to lose weight). I'm 36, by the way. You've got this. Don't get discouraged!

IILikeToMoveItMoveIt

JustSomeEm wrote: »

How tall are you, and what is your goal weight? I took nearly 2 years to lose 70 pounds. Sometimes the scale wouldn't move for weeks and then suddenly I'd see a bigger loss over a week than normal. At first it made me nuts, but then someone posted this link, and it really helped (and seemed to describe what I was going through): http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html Just keep doing what you're doing and be patient.

YES!
I had stalled for two months, then the squish and the WhooSH, 7 lbs down in 3 days...Like everyone says, just be patient.

allysar

SueInAz wrote: »

allysar wrote: »

I am 5'4" I started off at 146 am at 133 now. Shooting for 125 or so. I am 49 years old. Most of my 20s and 30s I was 117-123. I am hypothyroid but well controlled for over 10 years. I am active and just hate the thought of giving up and accepting my old body! I have young kids and want to be healthy for them.

I will look into the recomposition info....

You are the same age and weight as me. I'll turn 50 in March. I also spent my 20s and 30s in the 115-120 range. So much in common!

Here's a little about what I've gone through and why I say what I do.... I started on MFP in 2011 and I went from 143 to 122 pounds by eating at a deficit and running. I got injured, lost focus put some of the weight back on and rededicated myself last May. This time around I started weight lifting and running while eating at a slight deficit or even at maintenance. I'm bouncing between 131 and 135 right now but wearing the same clothes I was wearing at 122 pounds. I can eat more to maintain my weight because of the extra muscle and I know that if I keep it up I'll be setting myself up to be in very good shape into my 50s and beyond.

Trust me, this has really changed my perspective what being "fit and healthy" is all about.

Wow.....a lot of similarities! My birthday is in March, too! I was running quite a bit, too, even did a half marathon when I turned 43. My knees started bothering me so brisk walking is much more enjoyable (although probably not as effective) I wish I were wearing the same clothes! I have a ton of jeans I would love to get back into, lol. I do worry occasionally about not taking in enough.

Maybe I should go maintenance for a week or so? Then start back at a deficit? Thoughts?

I a a night shift nurse so I know my erratic sleep schedule (or lack thereof!) doesn't help

SueInAz

allysar wrote: »

SueInAz wrote: »

allysar wrote: »

I am 5'4" I started off at 146 am at 133 now. Shooting for 125 or so. I am 49 years old. Most of my 20s and 30s I was 117-123. I am hypothyroid but well controlled for over 10 years. I am active and just hate the thought of giving up and accepting my old body! I have young kids and want to be healthy for them.

I will look into the recomposition info....

You are the same age and weight as me. I'll turn 50 in March. I also spent my 20s and 30s in the 115-120 range. So much in common!

Here's a little about what I've gone through and why I say what I do.... I started on MFP in 2011 and I went from 143 to 122 pounds by eating at a deficit and running. I got injured, lost focus put some of the weight back on and rededicated myself last May. This time around I started weight lifting and running while eating at a slight deficit or even at maintenance. I'm bouncing between 131 and 135 right now but wearing the same clothes I was wearing at 122 pounds. I can eat more to maintain my weight because of the extra muscle and I know that if I keep it up I'll be setting myself up to be in very good shape into my 50s and beyond.

Trust me, this has really changed my perspective what being "fit and healthy" is all about.

Wow.....a lot of similarities! My birthday is in March, too! I was running quite a bit, too, even did a half marathon when I turned 43. My knees started bothering me so brisk walking is much more enjoyable (although probably not as effective) I wish I were wearing the same clothes! I have a ton of jeans I would love to get back into, lol. I do worry occasionally about not taking in enough.

Maybe I should go maintenance for a week or so? Then start back at a deficit? Thoughts?

I a a night shift nurse so I know my erratic sleep schedule (or lack thereof!) doesn't help

Lack of sleep can cause some issues but I don't think it's really the problem. I also meant to point out that it's not so much what you're eating as how much so if you enjoy eating "clean" whatever that means to you, then by all means do so, but it's not necessary for weight loss. I don't know that eating at maintenance will do anything positive for you, either.

I don't think anyone has addressed this yet (which is amazing) but how are you validating your calorie counts? Are you using a kitchen scale for all of your food and a heart rate monitor for exercise? The closer you get to goal the more accurate you need to be. It may very well just be that because there's not a lot of wiggle room at this point that you're really eating close to maintenance and not at a deficit. As I mentioned before, if you're already weighing your food and using a HRM it may help to eat back less of your exercise calories on a regular basis and see if that doesn't start things moving along again.

allysar

Clean-ish for me just means all home prepared foods. Fitting in my macros. Organic when reasonable. Fruits and veggies, lean meats and whole grains. I have considerably limited my caffeine and alcohol intake. (did I mention I am a night shift nurse? this is hard! lol)

I do weigh my food but I do not utilize a HRM. I figure I am considerably under reporting my exercise burn so I figure that balances out for not eating back my calories.

I will work on my patience and tightening up my calculating. I can try to ramp up my exercise. Time is an issue. As a single parent working 12 hour shifts and I am also back in school....Not making excuses I am being honest I don't know how much more I can squeeze into each day.

Thank you so much for all of your input, it has given me some good direction and considerations.

DeguelloTex

allysar wrote: »

Clean-ish for me just means all home prepared foods. Fitting in my macros. Organic when reasonable. Fruits and veggies, lean meats and whole grains. I have considerably limited my caffeine and alcohol intake. (did I mention I am a night shift nurse? this is hard! lol)

I do weigh my food but I do not utilize a HRM. I figure I am considerably under reporting my exercise burn so I figure that balances out for not eating back my calories.

I will work on my patience and tightening up my calculating. I can try to ramp up my exercise. Time is an issue. As a single parent working 12 hour shifts and I am also back in school....Not making excuses I am being honest I don't know how much more I can squeeze into each day.

Thank you so much for all of your input, it has given me some good direction and considerations.

It sounds like you have a handle on it. I'd focus on making sure you know how much you're eating because that's likely the bulk of the issue, if there is an issue.

SueInAz

allysar wrote: »

Clean-ish for me just means all home prepared foods. Fitting in my macros. Organic when reasonable. Fruits and veggies, lean meats and whole grains. I have considerably limited my caffeine and alcohol intake. (did I mention I am a night shift nurse? this is hard! lol)

I do weigh my food but I do not utilize a HRM. I figure I am considerably under reporting my exercise burn so I figure that balances out for not eating back my calories.

I will work on my patience and tightening up my calculating. I can try to ramp up my exercise. Time is an issue. As a single parent working 12 hour shifts and I am also back in school....Not making excuses I am being honest I don't know how much more I can squeeze into each day.

Thank you so much for all of your input, it has given me some good direction and considerations.

I get busy, believe me. I am back in school, too, in addition to 9 hour work days with a one hour commute. I try to allow myself an hour per day for exercise, alternating days of running and lifting. When I get home it's dinner and then homework time and, if I'm lucky, a little TV before bed. Weekends are one long run and one rest day with homework and errands fit in around whatever else I have planned. My house isn't very clean but I'm otherwise making it work.

Honestly, going back to the strength training bit, I'd suggest subbing that out for cardio. I think it will better fit the results you want with the time you have.