Plateau after adding light exercise Help!

grancienancie

Since the beginning of the year I have added three days of activity classes - what I call Senior Marching, which is stretching, 4pound weights, walking to music - pretty easy movement for a total of a little more than an hour twice a week. And Qi gong, which is also basically stretching, for about 100 minutes. Plus I am getting close to the basic fitness level of 10 flights of stairs and 10000steps a day.
I left my fitness level at "sedentary" and that sets my calorie goal (1 pound loss/week) at just under 1600/day. I have been pretty consistent on staying at a calorie deficit food wise without adding back the new exercise calories. I basically am stuck in a three pound loop plateau since before Christmas - and it's the middle of March!
If I change MFP to "mildly active", my calorie goal increases to about 1800. I am comfortable at 1600. I eat real food, weigh and measure my portions, and am honest with my reportage.
I am so frustrated! Over the years I have gone from a high of 317 to a few years at 275 to my current weight of 230 at age 67. My goal weight is 167. (My doc says 155, but we shall see )
Has anyone figured out what to do to crack a plateau without going on some cockamamie diet or overdoing exercise and hurting myself back into sedentary? I would appreciate some sound advice; frustration is definitely a Bad Guy!

justjennnnn

I can relate to your frustration. I reached my goal weight last September, gained a few pounds over the winter months, and decided to go back to the gym to shed those extra pounds. Wouldn't you know it? I gained a couple more pounds and have developed this insatiable snacking habit because of exerting extra energy! My advice to you serves as my own mantra as well: Just stick with it. Weight loss is not linear, and as long as you are completely honest with yourself and stay consistent, change will come. Hang in there!

malibu927

If you aren't losing, you aren't in a deficit. You'll most likely need to tighten up your logging. This may include making sure every morsel of food/drop of liquid you consume is accounted for, using a food scale to weigh all solids/cups to measure liquids, ensuring the entries you use from the database are accurate and utilizing the recipe builder instead of homemade/generic entries, or being mindful of exercise calories burned and only eating some of them back, if you eat them at all.

grancienancie

Thank you. I will be more mindful.

gretchenzg

I'm on a plateau too! I've been trying to lose ten pounds since the beginning of the year. At first half-heartedly, but since March 1 I'm fully committed. However my weight remains about the same no matter how little I eat and how much I exercise. I'm following the same plan I did when I lost ten pounds a year ago. One thing is different, I switched from red wine to white. Couple glasses each night. Could that be it?

Machka9

You could try dropping your calories down to 1500.

As you lose weight, you get less to eat. Unfortunately.