Losing weight very slowly compared to past..

hiyomi

Hi everyone, I've been using MFP on and off for a few years now, I always lose weight and then gain some as soon as I stop using MFP. In the past I've been able to lose 20-25 lbs in 3 months, or 5-7 lbs per month! This past January I started dieting and exercising again and for the first 3 months I only lost 3 lbs! I kept on trying and eventually I lost 15 lbs from January-May. In May, I had gotten frustrated from losing so little in 6 months and had stopped my journey once again. Come two weeks ago, (which I know isn't a lot of time to see results), I started eating 1500 calories per day since I've been mostly sedentary lately. I feel like I should have lost more weight by now as I had in the past, but I feel like this is a repeat of earlier this year and that I'm not losing...Again, I know two weeks is nothing, but I've done this many times and usually my results show quickly...Any insight to what could be causing this? I've never had issues losing weight, and have always been able to lose very fast...something has changed now and I'm not sure what! Yes I log accurately, weigh my food, etc, I've lost weight many times before, I know how to lose weight. The issue now is I'm not losing weight/losing extremely slow for the amount I'm eating!
Female, 23 years old, 275.2 lbs, sedentary to lightly active. 1500 calories Monday-Friday, Saturday's I eat up to 2,400, but I also do work those days for 8 hours on my feet...I exercise 3-4 days a week...I am on birth control, my blood pressure is borderline and my sugar levels are usually very low (supposed to go to the doctor soon to check my sugar levels because my sugar tends to drop to very low levels!)

middlehaitch

You have been yo-yo dieting for a long time.
Every time you lose weight you lose some muscle.
Every time you gain weight you are gaining fat. (unless you are working hard to preserve muscle by resistance training)

Over time you muscle mass has decreased, this has lowered your BMR. You need fewer calories to maintain your weight.
This makes losing weight a little more difficult.

Put your stats into MFP. Decrease your calories a couple of hundred at a time until you are eating those MFP has recommended for your weekly goal. Eat all the calories and a portion of any exercise calories.

Weigh all your food with a digital scale, pre packaged, bread, fruit, everything.
Measure liquids with cups and spoons.

As well as cardio try to do some kind of resistance work to preserve your muscles as you lose.

I would suggest before starting to decrease your calories you have a thorough check up with your doctor to make sure there are no underlying illnesses that need to be medicated first, and the deficit you are planning is suitable.

Cheers, h.

hiyomi

middlehaitch wrote: »

You have been yo-yo dieting for a long time.
Every time you lose weight you lose some muscle.
Every time you gain weight you are gaining fat. (unless you are working hard to preserve muscle by resistance training)

Over time you muscle mass has decreased, this has lowered your BMR. You need fewer calories to maintain your weight.
This makes losing weight a little more difficult.

Put your stats into MFP. Decrease your calories a couple of hundred at a time until you are eating those MFP has recommended for your weekly goal. Eat all the calories and a portion of any exercise calories.

Weigh all your food with a digital scale, pre packaged, bread, fruit, everything.
Measure liquids with cups and spoons.

As well as cardio try to do some kind of resistance work to preserve your muscles as you lose.

I would suggest before starting to decrease your calories you have a thorough check up with your doctor to make sure there are no underlying illnesses that need to be medicated first, and the deficit you are planning is suitable.

Cheers, h.

This makes a lot of sense, I never knew that we lost muscle when we lost weight..I would do weights and exercise but I'm not sure if it was enough to keep muscle as you said. I'm supposed to be going to the doctor this Friday to get a check up on my sugar levels, as well as my slowed weight loss. I've lost and gained weight many times in the past, I really hope that this hasn't killed my metabolism and made it really slow..ill keep trying my best!

dykask

The older you get the harder it is to lose weight. 23 is still very young, but it is possible your metabolism has slowed down. You could try adding some exercise to help burn more calories and possibly improving your metabolism.

middlehaitch

It won't have killed your metabolism. You may just need slightly fewer (not hundreds) calories to lose weight than someone with more muscle.

Losing weight has no reason to be harder as one ages so long as one has all medical conditions under control.

Yes our metabolism does slow as we age. It is very gradual and starts once our bodies have matured (around 20yo), 50-100 cals per decade depending on gender, height, and weight.

@hiyomi, I think your trip to the doctors should help you.

Cheers, h.