Something is not right ....can you tell me

Coloneyhatch

Hi Guys, I was losing weight and now think I am going wrong somewhere with my weight loss,

I am 37 male , medium frame and 5' 11". I was at 220 pounds when I started weight loss, with little exercise and substantially reduced calorie intake I dropped to 183 pounds in 1.5 months! And now over the last 1 months I have lost just 6 pounds! I have slipped with my diet very few times but my body seems to have lost interest in losing weight.

My question - is this normal and what can I do to make my body loose more.

All you suggestions will be very helpful

Thanks

tiptoethruthetulips

You lost a lot of weight in the first 6 weeks, were you eating the calories allocated to you or eating substantially under?

6lbs in 4 weeks is actually quite good, your expectations are high because of the abnormally high loss over the first six weeks.

If you are substantially undereating (more than is required for a healthy weight loss), you are likely losing more lean body mass than you are fat. Your goal should be to maintain as much lean body mass as you can while you are losing body fat.

nwd1976

Stay with it. Your body is just getting in time with what is happening. Try increasing you intake for a day by 500 calories and then drop back. Amp up your exercise, but main thing is stick with it. I lost 23kg in 3 month just keep going. Good luck

Coloneyhatch

Thanks tiptoe, with a BMR of about 2000 cals/day at the outset I kept a daily target of 1200 cals/day but I would actually end up doing less than 1000 cals/day which I continue to follow, but the rate of weight loss is not as fast now. I did do a lipid profile test but it didn't measure my lean body mass, what can I do to measure my lean body mass, at the moment I think I am somewhere between 20-24% body fat

girlinahat

Coloneyhatch wrote: »

Thanks tiptoe, with a BMR of about 2000 cals/day at the outset I kept a daily target of 1200 cals/day but I would actually end up doing less than 1000 cals/day which I continue to follow, but the rate of weight loss is not as fast now. I did do a lipid profile test but it didn't measure my lean body mass, what can I do to measure my lean body mass, at the moment I think I am somewhere between 20-24% body fat

And why did you choose that calorie range? For a man, you should aim to eat NO LESS than 1500 calories a day. Ideally you should not be eating less than your BMR. Under 1000 calories a day is going to do some serious long term damage to your health. Go back to MFP and put in your information, then eat TO whatever it gives you.

fattothinmum

Less than 1000 calories every day is not healthy. If your goal is to get ill, you're on the right track. If your goal is to get healthy, you need to revise your calorie goal upwards and look at the content of your food.

6lbs in a month is a good loss. At so little calories, your body will be becoming more efficient with small amounts of food and weight loss can be slower. Also, as you reach closer to goal, weight loss can take a lot longer to lose healthily.

Stop fretting about lean body mass short term and give your body the food it needs to survive, and help stop your body eating up what lean body mass you already have, as that's a larger part of what you'll lose if calories are too low. Do some exercise to help keep muscle mass too.

Good luck. Many of us have tried your way over the years and regretted it a few decades later.

RoxieDawn

Coloneyhatch wrote: »

Thanks tiptoe, with a BMR of about 2000 cals/day at the outset I kept a daily target of 1200 cals/day but I would actually end up doing less than 1000 cals/day which I continue to follow, but the rate of weight loss is not as fast now. I did do a lipid profile test but it didn't measure my lean body mass, what can I do to measure my lean body mass, at the moment I think I am somewhere between 20-24% body fat

Are you really eating less than 1200 calories a day? More like the 1000 you stated?

This is extremely dangerous waters you are treading through. I will just add, I hope you reconsider what you are doing in terms of unhealthy weight loss and the muscle mass you are loosing as well. Your metabolic rate is bound to slow way down, weakness, lethargy, and hormonal issues are bound to be prevalent as you lose weight. The side effects short term are numerous and can turn into long term medical issues.

What you are doing is very unsafe and harmful to your self.

whatatime2befit

Eating in that range, you are losing so much muscle, not only fat. Please consider eating at a more healthy range.

TavistockToad

You lost nearly 40lbs in 6 weeks...?

A healthy rate of lose is 1-2 lbs per week.

You really need to start nourishing your body before you do some serious damage.

rileysowner

Yes, there is something not right, you are losing far too fast. Your deficit is far too big and much of what you have lost is lean mass, muscles and the like, not fat. Redo your calorie goal with MFP with a goal lose of no more that one pound a week, even that is likely too aggressive, then eat your calorie goal.

rankinsect

Coloneyhatch wrote: »

Thanks tiptoe, with a BMR of about 2000 cals/day at the outset I kept a daily target of 1200 cals/day but I would actually end up doing less than 1000 cals/day which I continue to follow, but the rate of weight loss is not as fast now. I did do a lipid profile test but it didn't measure my lean body mass, what can I do to measure my lean body mass, at the moment I think I am somewhere between 20-24% body fat

Don't eat so low, you're just going to lose muscle at a terribly high rate. At your weight you shouldn't even be trying to lose more than 1-1.5 lb/week anyway, probably closer to 1.

I'm around 183 as well and I'm eating 1800-2200 calories per day, or a lot more if I go on a long hike.

kimny72

OP, as a male, you should be eating a MINIMUM of 1500 cals. You lost the weight crazy fast at first, you are now losing weight at a healthier rate. You were probably losing a lot of muscle that first month and risking your health. At 5'11" 183 lbs you are just outside of the healthy weight range, so you should be aiming for 1 lb loss per week and working hard to maintain whatever muscle mass you currently have.

You are eating less calories than a short thin woman should be eating. Please fuel your body and start prioritizing your health. Best of luck.

Coloneyhatch

Thanks all this is very helpful, I intend to and will start to up my nourishment levels starting today, I have to be careful that I do not slide into binging, thank you for all your inputs.

JeromeBarry1

@Coloneyhatch You have forced your NEAT to fall. That is "metabolic damage". You've damaged your metabolism. That is what is wrong. As your NEAT falls, your BMR and TDEE also decline. The calorie deficit you could achieve with the same very low calorie intake shrinks, and your weight loss does slow.

Despair.com has a demotivational poster of a sinking ship captioned, "Your life may only serve as a warning to others".

All is not actually lost. You can allow your NEAT to rise to a normal level, but the only way to do that is to raise you intake calories to the MyFitnessPal maintenance level for your weight today. Your NEAT will return to normal after several weeks. Eat at maintenance for a month. Then change your weight loss goal to lose 1 lb per week. then eat every bit of that number. Otherwise your life will serve only as a warning to others.