how to get the scale to move after a stall

treehugnmama

this group is so helpful!! does anyone have any ideas on getting through a stall?

stats started may 7th 294 stated metformin and cut out refined carbs. lost 56 pounds till Sept 20.

Sept 20th to Oct 20th up amd down same 2 pounds all month I'm bad at measuring but my measurements all show up an inch but may not be accurate.
my carbs are from fruits and veggies and are between 100 to 150 carbs not net I do not subtract the fiber.

I cut my calories by 100 two weeks ago as I hadn't change then since I started.

think it's time to cut carbs further? I've had a bit of artificial sweetner sneak in do you think that could be it?
is a month a long enough time to say this isn't working and needs to be tweaked?

I appreciate the input.. I'm not mentally bummed out just wondering if I should change things up. also I know it was a lot of weight fast and wondered if my body needed a month to stabilize?
thanks in advance if you read this far!

BT_rescuemom

Intermittent fasting? I have heard that can help

treehugnmama

I was thinking about that. I don't snack between meals but if I cut out nigjt snack it would be more hours between dinner at 530 and breakfast at 8?

SuperCarLori

Or just put your head down and bully through it. Did you recalculate calories after your amazing loss? Or did I miss that? If it worked up until this stall, why wouldn't it still work? I've been told recently to stay consistent with what's working, true story.

Catawampous

You do you!

But if this were me ... I'd first go into MFP goals. Click "view guided set up" and make sure my current weight is correct, then click "update profile". That makes MFP adjust your calories to what they should be. I would follow that and make sure my logging was 100% accurate. I use a food scale for most everything. That's just me, I am a bit obsessive but I know I'm as accurate as I can be. I would do my best to not go over or under calories and eat back about 50% of exercise calories burned. If the change in calories MFP gave me and I know I'm doing everything I need to and still no results I'd pull the carbs down.

Good luck!

treehugnmama

lori I was at 1650 when loosing...somehow it went to 1550. had a few weeks not loosing so I went to 1450...still no loss head down bully through

catawampus I don't eat exercise calories back and I weigh my food. I tried doing settings and it told me 1200 calories which seams low when i am 237 pounds and was 1650 calories and loosing a month ago....sounds like a big drop to me.

I did have alot of stress the month I didn't loose...alot of stress home and work.

kpk54

In your 2 posts above you have contemplated 5 things:
cut calories
cut carbs
cut artificial sweeteners
cut night snacks
is a month long enough to consider changing things

56 pounds in about 18 weeks? That's about 3 pounds per week average. I understand the question and reason for post is the last month has been stagnant, I'm just making the observation of the weight loss average. It's neither good nor bad and actually could be both depending upon depending upon the focus of the individual making the comment. In regards to weight loss only...the number on the scale...Great!

My guess is your body needs to stabilize but it is just a guess. If you want to change one of the other 4, PICK ONE and trial it. If you elect to try all 4 how would you ever know which one worked or did not work? What you have to consider is how important is each to you long term throughout your weight loss. You change 2,3,4 and you kinda become stuck with ALL of them not knowing which has been effective or if it has been a combination of all.

I know you're just asking for opinions to help you evaluate if you should make changes and what those changes might be. You know your "diet" far better than any one else. We're all guessing what would be best for you based on what we've read or what we have personally experienced. All opinions have some value in helping you make a decision for you.

My opinion is PICK ONE and trial it for effectiveness. Why cut calories if you don't need to? I personally, like to eat. Why cut carbs if you don't need to? I personally like vegetables and know which to choose for me. Why cut artificial sweeteners if you don't need to? Artificial sweeteners have never caused me to crave and when I was in weight loss they never seemed to effect my weight loss. Effective 1/10/16 I did implement "stevia only" but for a reason unrelated to weight. It has been only 21 days but I can say that nothing has changed with weight or cravings (which are irrelevant in my case) and nothing has changed with involuntary movement (involuntary regarding my Dystonia) which is relevant to me. Why cut your evening snack if you don't need to, you enjoy it and want to keep it in your routine? I personally choose to not snack but that's just me. I'll grab something to eat if I'm hungry.

Sorry so long. I intentionally did not mention the Metformin because I have no experience with it. I'm sure others will offer their knowledge and experience with it. I understand the value of fasting. The question is do you need to do it and is it something of value for you at this time or long term. I the research of Dr. Fung et.al. Excellent for many and perhaps all physiologically. As a lifestyle? Maybe not so much for all. I'll hush now.

treehugnmama

thanks kp that was very insightful. I know it's a lot of weight in short time amd 50 of it was actually from may 7th to Sept 1. I'm not worried about it coming off slow slow is good


good insight thanks. maybe I need to give more time before changing what was working! artificial sweetner does make me crave sugar and I wasn't having any in the beg and slowly it crept back in..

Sunny_Bunny_

What @kpk54 said was amazingly insightful. I agree 200% with it. And can't really add anything.
I'll just say that you are aware of additional stress during the month and if that has passed, you may just resume fat loss as usual automatically. If the stress is sticking around, then do what you can to address it. Even it it's just 1 minute a day of mindful breathing and relaxing. Take a tiny step to address the stress. Go stand outside in the grass barefoot and just breathe and feel the breeze. Whatever you can easily make happen. I really think the stress is the answer to sudden stop if nothing else has really changed.
With that said, there's certainly no drawback to reducing sweeteners, so that's something you can do which shouldn't create any further stress and may or may not affect the stall but should at least reduce the sweet cravings.
Considering intermittent fasting might be a good idea too. Even if it's just eliminating that evening snack and eating at your previous times. It might be enough. I would be careful not to do anything too drastic that might increase the stress though. I don't think a 16/8 IF poses much risk though.

HawkPNP

Do you eat dairy? I have heard cutting out that helps for some people.
Otherwise, try intermittent fasting. I personally love it.

treehugnmama

thanks sunny bunny until I saw it in print I didn't think too much of the stress but it really affected me so I'm hoping now that that is back in check that's what it is.

collegefbfan

I was the same way. Fast loss and then slow. I listened to the peeps here. They reminded me that the body has to catch up. One thing I caught myself doing was nibbling on things I shouldn't. My son's chicken tenders that were breaded. Or whatever. Not saying You are doing that. Just saying.