No longer losing much weight
Sam29a
Posts: 201 Member
Hi everyone,
I would love some input in regards to losing weight faster.
Since January 1st this year I have been eating a little more responsibly and have lost some weight (about half what I want to reach my goal). However, over the last few months now (since around June), I've noticed that my weight is not going down as much as I would have liked. I admit that I could do more to lose weight; I very rarely exercise and this is something that I know I need to change, I also do eat a lot of processed food. I do however, count my calories religiously. I weigh pretty much everything, I refuse to eat anything that I don't know the calories for.
I've had two cheat days since January. Otherwise no takaway meals, no meals out. I feel a little deflated over the fact that I'm still so far away from my goal weight and wonder now if I'll ever reach it.
So, do I now need to exercise to lose weight? Will the weight not come off with calories counting alone? I just cannot find the motivation to do it. I'll have to join the gym - a thought that fills me with dread!
I would love some input in regards to losing weight faster.
Since January 1st this year I have been eating a little more responsibly and have lost some weight (about half what I want to reach my goal). However, over the last few months now (since around June), I've noticed that my weight is not going down as much as I would have liked. I admit that I could do more to lose weight; I very rarely exercise and this is something that I know I need to change, I also do eat a lot of processed food. I do however, count my calories religiously. I weigh pretty much everything, I refuse to eat anything that I don't know the calories for.
I've had two cheat days since January. Otherwise no takaway meals, no meals out. I feel a little deflated over the fact that I'm still so far away from my goal weight and wonder now if I'll ever reach it.
So, do I now need to exercise to lose weight? Will the weight not come off with calories counting alone? I just cannot find the motivation to do it. I'll have to join the gym - a thought that fills me with dread!
0
Replies
-
How much are you currently losing per week? Have you updated your calorie goals as you lost?
You don't have to exercise to lose weight at all (think of it more for fitness and overall health), but you do need to make sure you're still in a deficit.2 -
How much are you currently losing per week? Have you updated your calorie goals as you lost?
You don't have to exercise to lose weight at all (think of it more for fitness and overall health), but you do need to make sure you're still in a deficit.
I'm currently eating around 1300 calories a day. I'm losing about a lb every 3-4 weeks.0 -
Yeah weight loss is going to slow down as you approach your goal. Your losing a percentage of your total fat and as you have less fat to lose you will lose less and less per unit time. That is to be expected and I'd recommend you just continue and don't fight against that at all. If you had 60 pounds to lose 2 pound a week would be reasonable. At 30 pounds 1 pound a week. At 15 pounds 0.5 pounds a week. That last 5 to 10 takes a long time.4
-
How much are you currently losing per week? Have you updated your calorie goals as you lost?
You don't have to exercise to lose weight at all (think of it more for fitness and overall health), but you do need to make sure you're still in a deficit.
I'm currently eating around 1300 calories a day. I'm losing about a lb every 3-4 weeks.
How much do you have left to lose? As you get close to your goal, the weight loss will slow down. These days when I'm losing, that's about my rate of loss, too, because I have about 15 lbs to go. What are your current stats?0 -
How much are you currently losing per week? Have you updated your calorie goals as you lost?
You don't have to exercise to lose weight at all (think of it more for fitness and overall health), but you do need to make sure you're still in a deficit.
I'm currently eating around 1300 calories a day. I'm losing about a lb every 3-4 weeks.
Do you weigh everything you eat?2 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »Yeah weight loss is going to slow down as you approach your goal. Your losing a percentage of your total fat and as you have less fat to lose you will lose less and less per unit time. That is to be expected and I'd recommend you just continue and don't fight against that at all. If you had 60 pounds to lose 2 pound a week would be reasonable. At 30 pounds 1 pound a week. At 15 pounds 0.5 pounds a week. That last 5 to 10 takes a long time.
I understand that I'll lose weight slowly if I've less to lose. However, I'm losing about 1 lb per month. I've lost 30 lbs, I would like to lose another 30 and at this rate I'll be here for years!2 -
TavistockToad wrote: »How much are you currently losing per week? Have you updated your calorie goals as you lost?
You don't have to exercise to lose weight at all (think of it more for fitness and overall health), but you do need to make sure you're still in a deficit.
I'm currently eating around 1300 calories a day. I'm losing about a lb every 3-4 weeks.
Do you weigh everything you eat?
I weigh out pretty much everything with a digital scale, including things like spices. The only things that don't get weighed out are packaged items with calorie content on the wrapper.0 -
TavistockToad wrote: »How much are you currently losing per week? Have you updated your calorie goals as you lost?
You don't have to exercise to lose weight at all (think of it more for fitness and overall health), but you do need to make sure you're still in a deficit.
I'm currently eating around 1300 calories a day. I'm losing about a lb every 3-4 weeks.
Do you weigh everything you eat?
I weigh out pretty much everything with a digital scale, including things like spices. The only things that don't get weighed out are packaged items with calorie content on the wrapper.
Weigh those too. You'll be surprised to see how off those items can be.7 -
dragon_girl26 wrote: »How much are you currently losing per week? Have you updated your calorie goals as you lost?
You don't have to exercise to lose weight at all (think of it more for fitness and overall health), but you do need to make sure you're still in a deficit.
I'm currently eating around 1300 calories a day. I'm losing about a lb every 3-4 weeks.
How much do you have left to lose? As you get close to your goal, the weight loss will slow down. These days when I'm losing, that's about my rate of loss, too, because I have about 15 lbs to go. What are your current stats?
I'm still very far from my goal unfortunately. Current stats are 5'2 inches and 134 lbs.0 -
It would help to know your stats. As malibu927 said, how much are you losing per week? I looked at your diary and you are eating under your allotment. Have you been doing this all along? Some people are going to tell you to eat more, I'm going to say you need to be more meticulous with your logging, weigh everything because labels aren't always precise. You do need to eat a minimum of 1200 calories per day to make sure you are getting the nutrients you need. You don't have to exercise, but it does make you feel better and you don't need to join a gym, just go for a walk. Lastly, this process takes time. A slow weight loss is more sustainable than losing it too quickly.
1 -
I just read some more of your comments. Do you honestly think 102 pounds is a good weight to strive for? If so, why?4
-
TavistockToad wrote: »How much are you currently losing per week? Have you updated your calorie goals as you lost?
You don't have to exercise to lose weight at all (think of it more for fitness and overall health), but you do need to make sure you're still in a deficit.
I'm currently eating around 1300 calories a day. I'm losing about a lb every 3-4 weeks.
Do you weigh everything you eat?
I weigh out pretty much everything with a digital scale, including things like spices. The only things that don't get weighed out are packaged items with calorie content on the wrapper.
Weigh those too. You'll be surprised to see how off those items can be.
Really? I have done before, they are actually not too far off I found. Also, some days I eat under 1300 calories so I'm sure it averages out.0 -
At your height and weight with being sedentary, that rate of loss might be about what you're going to get, depending on your age.
How old are you?1 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »At your height and weight with being sedentary, that rate of loss might be about what you're going to get, depending on your age.
How old are you?
This, especially with your current calorie goal. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you're in the normal healthy BMI range for your height, OP. Once you're in that range, weight loss typically slows down quite a bit.1 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »Yeah weight loss is going to slow down as you approach your goal. Your losing a percentage of your total fat and as you have less fat to lose you will lose less and less per unit time. That is to be expected and I'd recommend you just continue and don't fight against that at all. If you had 60 pounds to lose 2 pound a week would be reasonable. At 30 pounds 1 pound a week. At 15 pounds 0.5 pounds a week. That last 5 to 10 takes a long time.
I understand that I'll lose weight slowly if I've less to lose. However, I'm losing about 1 lb per month. I've lost 30 lbs, I would like to lose another 30 and at this rate I'll be here for years!
Yeah I'd say for most people it might take months to no longer be overweight, but it takes years to get lean.3 -
It would help to know your stats. As malibu927 said, how much are you losing per week? I looked at your diary and you are eating under your allotment. Have you been doing this all along? Some people are going to tell you to eat more, I'm going to say you need to be more meticulous with your logging, weigh everything because labels aren't always precise. You do need to eat a minimum of 1200 calories per day to make sure you are getting the nutrients you need. You don't have to exercise, but it does make you feel better and you don't need to join a gym, just go for a walk. Lastly, this process takes time. A slow weight loss is more sustainable than losing it too quickly.
I feel I'm very meticulous wth logging everything. Yes, I don't weigh things that are in wrappers, but if that will help, I'll start doing that too. Although, to me it just feels a little ridiculous. Why do they put the calories on the wrappers if they're incorrect? Also, some products need to be cooked in the packaging, which would make things a little difficult to weigh I'd imagine.
I did undereat most days in June or July - that was because I was unwell. Now I mostly eat my allotted amount - some days I go a little under but rarely by much.0 -
dragon_girl26 wrote: »How much are you currently losing per week? Have you updated your calorie goals as you lost?
You don't have to exercise to lose weight at all (think of it more for fitness and overall health), but you do need to make sure you're still in a deficit.
I'm currently eating around 1300 calories a day. I'm losing about a lb every 3-4 weeks.
How much do you have left to lose? As you get close to your goal, the weight loss will slow down. These days when I'm losing, that's about my rate of loss, too, because I have about 15 lbs to go. What are your current stats?
I'm still very far from my goal unfortunately. Current stats are 5'2 inches and 134 lbs.
You said you had 30 pounds to lose but here you say you currently weigh 134. That would make you 104 pounds? Have you ever been 104 pounds as an adult? What makes you believe that to be realistic?4 -
I just read some more of your comments. Do you honestly think 102 pounds is a good weight to strive for? If so, why?
I'm aiming for 105 lbs or so. I've been that weight before and for me, that was a good weight. Not too slim, but not fat either. It may seem less, but for my height I looked fine.0 -
I just read some more of your comments. Do you honestly think 102 pounds is a good weight to strive for? If so, why?
I'm aiming for 105 lbs or so. I've been that weight before and for me, that was a good weight. Not too slim, but not fat either. It may seem less, but for my height I looked fine.
How old are you OP?0 -
[GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »At your height and weight with being sedentary, that rate of loss might be about what you're going to get, depending on your age.
How old are you?
I'm 30. I understand weight loss will slow down. My point is that at this rate I'll still be trying to lose weight for a couple of years. I would love to reach my goal weight by next summer - that's a year and a half of trying to lose weight. It's not like I'm expecting my weight to come off in a few weeks. I guess I ought to start exercising if I want faster weight loss.0 -
It wouldn't hurt to throw in 3 exercises a week to give a little boost while eating the same amount you're eating now. If you don't want to weigh wrapped items, honestly, I wouldn't worry about it unless you're going to increase how often you're doing that. All you need to know is that when eating what YOU think is 1300 calories a day, you have approximately a 125 calorie deficit every day (for 0.5 lb every two weeks). They key is to log consistently the same way. So find ways to increase the deficit. Even if 1300 calories is actually 1400, the point is that you want to increase your deficit from what it is now. Weighing absolutely everything is one way to do that. Another way would be to eat 1200 a day. Or to increase exercise without increasing food.
Maybe try some workout videos at home, you don't need a gym membership. Load it up on our phone or computer and do that for 30-40 minutes 3 times a week. Adjust as necessary.0 -
It wouldn't hurt to throw in 3 exercises a week to give a little boost while eating the same amount you're eating now.
Maybe try some workout videos at home, you don't need a gym membership. Even getting a jump rope and jumping for half an hour 3 times a week in your garage or basement would be an option.
I have a large family and not much privacy to exercise at home. It's far too cold to go for a walk right now, so really my only option would be to join a gym. I don't want to eat less than I am as then it would begin to feel too much like a diet and I'd probably end up binge eating and gaining the weight I've lost back.0 -
I started at 5'1 and130 lbs. it took a year of careful logging and making sure I got in what would be the minimum movement for a sedentary person. (I exercised as well and ate back those calories)
My calories were 1200 for the whole of the weight loss and I ate them all.
As well as the already mentioned tightening up your logging, you probably need to up your daily movement.
This doesn't have to be exercise, but even as sedentary about 2500 steps per day are expected as well as upper body movements- cooking, laundry, dusting, general house/work activities, fidgeting etc.
Sometimes one has to let go of the efficiency of movement in everyday life to get a few extra calories burnt.
Walk to close places instead of driving, carry groceries into the house 1 bag at a time, start ironing the sheets etc (something I love), use stairs where you can at work, walk to a co worker to talk instead of texting.
There is probably nothing wrong in your methods, they just need tightening up. Aiming for the bottom of your BMI range, when you are already at a healthy weight is just very, very slow. Hang in and you will get there. The losses you are having at the moment are a little below what I would expect, .5 lbs a week but, if your activity is low, not too much.
Cheers, h.
Oops, I forgot to say my goal was to maintain between 100-105 so a year for a 30lbs loss. I have maintained it for 6 years.0 -
Have you ever taken a diet break? You could try eating at maintenance for a week or two to replenish some of your hormones. Your TDEE should have you losing at a better rate than this, given your age.
Saying that, it doesn't matter what your point is, your body is going to do what it's going to do. Your only choice at this point is to start exercising if the diet break doesn't help kick things back into gear.0 -
From the calculator.net site (assuming you're 25yo):
Based on the Robinson formula (1983), your ideal weight is 115.5 lbs
Based on the Miller formula (1983), your ideal weight is 123.1 lbs
Based on the Devine formula (1974), your ideal weight is 110.5 lbs
Based on the Hamwi formula (1964), your ideal weight is 110.0 lbs
Based on the healthy BMI recommendation, your recommended weight is 101.1 lbs - 136.7 lbs
Most of these are higher than 104 lbs. I If it were me, I'd be shooting for the 110 lbs figure because I suspect at 104 you might look emaciated. Here are the numbers it gives for weight loss at your current stats for a 25yo sedentary female:
You need 1,567 Calories/day to maintain your weight.
You need 1,067 Calories/day to lose 1 lb per week.
You need 567 Calories/day to lose 2 lb per week.
At 1300 calories per day, you should get maybe half a pound of weight loss per week. You're reporting a quarter pound per week, which is by my calculations about a 120 calorie per day difference. That's the equivalent of a large banana or a small handful of nuts. As others have said, when you're close to your goal (which you are) it gets harder to lose those last few pounds. And small choices and errors in measurement have a much greater impact when we have 20 lbs to lose rather than 100 lbs.
I'm within 15-20 lbs of my final goal, and I've been stuck there for months. The solution? I need to add in some exercise and be scrupulous about weighing and logging food. I can't be as sloppy about it as when I had 70+ lbs. to lose. Or alternatively, be happy with where I'm at.
3 -
It wouldn't hurt to throw in 3 exercises a week to give a little boost while eating the same amount you're eating now.
Maybe try some workout videos at home, you don't need a gym membership. Even getting a jump rope and jumping for half an hour 3 times a week in your garage or basement would be an option.
I have a large family and not much privacy to exercise at home. It's far too cold to go for a walk right now, so really my only option would be to join a gym. I don't want to eat less than I am as then it would begin to feel too much like a diet and I'd probably end up binge eating and gaining the weight I've lost back.
I definitely get that it can be too cold. Are you from Canada too? Lol. I don't exercise outside for that reason.
What if you woke up earlier to use the TV for a bit of time before others are awake? Or ask your family in advance for a regular time slot that you get to use the room to exercise? Or, if you really don't like the sound of a gym, what about finding an indoor sport that you like? Soccer? Ultimate Frisbee? Tennis? Badminton? Join a trampoline park gymnastics program? Something that you find more enjoyable than the gym. Not all exercise has to be conventional exercise. Also... is it really so bad if you exercised with your family around (I don't know them, so that's your call to make). What about exercising with a friend at their house, someone else who has an interest in it? Like working on the Jillian Michael's 30 day shred with a friend for example.0 -
How cold is it for it to be too cold to walk outside?
But yeah, you're pretty petite and not active, it's going to be hard to see larger losses. So either you find a way to increase your activity or accept it's just going to take a while to get to your goal (which may or may not be a bit low, some people do need to be at the lower end of the BMI scale to achieve their desired aesthetic, particularly with no exercise).0 -
I'm not sure what OP is hoping to hear - eating less is not an option, exercising is not an option. Magic solution is? I think you should add in exercise, just figure it out. Your family already knows you are dieting if you are weighing and counting like you are, what's wrong with asking to just have the bedroom for half an hour three days a week and do some jumping jacks, and high knees and pushups and stuff? Put some music on and work it out.1
-
middlehaitch wrote: »I started at 5'1 and130 lbs. it took a year of careful logging and making sure I got in what would be the minimum movement for a sedentary person. (I exercised as well and ate back those calories)
My calories were 1200 for the whole of the weight loss and I ate them all.
As well as the already mentioned tightening up your logging, you probably need to up your daily movement.
This doesn't have to be exercise, but even as sedentary about 2500 steps per day are expected as well as upper body movements- cooking, laundry, dusting, general house/work activities, fidgeting etc.
Sometimes one has to let go of the efficiency of movement in everyday life to get a few extra calories burnt.
Walk to close places instead of driving, carry groceries into the house 1 bag at a time, start ironing the sheets etc (something I love), use stairs where you can at work, walk to a co worker to talk instead of texting.
There is probably nothing wrong in your methods, they just need tightening up. Aiming for the bottom of your BMI range, when you are already at a healthy weight is just very, very slow. Hang in and you will get there. The losses you are having at the moment are a little below what I would expect, .5 lbs a week but, if your activity is low, not too much.
Cheers, h.
Reading this is making me think I'm just being too impatient! Some weight loss is better than no weight loss - but I do think I ought to do some exercise. I work in a office where I spend almost the whole time sitting down. I travel about 3-4 hours a day, to and back from work, and again spend all that time sitting. So I don't do much walking or moving around. I'm also doing a degree via distance learning so again spend a lot of time sitting duing my free time too. I do very little housework - I have help due to lack of time.From the calculator.net site (assuming you're 25yo):
Based on the Robinson formula (1983), your ideal weight is 115.5 lbs
Based on the Miller formula (1983), your ideal weight is 123.1 lbs
Based on the Devine formula (1974), your ideal weight is 110.5 lbs
Based on the Hamwi formula (1964), your ideal weight is 110.0 lbs
Based on the healthy BMI recommendation, your recommended weight is 101.1 lbs - 136.7 lbs
Most of these are higher than 104 lbs. I If it were me, I'd be shooting for the 110 lbs figure because I suspect at 104 you might look emaciated. Here are the numbers it gives for weight loss at your current stats for a 25yo sedentary female:
You need 1,567 Calories/day to maintain your weight.
You need 1,067 Calories/day to lose 1 lb per week.
You need 567 Calories/day to lose 2 lb per week.
At 1300 calories per day, you should get maybe half a pound of weight loss per week. You're reporting a quarter pound per week, which is by my calculations about a 120 calorie per day difference. That's the equivalent of a large banana or a small handful of nuts. As others have said, when you're close to your goal (which you are) it gets harder to lose those last few pounds. And small choices and errors in measurement have a much greater impact when we have 20 lbs to lose rather than 100 lbs.
I'm within 15-20 lbs of my final goal, and I've been stuck there for months. The solution? I need to add in some exercise and be scrupulous about weighing and logging food. I can't be as sloppy about it as when I had 70+ lbs. to lose. Or alternatively, be happy with where I'm at.
I'm 30. I used to weigh around 90 lbs when I was 20 - that was emaciated! I think I looked my best at 105 lbs, hence wanting to aim for that. Although I understand that not weighing packaged food might make a difference, most days I eat less than 1300 calories, so I think it should average out. I always weigh out fruit, nuts etc to the gram. It's only food with calories written on the label that I don't weigh. Also, I still have 30 lbs to lose, I'm not quite near my goal weight yet!
I agree about the exercise though. Might just have to join my local gym and hope for the best
0 -
middlehaitch wrote: »I started at 5'1 and130 lbs. it took a year of careful logging and making sure I got in what would be the minimum movement for a sedentary person. (I exercised as well and ate back those calories)
My calories were 1200 for the whole of the weight loss and I ate them all.
As well as the already mentioned tightening up your logging, you probably need to up your daily movement.
This doesn't have to be exercise, but even as sedentary about 2500 steps per day are expected as well as upper body movements- cooking, laundry, dusting, general house/work activities, fidgeting etc.
Sometimes one has to let go of the efficiency of movement in everyday life to get a few extra calories burnt.
Walk to close places instead of driving, carry groceries into the house 1 bag at a time, start ironing the sheets etc (something I love), use stairs where you can at work, walk to a co worker to talk instead of texting.
There is probably nothing wrong in your methods, they just need tightening up. Aiming for the bottom of your BMI range, when you are already at a healthy weight is just very, very slow. Hang in and you will get there. The losses you are having at the moment are a little below what I would expect, .5 lbs a week but, if your activity is low, not too much.
Cheers, h.
Reading this is making me think I'm just being too impatient! Some weight loss is better than no weight loss - but I do think I ought to do some exercise. I work in a office where I spend almost the whole time sitting down. I travel about 3-4 hours a day, to and back from work, and again spend all that time sitting. So I don't do much walking or moving around. I'm also doing a degree via distance learning so again spend a lot of time sitting duing my free time too. I do very little housework - I have help due to lack of time.From the calculator.net site (assuming you're 25yo):
Based on the Robinson formula (1983), your ideal weight is 115.5 lbs
Based on the Miller formula (1983), your ideal weight is 123.1 lbs
Based on the Devine formula (1974), your ideal weight is 110.5 lbs
Based on the Hamwi formula (1964), your ideal weight is 110.0 lbs
Based on the healthy BMI recommendation, your recommended weight is 101.1 lbs - 136.7 lbs
Most of these are higher than 104 lbs. I If it were me, I'd be shooting for the 110 lbs figure because I suspect at 104 you might look emaciated. Here are the numbers it gives for weight loss at your current stats for a 25yo sedentary female:
You need 1,567 Calories/day to maintain your weight.
You need 1,067 Calories/day to lose 1 lb per week.
You need 567 Calories/day to lose 2 lb per week.
At 1300 calories per day, you should get maybe half a pound of weight loss per week. You're reporting a quarter pound per week, which is by my calculations about a 120 calorie per day difference. That's the equivalent of a large banana or a small handful of nuts. As others have said, when you're close to your goal (which you are) it gets harder to lose those last few pounds. And small choices and errors in measurement have a much greater impact when we have 20 lbs to lose rather than 100 lbs.
I'm within 15-20 lbs of my final goal, and I've been stuck there for months. The solution? I need to add in some exercise and be scrupulous about weighing and logging food. I can't be as sloppy about it as when I had 70+ lbs. to lose. Or alternatively, be happy with where I'm at.
I'm 30. I used to weigh around 90 lbs when I was 20 - that was emaciated! I think I looked my best at 105 lbs, hence wanting to aim for that. Although I understand that not weighing packaged food might make a difference, most days I eat less than 1300 calories, so I think it should average out. I always weigh out fruit, nuts etc to the gram. It's only food with calories written on the label that I don't weigh. Also, I still have 30 lbs to lose, I'm not quite near my goal weight yet!
I agree about the exercise though. Might just have to join my local gym and hope for the best
Actually another thing to look into is if you're using the best database entries in MFP. Some of them can be wrong, so you have to be careful about that too. I run into it A LOT since it seems like the Canadian version of the same product in the USA will have different nutritional value. Example if I log 250 ml of soy milk. The USA version has 100 calories, but the Canadian one has 110. So maybe take a look at the entries you're using, do some cross referencing on other sites to compare. Just to make sure some of it isn't in that aspect of your logging. Such is the way with a user created database.
Also keep in mind that our bodies change between the time we're 20 and 30. So even if 105 was fine at 20, you may wish to reevaluate at 110 this time around, just to be sure. At 20, you're still "filling out" (hips widening, breasts increasing etc.)2
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 394.2K Introduce Yourself
- 43.9K Getting Started
- 260.4K Health and Weight Loss
- 176.1K Food and Nutrition
- 47.5K Recipes
- 232.6K Fitness and Exercise
- 437 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.6K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153.1K Motivation and Support
- 8.1K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.4K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.9K MyFitnessPal Information
- 15 News and Announcements
- 1.2K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.7K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions