How long do your stalls last?

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hmikkola92
hmikkola92 Posts: 169 Member
I've been stalled since week 3, and I'm almost on weeks 6 now. I always eat 1200 to 1300 calories a day, which is a bit more than a 1000 calorie deficit. I'm not hungry for any more than that. And I am almost always under 15 carbs a day. I track meticulously, and I am bouncing around the same 2lbs this whole time. I drink at least 9 cups of water a day. I just don't get it, isn't it physically impossible to not lose weight with a calorie deficit?
I know about the water weight and fat cells filling with water but I am still getting discouraged. But I can't stop eating this way or I'll just keep getting bigger and bigger. I'd rather stay the same if anything. I just want to look better for my holiday this summer :(

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  • Scochrane86
    Scochrane86 Posts: 374 Member
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    I lost great for 4 weeks, stalled for 5, lost for 2, stalled for 3, im losing again just now. Overall, my weightloss has been much more than on any other "diet" I've done, but the stalls do suck. but just keep going and it will start moving again. But even when I am stalled (stalled in inches loss too), I still feel good, not bloated, etc... so there are some benefits that hang around that make it not feel like a total waste.
  • hmikkola92
    hmikkola92 Posts: 169 Member
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    I lost great for 4 weeks, stalled for 5, lost for 2, stalled for 3, im losing again just now. Overall, my weightloss has been much more than on any other "diet" I've done, but the stalls do suck. but just keep going and it will start moving again. But even when I am stalled (stalled in inches loss too), I still feel good, not bloated, etc... so there are some benefits that hang around that make it not feel like a total waste.

    How much did you lose after each stall? I've lost 16lbs so overall on average I've lost 3.2lbs /week. I'm just worried about this lasting for months!
  • mmultanen
    mmultanen Posts: 1,029 Member
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    Are you tracking inches or other health metrics (improved stamina, energy, etc)? When you say meticulous, how meticulous? Are you weighing everything?

    regardless of method, specific diet, specific exercise etc, my body is almost always just plugs along at a steady and slow weight loss, which is why looking at other metrics of health is so important for my mental health. It's too easy to get focused on the numbers on the scale and fixate on what is working or not working or what should be happening or shouldn't be happening. I haven't "stalled" in the way you're describing but I've also never experienced the amazing 10lb a week losses many do with LCHF diets.
  • hmikkola92
    hmikkola92 Posts: 169 Member
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    I need to get a measuring tape but I do take progress pictures. I don't look much different at all compared to 2 weeks ago. The fat is just shifting around. And I measure everything I eat. I lost quite a bit at the beginning but I know most of that is the beginning water weight loss. Now absolutely nothing. Like I said I can't stop doing this because I'd probably gain it all back and then some. And I do feel healthier and more energetic. I've just seen some peoples weight loss and they lose like 100 lbs in a year.
    I know not everyone is the same but damn. I'm sticking to this so well, I'm basically on induction. I don't even eat tomatoes or nuts, or any berries.
  • hmikkola92
    hmikkola92 Posts: 169 Member
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    And I'm basically always IF because I eat dinner around 5pm and don't eat breakfast, so I eat lunch around 1pm, going 20 hours without eating every day.
  • cstehansen
    cstehansen Posts: 1,984 Member
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    Please see other threads (or just google) about brown fat. One of the first things that happens when changing to this WOE is conversion of white fat to brown fat which is denser but has more mitochondria and burns fat. While this conversion is happening, you will likely see some size reduction but no weight reduction. It can take a couple of months.

    Additionally many women take longer than men when changing to this WOE to have their hormones get rebalanced the way they need to be. Again this takes time - usually 2-3 months.

    My guess is your initial weight loss was primarily water. Now your body is converting white fat to brown fat and/or balancing out your hormones, and in the next month to 6 weeks you will start seeing the scale move more consistently.

    Hang in there!
  • AlexandraCarlyle
    AlexandraCarlyle Posts: 1,603 Member
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    @hmikkola92 I feel for you, I could be writing exactly the same as you. I'm below calorie count every day, and eating really very few carbs... it's easy to get disheartened when things do not appear to be going the way we'd like, or planned.... but I figure it's better to lose slowly, with a few stalls here and there, than see it all whoosh! off real quick, and be fooled into thinking it's weight, when in fat it's just water....

    Last time I resolved to lose weight, I hit my target; but it all went on again, becay=use I went back to eating the way I used to before, thinking it wouldn't hut just once.
    Now I know better, I'm eating more sensibly, enjoying the food I love, and omitting the carbs that frankly, anre a disaster waiting to happen, and doing it right.

    My body is menopausal.
    I have to suck it up.
    It's tough watching my intake and realising it doesn't match the dial on my scales - but two things are possible: The scales don't work properly, or I might just be riding a plateau for a while.
    I'd like to think it's the former - always possible, yeah?
    But I think it's more the latter.
    I'm just glad to be here.... ;)
  • swezeytba
    swezeytba Posts: 624 Member
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    @hmikkola92 I just happened to notice in another post that you were mentioning you have been having a lot of trouble sleeping as well. I believe lack of sleep can be a definite roadblock in weight loss.....
  • Scochrane86
    Scochrane86 Posts: 374 Member
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    hmikkola92 wrote: »
    I lost great for 4 weeks, stalled for 5, lost for 2, stalled for 3, im losing again just now. Overall, my weightloss has been much more than on any other "diet" I've done, but the stalls do suck. but just keep going and it will start moving again. But even when I am stalled (stalled in inches loss too), I still feel good, not bloated, etc... so there are some benefits that hang around that make it not feel like a total waste.

    How much did you lose after each stall? I've lost 16lbs so overall on average I've lost 3.2lbs /week. I'm just worried about this lasting for months!

    the first 4 weeks I lost 18lbs, then I stalled for 5 weeks, then I lost 4.5 in 2 weeks, then I stalled for 3 weeks, now I have lost another 8 in the last week and a half or so.
    Over all its 30.5lbs in about 14 weeks or so? I started the beginning of January. Like I said, even with the stalls, I am losing weight better than I ever did before. I just keep reminding myself, I know I am behaving myself, and this stall won't last forever (even though sometimes it feels like it)
  • Scochrane86
    Scochrane86 Posts: 374 Member
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    Sleep makes a big difference.
    Nights the kids have me up, or weeks I feel exhausted, I find the weight loss or inches don't move. but after a good night sleep, I usually see some kind of change.
  • hmikkola92
    hmikkola92 Posts: 169 Member
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    swezeytba wrote: »
    @hmikkola92 I just happened to notice in another post that you were mentioning you have been having a lot of trouble sleeping as well. I believe lack of sleep can be a definite roadblock in weight loss.....

    Yes, my son has been waking up every hour on top of me not being able to fall asleep. I finally tried white noise and he slept through the night so here's hoping it continues!