Weight loss has slowed down to 2 pounds a month

AlexaWignall

I am still 22 pounds from being a healthy weight. I have been eating 1200 calories since September and was losing 1-2 pounds a week (I have lost 26 pounds), but now I am only losing 2 pounds a month - with most weeks at less than half a pound. I cant eat less food. I am unable to exercise due to a spinal injury (which has been the cause of the weight gain). I do not know what to do. I guess I am still losing, but most weeks the scale stays exactly the same, and it has been like that since January and progress if getting even slower. I am so pleased I am no longer obese, but I want to be a healthy weight, and I am worried that I have got to a weight which means I am maintaining now, and cannot lose much more. I know it is unhealthy to eat less than 1200 calories, so I feel stuck. I know I am not accidentally overeating as I record everything.

PaganUK

sounds like you have hit a plateau. I had this too. change up your food. the body gets used to the same food. you may need to tweak your macros.
keep up the good work x

apullum

Since you are close to your goal weight, 0.5 lb/week is a reasonable pace to expect. As you lose weight, your body's calorie needs decrease, and your calorie deficit gets smaller. However, as long as you're still in a deficit, you will lose weight, just not as quickly as you did at first. Make sure that you've recalculated your goals on MFP to reflect your current weight, and hang in there.

TeaBea

10-15 pounds from goal - 1/2 pound a week is good progress.

Do you use a digital food scale to measure solids & semi-solids? If not, it's possible you are eating more than you think. Double check your entries - there's a lot of wrong entries in the database. Most women do need at least 1200 calories, but there are exceptions. I once sat at a plateau for six weeks (ugh).....I was using measuring cups.

@paganuk - calories in vs. calorie out for weight loss. Macros for health goals & satiety.

sabinaholtby

Keep fighting! I hit a plateau, just broke it this week. I did lower my calories about 300/day. I have upped veggies like zucchini, sweet potato, and spaghetti squash help me stay on calorie target. Diet soda too, but I don't want to get hooked on that.

Luna3386

TeaBea wrote: »

10-15 pounds from goal - 1/2 pound a week is good progress.

Do you use a digital food scale to measure solids & semi-solids? If not, it's possible you are eating more than you think. Double check your entries - there's a lot of wrong entries in the database. Most women do need at least 1200 calories, but there are exceptions. I once sat at a plateau for six weeks (ugh).....I was using measuring cups.

@paganuk - calories in vs. calorie out for weight loss. Macros for health goals & satiety.

I agree. Food scale for solids and semi solid foods.

This is why it is helpful to not cut calories too low at the beginning. If you can't exercise in order to move your deficit, you will probably have to settle for slower weight loss. Or raise your neat by being more active in the day.

AlexaWignall

Thanks everyone. I am pretty comfortable I am recording everything correctly - I use a digital scale. I am hoping it is just a temporary plateau. I am short though, and I understand that for short women you may need less calories. I will recalculate using my current weight and see what it thinks I should be eating - in case it is lower than 1200 - though I thought that was the minimum.

WickAndArtoo

This sounds normal, also have you seen a physical therapist who has said you literally can't do anything? Are you in a wheel chair (sorry if this is rude or anything, I just want an idea of what your situation is).

AlexaWignall

Not in a wheelchair, it is a sort of hidden disability - because I look perfectly okay on the outside. I am not capable of the type of exercise that raises a sweat without causing serious problems - not allowed to cycle, lift weights, jogging, swimming etc. So exercises I can do are low impact, and as a result almost completely useless for weight loss - literally just waving my arms about - and a bit of walking. Just to give you an idea, I bought a Wii and tried the yoga exercises for a week - (which seemed pretty low impact), had a relapse, and could not walk without a stick for 3 weeks. Just 10 minutes of standing ironing and I have to sit down for a few hours. I would love to be able to do regular exercises, but every time I have tried it has been a minor disaster. Every suggestion I have made to my doctor for exercise has been dismissed as a very bad idea. This is what happens when you fall down a flight of stairs and twist your pelvis out of position and collapse the vertebrae in the base of your spine.Years of restricted movement and constant pain, with my weight going up and up. I dont overeat for a normal person, but a completely sedentary life means I cant eat normal amounts of calories.
I guess I am going to have to be patient with the rate at which I can lose weight without being able to exercise. At least it hasn't started to go back up.

monicaamy902

I would guess 85% - 90% of our weight loss is from what we eat and maybe 10% - 15% is exercise. We can definitely tone and shape our body with exercise, but diet is always the most important for the scale victories. It sounds like you are really close to your goal weight. Do what you can to physically strengthen your body for your recovery and pay attention to what goes in your mouth. Do you eat clean? Enough fruits, veggies and protein? Your weight loss still going in the right direction, so just focus on getting your body back to health. The fact that you have this spinal injury and are still focused on a goal and not sinking into a depression is amazing! You are doing great!

aubreeshelley

Not sure if you ever made it, but check out reverse dieting. Your metabolism has adapted to your calorie intake. Slowly increase your calories up to maintenance for your BMR and NEAT, stay there for a couple months, then try to cut calories down again.