Plateau after just a week?

lucyandherface

Hi everyone! I have been counting calories for 3.5 weeks, the first week I lost about 2.5kg, then 0.5kg the next week, and then the last week I lost nothing, which was pretty disheartening. My sister, who is the same height as me but lighter, just lost loads of weight eating 2000 calories a day, and she said that the weight should be falling off me!

I have been eating 1600-1700 calories a day ... for background, I weight 111kg (about 244lbs) currently and am 5’10” tall. I have a job that keepS me on my feet a reasonable amount, and often work long hours where (according to my watch) I can burn over 3000 calories in a day!

The last time I tried to lose weight, I was eating 1200 calories and the exact same thing happened ... so I gave up. I’m hoping that things will pick up again this week because that hope is the only thing stopping me from giving up again!

Any comments/advice/anecdotes from people of similar weights would be much appreciated!

Machka9

First ...

You might also check out these:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300319/most-helpful-posts-general-diet-and-weight-loss-help-must-reads#latest

Especially the one entitled:

It is unlikely that you will lose weight consistently (i.e., weight loss is not linear)


Second ...

Sorry, but I doubt you're burning 3000 calories a day.

Enter your details into MFP.
Select Lightly Active as your activity level
Select an amount to lose (i.e. 0.5 kg/week)
Eat the number of calories MFP gives you.
Stick with it.

sijomial

(according to my watch) I can burn over 3000 calories in a day!

What kind of watch?
3000 calories would take rather more activity and exercise than being on your feet a reasonable amount.

One week without a loss is not a plateau.

lucyandherface

Oh no just to clarify, I don’t think I’m burning 3000 calories every day. But once or twice a week I’ll work 7:30am till 11pm, and those days my watch says I do because those days I spend about 75% of my time on my feet. Whether that’s actually accurate .. idk.

Thanks for that link, though. I mean it’s something that I kind of knew already, that my weight loss will not be super predictable, but i guess I needed to hear it from someone else. The only time I’ve ever been successful with weight loss is when I ate a crazy low amount of calories a day and so I guess I’m gonna have to get used to not seeing losses of 2+kg a week ......

lucyandherface

It’s an Apple Watch

5Months2fit

Are you working out? Could be your muscles retaining water.

I’m 100% sure I’m burning more calories than I’m taking in, but after a few days of suddenly extreme diet and exercise, the scale didn’t budge...but my clothing already feels lighter...I read it’s likely water weight.

I’d guess it’s the same for you, unless you are miscalculating calories or the amount of exercise you are getting.

Good luck

TonyB0588

lucyandherface wrote: »

Oh no just to clarify, I don’t think I’m burning 3000 calories every day. But once or twice a week I’ll work 7:30am till 11pm, and those days my watch says I do because those days I spend about 75% of my time on my feet. Whether that’s actually accurate .. idk.

Thanks for that link, though. I mean it’s something that I kind of knew already, that my weight loss will not be super predictable, but i guess I needed to hear it from someone else. The only time I’ve ever been successful with weight loss is when I ate a crazy low amount of calories a day and so I guess I’m gonna have to get used to not seeing losses of 2+kg a week ......

The usual suggested amount for weight loss is half to one pound per week. 2 kg per week is nearly 5 lbs so that's not a realistic expectation.

diannethegeek

A plateau is generally considered to be something like 4-6+ weeks with no changes in weight while making no changes to your routine (since exercise and diet changes often come with greater water weight fluctuations in the beginning). So it doesn't sound like you're quite on a plateau yet, thank goodness!

I agree with those who are saying that you're likely just seeing some weight fluctuations and it's nothing to worry about. But if the problem persists, these would be my generic tips:

1. If it's been less than 3 weeks or so, don't sweat it! Normal fluctuations happen and unfortunately sometimes we stall for a week or two even when we're doing everything right. Give your body some time to catch up with the changes you're making.

2. If you aren't already, be sure that you're logging everything. Sometimes people forget about things like veggies, drinks, cooking oils, and condiments. For some people these can add up to enough to halt your weight loss progress.

3. Consider buying a food scale if you don't already have one. They're about $10-$20 dollars in the US and easily found at places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Measuring cups and spoons are great, but they do come with some degree of inaccuracy. A food scale will be more accurate, and for some people it makes a big difference.

4. Logging accurately also means choosing accurate entries in the database. There are a lot of user-entered entries that are off. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries.

5. Recalculate your goals if you haven't lately. As you lose weight your body requires fewer calories to run. Be sure you update your goals every ten pounds or so.

6. If you're eating back your exercise calories and you're relying on gym machine readouts or MFP's estimates, it might be best to eat back just 50-75% of those. Certain activities tend to be overestimated. If you're using an HRM or activity tracker, it might be a good idea to look into their accuracy and be sure that yours is calibrated properly.

7. If you're taking any cheat days that go over your calorie limits, it might be best to cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens. Some people go way over their calorie needs without realizing it when they don't track.

8. If you weigh yourself frequently, consider using a program like trendweight to even out the fluctuations. You could be losing weight but just don't see it because of the daily ups and downs.

9. Some people just burn fewer calories than the calculators predict. If you continue to have problems after 4-6 weeks, then it might be worth a trip to the doctor or a registered dietitian who can give you more specific advice.

cwolfman13

lucyandherface

Ah mean, thanks everyone! I guess I just have to have faith in the system! And those are all mega useful tips that I will now save to my phone, hahaha

ITUSGirl51

I’ve been doing this since March 2017 (with three vacation breaks). I’ve lost 55 lbs. Two weeks ago I lost 1.5, last week 0 (which was upsetting but I kept it up) this week 3.5 lbs. I’m sure next weigh in it will be 0 again because I had a woosh this week. The difference between people who succeed at losing weight and those who quit after a month is persistence and patience. I have quit many times after a month because of a “stall” in losing a after a few weeks.

You have to have patience.

When I started I decided that it takes as long as it takes because this time next year I will probably weigh at least 50 lbs less than I do now. It’s not even a year and I’m down more than 50. Some days are really hard and other days are easy. Just keep going. You can do it!