Hitting a wall with weight loss?!

SaraSeaRoberts

Hi all,

I've been eating clean and exercising consistently (4-5 days per week) for the last 6 months or so and have lost about 20 lbs, with any 20lbs to go before I hit my goal weight. However I have recently hit a wall where I can't seem to lose weight, despite the fact that neither my diet nor exercise regime have changed. I know it's normal for weight loss to slow as you approach goal weight, but it seems to have STOPPED and I'm frustrated!

Any advice from others who have had this issue on how to move forward??

For reference my body type is best described as a "short pear": I'm 5'2" and currently 155lbs.

SteamPug

How many calories are you eating? Like you said, weight loss slows and you have to adjust for that by either decreasing calories (but not below 1,200) or increasing exercise.

diannethegeek

Plateaus can be super frustrating. Your diary is closed and we don't have many details to work with here, but maybe something here will help:

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.

quiksylver296

Do you use a food scale to weigh all your food, and then log everything into your food diary, no skipping, cheating or forgetting? If the answer is "no," start there.

You could check out this thread. It shows why a food scale is such a powerful tool for weight loss.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1

janejellyroll

Are you working to hit a certain calorie goal each day or just "eating clean"?

SaraSeaRoberts

I have admittedly fallen off the wagon with tracking my calories but I'm trying to get back on track with that now! MFP calculated that my daily intake should be 1200, but as I'm doing an alternating combo of HIIT/strength/cardio exercise 4-5 days per week, that seems really low...?

MichelleSilverleaf

If you got a flat 1200 your weekly loss goal is probably too much. With 20lbs to go you're looking at 0.5lb-1lb a week tops.

bcradio1

I have not had the issue (which are the people you want advice from since they have been successful in their weight loss). You will simply need to eat less and/or move more.

Weight loss only comes down to eating less calories than you burn.

You want to weigh everything you eat and track every bite going into your mouth. You also need to know how many calories you burn in a day. Once you know that, cut that by 500 calories and eat that amount daily.

Aim to get a minimum (yes minimum) of 0.4 grams of fat per pound of bodyweigh amd 0.6 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. Carbs do not matter one bit and are only personal preference based on what allows you to perform best.

Lastly, meal timing is virtually irrelevant... eat when you want. Only exception is if you lift weights it is better to space your protein intake to 3-4 evenly spaced meals per day.

SaraSeaRoberts

1200 is what it gave me with a 1lb per week goal.

quiksylver296

Change your rate of loss from 1 lbs per week to 0.5 lbs, and eat back at least 50% of your exercise calories, while using a food scale and logging.

MichelleSilverleaf

SaraSeaRoberts wrote: »

1200 is what it gave me with a 1lb per week goal.

Might need to try 0.5, it'll be slow but manageable. And the exercise will give even more calories.

aeloine

SaraSeaRoberts

Hey that's helpful! Thanks all. Going to keep plodding along while being much better about tracking and see how that goes...

janejellyroll

SaraSeaRoberts wrote: »

I have admittedly fallen off the wagon with tracking my calories but I'm trying to get back on track with that now! MFP calculated that my daily intake should be 1200, but as I'm doing an alternating combo of HIIT/strength/cardio exercise 4-5 days per week, that seems really low...?

MFP is designed for you to log your exercise and eat back the calories burned, so a recommendation of 1,200 would be 1,200 plus your exercise calories.

You also get a lower goal if you enter a more aggressive goal for loss per week. How many pounds a week did you select as your goal rate of loss?

In any case, before deciding you hit a call I would begin logging and consistently hitting a calorie goal. "Eating clean" is irrelevant for weight loss, it's a calorie deficit that is going to produce the results you're looking for.

Edit: I see you chose 1 pound a week as your goal. Change it to .5 a week and you'll get to eat more each day.