Lost 16 pounds since Dec-Now plateaued HELP

Hippy7791

I made some lifestyle changes! Replaced milk with almond milk. Cut sweets and sodas. Eating salad, soup or chicken salad most days for lunch oatmeal about every morning for breakfast supper is always different but well portioned.. I need help I’d like to loose 30 more pounds I legit do not have time for exercise by the time I get home from work with the kids fed and bathed it’s 8!

janejellyroll

You mention changing what you eat, but nothing about a calorie goal. Do you have a specific calorie goal that you're consistently meeting daily?

Hippy7791

Yes my calorie goal is 1500 dailey

Lesscookies1

What's your height and weight? Do you use a food scale ???congrats on your weight loss that's a huge number!! but weight does tend to fluctuate. I gained 2 pounds 3 days ago, and it's gone now. Water weight, sodium intake, so many factors play a part in our weight.

Hippy7791

Currently 5’4 180 pounds

diannethegeek

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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. You might also be sure your scale is working and doesn't need new batteries or anything.

8. 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.

Hippy7791

I do not have a good scale?.. would that help?

Lesscookies1

Hippy7791 wrote: »

Currently 5’4 180 pounds

Thanks!! Do you use a food scale to weigh your food?

diannethegeek

Hippy7791 wrote: »

I do not have a good scale?.. would that help?

It might. These videos show why so many of us recommend them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

https://youtu.be/vjKPIcI51lU

http://youtube.com/watch?v=XpHykP6e_Uk

janejellyroll

Hippy7791 wrote: »

I do not have a good scale?.. would that help?

Yes. Get a food scale. More accurate logging will likely solve this problem.

kimny72

Just wanted to add to the great advice you've already gotten - If you've lost 16 lbs since sometime in December you've been averaging more than 1 lb per week and that's really consistently great! Weight loss isn't linear, it is perfectly normal to have a week or two here or there where you don't lose weight. So there might not be anything wrong! But getting a food scale to make sure your logging is accurate is a great idea regardless, as it will get you ready for the last 10-15 lbs when you don't have any wiggle room. Congrats on your success so far!