Stuck and scale has barely moved

aallegra14741

I am starting week 8 and have lost only 5 pounds. I have not cheated and exercise 5 days a week doing hiit. I am basically doing paleo eating 1200 calories a day. No bread, pasta, chocolate, chips or fast food. I have not cheated. I have 27 more pounds to go. I am discouraged and am losing the faith with this lifestyle. If I eat fast food my body is still stuck. What am I doing wrong?
PS- I will be 50 in a few months.

diannethegeek

5 pounds lost in 8 weeks is really fantastic progress. It sounds like you're doing great.

That said, if you want to hunt around for a problem these might be some things to consider:

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 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.

7. 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.

88olds

Step back. The only way to fail is quit. Weight loss requires problem solving. And lots of it. You can work through this.

Do you use a food scale? Do you eat back exercise calories?

You say you are stuck, how long have you been stuck? Stuck is you haven’t lost anything.

aallegra14741

aallegra14741 wrote: »

I am starting week 8 and have lost only 5 pounds. I have not cheated and exercise 5 days a week doing hiit. I am basically doing paleo eating 1200 calories a day. No bread, pasta, chocolate, chips or fast food. I have not cheated. I have 27 more pounds to go. I am discouraged and am losing the faith with this lifestyle. If I eat fast food my body is still stuck. What am I doing wrong?
PS- I will be 50 in a few months.

RadishEater

Are you discouraged at the pace or because you find the paleo diet to be unsatisfying? It seems like it could be both from your post.

The key goal is to be happy with the lifestyle during and after the process. If you aren't the chance of keeping with the lifestyle diminishes. I lost 30 lbs eating bread, pasta, and chocolate but following everything @diannethegeek said.

aallegra14741

Thanks for your thoughtful responses. I am not eating my exercise calories because I really want to lose the weight. I would be happy if my clothes fit better or I felt better. Everything is the same just eating over a 1,000 calories less. My insurance will only cover a dietitian visit if I am diabetic. This keeps up I will be.