Frustrated

staggerdee1

I have been following my daily intake of food and I just can’t lose weight. I don’t know what to do. I lost eight pounds am an stuck. Any advice out there

livingleanlivingclean

You lost 8 lbs.... That is not nothing. How long did it take you to lose 8lbs, and how long have you not seen a drop in the scale?

How do you work out how much you're eating - do you use a scale to weigh all solids and measuring cups just for liquids?

amwbox

Likely just need to cut the calories more. What's the timeframe? Maybe just wait a couple weeks and see what happens.

diannethegeek

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.

staggerdee1

I am vegetarian now no dairy or grains nothing with carbs due to high cholesterol and just can’t seem to lose anymore just need ten more pounds ugh

staggerdee1

I’m at less then 1000 calories a day

staggerdee1

My advice was 1200

staggerdee1

I started end on March and all was looking good but now stuck at 136 and for my body type need to be in 128 range

malibu927

How long has it been since you lost? With ten pounds to lose you shouldn't be aiming for a loss of more than half a pound a week (which will be well over 1000 calories, and likely over 1200 as well). That also means you have to make sure your logging is as accurate as possible (do you use a food scale for everything?).

livingleanlivingclean

staggerdee1 wrote: »

I am vegetarian now no dairy or grains nothing with carbs due to high cholesterol and just can’t seem to lose anymore just need ten more pounds ugh

what you eat isn't as important as how much you eat.


not sure why you can't have dairy or grains due to cholesterol - is this a recommendation from your doctor?


Do you use a food scale to weigh your food?

lantana411

I read that a MINIMUM number of calories for a woman is 1200 and for a man it's 1800. The body won't give up weight if it thinks it's being starved. You may want to look at your overall intake - calories, fat, protein, carbs and sugar. If you're staying at a low number of calories but exceeding your fat or carbs, that may be why the weight isn't coming off as fast as you'd expect. Also, when we don't have as much to lose the body is reluctant to give it up. Keep weighing and reviewing your intake and in time the weight will come off. Best of success being healthy and happy!

malibu927

lantana411 wrote: »

I read that a MINIMUM number of calories for a woman is 1200 and for a man it's 1800. The body won't give up weight if it thinks it's being starved. You may want to look at your overall intake - calories, fat, protein, carbs and sugar. If you're staying at a low number of calories but exceeding your fat or carbs, that may be why the weight isn't coming off as fast as you'd expect. Also, when we don't have as much to lose the body is reluctant to give it up. Keep weighing and reviewing your intake and in time the weight will come off. Best of success being healthy and happy!

The bolded is untrue. 1200 and 1500 are minimums to ensure adequate nutrition, but eating less will not cause you to stop losing weight.

kimny72

staggerdee1 wrote: »

I’m at less then 1000 calories a day

Are you using a food scale? Double checking that the entries you are using in the database have the correct calories? Would you be willing to make your diary public temporarily?

emmamcgarity

How tall are you?

MichelleSilverleaf

Set MFP to .5lbs a week, eat to that number and change your expectations. 10lbs is going to come off sloooooooooooooowly, and can easily be masked by weight fluctuations. You're not doing yourself any good eating less than 1000 cal.

nutmegoreo

lantana411 wrote: »

I read that a MINIMUM number of calories for a woman is 1200 and for a man it's 1800. The body won't give up weight if it thinks it's being starved. You may want to look at your overall intake - calories, fat, protein, carbs and sugar. If you're staying at a low number of calories but exceeding your fat or carbs, that may be why the weight isn't coming off as fast as you'd expect. Also, when we don't have as much to lose the body is reluctant to give it up. Keep weighing and reviewing your intake and in time the weight will come off. Best of success being healthy and happy!

This part is unlikely, unless OP has medical conditions she hasn't shared at this point. There are minimum levels of fat and protein that are necessary for health, but other than that macro makeup is more about satiety than it is for weight loss.

staggerdee1

I am 5’8” cholesterol 275 which is way high don’t want to go on meds so diet is the way I have to go. I get up for work at 6:15 and get home at 5:30 to cook dinner so not sure where I could fit in a good amount of exercise. Do walk dog mile or so a night. Just don’t know what to do

nutmegoreo

staggerdee1 wrote: »

I am 5’8” cholesterol 275 which is way high don’t want to go on meds so diet is the way I have to go. I get up for work at 6:15 and get home at 5:30 to cook dinner so not sure where I could fit in a good amount of exercise. Do walk dog mile or so a night. Just don’t know what to do

Weight loss is more about how much (calories) you are eating and less about exercise. Did you read the above responses?

staggerdee1

I eat high protein very low carb foods just hope it will help with cholesterol and thought would lose weight. Cheese was my go to but not now 😀

LeanButNotMean44

Exercise before work, weigh solids/measure liquids, calorie deficit.

emmamcgarity

For your height and weight it sounds like you are already at a healthy weight. However, with your cholesterol issue, you might want to consider a heart healthy diet for proper nutrition (i.e. DASH diet is recommended by American Heart Association).

staggerdee1

Satiety really? Not even close just want to lose ten pounds not that difficult to understand

staggerdee1

Thank you I get it but 615 comes early for me I just can’t see getting up at four ugh I’ll deal with it

WinoGelato

Have you read the above responses? Are you using a food scale for accuracy of logging your calorie intake? You don’t need any exercise to lose weight, but you also don’t need a long strenuous session in order to see some benefits. Walk the dog for 30 min in the morning and the evening. Go for a walk on your lunch break at work.

You also need realistic expectations - with 10 lbs to lose you can expect to lose 0.5 lbs/week and it won’t be linear.

staggerdee1

I guess first ten came easy not so easy now

livingleanlivingclean

staggerdee1 wrote: »

I guess first ten came easy not so easy now

are you using a food scale?!?

WinoGelato

livingleanlivingclean wrote: »

staggerdee1 wrote: »

I guess first ten came easy not so easy now

are you using a food scale?!?

Nice touch with the bold...