Stuck

I got back on the wagon over two months ago. I'm 5'7", started at 238.5, and as of 3 weeks ago I got down to 220. And then...nothing. As of this morning I even gained 2 lbs!

I'm pretty sedentary and aim for 1300/day. I weigh nearly all my food with a scale. At first I thought I needed to up my calories for a day or two to trick my metabolism, but even with a few increased calorie days my average calories per day is 1423. Then I thought maybe it was period weight. That came and went so I ruled it out. Then I considered that my scale batteries are really old so I replaced them, with no change at all in the scale.

I'm planning to forge ahead as I've been doing, but I'm really confused as to why I'd be stuck for over 3 weeks (and even appear to gain). No changes in lifestyle, exercise, or food. If I don't see a decrease in another week I was going to consider thyroid issues (I have a history of Hashi's, but my TSH has always been normal). Any ideas on why I might be stuck? This isn't really a "woe is me" post, but genuine curiosity at what might be at play here.

Replies

  • Kathryn247
    Kathryn247 Posts: 570 Member
    Hello!
    This could be either water weight fluctuations hiding your loss, or you're actually eating at maintenance. Make sure you're logging everything as accurately as possible, and give it more time.

    Also:
    1300 seems kind of low for your stats, is that what MFP recommended?
    You say you weigh "nearly all" of your food. The stuff you don't weigh could cancel out your deficit.
    "Tricking your metabolism" isn't really a thing, in that eating more won't cause you to lose more.

  • sapphire1166
    sapphire1166 Posts: 114 Member
    Kathryn247 wrote: »
    Hello!
    This could be either water weight fluctuations hiding your loss, or you're actually eating at maintenance. Make sure you're logging everything as accurately as possible, and give it more time.

    Also:
    1300 seems kind of low for your stats, is that what MFP recommended?
    You say you weigh "nearly all" of your food. The stuff you don't weigh could cancel out your deficit.
    "Tricking your metabolism" isn't really a thing, in that eating more won't cause you to lose more.

    The only things I don't weigh are things like apples that I eat at work. I don't have a scale at work so I can't weigh the core to see exactly how much I've eaten. And if I have the occasional (and it really is rare) treat that isn't already portioned exactly, I usually overestimate on the calories to be on the safe side. Otherwise everything gets weighed. Even going so far as to calculate the exact amount of calories in a dish after I've put all the ingredients in, weighing the whole dish to find out how many calories are in each gram, and then weighing my portion and doing the math that way.

    According to MFP, my BMR is 1726, so I'm definitely not eating at maintenance.

    My best guess is probably the weight fluctuations you mentioned. Hoping for a whoosh soon!
  • lin_be
    lin_be Posts: 393 Member
    Would you be willing to open your diary so we can take a look at your logging?