Stalled Weight

thelifeilove1

My weight loss stalled at around 9/2018 after dropping approximately 60 pounds over the prior 15 months; this being slightly more than half my goal weight to drop. Two things happened at around the same time. I was at last able to start a fitness regimen and turned to biking; in pleasant weather (no precip/little wind) averaging 50-60 miles per week. Also, at the same time a doctor's visit which showed a greatly improved A1C caused me to request of my doctor a reduction in my prescription meds. We dropped the Januvia. Since then hardly any weight has been lost though I log daily and eat at or near my goal of 1200, but eat back some of my burned calories as well. So last week we restarted a combined Januvia/Metformin (Janumet) in hopes this will change the metabolism (overproduction of glycogen) and jumpstart the downward momentum again. Anyone else experienced anything such as this?

Teabythesea_

How are you tracking your food? Are you weighing it? If not then its possible you have gotten away with it up until this point, but the less you have to lose the more precise you need to be.

thelifeilove1

Though I don't use the scale each time any longer, if its something I frequently eat, I'm pretty good at keeping the amount where it needs to be and enter my recipes in the recipe section to determine the right amounts. Otherwise, yes I use a digital food scale or a measuring cup as appropriate.

Panini911

thelifeilove1 wrote: »

Though I don't use the scale each time any longer, if its something I frequently eat, I'm pretty good at keeping the amount where it needs to be and enter my recipes in the recipe section to determine the right amounts. Otherwise, yes I use a digital food scale or a measuring cup as appropriate.

i'd go back to 100% food scale given you say you haven't moved in a few weeks. i would also double check entires used (are they for raw VS cooked? is it a good entry or not? lots of errors in there). it's an easy thing to double check.

If you changed any exercise routine it could be muscles retaining water.

but also, a few weeks at the same weight isn't unusual. weight loss is not linear.

rheddmobile

There have been studies which found that people who lost weight on metformin (which has an off label use as a diet drug) promptly regained it when they stopped taking it. It works as an appetite suppressant for some people.

You are also doing new activities which can cause your muscles to retain water, masking weight loss.

Also, I’m not that familiar with Januvia, but doesn’t it have a diuretic effect? Stopping it would also lead to water weight gain.

thelifeilove1

rheddmobile wrote: »

Also, I’m not that familiar with Januvia, but doesn’t it have a diuretic effect? Stopping it would also lead to water weight gain.

No, I don't think Januvia has a diuretic element to it. It just works with the pancreas on insulin production and on the liver to discourage the overproduction of glycocin which becomes fat if overproduced by the body.

Teabythesea_

thelifeilove1 wrote: »

Though I don't use the scale each time any longer, if its something I frequently eat, I'm pretty good at keeping the amount where it needs to be and enter my recipes in the recipe section to determine the right amounts. Otherwise, yes I use a digital food scale or a measuring cup as appropriate.

Start using your scale for everything again. No matter how good you think you are at eyeballing portion sizes you are likely not as exact as you need to be, most of us arent. When people stop using a scale portion creep can become an issue. While measuring cups are okay in some situations, I would still weigh calorie dense liquids such as oils, dressings, and sauces. Also, be sure that you are even weighing prepackaged foods as the nutrition information can be off on those too. Most of the time when people's weight loss stalls it has something to do with their logging, so make these changes and see where you are in a few weeks.

PineAndSalt

You may want to check with a dietician regarding your BMR. For example, at age 30, height 5’2.5”, weight 137lbs, mine is about ~1400. It continues to drop as you get older, and for primarily sendentary people you only add about 1-200 calories burned on top of that daily. If you are biking, you may be overcalculating the amount of calories being burned. With this combination, there is a possibility of accidentally eating at maintenance vs loss.

I have a coworker who is overweight and went to a dietician; after working together she was told that her effective BMR was only 900 calories. She’s ~40 years old with four children. Her dietician advised that having kids can lower the amount of fuel you need afterwards. Depending on your health history and how your body processes food, it could be that your BMR has been affected at some point.

MichelleSilverleaf

PineAndSalt wrote: »

You may want to check with a dietician regarding your BMR. For example, at age 30, height 5’2.5”, weight 137lbs, mine is about ~1400. It continues to drop as you get older, and for primarily sendentary people you only add about 1-200 calories burned on top of that daily. If you are biking, you may be overcalculating the amount of calories being burned. With this combination, there is a possibility of accidentally eating at maintenance vs loss.

I have a coworker who is overweight and went to a dietician; after working together she was told that her effective BMR was only 900 calories. She’s ~40 years old with four children. Her dietician advised that having kids can lower the amount of fuel you need afterwards. Depending on your health history and how your body processes food, it could be that your BMR has been affected at some point.

A 40 year old woman with kids only having a bmr of 900? I call bs. Having kids lowering the amount of fuel you need also sounds like bs. Besides, it's not your BMR you need to know so much as either your NEAT or TDEE, and take a deficit from there.

emmamcgarity

Have you taken any planned diet breaks?

PineAndSalt

MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »

A 40 year old woman with kids only having a bmr of 900? I call bs. Having kids lowering the amount of fuel you need also sounds like bs. Besides, it's not your BMR you need to know so much as either your NEAT or TDEE, and take a deficit from there.

You can call it as much as you want, but that’s from her dietician! She’s on a very limited diet regimen now and has been exercising daily.

The take-away point I’m trying to make is that the best thing someone can do if they’re struggling to lose weight, while measuring caloric intake and exercising, is to speak with a physician/dietician for guidance. There could be something going on that is preventing the weight loss.

Teabythesea_

PineAndSalt wrote: »

You may want to check with a dietician regarding your BMR. For example, at age 30, height 5’2.5”, weight 137lbs, mine is about ~1400. It continues to drop as you get older, and for primarily sendentary people you only add about 1-200 calories burned on top of that daily. If you are biking, you may be overcalculating the amount of calories being burned. With this combination, there is a possibility of accidentally eating at maintenance vs loss.

I have a coworker who is overweight and went to a dietician; after working together she was told that her effective BMR was only 900 calories. She’s ~40 years old with four children. Her dietician advised that having kids can lower the amount of fuel you need afterwards. Depending on your health history and how your body processes food, it could be that your BMR has been affected at some point.

Your BMR isnt really what's important, it's only a part of the equation. BMR stays relatively the same among individuals with similar age, height and weights, but TDEE can be affected by a number of factors. For instance, my BMR is about the same as yours but through months of tracking my intake and weight I've determined my TDEE is about 2200 calories. I also highly doubt an overweight person with kids would have a BMR that low. That's like the BMR of a 4ft, 90lb, 80 year old woman...

Edited to add because I saw your other reaponse... the majority of physicians do not have formal training or education in nutrition and weightloss. Dieticians are different but even some of the advice that people on these forums get from dietitians or nutritionists is questionable. While help from a professional can be useful, its usually not necessary as the problem often lies in the individuals logging.

Maxematics

Teabythesea_ wrote: »

PineAndSalt wrote: »

You may want to check with a dietician regarding your BMR. For example, at age 30, height 5’2.5”, weight 137lbs, mine is about ~1400. It continues to drop as you get older, and for primarily sendentary people you only add about 1-200 calories burned on top of that daily. If you are biking, you may be overcalculating the amount of calories being burned. With this combination, there is a possibility of accidentally eating at maintenance vs loss.

I have a coworker who is overweight and went to a dietician; after working together she was told that her effective BMR was only 900 calories. She’s ~40 years old with four children. Her dietician advised that having kids can lower the amount of fuel you need afterwards. Depending on your health history and how your body processes food, it could be that your BMR has been affected at some point.

Your BMR isnt really what's important, it's only a part of the equation. BMR stays relatively the same among individuals with similar age, height and weights, but TDEE can be affected by a number of factors. For instance, my BMR is about the same as yours but through months of tracking my intake and weight I've determined my TDEE is about 2200 calories. I also highly doubt an overweight person with kids would have a BMR that low. That's like the BMR of a 4ft, 90lb, 80 year old woman...

Edited to add because I saw your other reaponse... the majority of physicians do not have formal training or education in nutrition and weightloss. Dieticians are different but even some of the advice that people on these forums get from dietitians or nutritionists is questionable. While help from a professional can be useful, its usually not necessary as the problem often lies in the individuals logging.

Agreed. I feel like dieticians just tell clients what they want to hear. "Yes, you do have a broken metabolism but we're going to fix it by doing x, y, and z" or " You have an usually low BMR, so here are my recommendations." That way, they enable the excuses of their client "Oh, yes, you indeed are an outlier/you do have a medical condition!" while tricking said client into eating in a true deficit. That's why they'll tell clients to go on a 1000 calorie diet knowing full and well their client will overload the measuring cup or underestimate portions but the low allotment will still keep a deficit.

MichelleSilverleaf

PineAndSalt wrote: »

MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »

A 40 year old woman with kids only having a bmr of 900? I call bs. Having kids lowering the amount of fuel you need also sounds like bs. Besides, it's not your BMR you need to know so much as either your NEAT or TDEE, and take a deficit from there.

You can call it as much as you want, but that’s from her dietician! She’s on a very limited diet regimen now and has been exercising daily.

The take-away point I’m trying to make is that the best thing someone can do if they’re struggling to lose weight, while measuring caloric intake and exercising, is to speak with a physician/dietician for guidance. There could be something going on that is preventing the weight loss.

Dr. Oz has a real medical degree and pedals detoxes and other such crap on his show regularly. Kelly Brogan has a real degree but charges $4000 for consultations and has an online supplement store. Degrees sadly aren't 100% guarantees that the professional in question is giving good information.

thelifeilove1

emmamcgarity wrote: »

Have you taken any planned diet breaks?

Other than a failed day here and there, no. I have learned it’s too easy for the break to be the end of discipline. I’ve committed to this lifestyle from necessity, I cannot stop; this must be for life.

kimny72

thelifeilove1 wrote: »

emmamcgarity wrote: »

Have you taken any planned diet breaks?

Other than a failed day here and there no. I have learned it’s too easy for the break to be the end of discipline. I’ve committed to this lifestyle from necessity. I cannot stop.

A diet break isn't really a "stop". You just plan to eat at maintenance level instead of in a deficit, everything else stays the same. It's certainly not a free for all. It can give your hormones a chance to balance, as well as provide a psychological break. Eating at a deficit for a long period of time is stressful on your body and your mind. You will have to be able to eat at maintenance for the rest of your life, so practicing it on occasion while losing the weight can helpful. Being able to continue your good habits past goal weight and into eating maintenance is often the key to not gaining weight back.

If you're interested, there's a thread about it:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1

thelifeilove1

kimny72 wrote: »

thelifeilove1 wrote: »

emmamcgarity wrote: »

Have you taken any planned diet breaks?

Other than a failed day here and there no. I have learned it’s too easy for the break to be the end of discipline. I’ve committed to this lifestyle from necessity. I cannot stop.

A diet break isn't really a "stop". You just plan to eat at maintenance level instead of in a deficit, everything else stays the same. It's certainly not a free for all. It can give your hormones a chance to balance, as well as provide a psychological break. Eating at a deficit for a long period of time is stressful on your body and your mind. You will have to be able to eat at maintenance for the rest of your life, so practicing it on occasion while losing the weight can helpful. Being able to continue your good habits past goal weight and into eating maintenance is often the key to not gaining weight back.

If you're interested, there's a thread about it:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1

thelifeilove1

kimny72 wrote: »

[quote=

A diet break isn't really a "stop". You just plan to eat at maintenance level instead of in a deficit, everything else stays the same

If you're interested, there's a thread about it:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1[/quote]

[/quote]

I will read this thread later. Though not by design, this past 7 months has been like maintenance I should think. It’s just I wish I could add back a few calories for that period; obviously, I can not, unless my diabetes medication does make a difference. From the looks of things this past week, though, I think it is. The scale seems to be moving again.