STUCK! Still dieting but not losing

guitargirl55
guitargirl55 Posts: 258 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
What do you all do when you get stuck?

When I am about the weight I am now (mid 130s), I always seem to “stuck” and stop losing weight. I am still doing the same thing I have been doing, but the weight has stopped coming off. I am about 12 lbs from my goal, and in the past I have just ended up giving up and saying - close enough! Not this time!! I am really motivated to finish. It has been almost 2 weeks and I am frustrated that what I am doing to lose weight has stopped working, and I am getting scared that it is just not going to work anymore like it has in the past.

Does anyone know why this happens? What is the best course of action to lose those last few stubborn pounds? Should I change it up and do less calories and more exercise or just keep on doing what I am doing and try to be patient because the process is slower?

Details
Age 26
Height 5’2”
Exercise – Mostly just having an active lifestyle (walk the dog, run, bike, ride horses, etc.),
Diet - Stay under 1,350 calories of food a day. I don’t eat gluten because I have Celiac disease, and I try to focus on eating protein and veggies with every meal.
SW 160
CW 137
GW 125

Thank you in advance!! :)

Replies

  • sytchequeen
    sytchequeen Posts: 526 Member
    guitargirl55 wrote: »
    I actually don’t have a food scale, but I think I will purchase one!

    all the yes to this!

    we are a similar height, and proportionally a few extra pounds of food can mean a lot at our size. Tighten up your accuracy when logging and you'll get there

  • guitargirl55
    guitargirl55 Posts: 258 Member
    Thanks for sharing all of the links!

    This is good information. I do want to be in this for the long haul, but I was really hoping that maintenance would let me have quite a bit more calories. The thought that it may take a year just to finish losing at this rate makes me think I will be able to eat barely more than this to maintain. Is that true? I hope not! It is a struggle to maintain my current diet, and knowing it will have an end and get easier is part of what gets me through. Especially if I have to weigh everything and be even more careful about my logging, I really don’t know if I have the perseverance to maintain this for the rest of my life.

    I am not trying to be a downer – just being honest!
  • guitargirl55
    guitargirl55 Posts: 258 Member
    Well maintaining is still a ways away - so for now I'll just buy a food scale, take some other types of progress measurements, and get after it!

    Thanks for the input!!! It is very appreciated :)
  • guitargirl55
    guitargirl55 Posts: 258 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    guitargirl55 wrote: »
    Thanks for sharing all of the links!

    This is good information. I do want to be in this for the long haul, but I was really hoping that maintenance would let me have quite a bit more calories. The thought that it may take a year just to finish losing at this rate makes me think I will be able to eat barely more than this to maintain. Is that true? I hope not! It is a struggle to maintain my current diet, and knowing it will have an end and get easier is part of what gets me through. Especially if I have to weigh everything and be even more careful about my logging, I really don’t know if I have the perseverance to maintain this for the rest of my life.

    I am not trying to be a downer – just being honest!

    I second everything @apullum said. My maintenance is currently 1700-1800 cals and I was losing on 1450-1500.

    I will add, for many of us not tall ladies, increasing our NEAT can be a big help, as an extra 100 cals can make a big difference when your maintenance is under 2000. So since you like the links :wink: here's more reading for ya:
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss/p1

    Check out your macros as well. If you are typically below goal on either fat, protein, or fiber, bringing up the stragglers can help you feel satisfied with less calories, at least for some people. And if you feel like you have to eat less than the numbers suggest, a 2 week diet break on occasion (eating maintenance calories, not going off the rails) can help keep your hormones balanced. I've got a link for that too if you want it :lol:

    Haha! Thanks :) I'll get reading!


    If you would like to send the other link my way I'll read that one too! I may need a break at some point!
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    guitargirl55 wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    guitargirl55 wrote: »
    Thanks for sharing all of the links!

    This is good information. I do want to be in this for the long haul, but I was really hoping that maintenance would let me have quite a bit more calories. The thought that it may take a year just to finish losing at this rate makes me think I will be able to eat barely more than this to maintain. Is that true? I hope not! It is a struggle to maintain my current diet, and knowing it will have an end and get easier is part of what gets me through. Especially if I have to weigh everything and be even more careful about my logging, I really don’t know if I have the perseverance to maintain this for the rest of my life.

    I am not trying to be a downer – just being honest!

    I second everything @apullum said. My maintenance is currently 1700-1800 cals and I was losing on 1450-1500.

    I will add, for many of us not tall ladies, increasing our NEAT can be a big help, as an extra 100 cals can make a big difference when your maintenance is under 2000. So since you like the links :wink: here's more reading for ya:
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss/p1

    Check out your macros as well. If you are typically below goal on either fat, protein, or fiber, bringing up the stragglers can help you feel satisfied with less calories, at least for some people. And if you feel like you have to eat less than the numbers suggest, a 2 week diet break on occasion (eating maintenance calories, not going off the rails) can help keep your hormones balanced. I've got a link for that too if you want it :lol:

    Haha! Thanks :) I'll get reading!


    If you would like to send the other link my way I'll read that one too! I may need a break at some point!

    There's a lot of pretty dense science in here, some of it honestly over my head, but the basics are pretty clear:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1
  • TheRealSlim_Shelly
    TheRealSlim_Shelly Posts: 66 Member
    My initial reaction was to change up your exercise. I was like you almost exactly in height and weight and age and started interval training (HIIT) and the weight started coming off again (as well as my whole body started changing). In 12-16 weeks I looked noticeably different - not that I “hit my goal weight” in 12 weeks but I started becoming very pleased with the way I looked regardless of the scale. The scale did move even though I hadn’t changed my calories. Possibly the afterburn I had no way of recording was responsible for the drop in weight. You could easily incorporate it into your current running/biking routine. Just an anecdotal suggestion. Possibly any change to your routine - strength training or a change in cardio where you’re using different muscles could jump start it again. Good luck and please share your results.
  • guitargirl55
    guitargirl55 Posts: 258 Member
    I hadn't thought of that! I'll look into it! It would probably be good for me to focus a little more on exercise anyways since I haven't been too invested in that throughout this process.
  • missblondi2u
    missblondi2u Posts: 851 Member
    apullum wrote: »
    guitargirl55 wrote: »
    The important part is that they act if their weight goes outside their maintenance range, and don’t let it continue to creep up. Others continue to log. I’d recommend logging for a while in maintenance, and then evaluating how you want to proceed.

    This is so right! I'm one of those that got to GW (well, close enough anyway) and then thought I was done. On top of that, I got a new job and moved to a new city, and my exercise routine became lax. I wasn't logging or weighing myself, until my clothes started to get tight. After about a year, I had gained about 20 pounds back!

    I'm back at it again, but now armed with the knowledge that this is a forever commitment.
  • lingling0313
    lingling0313 Posts: 5 Member
    Hi! We are the same height and I am also stuck at the same weight since May 20. I have been working out and on a diet for 2 months now, lost 10 pounds at the first 1.5 month, now the weight just stuck there. I google and read a lot, is normal to our body to react this way. After you lost about 10% of your weight, you body would adjust the BMR. Also if you are dieting strictly, your body think there is emergency and would slow down your metabolism to protect your body function. We just keep going and don’t give up. Change your work out routine, and remember don’t eat below your BMR. This stagnation period for weight reduction last about 3 weeks to 3 months depends on each individual. After that you will see your weight dropping again . Don’t give up ! Is so fustrating but I will bite my lips and keep going.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,212 Member
    guitargirl55 wrote: »
    I hadn't thought of that! I'll look into it! It would probably be good for me to focus a little more on exercise anyways since I haven't been too invested in that throughout this process.

    Adding some fun exercise is a good idea. Both cardiovascular exercise and strength training can be helpful, in different ways.

    Strength exercise helps you keep existing muscle while losing weight, and - when you're new to it - can trigger quite fast strength increases. (They come mostly from recruiting and using existing muscle fibers more effectively/efficiently, not from adding new muscle tissue.) Strength is useful in everyday life, and for women it helps maintain strong bones as we age, which keeps us healthy and independent longer. (One of my strongest, most vigorous/active on-water rowing buddies is a 72-year old woman whose body looks more like 40, who started strength training in her 30s. Good stuff!). There's a great thread about strength training here, which (despite the title) includes bodyweight programs that require minimal equipment and can be done outside a gym:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you

    Most people find that strength training makes them happier with how their body looks at goal weight, besides.

    Cardiovascular exercise is good for your heart, and usually burns more calories per minute than strength training. There are hundreds or thousands of different options, anything that gets your heart rate up a bit for a sustained period. You're already doing various types, so just increasing the frequency or duration of those could be a good option. Or, add anything from swimming to dancing to martial arts to team sports to canoeing/kayaking/rowing to group exercise classes to . . . you name it. Find the fun!

    The sweet spot for exercise is where you're doing enough that it challenges you a bit, but leaves you feeling energetic for the rest of your day, not fatigued or listless. (There may be a few minutes of "whew" right after the exercise, if it's intense, but you should feel great for the rest of the day.) Overdoing, to the point of fatigue, tends to reduce the calories we spend for the rest of the day doing routine daily stuff, because we rest more and drag through our day: Counterproductive!

    Getting these exercise habits in place while you're young is an excellent idea. (I say this as a late bloomer when it comes to exercise: I started being routinely active in my mid 40s and am now 63, still active.)

    One thing to be aware of: When you start a new exercise program, you may see a little scale jump from water retention needed as part of the process to repair your muscles. Don't let it worry you: It will eventually drop off again, and it's not fat, so not worth worrying about.

    Best wishes!

    (BTW: It's a myth that changing from one type of exercise to another will automatically break through a plateau, if both exercises burn the same number of calories. Usually, if one is still in a calorie deficit, weight drops off eventually after a stall, as others have reported above, so you get people believing that - who knows - standing on their head while reciting poetry is what caused the weight loss to restart, because they did the head/poetry thing around the same time that the weight drop happened to occur. :lol: )

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