Weight loss has stopped, and I have gained weight eating at deficit
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You say you eat the same every day. Is it the same packaged food from a supermarket? Is it from a restaurant? Something you prepare yourself?
If a) there might be up to 20% difference in calories
If b) there's no way of knowing how many calories. It will likely be a lot higher than you think.
If c) portion creep is a real thing, otherwise we'd not gain weight. Please use your diary for a few days and weigh everything you eat to be sure.
I prepare all my food and I do weigh it.Oh and men are not supposed to eat below 1500 calories. That is the line for minimum nutrition. It occurs to me that if you are eating the same thing each day you could be deficient in potassium which could be contributing to your current problem. I don't know that for sure but if all your nutrition comes from the same sources each day it is a possibility.delimanager640 wrote: »Your BMR has decreased. Try intermittent fasting. Look up Dr. Jason Fung. Read the Obesity Code. It changed my life.
Already doing 16/8 IF.
That is what I figured. You were in about a 1500 calorie deficit. Your TDEE should be just south of 3000 so you were eating 1500ish calories a day. Once you get this situation behind you, you really should consider 1750 and slowing down by .5 pound per week. You are quickly approaching the area when you need to start losing like other people.
These water pills you are trying... are they OTC or prescription?
Things say my TDEE is around 2700. I can try increasing my calories, but have no clue what to change in my diet to do that.
32 M, 330lbs, 72 inches high, Sedentary = I have at 2982.
250 is an easy increase. A little extra oil or cheese in a salad will get you most of the way there.
What about those water pills? Is that something you bought over the counter or did the doctor prescribe something for you?
ETA: On your TDEE do you think you are below sedentary?
250? Oh no. I'm not at a 1200 calorie deficit. I'm eating 1200 calories, it's a 1500 calorie deficit.
The water pills are over the counter.
The confusion is that I don't know how you are getting to 2700 on your TDEE so I assumed you were eating a little more than you thought.
I don't know what you mean by that.
When I run your stats I get almost 3000. You say it is 2700. I am not sure how you are getting that.
https://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/
I can try increasing my calories back up to 1500. But why would I lose weight at 1200 then suddenly stop?
I'm using a different calculator than you do. But if that is correct, then it says my light exercise takes me up to 3400 TDEE. That seems like a rather large jump.
I am not suggesting you increase calories to lose weight. I am suggesting that you increase them to lose at a healthy rate.
If you are still eating 1200 calories and even if you are eating slightly more than you realize you ARE losing fat weight. Your extreme water retention is masking your progress. If you go back and re-read one of my earlier posts to you, you should see that a similar situation happened to me. I needed medical assistance to keep my water levels normalized and once they returned to their normal range I had continued to lose fat weight because I was in a deficit most of the time while it happened. In other words, when it was over I got on the scale and it was a new lower number that I had not previously seen. The whole experience took about 7 weeks.
If you have been unable to shed any of this water gain naturally in 2 months it is time to speak to your doctor again and see what he/she thinks about putting you on a real water pill/diuretic. It is harder to do the things we need to do for weight loss when we are bloated to that degree. For me it was very uncomfortable and it put additional weight back on my knee that bothers me.
The only way to really calculate your average TDEE is by monitoring your food intake and weight loss. It requires that you use a food scale and verify the weights of everything you eat. We know your calorie deficit is ~1500 per day. You think your food calories are 1200 but I question that because you don't log daily. You mentioned your 4 ounce pork chop but I find it amazing you can eat pork chops each day that are exactly 4 ounces unless you are trimming them to make that work.
You have found a system of eating that works for you and it has worked for 500 pounds which is impressive. There may come a time that it stops working though as you lose weight and your TDEE continues to decline which shrinks your margins and deficit. If that happens it will be time to change so your weight loss continues. I don't think that is happening today unless you made a huge departure from what you were doing early in the year like suddenly drinking a lot of calories.
I woke up this morning and I've lost another inch, but gained 2 more lbs. All the doctor has said is exercise more and eat less salt.
I do use a food scale. But I also get my food from Grocery Outlet. The chops I get are all cut to the exact same size. There is a variance of 0.1-0.3 oz, but nothing major.
I'm working on increasing my calories to 1500 now.2 -
Your doctor just dismissed 20 pounds of water weight? Were there tests run to check kidney function? Were you checked for edema? Are you keeping an eye on your BP? Was a low dose diuretic even discussed?
I can't diagnose you. My doctor, who tested everything, theorized that my own ability to retain 17+ pounds of water was a result of my considerable fat loss and something he called "empty spaces". It was about 7 weeks before I finally got back to a new low. I knew I was in a calorie deficit so the only stress was the bloat I felt.
Good job at the 500 pounds by the way. That is very impressive.
That idea frightens me a lot, I think I would have a breakdown, how can water make up that much?2 -
Your doctor just dismissed 20 pounds of water weight? Were there tests run to check kidney function? Were you checked for edema? Are you keeping an eye on your BP? Was a low dose diuretic even discussed?
I can't diagnose you. My doctor, who tested everything, theorized that my own ability to retain 17+ pounds of water was a result of my considerable fat loss and something he called "empty spaces". It was about 7 weeks before I finally got back to a new low. I knew I was in a calorie deficit so the only stress was the bloat I felt.
Good job at the 500 pounds by the way. That is very impressive.
That idea frightens me a lot, I think I would have a breakdown, how can water make up that much?
People can gain FAR more water than that but it is usually a medical crisis. My water weight gain has exceeded 15 pounds on 2 different occasions in the last 7 months. All of my tests show me to be mostly fine other than the weight I still need to lose. If my tests had been inconclusive my very anal doctor would have shipped me to every specialist he could think of to get things checked. I wouldn't have been surprised if he sent me to a plumber.
I was concerned about it originally but only from a medical standpoint not a weight standpoint. When it happened the first time I had been logging and losing weight that corresponded with my logging for 10 months. It had to be water weight and it was.
The concern for you is that I am somewhat certain you are losing fat weight and your water weight is not going back down but still climbing higher.
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I ran your numbers through Kevin Halls bwp. It takes into account some metabolic slowing with weight loss. To maintain your current weight you would have tobeat 3900 calories with a activity modified by 1.6 which is a guy who walks 30mins a day and has a desk job.6
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Also wanted to say as someone who has lost a lot of weight, we are VERY sensitive to water weight swings.5
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delimanager640 wrote: »Your BMR has decreased. Try intermittent fasting. Look up Dr. Jason Fung. Read the Obesity Code. It changed my life.
Btw... yes, there is SOME rmr slow down, but the LARGEST drop in metabolic rate is skeletal muscle efficiency. If you are going to fear monger... atleast get your $#!÷ strait... if OP is resistance training, some of that is probably nullified according to some research I have read. while de. Fung imho might have SOME of the puzzle figured out imho, it is NOT because of insulin or keto. He is like one of the blind men trying to SEE and explain what an elephant looks like.6 -
Well..... I hear nothing in all this about resistance training or what have you. New or increased exercise could be causing some of the water retention. As can a multitude of other reasons and when the swings are so large it would definitely be something to get checked on.
I say you should go talk to your doctor again and make sure that anything bad is getting ruled out. And NOT do diuretics on your own but make sure that, if you take any and if they are appropriate for you, you do so under your doctor's supervision.
Also I think that I will introduce the concept of diet breaks. Since you started losing how often have you eaten at anything other than a substantial deficit?7 -
@pav888... hey bro!Y[b][/b]omiRizer wrote: »I started my diet 3 years ago. I have lost over 500 lbs so far. I hit 330 in march, and that's where it stopped. I am actually now at 350 and I have no clue why. I eat 1200-1400 calories a day, I do some weight lifting 3 times a week, I don't snack. The doctor says I am fine and it's just water weight and to cut back on salt. Well I have, and I've even started taking water pills. Nothing is coming off. But I haven't gained any inches, nor have I lost any. I'm a 6'0 male, 32 years old. This is stressing me out beyond belief. Does anyone have any clue what this could be?4 -
Congrats on your weight loss thus far; an amazing accomplishment. I have nothing to add other than having had some significant water gains that can take a couple of weeks to level out--always connected to travel and eating out while on vacation, in my case. I agree with others who have said you need to pursue a medical explanation and stop any OTC diuretics. As an aside, I once saw the medical records of a woman who gained 50 lbs in about 4 days (a surgery gone wrong; scary stuff but all was ok in the end). I don't know anything about the massive loss and its impact on your body, but certainly a significant gain that is likely to be water weight should be taken seriously. Perhaps seek a 2nd opinion just to be extra careful. Good luck with your continuing journey to better health.2
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psychod787 wrote: »
@pav888... hey bro!Y[b][/b]omiRizer wrote: »I started my diet 3 years ago. I have lost over 500 lbs so far. I hit 330 in march, and that's where it stopped. I am actually now at 350 and I have no clue why. I eat 1200-1400 calories a day, I do some weight lifting 3 times a week, I don't snack. The doctor says I am fine and it's just water weight and to cut back on salt. Well I have, and I've even started taking water pills. Nothing is coming off. But I haven't gained any inches, nor have I lost any. I'm a 6'0 male, 32 years old. This is stressing me out beyond belief. Does anyone have any clue what this could be?
OK... OK..... but I bet you he didn't do a Barbell hokey pokey!!! Point still stands: medical investigation of water weight change and possible diet break followed by resumption at less extreme deficit and with increased activity moving forward!7 -
Congratulations on your terrific loss. You obviously have been doing something right for you. It’s working. Your body has been through a lot. Be kind to it. You said your Doctor said to restrict salt further and exercise more. Did you? Possibly more stress on your body. Stress often causes water retention. Just natural. Relax. Sleep well. Be proud of what you have already done. Doesn’t sound like you have done anything really crazy yet, just CICO. Don’t get crazy now. Keep doing what you know works. Slow and steady wins the race.3
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psychod787 wrote: »
@pav888... hey bro!Y[b][/b]omiRizer wrote: »I started my diet 3 years ago. I have lost over 500 lbs so far. I hit 330 in march, and that's where it stopped. I am actually now at 350 and I have no clue why. I eat 1200-1400 calories a day, I do some weight lifting 3 times a week, I don't snack. The doctor says I am fine and it's just water weight and to cut back on salt. Well I have, and I've even started taking water pills. Nothing is coming off. But I haven't gained any inches, nor have I lost any. I'm a 6'0 male, 32 years old. This is stressing me out beyond belief. Does anyone have any clue what this could be?
OK... OK..... but I bet you he didn't do a Barbell hokey pokey!!! Point still stands: medical investigation of water weight change and possible diet break followed by resumption at less extreme deficit and with increased activity moving forward!
Lol... you pick the barbell up. You put the barbell bown. You pick the barbell up and go another round. We do the barbell hockey pokey and yell as it hits the ground. Hypertrophy, that's what it's all about! Wow... I have way too much free time. I need to get laid more! Lol10 -
I don't walk that much. I mostly do weight training. I also recently started doing burpees on my non-weight lifting days.psychod787 wrote: »I ran your numbers through Kevin Halls bwp. It takes into account some metabolic slowing with weight loss. To maintain your current weight you would have tobeat 3900 calories with a activity modified by 1.6 which is a guy who walks 30mins a day and has a desk job.Well..... I hear nothing in all this about resistance training or what have you. New or increased exercise could be causing some of the water retention. As can a multitude of other reasons and when the swings are so large it would definitely be something to get checked on.
I say you should go talk to your doctor again and make sure that anything bad is getting ruled out. And NOT do diuretics on your own but make sure that, if you take any and if they are appropriate for you, you do so under your doctor's supervision.
Also I think that I will introduce the concept of diet breaks. Since you started losing how often have you eaten at anything other than a substantial deficit?
I do lift weights, but I took a break last october after Hurricane Michael decimated my city. I think I started back up around the time the water weight started to build up. Not sure.
I ate at maintenance a couple weeks ago to see if it would break, what I thought, was a plateau. But my weight is still going up, how ever my waist has gone down. I woke up this morning to being 48 inches instead of 49.0 -
Have you ever considered IF? WAtch youtube videos of Dr. Jason Fung. He's helped me a lot!39
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I ate at maintenance a couple weeks ago to see if it would break, what I thought, was a plateau. But my weight is still going up, how ever my waist has gone down. I woke up this morning to being 48 inches instead of 49.
Each time my weight skyrocketed on water was after eating maintenance or more. Mine went back down but with the aid of a diuretic (prescribed by doctor and monitored by additional blood work).
I am worried about you. You need to get to the doctor and let him do the tests he should have already done. If it turns out to be a result of extreme fat loss have him put you on a mild diuretic but be really careful because if that water weight starts dropping by 4 and 5 pounds a day your electrolytes will drop with it. I really struggled to manage mine when it happened and I was usually still too low.8 -
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What is it about the body that means that fat loss can cause this problem?0
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I ate at maintenance a couple weeks ago to see if it would break, what I thought, was a plateau. But my weight is still going up, how ever my waist has gone down. I woke up this morning to being 48 inches instead of 49.
Each time my weight skyrocketed on water was after eating maintenance or more. Mine went back down but with the aid of a diuretic (prescribed by doctor and monitored by additional blood work).
I am worried about you. You need to get to the doctor and let him do the tests he should have already done. If it turns out to be a result of extreme fat loss have him put you on a mild diuretic but be really careful because if that water weight starts dropping by 4 and 5 pounds a day your electrolytes will drop with it. I really struggled to manage mine when it happened and I was usually still too low.
The doctors around here aren't very good. I had one once just blame my weight for the issue I was having.
But good news: I've dropped 3 pounds since yesterday and another inch. My entire stomach is now under 50 inches. 48 to 49 inches all the way down.7 -
I ate at maintenance a couple weeks ago to see if it would break, what I thought, was a plateau. But my weight is still going up, how ever my waist has gone down. I woke up this morning to being 48 inches instead of 49.
Each time my weight skyrocketed on water was after eating maintenance or more. Mine went back down but with the aid of a diuretic (prescribed by doctor and monitored by additional blood work).
I am worried about you. You need to get to the doctor and let him do the tests he should have already done. If it turns out to be a result of extreme fat loss have him put you on a mild diuretic but be really careful because if that water weight starts dropping by 4 and 5 pounds a day your electrolytes will drop with it. I really struggled to manage mine when it happened and I was usually still too low.
The doctors around here aren't very good. I had one once just blame my weight for the issue I was having.
But good news: I've dropped 3 pounds since yesterday and another inch. My entire stomach is now under 50 inches. 48 to 49 inches all the way down.
Seems really rude to kick a man when he is actively on his way down in size. I know my weight causes some of the issues I am having but I don't need someone rubbing my nose in it.
I would keep trying to find a doctor that will listen to you. Mine was confused initially by what was happening to me but he listened and trusted that I watch myself enough to know the difference between water and fat gain.9 -
Seems really rude to kick a man when he is actively on his way down in size. I know my weight causes some of the issues I am having but I don't need someone rubbing my nose in it.
I would keep trying to find a doctor that will listen to you. Mine was confused initially by what was happening to me but he listened and trusted that I watch myself enough to know the difference between water and fat gain.
I'm now 360 lbs. I've gained 10 more lbs in a week.0 -
If you have an unexpected and persistent water weight increase, and even for a big person 10 lb or *more by the sounds of it* (since you mentioned an inch increase to your waist up thread), anyway a persistent and substantial increase in water weight that's not well explained.... and this one isn't .... Well it certainly is calling for a visit to a doctor and pretty right away too. Just to rule out some fairly important to start fighting with right away possible issues ...4
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Our bodies are complex and you are always fighting a metabolism that wants to slow to conserve weight. I hit a 2 week plateau for no reason. My doctor recommended I decrease my calories and add more exercise to jump start the weight loss again. I added weight lifting to my cardio. It helped. Maybe you could try adding cardio to your weight lifting? I know it is discouraging, but please don’t let this set you back mentally. You’ve done such a great job! Trust that if you stay the path, things will start to move downward again. Good luck!20
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Our bodies are complex and you are always fighting a metabolism that wants to slow to conserve weight. I hit a 2 week plateau for no reason. My doctor recommended I decrease my calories and add more exercise to jump start the weight loss again. I added weight lifting to my cardio. It helped. Maybe you could try adding cardio to your weight lifting? I know it is discouraging, but please don’t let this set you back mentally. You’ve done such a great job! Trust that if you stay the path, things will start to move downward again. Good luck!
While all this is good... I am not sure that it is addressing edema that has added more than an inch and 10+ lbs? Though maybe I am under-estimating how big a water weight swing can be on a bigger person. Heck, even I had a 7lb swing on an all you can eat restaurant meal :-)5 -
Our bodies are complex and you are always fighting a metabolism that wants to slow to conserve weight. I hit a 2 week plateau for no reason. My doctor recommended I decrease my calories and add more exercise to jump start the weight loss again. I added weight lifting to my cardio. It helped. Maybe you could try adding cardio to your weight lifting? I know it is discouraging, but please don’t let this set you back mentally. You’ve done such a great job! Trust that if you stay the path, things will start to move downward again. Good luck!
I appreciate you trying to help the OP but this might be a little out of your area of experience. This is a persistent water retention that has exceeded what anyone can call normal in amount or time. When something in our body exceeds normal in a bad way it requires a doctor. Even if this eventually dissipates on its own it could return.13 -
Our bodies are complex and you are always fighting a metabolism that wants to slow to conserve weight. I hit a 2 week plateau for no reason. My doctor recommended I decrease my calories and add more exercise to jump start the weight loss again. I added weight lifting to my cardio. It helped. Maybe you could try adding cardio to your weight lifting? I know it is discouraging, but please don’t let this set you back mentally. You’ve done such a great job! Trust that if you stay the path, things will start to move downward again. Good luck!
While all this is good... I am not sure that it is addressing edema that has added more than an inch and 10+ lbs? Though maybe I am under-estimating how big a water weight swing can be on a bigger person. Heck, even I had a 7lb swing on an all you can eat restaurant meal :-)
Mine exceeded 15 pounds.4 -
Seems really rude to kick a man when he is actively on his way down in size. I know my weight causes some of the issues I am having but I don't need someone rubbing my nose in it.
I would keep trying to find a doctor that will listen to you. Mine was confused initially by what was happening to me but he listened and trusted that I watch myself enough to know the difference between water and fat gain.
I'm now 360 lbs. I've gained 10 more lbs in a week.
I'm going to echo @NovusDies and @PAV8888 here OP. I don't know about PAV, but I do know Novus has lost an enormous amount of weight and has a solid idea of what he's talking about.
My own personal experience was caring for my dad who had similar issues to what you're describing. I hope you find another doctor soon. There's got to be at least one who's willing to work with you.4 -
Seems really rude to kick a man when he is actively on his way down in size. I know my weight causes some of the issues I am having but I don't need someone rubbing my nose in it.
I would keep trying to find a doctor that will listen to you. Mine was confused initially by what was happening to me but he listened and trusted that I watch myself enough to know the difference between water and fat gain.
I'm now 360 lbs. I've gained 10 more lbs in a week.
I'm going to echo @NovusDies and @PAV8888 here OP. I don't know about PAV, but I do know Novus has lost an enormous amount of weight and has a solid idea of what he's talking about.
My own personal experience was caring for my dad who had similar issues to what you're describing. I hope you find another doctor soon. There's got to be at least one who's willing to work with you.
I should be moving within the next month, so maybe I'll get better help there. I just don't get it, if something was seriously wrong with me. Shouldn't I have other symptoms than just massive water gain?0
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