Stuck

FlipFlop00

Hi all MFP users, i'm 60+ years young and lacto-vegetarian, i've been calorie counting for the last 6 months and doing okay until the last 3 weeks, i can't seem to move from the same weight not gaining or loosing just staying put, my average weight loss has been 1lb a week which i'm okay with, my calorie limit is 1200, anybody any ideas to get the scales moving?. p.s I don't do gyms but do other exercise 4/5 times a week.

ceiswyn

Congratulations, you're in maintenance!

...1200 calories sounds low; you ought to be losing on that. It's possible your logging is out, which might not have affected you when your body was larger and your calorie needs greater, but as you've lost weight you've lost wiggle room.

What's your height/weight? Can you make your diary public so that we can see what you're doing and make suggestions for changes?

MichelleWithMoxie

Remember that weight loss is not linear. I recently had about 4 weeks of staying at the same weight, then in 2 weeks dropped about 3 pounds. Assuming you’re calorie intake has remained at a deficit, I’d give it some more time.

Hollis100

I agree with the above comments. Check your logging. Make sure you're logging everything and use a food scale whenever possible. Give it more time, too.

Another suggestion: try changing up your food and exercise. For example, if you eat breakfast at 7:00 a.m., delay eating until 10:00 or 11:00 a.m. for a while. If you always do the same exercise, try a different one for a few weeks.

One last suggestion: take a diet break and eat what you would eat in maintenance. I did that and to my surprise lost quite a bit of weight soon after.

Hollis100

For whoever disagreed with my post above, to clarify -- I've tried all my suggestions at one time or another and they all helped me. They might or might not help the OP, but since she asked for ideas, I passed them on.

AliNouveau

@Hollis100 wrote: »

For whoever disagreed with my post above, to clarify -- I've tried all my suggestions at one time or another and they all helped me. They might or might not help the OP, but since she asked for ideas, I passed them on.

Some People live to disagree with everything.

I agree with everything you posted. I often suggest changing things up and get greeted by the disagreers. It works for me! I guess it doesn't work for them

quiksylver296

Check out these threads, @FlipFlop00.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10697068/how-i-stopped-kidding-myself/p1

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1

AnnPT77

Hi, I'm 64 and ovo-lacto veg .

1200 seems pretty low, especially if you're exercising, although you don't mention how petite you are.

This is a wild guess kind of a thing, but I'm wondering if you live in the North? I do, and find that my daily life (non-exercise) activity level tends to drop by quite a bit in the cold and gloomy season, so my daily calorie expenditure drops accordingly. Even if you don't have that specific seasonal thing going on, working on increasing daily life activity can be a help, as some of us tend to subtly (invisibly, even) slow down a bit after a long time at a calorie deficit. This thread has ideas:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss/p1

Personally, I haven't had any positive effect (or negative effect for that matter ) from randomly switching up my eating or exercise routine. Some people find that prolonged deficit eating results in more frequent plateaus, and benefit from a diet break at estimated maintenance calories as sort of a hunger/appetite hormone reset (yes, there is some science behind this, more details in this thread: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1).

In general, I agree with those suggesting you re-check logging accuracy (food scale; avoiding generic or "homemade" database entries that aren't your recipes; checking labels against what's logged; making sure all bites/licks/tastes are logged; making sure no cooking oils, dressings, condiments, beverages are skipped; maybe making your diary public temporarily so experienced users can see if there are any common oversights; etc.). Beyond that, I think patience may be the answer. Like I said, stalls can become a more common part of the pattern after a period of loss/deficit.

Best wishes!

annliz23

Hollis100 wrote: »

For whoever disagreed with my post above, to clarify -- I've tried all my suggestions at one time or another and they all helped me. They might or might not help the OP, but since she asked for ideas, I passed them on.

I think your suggestion were good!

FlipFlop00

Thanks for all the replies, i shall try to action some of them and see where it takes me, I shall endevour to post in a weeks time to update how things are going, once again thank you. Yes I live in the north UK. Flippin cold at the moment.

annliz23

Good luck you can do this. I am not a favourite of the cold yuk!

amy19355

FlipFlop00 wrote: »

Hi all MFP users, i'm 60+ years young and lacto-vegetarian, i've been calorie counting for the last 6 months and doing okay until the last 3 weeks, i can't seem to move from the same weight not gaining or loosing just staying put, my average weight loss has been 1lb a week which i'm okay with, my calorie limit is 1200, anybody any ideas to get the scales moving?. p.s I don't do gyms but do other exercise 4/5 times a week.

63yo, 5'4", F, CW 167, GW 140
After a steady rate of loss over 10 months, I've been stuck for two months at the same weight (+/- 5#). The two differences I was able to pinpoint are: a) inconsistent use of the food scale; using eyeballs to portion; and b) my weekend binge control isn't working as well as it used to. I've got a fresh weekend coming up to try again not to fall into the poor food choices of recent weekends.
And I put fresh batteries in the food scale.

I recalculated my goals in MFP after losing 30 pounds, and am currently alloted 1570 calories a day with a 1/2# per week loss goal. FOod scale even more critical than before; it doesn't take much to put on a 1/2# instead of lose it.

good luck to you and to all of us!

FlipFlop00

Well an update a bit later than promised, I lost 1lb begining of last week, 'then' disaster, 2 of my very good friends died at the end of last week 😢 both from cancer, it is a blessing that they are now free from pain, but I now have to also cope with 2 funerals before christmas 😩. The weight control went to pot, now need some motivation to get going again. 'Sigh'

annliz23

FlipFlop00 wrote: »

Well an update a bit later than promised, I lost 1lb begining of last week, 'then' disaster, 2 of my very good friends died at the end of last week 😢 both from cancer, it is a blessing that they are now free from pain, but I now have to also cope with 2 funerals before christmas 😩. The weight control went to pot, now need some motivation to get going again. 'Sigh'

So sorry for you stay strong!

katsheare

FlipFlop00 wrote: »

Well an update a bit later than promised, I lost 1lb begining of last week, 'then' disaster, 2 of my very good friends died at the end of last week 😢 both from cancer, it is a blessing that they are now free from pain, but I now have to also cope with 2 funerals before christmas 😩. The weight control went to pot, now need some motivation to get going again. 'Sigh'

Speaking from when my best friend (my grandmother) died, finding the few things I could control and keeping them in check was part of how I kept myself mentally safe. I was a week with family where there would be no food scales, where vegetables were used as decor rather than a staple and there were way more people than usual. Food control was minimal, stress levels were high and I wasn't near any of my homes. But at the time I was regularly exercising at 6 AM and I kept that up. Even if we'd been up crazy late the night before, I got up before the rest of the house and gave myself that 30 minutes.

Give it a good think and see if you can identify something small, straightforward and rewarding to use as a touchstone during this time. Enjoy the people you love, celebrate those you have lost and be kind to yourself.

ReenieHJ

FlipFlop00 wrote: »

Well an update a bit later than promised, I lost 1lb begining of last week, 'then' disaster, 2 of my very good friends died at the end of last week 😢 both from cancer, it is a blessing that they are now free from pain, but I now have to also cope with 2 funerals before christmas 😩. The weight control went to pot, now need some motivation to get going again. 'Sigh'

Oh no I'm so sorry!! Give yourself some time before you even think about losing weight right now. Feeling very emotional and suffering 2 losses might not be the best time to add the stress of this too. Whenever you're ready to deal with changing lifestyle habits will be when you say. But for now, be gentle and kind to yourself. Hugs to you..