Stuck at 219 from 226 since Nov 6
mikebxb
Posts: 138 Member
been drinking my brkfst , cutting carbs, limiting intake and logging macros. It's going slow
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Replies
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Not sure what the issue is here. You've lost 7 pounds in a month. How much more were you expecting?
Carbs, macros, and doing liquid breakfasts aren't going to impact your rate of weight loss at all - only calories will, so if you're unhappy with how fast you're losing weight, that's the thing to focus on. But again, going from 226 to 219 in a month and 3 days seems like excellent progress to me.7 -
"You've lost 7 pounds in a month" Is that what he is saying? It sounded to me like he was stuck AT 219, since Nov 6.2
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fitmom4lifemfp wrote: »"You've lost 7 pounds in a month" Is that what he is saying? It sounded to me like he was stuck AT 219, since Nov 6.
That would indeed be different. But then what's the 226 refer to?0 -
Sounds like it's saying that he was originally 226 and was able to get down to the weight of 219 on November 6th and since then it hasn't gone down any?2
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All the things you're doing are excellent *IF* and *ONLY IF* they promote the absorption of an APPROPRIATE amount of CALORIES such that your energy balance influences your long term weight trend to move in the desired direction at a sustainable (for you) and relatively side effect free (for you) rate.
If you've lost 7 lbs in a month, I don't see an issue with such great progress.
If you went down to 219 from 226, and have remained at 219 for a month I will ask the following:
Your height and age?
How often do you weigh? Where? (Some people don't weigh at home but do so at the gym, doctor, a store, etc. Are you one of them?)
In what time frame was the original loss recorded?
Your general activity level in a day? Can you describe your day a bit? Any metrics you have? (Steps, active minutes, what have you)
Are you doing any additional exercise? When did you start?
How many Calories do you think you're taking in ON AVERAGE -- not your settings on mfp, but your actual intake.
Are there any days you don't log your intake? How do you log your intake?
Thank you!
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Along with Pav's questions I'd add, please open your FOOD diary so we can take a peek. We may be able to spot some common logging errors.
Go to FOOD > Settings > scroll down, click "Public" and save changes2 -
fitmom4lifemfp wrote: »"You've lost 7 pounds in a month" Is that what he is saying? It sounded to me like he was stuck AT 219, since Nov 6.
That would indeed be different. But then what's the 226 refer to?
His original starting weight. So he has lost 7 pounds since starting, but then got stuck since Nov 6, at 219.1 -
thanks for your comments....I was 227 fully clothed ( wallet phone orthotics Leatherman etc. on the Drs scale at 227 on Nov 5th. Nov 6th I started MFP logging and changed diet started watching macros. I'm 64 used to be skinny all my life. Since retiring from Ranching , Law Enforcement and drumming (quit smoking in '96) I've gradually wound up at 227. All time high!. Since starting MFP at 227 on Nov 5th I've dropped an honest 5-7 lbs. ( I now weigh every morning in my skivvies only). Skinless white chicken, lotsa Salmon and greens, beets etc etc I've seen 217 218 219 220 but avg is staying at 219-. Now I cut the ruffles for pork rinds and pickles. pretty much cut bread, target 2000cals 150 carbs 50 fat and hell with the rest...I'm not quitting but this kale and no spuds isn't fun. Wanted to see faster or more consistent loss..2
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@cmriverside. I opened up Food Diary. It's public but probably will change to a password or friends only in a week..Thanks for all your help.2
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I log everything warts and all...3
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Off the bat, I suspect people are going to discuss some things about how to log; and I think that in this case and at this point of time, it doesn't really matter whether your logging is as technically proficient as it could be.
So let's discuss past that.
First of all you HAVE achieved very good weight loss results. Weight doesn't go straight down and I don't know for how many days you've been seeing your average "stalled" but it is entirely common for this to happen.
In order to establish your general weight level, grab something like Libra (android), Happy Scale (iphone), or use something like trendweight.com (by entering your data in a free fitbit.com account which does not require the purchase of anything) or weightgrapher.com or similar web sites or apps. Enter your past weight ins and continue with this moving forward.
One way to establish a consistent weigh-in setup is to get on the scale in the morning after using the washroom and before eating or drinking. Or to do so under fairly consistent conditions. It helps if the scale is on an utterly un-yielding surface and it helps if you occasionally calibrate it and check the batteries. Also some scales show the same value between weigh ins unless they detect a change that is larger than an internal setting.
How much do you move around? Do you do any exercise formal or otherwise? (walks and weights both count
Your 2000 Cal target, according to MFP, what kind of weight loss are you expected to have if you follow it?
Hey, who would have thunk it. My excel spreadsheet and macros worked on your diary: hadn't used them for a while!
While your total Calories do come close to 2K at 1923 overall, your food calories are around 1533 Cal per day.
Out of the 1533 you're doing about 29.6% Carbs, 42% Fats and 28.4% protein (114g C, 72g F, and 109g P). Fiber is 16g, which is a bit less than half of what it should be for a guy. You might feel much fuller and be somewhat healthier if you manage to increase that over time.
So.
You might tweak the foods you intake some... have you checked out the calories of tomatoes? salsa? do onions make you feel full? have you tried mixing eggs and egg whites? How about an apple before dinner? There are many "options" you might play with!
Since you mention spuds... have you tried a plain baked potato (or boiled potatoes) with maybe some salsa or plain 0% greek yogurt as a topper and traded it for example, for the same calories as what you might have spent on tortillas or pork rinds?
Basically tweaks to make you feel more full.
But with 25% of your calories devoted to lifestyle choices, I don't see that there is much room to reduce the calories of your food intake.
Which then brings us to your rate of loss and as to how you might want to approach your weight loss.
If you go all out, cutting out everything and eating in a way that doesn't satisfy you, you might lose some weight. maybe even lose a lot of weight. But you won't be able to eat like that for very long.
And as soon as you go back to normal... you will get all that weight back! Because you haven't, fundamentally, changed anything. Plus your hunger hormones will be out of whack from the intense weight loss. So you keep regaining till you're back to where you were plus a tiny bit more. At least that's what seems to happen to most people!
So you may want to look at accepting that you might lose slower while you continue to look for foods that fit your caloric budget longer term and which you will be able to eat both now and in the future!
Ranching is a very labor intensive activity (or at least that's the image I have). Law enforcement has long shifts out of the house and, while it may not be as active as construction, on average it is probably NOT sedentary! Drumming and practicing and hauling a set of drums around town, is also quite a bit of activity.
So you have cut down *significantly* on your activity these past few years. Have you replaced that activity with anything? Mall walking IS an option! A friend who is currently on vacation ahead of his forced retirement on December 31 by transport Canada regulation (this being the year of his 71st birthday) is currently ahead of me on my Fitbit leaderboard with over 150,000 steps this week. His sister has 120,000!
I don't know what your daily caloric expenditure is, but 2500 to 3000 seems a reasonable guess for a relatively sedentary guy of your weight and assuming you're not very tall.
If you manage to stay in the 2000 to 2300 range you WILL continue to make progress, probably for quite a while, especially if you tweak your food around so that you feel a bit more full and this becomes more sustainable.
As you lose weight, though, and move towards a "normal" weight, your caloric budget will slowly drop unless you increase your activity level.
Ultimately, and I am sure that if you look at your logs you will spot it, you have a "reserve" equal to almost 1lb a week that you can choose to sacrifice to the cause either partially or completely. I know what you would say if you saw me eat a couple of candy bars a day while suggesting that I wasn't seeing the results I wanted! That part is up to you!
I would NOT drop my food calories below 1500. In fact you could probably use a bit more protein (closer to 128g than 108g) and at least twice as much fiber as you currently consume (aim for 36 to 38g). More veggies and fruits would probably not hurt you either.
Being active and strong are excellent goals in and by themselves. Sustainable weight loss when starting in the obese range is probably better than going all out and then giving up!
Take care!7 -
@PAV8888, Thanks very much for the analysis. It's comprehensive and educational. I am 6' tall. Our scales are old, battery operated and finicky. I weigh on both same time daily and settle on the average of 3 stands and resets on each (I dont trust their first read out) Even if there's plus or minus 2 pounds error I should still see a steady reduction in weight readings over time. I'm using a food scale and getting better at inputting proper amounts provided by the mfp database. I've been told (Dr) in order to shed pounds I must limit my carbs to 45 or less per meal. re: salt I dont use or add any so my sodium is whatever comes with the food inherently. Using the parameter restraints in my macro goals I've focused on carbs 150, 50 fat grams, and have to up the protein to make it 100%. With your suggestions I'll continue to tweak things and get off the couch more. Thanks again for the support.
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@cmriverside. I opened up Food Diary. It's public but probably will change to a password or friends only in a week..Thanks for all your help.
PAV did a great post above and I'm not going to pick apart your FOOD diary a whole lot, either. My goal in asking to view a diary is not just about judging food choices, because God knows I've made many a dinner of beer and chips so no shade will be thrown by me about food choices.
I do look for a few things though, so here's my take on it or my additional thoughts to add to PAV's post.
First, well done for logging so consistently. It looks like you are making a good effort to get decent nutrition, too. That part isn't so important right now. I do think you could eat more than 1600-1700. I think you would still lose at 2000, or maybe more, but that's not the main point.
I can't really tell if you are in fact weighing your portions, a lot of them seem really small for what an average man would likely be eating. A two ounce portion of meat is really tiny. Like it's about two inches by two inches uncooked. Very tiny. When I cook breakfast steak I have it pre-portioned into two ounce pieces and it's just a few small bites when cooked. Like maybe three or four bites. I'm a woman and even for me it's really small. So if you aren't actually weighing out meat, I would start there. First, it's important to get enough protein and second, it's easy to get way more calories than you would think with salmon, steak, burgers, etc. Same with "a half cup" of things like mashed potatoes. I mean again, I'm a smallish woman and I wouldn't be happy with a half cup. I usually have about 145g of potatoes when I make them mashed. It cooks up to more than a cup. Okay, so I can't possibly know if you are logging correctly, but well done on logging consistently. No judgement on the pork rinds.
Keep doing that.
Then the rest of it comes down to patience with the process. I think you're doing great, seven pounds in a month is a very respectable rate, but don't expect that to continue. Expect more like one pound per week and expect weeks with no losses. Just keep going. The thing about weight loss is it has to become your Way Of Life. It has to be manageable, it has to go slowly and it has to involve a lot of change. I changed everything about my life and it took time. I had a lot more weight than you to lose, I lost a total of about 80 pounds but I didn't do it perfectly, I just kept at it. I took a lot of days off and many times I ate like I'd never see food again. Like you I went from an active job/day to retired. Luckily that meant I could devote a lot of time to learning about this whole thing.
You're on the right track. I would eat more, to be honest. I lost most of my weight eating around 1900-2100 (including exercise cals, and at the end making all my own food with my food scale) and like I said, I'm a woman. What you don't want to do is try to speed up the process by doing the typical Type A response of, "I'll just wrestle my body into submission!" and by trying to make it happen faster, throw your hormones out of whack. Slow and steady wins the race, turtle.
When you get to your goal, you ideally want to ease into it with good habits to carry you forward. Weight maintenance is its own little tricky thing.
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@PAV8888, Thanks very much for the analysis. It's comprehensive and educational. I am 6' tall. Our scales are old, battery operated and finicky. I weigh on both same time daily and settle on the average of 3 stands and resets on each (I dont trust their first read out) Even if there's plus or minus 2 pounds error I should still see a steady reduction in weight readings over time. I'm using a food scale and getting better at inputting proper amounts provided by the mfp database. I've been told (Dr) in order to shed pounds I must limit my carbs to 45 or less per meal. re: salt I dont use or add any so my sodium is whatever comes with the food inherently. Using the parameter restraints in my macro goals I've focused on carbs 150, low fat grams, and add to up the protein to make it 100%. With your suggestions I'll continue to tweak things and get off the couch more. Thanks again for the support.
Note that for many people limiting carbs accomplishes two things: it keeps them away from "treat" type food and lets them load up on protein and fat rich food which may be more satiating to them. Unless insulin resistant where lower carbs do tend to offer better results when it comes to blood sugar management, from a weight loss perspective only, and assuming protein is equalized, long term weight loss is the same, and strictly dependent on total calories taken in vs expenditure over weeks and months. Not any particular meal allocation
Short term reduced carbs mean lower glycogen storage which means shedding of water weight <which is also taken back in when carbs are replenished, so it is a borrowed loss> Generally your 150 carbs would not be considered low carb. Just... lower carb I guess
So technically if there is an objection I am raising is that you *MUST* limit anything during any particular meal in order to achieve weight loss. It may be extremely desirable from a blood sugar management perspective, perhaps, but not weight loss directly. Of course your doctor knows you, yada, yada, yada. And has secret sauce and you should definitely listen to their advice. But I would be intrigued as to the mechanism they propose where 45g of C per meal is directly and on its own an inducement to weight loss.
It is hard to cut down on sodium. Even with none added we often end up above "desired" amounts!
Your weight scale sounds perfect. It is giving you honest measurements as opposed to showing fake consistency. Even if it drives you batty!
Food scale is great too <-- in fact incredibly important. double checking the accuracy of MFP entries you use is also a good thing to do.
At 6ft I would suspect that MFP has you down at a daily expenditure of 3K calories and you get a target of 2K based on choosing 2lbs a week. This is acceptable in the beginning perhaps, but be prepared to transition to a lower rate fairly quickly especially since your nutrients are even more limited.
Don't push so hard you end up giving up.
"compliance" is the name of the game.
1lb a week for a year has you at normal weight and used to a new routine by this time next year.
3lbs a week and giving up because it's too hard and not rewarding enough for your efforts has you back at the doctor's being told to lose weight!6 -
At 6ft I would suspect that MFP has you down at a daily expenditure of 3K calories and you get a target of 2K based on choosing 2lbs a week. This is acceptable in the beginning perhaps, but be prepared to transition to a lower rate fairly quickly especially since your nutrients are even more limited.
^^ Yes, agree.
And by "Lower Rate" PAV does not mean, "Lower calories eaten" - he means a lower rate of weight loss.
Set your Goals at, "Lose 1 pound per week," right now. Enter any additional purposeful exercise into the Exercise page and eat more on those days.
As you get closer to Goal, you'll want to decrease your rate of weight loss to, "Lose 1/2 pound per week," because the less body fat you have, the greater your calorie needs. Right now you are using your excess body fat as fuel. That won't last.
When it's set to, "Lose 1 pound per week," your daily deficit is about 500 calories below your Maintenance calorie needs.
You want to ease into Maintenance with a tiny calorie deficit, and, "Lose 1/2 pound per week," is about [minus] 250 calories.
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@cmriverside ... is this a great minds think alike moment?
Only reason I didn't object more strenuously to the sub 2k days was that the average logged was in the 1900's AND I assumed that it is under reported -- cause I am mean that way (and because it happens no matter how hard we try unless everything we put in mouth gets logged before hand and even then!)
But yeah. That ain't a lot of food (quantity wise)2 -
@cmriverside ... is this a great minds think alike moment?
Only reason I didn't object more strenuously to the sub 2k days was that the average logged was in the 1900's AND I assumed that it is under reported -- cause I am mean that way (and because it happens no matter how hard we try unless everything we put in mouth gets logged before hand and even then!)
But yeah. That ain't a lot of food (quantity wise)
Right. At 6 foot, I definitely see 2000 as his reasonable goal, regardless of logging errors - and I'm sure there are many of those. It's impossible to get the logging right in the beginning. Luckily close enough is good enough when there is a lot of excess body weight. I had to really pay attention and tighten up my food and logging as I approached goal. No time like the present to form good habits.
Reading assignments!
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10012907/logging-accuracy-consistency-and-youre-probably-eating-more-than-you-think/p1
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1
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Surprise, Surprise!! the higher reading on my 2 home scales average today was a consistent 216lbs!!!. I dont think I lost 2 lbs overnight but as stated, my scales are old and plus or minus 3lbs. but if the next 2 days I get repeat (or less) readings then I'm on course. I dont know how to add friends on here but you are welcome to freind me as I'm resetting my log to "friends only". re log errors... I can assure those interested that my OCD compels me to enter everything I ingest. Including a pickle or pepperoni slice.. I *may* have errors in grams, oz or correct food but I periodically go back and correct as I get better at this program. I take great pains to enter all and accurate for as we know it's the only way to have reliable information to act on.. Thanks all.
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Yeah, I don't "share" my food diary with people either.
I learned my lesson on that one early on.
That 216 - it's in the right direction, keep going. :flowerforyou: It's a process. Two steps forward, sometimes one step back and it's not usually in step with the music.
I don't remember, did someone mention getting a weight-trending app/program? It evens out the daily ups/downs/stagnations and gives you a steady trend. I don't use one, but there are many out there. Since you're a details guy, you'd probably like it.5 -
+1 on weight trends app, which I'm fairly sure is in the info dump above, I'm unlikely not to have mentioned it 🤣
I haven't been adding friends for a couple plus years now. To... avoid feeling that I *should* read logs and such but I do try and help on the boards and *will* answer PM's that people send (MFP sometimes doesn't pass them on). This is, obviously, a reflection on my ability to manage time, not on whether I should be adding friends! 🙈😹
The detailed logging is incredibly helpful in getting things sorted out and getting results
The OCD aspect of that has to be watched. Large deficit and propensity to OCD probably adds as opposed to reduced chances of developing eating disorder type behaviors during weight management. Remember at all times that the goal is to improve health including mental well being and that taking a step back is sometimes necessary.
In my personal world I found that I had to balance when to push and when to back off. You need to push some to succeed (break a couple of eggs for the omellet). But not too much (not the whole tray)
In terms of amount to eat a lot depends on activity.
One way to look at things is to eat at eventual maintenance level for sedentary person or lightly active person of your eventual stats.
Initially you will move towards that weight level fast due to that being a large deficit.
Later it will slow down and you might need to adjust your activity or calories to keep things going
I like that thought process because it forces you to seek your new normal way of eating to maintain weight and look at the changes you make as long term.
I would think.... Stop
I just run some numbers and you're like not even 30 lbs from normal weight.
So say no to sprinting and yes to exploring maintenance level calories!
A first approximation for you would be to eat at around 2300 as your daily target (that would be your maintenance estimate as lightly active at 185 lbs)
Would slow you down by about .5 to 1lb a week as compared to now (it is about 0.5lbs per ~250 Cal of effective deficit)
To your weigh in issues, make sure the scale is on a perfectly unyielding surface and that the feet where the sensors are normally located are clean
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Looks like the Disagree troll has found this thread.2
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@PAVeighteighteighteight.. as always, great advice. Fish for dinner tonight. And yes my macro targets are 2K cals (usually dont exceed). 150 carbs (hit and miss) 33 Fat g's which is low and I realize I'll always exceed but it forces me to think Protein (which is the balance to make the 100% prg parameter) Sodium and sugar aren't my vices so I watch but dont target. Lettuce wraps, skinned chicken, fish, no sugared (nonalcoholic) soda. just quad-filtered tap water. minimum hot dogs bologna and smoke links. Probably go back to adding boiled eggs to my brfst drink. And occasional smoke link. We use a NuWave oven, George Foreman grill and RARELY fry anything. Always drain and pat my beef with paper towel to press out and soak up grease2
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