Stuck at one weight for over a week

rben1e

I've gotten past that first hump, apparently. Now I'm down to 203, only 13 lbs more to go to reach my first goal. Once I've reached 190, I'll slow down to about one pound a week.

BTW, my ticker doesn't seem to work, never shows any progress. Is there a way to fix it?

jenilla1

A 200 pound dude eating 1200 calories? How do you do it? Maybe 2 pounds a week is too aggressive for you. Try setting it to 1 pound a week. You'll probably feel better, and though it might take longer, it will probably be more sustainable long-term. Anyways, it's totally normal for your initial loss to be fairly quick and then for it to slow down, especially the closer you get to goal. One week at the same weight is totally normal. I had 2 or 3 weeks go by sometimes where nothing would happen and then suddenly I'd drop 3 pounds over night. It's all good. Just stick with it. :flowerforyou:

rben1e

If only dieting were obsessive. This would be a lot easier for me. I am dieting this aggressively because I have a gigantic hernia and must lose at least twenty pounds before the surgery can be scheduled. I spent two years farting around with less aggressive diets and made no progress. Once I've lost the first twenty pounds, I'll back off to a more rational pound a week plan.

Tessyloowhoo

If only dieting were obsessive. This would be a lot easier for me. I am dieting this aggressively because I have a gigantic hernia and must lose at least twenty pounds before the surgery can be scheduled. I spent two years farting around with less aggressive diets and made no progress. Once I've lost the first twenty pounds, I'll back off to a more rational pound a week plan.

I do not really see why at your current weight that you MUST drop 20lbs to get a hernia surgery. I have had countless hernia surgeries and currently am awaiting another. Most of my hernia surgeries... about 4 of them were performed when i was overweight. I can't imagine any of my doctors telling me that to fix my horribly painful medical problem (that prevents exercise) that i should starve myself...
If you are a 200lb man you body is starving at 1200 calories plain and simple. I am 115lb girl and i eat 300calories more than you EVERY day and still lose.

JeniReader

I think debbs1970 has some very good tips for changing up what you're doing when stuck at a weight.

jillianbeeee

happens to me all the time. Weight in the beginning came off a little easier. Every time that happens I step up my exercise and it starts to come off again. I try to remember I did not put this weight on overnight and it isn't gonna come off that way either. Hard work, determination, watching what your eating and logging will work. Just give it time and patience and whatever you do, don't quit! EVER! its well worth it, I promise!

By the way is 1200 what you set or what MFP set? that seems very low for you! You may be eating to LITTLE. Check out some of the threads on eating to little calories.

skylark94

It took me nearly 2 years to lose 45 pounds. Your weight will go up, down, and not move at all during the process. My graph zigs and zags all over the place, but the overall trend was down. Don't get discouraged.

bevh1149

Same thing is happening to me. It is very frustrating. I have been on program for 4 weeks. 1200 calories a day faithfully plus exercise. Lost 4 lbs. the first week, very happy. 2 lbs. week 2, great. Nothing week 3 and just 1 this past week. Trying not to get discouraged and hang in there. Good luck to both of us.

TwoPointZero

I have my weight data for multiple years, and no matter whether the overall trend is up or down, there is always a bit of high frequency noise in the data, i.e., little fluctuations that may or may not go with the overall trend at that time.

Generally speaking, I interpret this as being due to the fact that the balance of energy is a probabilistic process in the short term (i.e., almost no matter what you eat, on a given day, there is some non-zero probability that your weight will go up, and some non-zero probability that it will go down), but deterministic in the long term (e.g., if you are eating a caloric deficit, the trend over, say, weeks or months, will be to lose weight).

Good luck!

[Edited for clarification.]

ricki011

Me too! Very frustrating. But will keep at it as long as it takes. One week at a time...

EDollah

I view week to week data as just that, data. It's over a 2 week period (min) that I look for a trend. That is, if I gained .5 pounds from week 0 to week 1, I'd shrug my shoulders. If I gained another .5 pounds from week 1 to 2, then I'd evaluate what was going on. I've found that in reality, if you're following a good plan, week 1 to week 2 will give more encouraging results.

leebesstoad

Have to lose 20 lbs in order to schedule some surgery I need. I'll stick to 1200 calories until I get that far, at least. The more I lose, the safer the surgery will be.

Ray

Ray, I think what a lot of people here are saying is that you might do better at a slightly higher calorie allowance. And even if not, it might be a bit safer, easier to stick to, and get you there in not much longer. You want to lose 20 pounds. Even if you did get 2 pounds a week, every week, that would be 10 weeks. At 1.5 pounds a week, it's only 13 weeks but you get to be eating 1450 calories a day. There are many who believe in the theory of eat more to lose more. And I've seen people increase their calories and start losing more. It's counter-intuitive, I know. but it can and does work. And worst case, you spend at most an extra 3 weeks. That's it. For someone your age, your size, I think everyone is saying 1200 calories may be too big of a deficit for your body to be able to handle easily. Just something for you to consider. The suggestion for you to go to scooby's workshop and look up your TDEE is a good one. But the fact that the recommendation of virtually everyone here that you might want to move up from 1200 calories should tell you something and you should think about it seriously.. I understand the need to get there quickly, but look at the experience of the people saying it. People who have been here for a long time. Just consider it.

rben1e

If only dieting were obsessive. This would be a lot easier for me. I am dieting this aggressively because I have a gigantic hernia and must lose at least twenty pounds before the surgery can be scheduled. I spent two years farting around with less aggressive diets and made no progress. Once I've lost the first twenty pounds, I'll back off to a more rational pound a week plan.

I do not really see why at your current weight that you MUST drop 20lbs to get a hernia surgery. I have had countless hernia surgeries and currently am awaiting another. Most of my hernia surgeries... about 4 of them were performed when i was overweight. I can't imagine any of my doctors telling me that to fix my horribly painful medical problem (that prevents exercise) that i should starve myself...
If you are a 200lb man you body is starving at 1200 calories plain and simple. I am 115lb girl and i eat 300calories more than you EVERY day and still lose.

I have a hernia that is 15 - 18 cm across. It's a really big hernia. It took me six months just to find a surgeon who would take on the job because of other complicating factors. I've seen the CT scans. The place where my insides are supposed to go is filled with fat. Since the doctor who is doing this is considered the best guy in the U.S. for this kind of surgery, I'm inclined to follow his advice.

Up until recently, 1200 calories a day hasn't been a problem. Yesterday was a rough day, so I ate until I felt better, about 2000 calories, and today I upped my goal to 1300 calories a day. If I continue to have problems, I'll raise the calories again. I'm not crazy, just determined that lose the weight.

rben1e

I appreciate everyone's concern. I've upped my calories to 1300 and will raise them more if I need to.

DebbieLyn63

If only dieting were obsessive. This would be a lot easier for me. I am dieting this aggressively because I have a gigantic hernia and must lose at least twenty pounds before the surgery can be scheduled. I spent two years farting around with less aggressive diets and made no progress. Once I've lost the first twenty pounds, I'll back off to a more rational pound a week plan.

I do not really see why at your current weight that you MUST drop 20lbs to get a hernia surgery. I have had countless hernia surgeries and currently am awaiting another. Most of my hernia surgeries... about 4 of them were performed when i was overweight. I can't imagine any of my doctors telling me that to fix my horribly painful medical problem (that prevents exercise) that i should starve myself...
If you are a 200lb man you body is starving at 1200 calories plain and simple. I am 115lb girl and i eat 300calories more than you EVERY day and still lose.

He is also 30 yrs older than you dear. Age makes a big difference in a lot of areas. Surgery is more dangerous. Extra weight causes more health problems. Metabolism takes a dive.

OP- Sounds like you have a good plan for your surgery, supported by your doctor. Follow his advice and be patient.

redheaddee

Yes.

Take more measurements than just the scale.

My scale has not moved but 3 pounds in 5 months. BUT: I am wearing smaller clothes, including bra & panties. I lift, and my lifts are getting stronger. I have new muscles in places. My energy is through the roof. I don't hate what I see in the mirror.

You CANNOT rely on the scale only. If you do so, you are setting yourself up to fail. Get a tape measure, a camera, and a body fat caliper.

ETA there are a few on here that may be eating too little. TDEE-20% is generally the best calorie goal, as long as it is at or over your BMR, which is the base amount your body needs to sustain organ function. You might want to research and find a better number, but 12-1300 for a male sounds very low.

3foldchord

You're not stuck yet, it's only a week. Have patience.

I assume you're a male, and 1200 calories is too low for a 200 lb male (and a much smaller female). You might want to rethink your calories, or you're due for a lot of stuck weeks in the future, though.

Quoted for Truth!

And repeating the phrase: " Weight Loss is not linear."

A_Fit_Mom

Very common, I lost a lot in the first 3 months around 29 pounds. But I have only lost 6 pounds in the last 2 months. I am close to goal, so I bet these last 5 pounds will take another 2-3 months. I am ok with that, since I know it isn't always about the scale.

MrsFowler1069

When I started, a little over four weeks ago, I set a goal of losing 2lbs a week. I weighed 212 lbs. I need to get to 190 lbs, and would like to get down to 160 lbs. I've been eating 1200 calories a day, plus some of what I burn in cardio. I've been over a couple times, but not by more than 50-100 calories. I dropped the first few pounds pretty quickly, down to 206, but then bounced back up to 207 where I seem to be stuck.

Is this common?

Ray

If only dieting were obsessive. This would be a lot easier for me. I am dieting this aggressively because I have a gigantic hernia and must lose at least twenty pounds before the surgery can be scheduled. I spent two years farting around with less aggressive diets and made no progress. Once I've lost the first twenty pounds, I'll back off to a more rational pound a week plan.

I have a hernia that is 15 - 18 cm across. It's a really big hernia. It took me six months just to find a surgeon who would take on the job because of other complicating factors. I've seen the CT scans. The place where my insides are supposed to go is filled with fat. Since the doctor who is doing this is considered the best guy in the U.S. for this kind of surgery, I'm inclined to follow his advice.

Up until recently, 1200 calories a day hasn't been a problem. Yesterday was a rough day, so I ate until I felt better, about 2000 calories, and today I upped my goal to 1300 calories a day. If I continue to have problems, I'll raise the calories again. I'm not crazy, just determined that lose the weight.

I appreciate everyone's concern. I've upped my calories to 1300 and will raise them more if I need to.

Hi, Ray. Congratulations on making healthy choices and on the progress you've accomplished so far. I just wanted to add that part of the reason for what seems to be a stall could be that your body is also still adjusting to a new exercise routine, during which it tries to store extra water and glucose in the muscles for ready use. As this levels off, you will probably see a loss.

In the meantime, following the advice of your doctor is a great choice. I definitely hope you get your medical problem taken care of. You are to be commended for taking this so seriously and taking control of your health.

For what it's worth, I think you're making the right choice in re-evaluating your calorie levels and continuing to do so. For the sake of progress, satisfaction, and sustainability, I think you'll be glad you did.

Take care. Hang in there.

MissSaturday

change workout every two weeks!