Not Losing Panic

shelleybob77
shelleybob77 Posts: 5 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have seen a few posts similar to this but thought I would reach out. I have 1 stone 6lb to lose. Am eating 1200 cals per day, increased water consumption, walking or running daily and the scales haven't shifted in 2 weeks (they do work! Lol) I've kind of started worrying after a friend (fitness enthusiast) said i should be consistently losing weekly at that!

Replies

  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
    edited March 2021
    shelleybob77 wrote: »
    I have seen a few posts similar to this but thought I would reach out. I have 1 stone 6lb to lose. Am eating 1200 cals per day, increased water consumption, walking or running daily and the scales haven't shifted in 2 weeks (they do work! Lol) I've kind of started worrying after a friend (fitness enthusiast) said i should be consistently losing weekly at that!

    First, hopefully it will be reassuring that your friend isn't necessarily correct. THEY might lose after two weeks but that doesn't mean YOU will. (For reference, I personally don't start seeing a loss reflect on the scale until about 3 to 4 weeks later) Each body is different so weight loss can happen a bit differently. Women, for instance, tend to have crazy fluctuations due to hormones (especially if you are on or close to your cycle.). This can often mask fat loss due to water retention. Also, if you have started a new workout routine, you will retain water from that for muscle repair, and that too can mask fat loss for a spell.

    Your friend is also not correct about consistency on the scale..that's never a guarantee. Weight loss rarely happens weekly like clockwork, especially for women for the reasons I mentioned above.


    Really, two weeks is still a bit early to gauge. Usually panic time is after around 4 weeks.
    The other thing I would say is to make sure your intake really is what you're thinking it is. Do you use a food scale to weigh portions? Are you double checking your entries in your diary against the nutrition facts on the packages to make sure your total is correct? MFP is a user maintained database, so even green checkmarked and scanning a bar code doesn't mean your entry is accurate, unfortunately.
  • Arralethe
    Arralethe Posts: 222 Member
    If you're female, hormonal fluctuations are a devil when it comes to the scale. Also, you've (I assume) added new exercise, which can lead to water retention.
    In addition, your calorie deficit might be too aggressive - what's your weekly goal? If it's 2lbs, then I'd suggest scaling back to 0.5 to 1lb and seeing if that helps.
  • FitAgainBy55
    FitAgainBy55 Posts: 179 Member
    When you start a new exercise plan or suddenly increase your activity level you can retain some water weight. This can last up to 3 weeks. Almost anyone can lose weight eating 1200 calories per day, so if your are accurately tracking your calorie in take you just need to give your body time to adjust to the new activity level.
  • SouthWestLondon
    SouthWestLondon Posts: 134 Member
    If you're eating at a calorie deficit, the weight will come off.

    One of the things I've found when I've gone for very low calorie diets is that it is so difficult to stick to, that I really need to see very fast results. Otherwise I can't keep myself motivated. I don't know your stats, but 1200 calories feels really very low if you've only 20lbs to lose.

    It may be that if you were eating a little bit more, your approach would feel more sustainable and you wouldn't be worrying quite as much about what the scales show. I say that as someone who always worries about what the scales show - but I know that when I've felt deprived is when I fret most, and when I feel most frustrated at lack of results.
  • shelleybob77
    shelleybob77 Posts: 5 Member
    Arralethe wrote: »
    If you're female, hormonal fluctuations are a devil when it comes to the scale. Also, you've (I assume) added new exercise, which can lead to water retention.
    In addition, your calorie deficit might be too aggressive - what's your weekly goal? If it's 2lbs, then I'd suggest scaling back to 0.5 to 1lb and seeing if that helps.

    Yes I had a 2 week weekly goal
  • shelleybob77
    shelleybob77 Posts: 5 Member
    SouthWestLondon wrote: »
    If you're eating at a calorie deficit, the weight will come off.

    One of the things I've found when I've gone for very low calorie diets is that it is so difficult to stick to, that I really need to see very fast results. Otherwise I can't keep myself motivated. I don't know your stats, but 1200 calories feels really very low if you've only 20lbs to lose.

    It may be that if you were eating a little bit more, your approach would feel more sustainable and you wouldn't be worrying quite as much about what the scales show. I say that as someone who always worries about what the scales show - but I know that when I've felt deprived is when I fret most, and when I feel most frustrated at lack of results.

    I actually feel ok at 1200 and not too hungry I don't feel like I'm going crazy and then will be back to "normal" or anything
  • shelleybob77
    shelleybob77 Posts: 5 Member
    dragon_girl26 wrote: »
    shelleybob77 wrote: »
    I have seen a few posts similar to this but thought I would reach out. I have 1 stone 6lb to lose. Am eating 1200 cals per day, increased water consumption, walking or running daily and the scales haven't shifted in 2 weeks (they do work! Lol) I've kind of started worrying after a friend (fitness enthusiast) said i should be consistently losing weekly at that!

    First, hopefully it will be reassuring that your friend isn't necessarily correct. THEY might lose after two weeks but that doesn't mean YOU will. (For reference, I personally don't start seeing a loss reflect on the scale until about 3 to 4 weeks later) Each body is different so weight loss can happen a bit differently. Women, for instance, tend to have crazy fluctuations due to hormones (especially if you are on or close to your cycle.). This can often mask fat loss due to water retention. Also, if you have started a new workout routine, you will retain water from that for muscle repair, and that too can mask fat loss for a spell.

    Your friend is also not correct about consistency on the scale..that's never a guarantee. Weight loss rarely happens weekly like clockwork, especially for women for the reasons I mentioned above.


    Really, two weeks is still a bit early to gauge. Usually panic time is after around 4 weeks.
    The other thing I would say is to make sure your intake really is what you're thinking it is. Do you use a food scale to weigh portions? Are you double checking your entries in your diary against the nutrition facts on the packages to make sure your total is correct? MFP is a user maintained database, so even green checkmarked and scanning a bar code doesn't mean your entry is accurate, unfortunately.

    Thank you for the reply. Yes am weighing and checking everything. When you say panic time would be 4 weeks, what would your suggestion be at that point?
  • tariqari
    tariqari Posts: 38 Member
    I’m gonna celebrate that on the upside you’ve maintained your weight :) I look at weight maintenance as a victory because I have rebounded multiple times in the beginning.

    I have similar weight to lose (10-15lbs) and it’s getting very difficult.

    I agree with the post saying 1200 is low. I have been there myself and it can work but it’s very hard and is how I rebounded. 1500 is more realistic.
  • shelleybob77
    shelleybob77 Posts: 5 Member
    tariqari wrote: »
    I’m gonna celebrate that on the upside you’ve maintained your weight :) I look at weight maintenance as a victory because I have rebounded multiple times in the beginning.

    I have similar weight to lose (10-15lbs) and it’s getting very difficult.

    I agree with the post saying 1200 is low. I have been there myself and it can work but it’s very hard and is how I rebounded. 1500 is more realistic.

    I do feel ok on that though I'm not especially hungry or counting the days until I can increase
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,944 Member
    shelleybob77 wrote: »
    SouthWestLondon wrote: »
    If you're eating at a calorie deficit, the weight will come off.

    One of the things I've found when I've gone for very low calorie diets is that it is so difficult to stick to, that I really need to see very fast results. Otherwise I can't keep myself motivated. I don't know your stats, but 1200 calories feels really very low if you've only 20lbs to lose.

    It may be that if you were eating a little bit more, your approach would feel more sustainable and you wouldn't be worrying quite as much about what the scales show. I say that as someone who always worries about what the scales show - but I know that when I've felt deprived is when I fret most, and when I feel most frustrated at lack of results.

    I actually feel ok at 1200 and not too hungry I don't feel like I'm going crazy and then will be back to "normal" or anything

    This website will not give you less than 1200 calories. That means if you've chosen a goal that is too big for your current stats then you'll still get 1200 calories. It will mean you will still lose slower. Thus play with the settings and see what's the appropriate rate of loss is for you. Once you get more than 1200 then you know how much you can realistically lose per week. For just 1 stone I would guess 0.5lbs per week.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
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  • FitAgainBy55
    FitAgainBy55 Posts: 179 Member
    girlwithcurls2 wrote: »
    | This. So much this. I'm 5'7", female, 53 years old, sedentary with WFH, and mfp gave me 1570 to lose .5 lb/week. That's it. I add in exercise so I don't go bananas from sitting all day, but also to give myself more wiggle room to enjoy a few more calories. The weight loss is painfully slow.

    Not being critical because every person has different goals etc... but just keep in mind that your rate of weight loss can be accelerated significantly with activity level.

    I'm a 5'7' 54 year old male -- if I were using a sedentary budget to lose .5 lb per week my budget would only be slightly higher than yours: 1650. Instead I eat close to 2000 calories per day and lose 1.5 lbs per week because I've increased my activity level and I work out pretty hard 6 days a week.

    You can't control your resting calorie burn but TDEE and thus rate of weight loss is a choice.

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    edited March 2021
    Arralethe wrote: »
    If you're female, hormonal fluctuations are a devil when it comes to the scale. Also, you've (I assume) added new exercise, which can lead to water retention.
    In addition, your calorie deficit might be too aggressive - what's your weekly goal? If it's 2lbs, then I'd suggest scaling back to 0.5 to 1lb and seeing if that helps.

    Yes, On Feb 25 I started making a new trail in the woods (hard work!) and between that and ovulating, I am UP SIX POUNDS so shelleybob77 count yourself as lucky that you are just staying flat ;)

    I'm hoping for a big water weight loss whoosh any day now. I'll take a gradual one too.

    Also, this:
    cmriverside wrote: »
    With 1 stone 6 to lose, set your Goal at "Lose 1/2 pound per week."

    Set your Activity Level honestly; activity level is your daily routine.

    Exercise - add that separately on the Exercise tab.

    20 pounds is going to take a while if you don't want to be miserable. I think you're under-eating right now and that's super stressful to the body and increases cortisol which in turn will increase water retention.

    It took me nine months to lose that last 15 pounds.

    Here: http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/

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