Not losing weight in 3 weeks!

Ahgolds1234

Thank you for reading

I am calorie counting bc evidence proves that's the basics.
I'm a binge eater and 30 lbs overweight. For over 3 weeks I have lowered my calories to an average of 1400. It has been very very difficult. I have lost 1lb. It was probably water weight!
I dont exercise much bc of physical limitations.
What gives?

kshama2001

This may provide insight:

lmf1012

hokeapril1234 wrote: »

Thank you for reading

I am calorie counting bc evidence proves that's the basics.
I'm a binge eater and 30 lbs overweight. For over 3 weeks I have lowered my calories to an average of 1400. It has been very very difficult. I have lost 1lb. It was probably water weight!
I dont exercise much bc of physical limitations.
What gives?

For starters, bodies are weird and don’t always behave like we want them to. Most people on here will tell you to give it more time to work itself out. The first things to always check is to be sure you’re at a calorie deficit and you’re tracking accurately and diligently. If those are good to go, then be patient with it. A calorie deficit will lead to weight loss.

wunderkindking

I am in a calorie deficit all month long.

My scale reflects weight loss only the day my period starts and the few days after. At which point I drop a few pounds over that week.

Then I sit at the new weight for another month.

Hormones are fun.

Ahgolds1234

Wonder, how much are you losing per month

Iwannabeapunkrockmom

wunderkindking wrote: »

I am in a calorie deficit all month long.

My scale reflects weight loss only the day my period starts and the few days after. At which point I drop a few pounds over that week.

Then I sit at the new weight for another month.

Hormones are fun.

This is exactly what happens to me. 💯

wunderkindking

Iwannabeapunkrockmom wrote: »

show previous quotes

wunderkindking wrote: »

I am in a calorie deficit all month long.

My scale reflects weight loss only the day my period starts and the few days after. At which point I drop a few pounds over that week.

Then I sit at the new weight for another month.

Hormones are fun.

This is exactly what happens to me. 💯

at least it's a reason to look forward to my period, I guess!

Ahgolds1234

It looks as though I was eating 1600 to 1700. The dr said to go to 1200 and go back up once I meet my goal. I may have been sustaining my weight. ..

penguinmama87

hokeapril1234 wrote: »

It looks as though I was eating 1600 to 1700. The dr said to go to 1200 and go back up once I meet my goal. I may have been sustaining my weight. ..

Doctors are not often well trained in regular nutrition. Your doctor might mean well but in my experience, heavy restricting makes binging more likely. If you're already struggling to stick to 1600-1700 calories, why would you cut another 500? Unless you are very petite, 1200 is likely not enough.

Do you have 30 lbs to get to a normal BMI range, or is it 30 lbs to a goal weight you've picked inside that range?

How many calories does MFP's guided setup give you per day, if you tell it you want to lose 1 lb per week?

I have been surprised at just how many calories I can eat and still lose weight. This isn't an attempt to rub it in your face or anything, either - I have realized that my previous weight loss attempts probably failed because I was chronically undereating until I just could not handle it anymore. I got fatigued, super irritable, had food on the brain all all all the time. Recipe for disaster.

I won't say that weight loss this time has been easy, but I certainly don't hate everyone and everything anymore. I actually feel like I could do this the rest of my life. I have some emotional distance from the numbers. I still get to eat what I like and have occasional treats, and I don't feel like it's the end of the world if I skip some treat or have less of it than I would like, because it's not some secret forbidden thing I have to feel ashamed about. It's just food.

nossmf

Ok...you were struggling for three weeks with what you thought was 1400, but was in reality 1600. Now your doctor wants you to do 1200 for the next 7 months?

(To lose a pound requires a drop of 3500 calories. You lost 1 pound in 3 weeks, meaning you were eating 3500/21 = 167 calories per day below maintenance. If you were eating 1600, then for you maintenance is 1600+167 = 1767. The doctor wants you to eat 1200 which will net you 1767-1200 = 567 calories per day, or 3969 per week. To lose a pound requires a drop of 3500. So this gives 3969/3500 = 1.1 pounds per week. To reach the 30 pounds from your first post, this will take 30# / 1.1# per wk = 27 weeks.)

This will take dedication plus planning, especially since this 7 month span will include the holiday season with all the temptations associated.

That said, just because the scale doesn't move doesn't mean you didn't make progress. I went through a stretch of several months where the scale did not move, but my waist lost several inches. So try not to limit yourself to only considering weight as the be-all, end-all measurement of progress.

PAV8888

I can guarantee you that heavy restriction does not trend to work well for people who have a propensity to binge.

Even people who don't have that propensity end up doing it if they restrict too heavily.

Your doctor is treating your symptom (obesity) by prescribing the remedy ((heavy) caloric restriction).

But she isn't considering the potential side effects and whether a different level of application of the remedy may be more productive and with less side effects.

And of course the vast majority of dieters either do not lose weight or lose weight and regain it in short order...

.... Is this the first time you're losing weight? What are you doing different compared to last time?

Please don't tell me that you're more determined.

I see very few people showing up here who are not determined.

Use the determination to find a plan that doesn't require you to be relying on determination all the time

Onedaywriter

Unless you have a real medical need to lose the weight quickly, 1200 calories seems really low- especially because you said 1600-1700 is really hard for you. Maybe try either somewhere in the middle like 1500 and lose a little more slowly (than at 1200) or do some days at 1600-1700 and some at the dr recommended 1200.
I find I cannot keep in my calorie limits without the extra calories that exercise affords me. Maybe you can find a way to be a little more active to help. Even 100 extra calories a day from exercise (like a 20 minute walk) would give some breathing room.