3 days and no weight drop

msmettalife9824

Hello, I’m a senior who began dieting and using the app since the first week of august. Goal was to loose 12 lb. Been religiously logging & sticking to 1200 healthy calories/ day (occasionally fewer) and lost 2 lb week walk between 12000-22,000 steps per day. I am using intermittent fasting most days at 16 or better hours. Now, with 6 lb to go, doing exactly as I have, I have zero weight loss 3 days in a row . App indicates I’m getting all the protein. I don’t eat sugar and rarely fruit. What can I do? Should I drop daily calories to 1000?

cmriverside

No. Do not drop calories.

With so little weight to lose, you can expect it to be very slow.

Are you eating more on those days you walk, because 12K-22K steps would put you at a need for much more food than 1200. Stressing your body by under-eating can cause a cortisol spike and that increases inflammation/water retention.

Shoot for a one-half pound loss per week.

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

Eat.

kshama2001

With this little to lose, it's going to be slow, and should be slow, as you do not have the fat stores to support a more aggressive rate of loss. I suggest using a weight trend app, such as Happy Scale for iphone or Libra for Android.

paperpudding

No weight loss for 3 days is not unusual, that is a very short time and we don't lose weight every single day.

xbowhunter

Baby steps!

KickassAmazon76

It takes me almost a month of dedicated logging before I start to see a change. Our bodies aren't like gas tanks where the gauge drops a little every mile you go. It's a little more dynamic than that. As it is, 1200 cals seems low (unless you're shorter and tiny). Give it time. You didn't gain weight overnight, you won't lose it that way either.

Rockymountainflyer

Last year I lost 25 pounds in 8 months by eating 1200 and half my exercise. MFP was set to lose 1 pound per week. This year I wanted to lose 15 and set MFP to 1/2 pound per week. As I am lighter and short, MFP gave me 1240 for that goal. I am, however, eating most of my exercise calories back now vs half. Yay reward!! It has taken me 8 months to lose 12 pounds this year. Slower is better especially as you get older as skin has a chance to shrink as well.

Latrellis

How are your steps calculated? Is possible your tracker is picking up arm, upper body movement, sometimes this can make one think it's all steps. Depending of the pace, you should be burning a lot of cals, that's approx 6-11 miles daily

PAV8888

6lbs in 3 weeks as a beyond very active senior with 12lbs to go to goal.
Now at 6lbs to go and three days of scale stability.
That's a large deficit and a lot of stress.

Lietchi

I'm wondering about the interpretation of 'senior' - could it be high school senior? Which would make 1200 calories even more aggressive.

sarahswhere1391

Could I suggest a week of eating Maintenance calories.
It will give your body and mind a break from deficit. Continue with your current activity levels. After one week go back to deficit and you will notice that the plateau has been conquered 👍

herringboxes

Three days isn’t a plateau.

kshama2001

Lietchi wrote: »

I'm wondering about the interpretation of 'senior' - could it be high school senior? Which would make 1200 calories even more aggressive.

I assumed high school senior but it could also mean older person.

PAV8888

I assumed AARP member🫣🥺🤷‍♂️

msmettalife9824

Thanks for the responses. I am 65 years old. I did break the plateau by increasing fasting to over 16-18 hours while holding consistent calories at 1200. I am now at my ideal weight coming in at 131-133lb but, would like to take 2" off my waist and struggling with that for over a month despite exercise programs. It's a work in progress. And as mentioned above, patience and persistence helped me on top of increasing fasting and holding caloric intake.

paperpudding

Glad t o hear you reached your weight loss goal - however you didnt break a 3 day "plateau" (in inverted commas because 3 days is not a plateau) - by extending your fasting hours.

You kept on your weight loss path by keeping to your calorie amount - and fluctuations of a few days happen anyway, IF or not.

cmriverside

.

kshama2001

msmettalife9824 wrote: »

Thanks for the responses. I am 65 years old. I did break the plateau by increasing fasting to over 16-18 hours while holding consistent calories at 1200. I am now at my ideal weight coming in at 131-133lb but, would like to take 2" off my waist and struggling with that for over a month despite exercise programs. It's a work in progress. And as mentioned above, patience and persistence helped me on top of increasing fasting and holding caloric intake.

Thanks for the update

Re taking 2" off your waist, what exactly is your exercise program and for how long have you been doing it? If for just a month, you'll need to give it loads more time, depending on how effective the program is, which is why I'd like details.

While you can't "spot reduce," you can change the composition of your body, but this will take time and effort and patience.

Sounds like you threw too much at your perceived plateau. You had a small amount to lose, so it should have been very slow, and patience would have served you better than fasting. While IF is indeed a valid strategy for creating a calorie deficit, sounds like you did it because you thought you had to, rather than it being something you wanted to do.

I just reread - if you lost 12 pounds since August 1, that's slightly over a pound a week, which is needlessly fast when you have that little to lose.

pony4us

You should talk to your doctor and at this age get a prescription for an official dexa to track your bone density and muscle mass. Not for aesthetic or vanity reasons but face the reality that as we age there is a tendancy for bone and muscle loss. At that low a calorie level and rapid weight loss you could maybe put yourself at risk. As far as the 2 inches from your waist, when was the last time your waist was that small?? You are not overweight now, go ahead and keep exercising and make sure you are getting enough protein and calories. I've got ten years on you and am happy to have retained a good bit of muscle and bone...as far as what size I am??? I don't care, I'm healthy, active and happy.

kidiki

When the scale won’t budge, pullout the tape measure. I am amazed at the number of steps you are logging. Are your calories coming from nutritional food? Do high carb foods affect you? Probably looking at your progress history and comparing trends in your diet will shed light on what works best for your body.