Plateua - STUCK! Help

BAH84

Hello,

I have been stuck at my current weight for over three months now. I can't seem to lose anything. I've lost 50 pounds since I started using myfitnesspal, and have been thrilled with the results, but I am beyond discouraged at this point. I generally save 500 calories per day Monday through Thursday, so that I can have plenty of calories to do whatever I want with on the weekend. This has always worked for me. I now can't seem to lose anything, when at first I was losing 1.5 to 2 pounds a week. I raised my calorie goal to 2450 thinking maybe I wasn't eating enough and was in starvation mode. That is for losing 1 pound per week, where as previously I had my app set at losing 2 pounds a week.

I haven't weighed myself in about 2 weeks because I was frustrated and just thought I wasn't losing anything anyways. Last night, went out for a friends birthday and ate bad food, and drank a TON of beer. But I had about 6,000 calories to work with for yesterday and today because of the excess from the prior days this week. Well I weighed in this morning and I weight 5 pounds more than I did the last time I weighed!! What the hell is going on here, I had so much success at the beggining! I can't lose anything now, and I actually showed a 5 pound gain today. I am beyond mad at myself right now.

Any help or advice would be GREATLY appreciated, thank you!

Mr_Knight

Great, another "you're not eating enough" MFP success story.

:explode:

You know what you have to do...

Hang in there, you've already proven you can do this for the first 50 pounds, you can get this back on track for the next leg!

BAH84

Haha not sure what you mean? Do I need to cut back the calories? I am still eating well below my maintenance level of calories?

somerisagirlsname

Sometimes the 'saving up' works, and sometimes it doesn't. I've heard people say they don't do it at all, I've heard others say the 'saved' calories have approximately a 2 day expiration on them, I've heard a lot of things.

If you're not losing, you're eating too near your maintenance, so either you aren't counting calories correctly (the MFP database can be wrong, a lot) or you're overestimating exercise calories. Just tweak your diet/exercise regiment until you start seeing results again.

Best of luck!

Mr_Knight

Do I need to cut back the calories?

Yep.

twinketta

Hello,

I have been stuck at my current weight for over three months now. I can't seem to lose anything. I've lost 50 pounds since I started using myfitnesspal, and have been thrilled with the results, but I am beyond discouraged at this point. I generally save 500 calories per day Monday through Thursday, so that I can have plenty of calories to do whatever I want with on the weekend. This has always worked for me. I now can't seem to lose anything, when at first I was losing 1.5 to 2 pounds a week. I raised my calorie goal to 2450 thinking maybe I wasn't eating enough and was in starvation mode. That is for losing 1 pound per week, where as previously I had my app set at losing 2 pounds a week.

I haven't weighed myself in about 2 weeks because I was frustrated and just thought I wasn't losing anything anyways. Last night, went out for a friends birthday and ate bad food, and drank a TON of beer. But I had about 6,000 calories to work with for yesterday and today because of the excess from the prior days this week. Well I weighed in this morning and I weight 5 pounds more than I did the last time I weighed!! What the hell is going on here, I had so much success at the beggining! I can't lose anything now, and I actually showed a 5 pound gain today. I am beyond mad at myself right now.

Any help or advice would be GREATLY appreciated, thank you!

Congrats on losing the first 50lbs.

If your calorie goal is 2450 the you are not going to delve into the mythical starvation mode.

If you are going to do this whole weight loss thing seriously then, why not set yourself a daily calorie goal instead of `banking stuff` for the weekend.

The weight over the weekend is most likely because you ate loads of carbs/drank lots of beer and some of it will be water weight...but really if you are serious you can not `diet` all week and then blow out at the weekend.

But it is your life and your choice

stacymae1013

First off- congratulations on losing 50 pounds! It can be extremely difficult to change our habits and it sounds like you're on a great track to reach your goals! Keep it up, you've gotten this far so don't get discouraged! Consider it the perfect opportunity to switch things up to keep it interesting

Considering you've lost this weight, I'm sure that you've done some research to reach this point so I apologize in advance if I give you information that you already know! You will lose weight when the calories you eat and drink are less than the calories you burn, your weight will stay the same when the calories you eat and drink equal the calories you burn. "Calorie" is just the term used to describe the amount of energy a food or drink provides when you eat it. Carbohydrates, fat, protein, and alcohol all provide energy – and this energy is measured in calories. Think of calories as a measurement unit – like inches, pounds, or gallons. You need energy from foods and drinks to fuel your body – for everything from breathing to physical activity. But if your foods provide more energy than you use, your body stores the rest as fat.. In order to lose 1 pound, you need to cut out 3500 calories somewhere.

Basically..... If you are gaining weight, or not losing at all, decrease your calorie intake (or increase your physical activity). Considering you've lost weight, your body needs fewer calories than it did 6 months ago. Also, a great way to help you manage your body weight is to eat fewer empty calories. Empty calories are calories from solid fats, added sugars, or both. Regardless of your weight status, empty calories should not be a major part of the diet. For most people, no more than 15% of calories should come from solid fats and added sugars.

It also may be helpful to consume fewer carbs. To get the equal number of calories from a bag of Doritos or bread (which, as you know, you can eat all day long and never really feel full), you’d have to eat 2-3 Mack trucks full of broccoli and spinach. Okay, that’s clearly an over-exaggeration, but you get the point. A GIANT plate of vegetables and a reasonable portion of meat can keep you full for hours, while eating carb-heavy foods can result in being hungry again soon after.

You've gotten this far, you can only improve! Good luck

BAH84

I know that banking up calories during the week and using them on the weekend is probably not the most sound practice, but it has been the only way that I've been able to stick true to my diet and get this far. I just don't understand why it worked for me for so long and now I can't get any further. I guess I should cut myself back to where I was at the beginning, around 2100/day.

p4ulmiller

Congrats on losing the first 50lbs.

If your calorie goal is 2450 the you are not going to delve into the mythical starvation mode.

If you are going to do this whole weight loss thing seriously then, why not set yourself a daily calorie goal instead of `banking stuff` for the weekend.

The weight over the weekend is most likely because you ate loads of carbs/drank lots of beer and some of it will be water weight...but really if you are serious you can not `diet` all week and then blow out at the weekend.

But it is your life and your choice

Listen to this. It's on the button..

You are not losing weight because you're eating too much and you are not in a calorie deficit.

Go back to how you started. You've been successful and need to pick up the pace. Reset your calories to your current weight - you need fewer than when you started.

BAH84

I should clarify this though! I wasn't losing any weight before my calories went up. When I was set at my original 2100/day, I was still stuck at the weight I'm at. That's why I'm so confused.

Cindyinpg

I know that banking up calories during the week and using them on the weekend is probably not the most sound practice, but it has been the only way that I've been able to stick true to my diet and get this far. I just don't understand why it worked for me for so long and now I can't get any further. I guess I should cut myself back to where I was at the beginning, around 2100/day.

Yep, recalculate and start over would be my advice as well. As for the banking for the weekend, I do that too and I don't find that it affects my progress. There's nothing wrong with looking at things from a weekly prespective. Read this if you haven't already:http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

twinketta

I should clarify this though! I wasn't losing any weight before my calories went up. When I was set at my original 2100/day, I was still stuck at the weight I'm at. That's why I'm so confused.

Maybe your whole mind and body is confused?

Try to get into a regular pattern of exercise and food.

If you eat/drink a day packed with carbs then you will put on weight. Especially water weight.

The most helpful thing I can suggest is to try the whole MFP thing for your goals....maybe add more protein as it is very low on the calorie counter. Do not bank calories.

If you were keeping strictly to your 2100 a day then I would double check your accountability of the foods you are eating

Mr_Knight

I should clarify this though! I wasn't losing any weight before my calories went up. When I was set at my original 2100/day, I was still stuck at the weight I'm at. That's why I'm so confused.

You are eating too much.

stacymae1013

I believe that it's okay to save calories during the week to use during the weekend; however, most of us go overboard. A single pint of beer is going to average around 200 calories. Chances are, 205 calories is not going to make or break your diet. But multiply that by four or five and you're looking at almost half your day's worth of calories in liquid form. Another problem with alcohol? It makes digging into the deep-dish pizza/large order of cheese fries/street vendor hot dog seem like a really good idea (hint: It's not!) Not only does alcohol make you feel hungry, it reduces your ability to exercise good food judgment. I mean, really. Who heads for a salad after a night at the bar? A single piece of pepperoni pizza can be 700-800 calories. Who only eats one piece though? Perhaps you're underestimating your calories? If you aren't already, you may want to measure your serving sizes during the week. If you go out to eat and go to bars on the weekends, you may not be able to make up for it during the week. For instance, there used to be a cajun chicken pasta dish at ruby tuesdays that I would eat- 3100 calories!!!

If you're consuming 2100 calories per day every day at your weight, you should lose weight. Remember, the kind of 6 pack that you want is made in the kitchen!

BrendaLee

Choose a calorie goal; eat at that level for six days, and then have your one day where you splurge -- to maintenance or slightly above. You should probably skip the "ton of beer," in general. Enjoying a beer on your maintenance+ day isn't going to kill you, but you still have to keep the end goal in mind.