The Scale Won't Budge!!!

Sarauk2sf

Do you weight your food and log everything?

When did you start exercising?

I weigh everything and I started exercising around the middle of August.

If you could open your diary, people would probably be able to be a bit more specific with suggestions.

Have you been diagnosed with thyroid issues or PCOS?

rinabina80

I keep seeing this "your body needs at least 1200 calories a day" paradigm being thrown around like it's solid scientific fact, unassailable. That's absurd, because each person's lower calorie limit is dependent on many factors, and there is no one magic number under which everyone's wheels come off. That's like the whole "eight glasses of water a day" thing—it's certainly a widely dispersed bit of wisdom, but what's the real science behind it? Truth is, for very tall males, 1200 might be way too low, and for very short older women, 1200 might be closer to maintenance than many people would like to believe. Every person's numbers are going to be slightly different, and even if you get your numbers from MFP or other sites, you still have to test them out in your real life and see if they work. Of course, that means you have to measure everything accurately.

Basically, if a young person of average height is netting around 1200 calories a day, that person will lose weight, barring some rather uncommon medical conditions. If a young person of average height is not losing weight, that person is either not netting around 1200 calories a day, or that person has a rather uncommon medical condition. So, the choices are a) go to the doctor and b) count calories in and calories out accurately or c) both. :flowerforyou:

I actually am not average height. I'm 4'9" and 154 lbs. In early August I was 169. I'm grateful for the weight I have lost because I've been working my butt off at the gym, but I get frustrated because the scale is not moving (stupid I know). One thing is that I've noticed how much stronger I have become.

rinabina80

Do you weight your food and log everything?

When did you start exercising?

I weigh everything and I started exercising around the middle of August.

If you could open your diary, people would probably be able to be a bit more specific with suggestions.

Have you been diagnosed with thyroid issues or PCOS?

I was just tested for my thyroid recently and I don't have PCOS.

themedalist

Do you track your sodium intake?

rinabina80

Do you track your sodium intake?

I do and it comes really close to the cut-off number.

rinabina80

Thank you to everyone who responded to my post! I just wanted to say that I got on the scale this morning and I am down a pound. It looks like that I'm only losing .5 a week. I've decided to increase my calories to 1400 to see if there is a change. On WW, I lost 25 lbs in 3 months and if I calculated right, I was on a 1500 calorie diet and only working out to a tae bo dvd for 25 minutes. I was hoping I could lose the same way this time around, but it's not happening. I'm hoping the increase in calories will result in at least 1 pound a week and not weight gain.

lynn_glenmont

I keep seeing this "your body needs at least 1200 calories a day" paradigm being thrown around like it's solid scientific fact, unassailable. That's absurd, because each person's lower calorie limit is dependent on many factors, and there is no one magic number under which everyone's wheels come off. That's like the whole "eight glasses of water a day" thing—it's certainly a widely dispersed bit of wisdom, but what's the real science behind it? Truth is, for very tall males, 1200 might be way too low, and for very short older women, 1200 might be closer to maintenance than many people would like to believe. Every person's numbers are going to be slightly different, and even if you get your numbers from MFP or other sites, you still have to test them out in your real life and see if they work. Of course, that means you have to measure everything accurately.

Basically, if a young person of average height is netting around 1200 calories a day, that person will lose weight, barring some rather uncommon medical conditions. If a young person of average height is not losing weight, that person is either not netting around 1200 calories a day, or that person has a rather uncommon medical condition. So, the choices are a) go to the doctor and b) count calories in and calories out accurately or c) both. :flowerforyou:

I actually am not average height. I'm 4'9" and 154 lbs. In early August I was 169. I'm grateful for the weight I have lost because I've been working my butt off at the gym, but I get frustrated because the scale is not moving (stupid I know). One thing is that I've noticed how much stronger I have become.

The scale IS moving. You've lost 15 lbs in 12 weeks. That 1 1/4 lbs a week. That's plenty fast for someone who is looking to lose 30 lbs.

I also agree with the poster who suggested that it looks like you must have told MFP that you want to lose 2 lbs a week (or maybe 1.5 lbs). You might try changing your goal to losing 1 lb a week, and plan on shifting that down to half a pound when you get a little closer to goal.

rinabina80

I keep seeing this "your body needs at least 1200 calories a day" paradigm being thrown around like it's solid scientific fact, unassailable. That's absurd, because each person's lower calorie limit is dependent on many factors, and there is no one magic number under which everyone's wheels come off. That's like the whole "eight glasses of water a day" thing—it's certainly a widely dispersed bit of wisdom, but what's the real science behind it? Truth is, for very tall males, 1200 might be way too low, and for very short older women, 1200 might be closer to maintenance than many people would like to believe. Every person's numbers are going to be slightly different, and even if you get your numbers from MFP or other sites, you still have to test them out in your real life and see if they work. Of course, that means you have to measure everything accurately.

Basically, if a young person of average height is netting around 1200 calories a day, that person will lose weight, barring some rather uncommon medical conditions. If a young person of average height is not losing weight, that person is either not netting around 1200 calories a day, or that person has a rather uncommon medical condition. So, the choices are a) go to the doctor and b) count calories in and calories out accurately or c) both. :flowerforyou:

I actually am not average height. I'm 4'9" and 154 lbs. In early August I was 169. I'm grateful for the weight I have lost because I've been working my butt off at the gym, but I get frustrated because the scale is not moving (stupid I know). One thing is that I've noticed how much stronger I have become.

The scale IS moving. You've lost 15 lbs in 12 weeks. That 1 1/4 lbs a week. That's plenty fast for someone who is looking to lose 30 lbs.

I also agree with the poster who suggested that it looks like you must have told MFP that you want to lose 2 lbs a week (or maybe 1.5 lbs). You might try changing your goal to losing 1 lb a week, and plan on shifting that down to half a pound when you get a little closer to goal.

Thank you! I'll try that!!!

rinabina80

I think you put in to lose 2lbs a week right? Perhaps change the goal to be losing .5 lbs a week and eat at that level. People who dont have much weight to lose shouldnt try to be too aggressive with their weight loss. The only thing you can do if you plateau at 1200 is increase calories. Or you can start eating at higher caloric levels, less deficit, and gradually decrease as you lose weight.

I did put to lose 2 lbs a week, but I also think that's too much for my body since I only have 30 lbs to lose. I changed the goal to lose 1 lb a week and see what happens. Thanks!!