weight plateau... not sure why.

HeatherBrown4

Hello fellow fitness people! (I'm new so be gentle)

I realised a few months ago that I had become overweight and decided to do something about it. I have managed to lose about 1 and a half stone.

However I hit a plateau with about 12lbs to go. This is quite annoying. But I have been Persevering. I have taken up swimming and roller skating. (I do as much as I can add I am a carer for a disabled family member and I need to work round my duties).

However in the last couple of weeks my scales have started to creep up and I am not sure why. I stay well within my calorie allowance and exercise as much as possible. Any ideas where I am going wrong? Thanks

BranDiesel_27

Most likely your diet. is it posted on your profile?

diannethegeek

Hi there. It would be easier to give useful advice with a little more information to work with. Otherwise, we'd all just be suggesting things that may or may not fit your particular situation. Would you be comfortable opening your diary for us?

How long has it been since you last saw a drop on the scale?
How much weight have you gained and over what period of time?
How many calories are you currently eating and how carefully are you measuring them? Are you using a food scale, measuring cups, or eyeballing portion sizes?
Are you eating back the calories earned through exercise and if so how are you estimating calories burned? Are you using a heart rate monitor or MFP/machine estimates?

coral_b

Did you re-assess your calories intake after you'd lost the weight? If you're 1.5 stone lighter than you started at you may need to re-do BMR or TDEE or whatever strategy you work to. I've only lost 14lbs so far since joining and calculations have lowered my calories by a fair few hundred. Well done on the loss and working around such an honourable job!

HeatherBrown4

Sorry I didn't realise it needed to be changed to make my food diary public. Done now I think folks.

HeatherBrown4

Thanks hun. Congrats to you too.

My app actually amended it automatically once I lost 10lbs.

HeatherBrown4

Hi there. It would be easier to give useful advice with a little more information to work with. Otherwise, we'd all just be suggesting things that may or may not fit your particular situation. Would you be comfortable opening your diary for us?
T
How long has it been since you last saw a drop on the scale? About 3 weeks now
How much weight have you gained and over what period of time? I've put on about 5lbs.
How many calories are you currently eating and how carefully are you measuring them? Are you using a food scale, measuring cups, or eyeballing portion sizes? At the moment its mainly guess work to be honest. Like if I use half a 300g packet then 150g.
Are you eating back the calories earned through exercise and if so how are you estimating calories burned? Are you using a heart rate monitor or MFP/machine estimates? I use the app to calculate how much is burned off. I do 2 hours circuit skating training for example. And I am working up to lengths at swimming. I am now about 12. I didn't do anything at all until recently.

diannethegeek

I would suggest really concentrating on your logging and see if that helps. Three weeks with a small gain could just be a water weight blip on the scales (hormones, stress, sodium, etc can all cause a little gain).

I was able to lose a good chunk of weight eyeballing my portions and using basic measuring cups, but as I got closer to goal accuracy became more important. I'm not saying that you need to go all out and get super obsessive about it, but simple overestimation really holds some people back.

Congrats on your loss so far. You're doing great!

HeatherBrown4

I would suggest really concentrating on your logging and see if that helps. Three weeks with a small gain could just be a water weight blip on the scales (hormones, stress, sodium, etc can all cause a little gain).

I was able to lose a good chunk of weight eyeballing my portions and using basic measuring cups, but as I got closer to goal accuracy became more important. I'm not saying that you need to go all out and get super obsessive about it, but simple overestimation really holds some people back.

Congrats on your loss so far. You're doing great!

Thanks Diane

I haven't really slept in 3 days as my family members health is terrible and its mainly gone on the back burner as I am missing meals etc as well. I think I will invest in some scales. I think I may be shocked at my portion sizes.

ingraha

Hi there. I just put a friend request to you.
I looked at your diary and I suspect it isn't accurate. For example, on Friday Jan 10 you had 800 cals left on it and you had only eaten sugary things. Is this an accurate reflection?
Almost all the days had a lot of calories left over. Do you have mfp set at a deficit to lose a certain amount a week? If so, if you leave that many calories, you are actually working against yourself because you need a certain number of calories to burn to stay healthy. I know it seems kind of backwards to think you need to eat to lose weight but its true.
The way it works is you set at a deficit, then, eat all the way to what you set, adding in exercise but eating back your exercise calories. In this way your metabolism will learn to adjust and digest the food you eat.
If you are not logging everything and doing a lot of estimatin, you will find eventually that you have erroneous guesses. Be good to yourself and be patient. This stuff works. Also the scale is so important! I try to weigh everything I eat and watch my macros(protein, carbs, etc).
Good luck!!!!

HeatherBrown4

Thanks for your kind advice. I am definitely going to invest in scales. Friday was a nightmare day for me actually. I had an emergency and didn't log correctly at all. but I will give measuring a go and keep you all updated. I actually struggle to eat all the calories I need to. I feel I an trying to stuff myself just to add more calories into my day!