any advice or thoughts are welcome

Faten_B

hi, everyone. i joined MFP in february, the support has been great. i started my weight loss in januray, 18 weeks ago exactly. I'm 5'4", have lost 33lb, went down from 184 to 151. my goal weight is 143 lb. it would give me a BMI of 25. i started walking half an hour then an hour then a month ago my average would be an hour and a half, daily, except on saturday which is my cheat day. until 2 weeks ago everything was going well, i was hungry and irritated in the first month but now I'm feeling good. i actually feel better after working out, which i would have never believed ild feel i like choosing what i eat now, so i do feel the change. its not temporary and i want it to last. when i started though i would eat the 1200 recommended but i didn't lose anything, i went down to 800 and thats when i started seeing result and from then onwards my weight loss was consistent, an average of 1.8lb weekly, for 16 weeks. that was actually my biggest motivation, seeing results. then 2 weeks ago everything SUDDENLY slowed down. i lost 0.5lb in the 2 weeks, keeping calories under goal and walking 80 min average. i had changed nothing in my regimen. the sudden and significant drop in the rate alarmed me and i wanted to take your opinions. i know that things slow down once one is closer to goal weight but as i mentioned earlier its not the skinniest weight that I'm trying to reach plus i thought the slow down would be gradual!
let me know ur thoughts please. thanks

skinnysushicat

I'm pretty sure that everyone will tell you that 800 cals is way too low, and unsustainable.

MelissaPhippsFeagins

My loss slowed dramatically for the last 10 lbs. I am not going to fuss about 800 cal/day; not my body and you are too close to goal for it to matter now. However, I am going to suggest that you add 50/day to your goal each week until reach whatever you maintenance calories will be. Eventually, you will reach your goal anyway because your deficit is huge now, and you will not be shocking your body with a huge jump in calories when you get there. Good luck!

AbsolutelyAnnie

1. As you mentioned, when you get closer to 25 BMI weight loss gets slower. It will take time and you need to be patient.

2. 800 calories per day is dangerously low and unsustainable. You run the risk of losing muscle mass and damaging your organs. Many of us feel that 1200 is even too low for most people.

3. No matter what anyone tries to tell you, you are NOT in starvation mode. You metabolism may have slowed down some, but that is all.

4. You are very likely either overestimating your calorie burn or underestimating how many calories you are eating.

5. Please be patient.

Faten_B

hi melissa, i know 800 is too low but its the only thing that worked in the beginning. i was planning to up it along the way, but honestly seeing the consistent results tempted me to continue .. it has worked for 16 weeks as well which made me think that its ok. i was expecting the slow down, waiting for it actually but it was so sudden thats why i wanted to take opinions. i will take ur advice about increasing 50cal/day to get ready for maintenance. but i was expecting to start that in june, now i don't know how long it will take to reach my goal weight then maintain. we'll see, thank you for the advise and support. happy mother's day

Faten_B

@APRothgeb

thank you for the reassurance and taking the time to comment. i will definitely keep all ur thoughts in mind and do my best to be patient wish me luck, cheers!

vismal

OP: I would bet LOTS of money you are eating WAY more then 800 calories a day. First you say you have a weekly cheat day. If you eat 800 calories 6 days a week and eat 3000 on the cheat day, you would average a little over 1100 calories. I am also highly suspicious that you are counting correctly. Most people would not have then energy to exercise on such low calories. Are you weighing your food on a food scale in grams or using cups and tablespoons (those are meant for liquids)? Are you eyeballing serving sizes? Counting absolutely every you ingest including fruits, vegetables, condiments, etc? Do you forget to add things? Do you eat out a lot and have to guess on calories? My guess is you are probably eating around 1200 calories a day. Through in a cheat day and you are eating on average a healthy 1400-1500 calories a day and your losing weight at an okay rate.

Faten_B

hi vismal, thank you so much for ur opinion. i was thinking the same about probably not having enough energy to exercise on 800 cal, and was going to increase it along the way, but when my weight loss was consistent and i didn't feel tired or unable to exercise, i just continued.
i scan the codes off everything i eat, otherwise i google and find out the calories. you don't think the nutritional info on the products are reliable? my progress has been good so far, I'm just wondering at the sudden rate drop

on a different note, ur weight loss is inspiring, amazing really !! and that u have kept it off, is even more amazing. CONGRATULATIONS )

jamiesokd

hi vismal, thank you so much for ur opinion. i was thinking the same about probably not having enough energy to exercise on 800 cal, and was going to increase it along the way, but when my weight loss was consistent and i didn't feel tired or unable to exercise, i just continued.
i scan the codes off everything i eat, otherwise i google and find out the calories. you don't think the nutritional info on the products are reliable? my progress has been good so far, I'm just wondering at the sudden rate drop

on a different note, ur weight loss is inspiring, amazing really !! and that u have kept it off, is even more amazing. CONGRATULATIONS )

The nutritional information is reliable - it is the way of measuring that isn't always consistent. "3/4 cup" of solid food may weigh 80g, or 100g (as examples) depending on just how full or exact that 3/4 cup is. You could fit many more strawberries in a cup if they are diced, as compared to whole berries. It is much more accurate to weigh your food.