weight loss is slow going

lizahogan12

Hi, I am not new to the paleo/primal world, my husband has been primal for 3 years now and my daughter and I have been about 60% primal as well. Starting in January of this year I have gone fully primal, having even given up dairy recently. I count my calories, carbs and protein, I walk 3-5 miles a day, I do a weight lifting class one day a week and a cross-fit inspired class one day a week. I don't do sprints yet, as I am quite overweight and it hurts my knees. I am 31 years old and about 65 pounds overweight. What I don't understand is; why is the weight coming off so slowly? I have lost 9 pounds since going full on primal, thats an average of 3 pounds per month! At my body fat percentage, the pounds should be melting off! I even do intermittent fasting and reduced eating windows. I can't think of anything that I am doing wrong! My husband and I want to have another baby before I go to grad school, so I really was hoping to speed up this process. Any suggestions?

bostonwolf

I'd say 3 lbs a month is pretty sustainable. At your size anything more than that would be fluctuations in hydration levels more than actual fat loss.

Your exercise is probably adding some muscle too. My strong recommendation would be to start taking measurements every month.

Measure your neck circumference, both biceps, your chest, your waist at your belly button, your hips, both thighs.

So long as those numbers show improvement, weight doesn't really matter.

Being overly focused on one number isn't healthy.

There is no magic bullet, there is no style of eating that is going to make the fat melt off of you. You took a long time adding it, it takes a long time to come off and the progress isn't always fast and steady. It tends to come in spurts for me and then I level out at a certain weight for a while before pushing through it.

Jenny_Rose77

I agree that 3 pounds a month seems like a sustainable loss. I also think, like you, that you probably could be losing more if you're eating strictly primal and have a significant amount to lose. (I might be shooting for 4-6 pounds a month if I were you.) I went to look at your diary to see if anything stuck out to me, but it's not public. If you make your diary public, it may be easier for us to offer specific suggestions.

bostonwolf

Another suggestion: Look for some TDEE calculators (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) which should factor in your height, weight, job, and workout routine and give you an estimate of how many calories you need per day to maintain your bodyweight (and I promise you this number will be far higher than you'd imagine.)

Then eat 20% less than that number.

That is what I do and since last July I'm down about 30 lbs of bodyweight and since I started Crossfit at the same time am FAR stronger than I was, so I've recomposed my body as well.

I still want to be around 230lbs or so (so 50 lbs to go) but I didn't put the belly on in three months, I don't expect it to go away that fast.

Akimajuktuq

Your diary is closed which does not help with offering advice.

Often when one has metabolic disorder the food matters even more. For example: do you still eat lots of fruit? Nuts? Dairy? What's your sugar/starch (ie carbs) intake like? For me, just eating healthy foods is not enough, I have to keep my carbohydrates low as well. Dairy also slows my progress.

Also, if you are still having joint pain you should consider an eating plan specifically to address that. I was already running when still 80 pounds over weight (not for prolonged periods but just because it felt good to be pain free for the first time in my life!). While getting rid of wheat and sugar helped my joints immensely, I am also sensitive to nightshades. I had to eliminate them for a short time and now I limit them carefully.

Three pounds is a nice sustainable loss, but with still a lot to lose it should be possible to have a pound per week average... until you get below 200 pounds (or are you already? not sure). Another factor that slows weight loss: are you eating enough? When I was 220 I was at 1600 calories due to my old calories in/calories out thinking and MFP recommendations. That was a FAIL and Islowed my metabolism and now I am paying for it with extremely slow weight loss. Go to another site and get an accurate estimate of your TDEE and eat slightly below it, but not too much.

bostonwolf

^I agree. I try to be 20% under TDEE but I'm not overly worried about it. Occasionally I'm a bit over. Most days I'm under. So long as at the end of the week I'm eating at a negative I'm usually happy.

Nutmeg76

Definitely take measurements. I wouldn't be able to measure at my belly button though because as I lose weight it changes position...darn babies! I measure at my natural waist instead, just above the top of my hip bone (iliac crest.)

If you can't do running sprints and you have access to a bike, pool or elliptical then you can do "sprint" intervals that way. It doesn't have to be running.