Strange Plateau

RileyLeah

I am having a strange problem. When I increase my intake of liquids, I gain weight and it takes about a week to lose the weight. I have been going through this cycle since about December and when I think that I have fixed it, the problem resurfaces. I never eat more than 1400 calories on any day and most days, I eat between 700 and 900 calories. Yet, I am not losing any weight and any liquids increase my weight substantially! The only way in which I can lose weight now is to eat between 700 and 900 calories and to drink no more than 20 ounces of liquid a day. I tried this for a while, but I ended up getting so thirsty... I drank a 20 oz bottle of water and all of the weight that I'd lost was back.

I am currently maintaining between 123.0 and 125.0, but it is frustrating because at 5'4" I could stand to lose quite a bit more and it seems unfair that I am trying so hard but the only way that I can lose weight is to not drink much. Furthermore, I have even tried cutting my calories to 500 a day so that I could at least drink 40 oz of water, but that barely works as well. When I first started to lose weight two years ago, I used to be able to drink at least 60 oz of water a day and sometimes up to 90 oz of water a day with no effect of weight gain. I seriously do not know what the problem is...

Please help... I've almost given up, but I cannot go back to what I used to be...

Becky_Boodle

1. Eat at least 1200 cals a day...more if you exercise
2. Drink at least 64oz of water a day
3. Eat whole foods...lots of veggies
4. Do cardio and strength training

bdur76

You're not eating or drinking enough. This is causing your body to do some strange things, like hold onto fat and retain the water it's getting. Read up on water retention, the answer is opposite of what you think. Drink more water, not less!

Pizzagirl50

Def eat at least 1200 calories a day. Weigh first thing in the morning before you have any food or liquids. If I weigh in the daytime after water I'm about 5 pounds heavier than in the morning. Hope you stick with it

sarahnicole218

This does not sound healthy! You are not losing because your metabolism must be soooooo slow! You should be eating at least 1200 calories a day, anything below is starving yourself. Your metabolism shuts down and your body goes into starvation mode which will store every single ounce of fat you eat because you are not eating nearly enough. Bump up your calories and increase your water, you'll see it come off...especially if you work out.

RoughDiamondUK

I'm not an expert or anything, but... I am the same height as you, and after I doubled my water intake from 2 cups a day to 4 cups last week, then I gained a little weight back as well. However, I've kept at 4 or 5 cups a day since then and I've also slightly increased my calories, aiming for 1350 a day. I'm now back down to the lowest weight I was before I upped my water intake.

If you go to http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmr-calculator -- whatever number that calculation gives you, don't ever intentionally consume fewer calories than that a day. (Mine's 1,298 as I'm a little heavier than you.) Because you say you've been eating between 700 and 900 calories regularly, when you increase to 1200 or whatever number that calculator gave you, then you might find that you gain a little bit again at first. If you do, don't panic and don't drop your water or calories back down. Stick with it. Sooner or later your body will get used to you feeding it properly again, and you'll be able to start losing weight again.

grandmamarj

Your body seems to be in starvation mode because of not enough calorie intake. I have the same problem and if I eat 1200 caloeis and lots of water I loose. Oh boy to be your weight, I'd think I was just great.

mrrodriguez

I am not a physician, so I am just a fellow weight loss traveler who is thinking along with you on what might be going on. If it is near time for your annual physical, get you kidney/liver functioning checked. Can't hurt. I would also make sure I was drinking ONLY cold water, not juice, or crystal light, plain old everyday water. I am sure others know much more than me on the sodium issue, but I would try to keep your sodium level down. High sodium can affect water retention.

Try doing sustained cardio where you really sweat (running, elliptical, bicycle), as this seems to loosen up my water weight. Good luck, I am sure others will have other ideas.

Lleldiranne

You're starving yourself. You gain weight from liquids because you are probably dehydrated, and your body is finally getting what it needs.
I don't know what you mean by "quite a bit more" in what you want to lose, but IMO 5'4" 120-125 is AWESOME. You're 4 inches taller than I am, and I look really good at 120 (with about 22% body fat).

My advice:
1- get your calories up to 1200-1400 a day. It's scary, but your body just isn't getting enough nutrients at 700-900 (I'm talking vitamins, mineral, phytochemicals, protein, and even the fat your brain needs to continue functioning ... you need all of that). Some of it you can't just get from a vitamin.
1a - Drink at least 40 ounces of water a day. That's only 5 cups. Sounds like a lot now, but once you get used to it, it won't seem like much and you can look at increasing it to the recommended 8 glasses (64 ounces) a day. Your skin, digestive system, nervous system, and all your other organs will thank you.
2 - slowly add resistance into your exercise regimen. When you build muscle, your metabolism is higher, meaning you eat more and maintain the same weight. This will also help you be happy with your look without getting super skinny.
3- re-assess your goals. At this point, I would talk to your doctor, because from what I see you're aiming for too skinny, BUT there are many thing about you I dont know, so I can't really make a good determination. Your doctor can. And can advise you on how you're doing on things like bone density (super important, big risk when one loses a lot of weight), iron levels, and such, to help you be your healthiest.

Adshill

All of these are true - you are not eating nearly enough. Also - you are already at a healthy weight for your height according to BMI charts. Why do you feel you "could stand to lose quite a bit more"? That doesn't seem like it would be healthy.

diggly

Eating and drinking more have worked for many on this site. You need to be patient with your progress though. Having said that, I had a quick read of your profile and your previous posts. You are aiming for a very dangerously low weight for your height if you're looking to be 90 or 100 lbs. Your folks have a right to be concerned if you do anything drastic.

hiker282

I like this plateau. It's nice looking.

akiramezu

1500+ calories. that is all

gp79

Fluid intake shouldn't be considered weight gain. Spikes in either sodium or carbohydrates are going to cause some water retention initially, but will subside in the days to come. Meaning, if you have a carb binge one day, expect it to take 3 - 5 days for your body to correct itself in terms of water weight. Everyone is different.

You didn't say anything about exercise and you don't have your diary open to the public, but here's my advice for someone with your height / weight.

1. Smaller weekly loss since you're of BMI to begin with. With an IDEAL control twin of 128 lbs, you are less than this. Expect very small losses here. I'd set you at a goal of 1/2 lb per week loss IF any loss at all.

2. 1300 calories per day accounts for no exercise and a 1/2 lb loss per week. 1g protein per lb of lean body mass, and .35 - .45 g fat per lb of body weight. You'll have to do some math here.

If I were you. I would eat at maintenance and lift heavy doing compound lifts (where you can do no more than 4 -6 repetitions) 3x per week to do a body recomp to lose body fat and increase your definition a little bit.

SheilaSisco

Based on what you have said and what your ticker shows, your aim is to be 5'4" and weigh between 90 and 95 pounds... This is NOT healthy at ALL... You're really already at a VERY good weight for your height and I don't understand why you would want to lose more. I'm currently at your weight and look pretty good and I'm only 4'11", so really I have to think you look pretty terrific where you're at. That said, your basic problem is that you aren't feeding your body enough and it isn't happy with you. You need to NET a minimum of 1200 calories daily and drink 64oz of water a day. Yes, you WILL initially gain a little back while your body readjusts to a HEALTHY intake, but after few weeks it'll even out and go back to behaving the way it should. Good luck.

gurganuss

I found myself at a strange plateau as well. i eat between 1100 and 1200 calories a day. I exercise everyday but do not eat my exercise calories back and have lost almost 10 pounds in 7 weeks, but now have not lost in 2 weeks.

meggonkgonk

At 5'4" and 125 lbs a goal loss of 30lb is also too much. You probably should consult a doctor about your goals and overall plan of acheiving them. It might be that you are looking to reduce your body fat percentage rather than just "lose weight" and a doctor will be able to help explain the best and safest ways to go about that.

I say this at 5'3" and a "happy" weight of 128-133 (accounting for fluctuations)

meggonkgonk

I found myself at a strange plateau as well. i eat between 1100 and 1200 calories a day. I exercise everyday but do not eat my exercise calories back and have lost almost 10 pounds in 7 weeks, but now have not lost in 2 weeks.

This isn't strange, it's actually really common when you keep a high deficit and don't eat your MFP exercise cals back.

katie133

you're starving yourself. eat more. at least 1200...

RachelK40

You body doesn't know the difference between a diet and starvation. Therefore, it is important that you don't take in too few calories. Your body needs a certain amount of calories just to keep your heart pumping and your lungs working. If you don't take in enough calories for basic function, your body will start conserving energy by decreasing your metabolism.

RileyLeah

Thank you for the tips!

I tried increasing my calorie intake to 1200 exactly and I am seeing results. I am gradually increasing my intake of liquids, but after being at a plateau for so long, I am very pleased! I am also not hungry anymore.

Thanks,
-Riley