Scale Hasn't Moved In 3 Weeks.... Opinions Please

Mell00546

Hi there,

I have been on MFP for about a month and a half now. I lost my first 10lbs within the first month and now nothing...
I was eating the recommended1200 calories a day (eating back my exercise calories) and last Friday I decided to up my calories to 1320 (again eating back my exercise calories). When I was netting 1200 calories I would consume an average of 1700-1900 calories. And now that I am netting 1320 calories I average 1900-2100 calories consumed.
I have been advised to raise and lower my calories (very confusing).
I have an additional 40lbs I want to lose to reach my goal weight and I need to figure out how to start losing again.

For exercise I run, swim, and am in the middle of 30DS.

I opened up my diary to the everyone in the hopes someone who have some good advise for me.

Thank you in advance

vsay215

Are you watching your sodium intake? it seems very high.

clairabell2024

In the first few weeks of 30DS the scale didnt move for me either and then all of a sudden i just a few lbs!
x

Mell00546

I try very hard to watch my sodium and I have considered that could be one of the reasons that my weight loss has stalled. However, I looked back at my diary when I was lossing and my sodium was very similar.

But I know I need to get a better handle on my sodium intake.

Thank you

fruitsalad15

I don't know anything really but I am half way through 30DS and I'm not losing either (neither is the girl I'm doing it with). I have lost inches though - are you losing size not weight?

I thinkI must be toning if I am losing inches and not losing weight, could it be the same for you?

Good luck!

Mell00546

I am going to do my measurements tongiht (day 10 of 30DS) but I haven't noticed a difference in my clothes of my appearance. So I am not expecting a loss in inches.

christyd4

Maybe try setting your protein at 40% and your carbs and fat at 30% and see if that helps. I did that and I have noticed a difference. For example on mine I manually set my food at 1500 calories set the 40/30/30 and i eat a net of 1200-1300 calories.

Another thing to remember as your body gains muscle it will hold on to water so it might not seem like you are losing anything when in reality you are

saraht131

The sodium could be taking its toll. Something else I noticed is, you eat a lot of processed food, like instant mash, sausages and soft cheese. If you swap that for lean meats, proper potatoes or sweet potatoes it might help. I think the trick is to eat food that hasn't been processed at all, unless in your own kitchen. Or processed as little as possible. It might make a bit of a difference?
You also eat a lot of good healthy stuff so I'm sure you will get there in the end.... plateaus like this are so annoying.

fruitsalad15

hmm, that does sound weird, it looks like your doing all the right things, mixing it up and stuff - prhaps it is the salt? you will have a lot of water retention from that perhaps.

perhaps you are havinga mini plateau and just need to keep pluggin away, although its disheartening, you know it works and will work again in the end.

I found that sometimes I was missing stuff off my diary which seem small but when they added up really made a difference. I was also not measuring accurately enough so perhaps you can watch out for those - just letting you know where I fell down in the middle of my journey - I got a bit lazy with the counting.

Mell00546

I have my Macros set to 40% Carbs, 30% Protein, and 30% fat. I had it said to 30/40/30 but alwyas went over my carbs (although I hardly eat bread or pasta). I am happy with my Macros (except for my sodium that I always seem to go over).

I hope Im gaining muscle because this plateau is starting to get very discouraging.

laceylou0702

One thing I did to help with sodium is started to eat frozen veggies if I couldn't get them fresh. It really helped me because the sodium in canned veggies is a bit higher. Good luck you seem to be doing the right things!

NNAhuja

I'm with everyone else, it could be sodium.It could also be sugar. That was my issue with one of my plateaus.
My latest plateau, my body just got TIRED of working on 1200 ish calories (2 lbs a week for me)! I upped it to 1700 calories (1 lb a week) and drinking a TON of water. My friend told me about this formula. Take your body weight divide it by 16 and that's how many glasses of H20 you dirink. It sounds excessive but the weight is melting off. Yes, I'm pissing like 2-3 times an hour but it's worth it! Try it for two weeks and see what happens.

Mell00546

I do need to measure more accurately. I kinda spot guess right now (unless I am baking) lol

You are right I need to try and limit the amount of processed foods that I eating. Although I didnt think I was eating that many until you pointed them out... lol

Thanks for the advise

redcut

i hit a plateau of my own for over a month I found that using a scale to measure my food instead of measuring in cups has helped a lot the cups seem to get filled more than they should lol. I have finally broken my plateau I did gain some weight back first but now I am back down the 3 pounds I gained. good luck to you I am no expert but this helped me.

Mell00546

I will switch to frozen veggies. Thanks for the sodium advise

I try and drink 9-12 glasses (8oz) of water currently wich is right around my weight divided by 16. And I dont count my coffee of fruit smoothie toward my water even though I did in the begining.

Mell00546

I have thought about a food scale but my boyfriend already looks at me like im crazy sometimes when I am logging my food.

iggymomma

You're doing great, and plateaus are something we all experience. Don't get discouraged!

2 things you might look at in your diet:

(1) It looks like you are oftentimes over -- sometimes well over -- in your fat intake. See if you can meet that guideline for a week and kick-start your weight loss again.

(2) I like how you've spaced out your meals into every two-hour small meals. In the last week, I've noticed that you sometimes skip the afternoon meal, and the last one of the day (9-10p) is occasionally large. See if you can adjust your schedule so that you're spreading out those calories and maybe eliminating that last meal by eating your calories earlier in the day.

Good luck!!

ck1416

I also lost the first 10 pounds with relative ease, and then hit a plateau. It is very frustrating! Finally this week it dropped. Please give it time and try to be patient.

A few things I tried to break through the plateau: I upped my calories, I try to lower my sodium by eating less processed food, and I added a rest day to my work out schedule.

saraht131

I do need to measure more accurately. I kinda spot guess right now (unless I am baking) lol

You are right I need to try and limit the amount of processed foods that I eating. Although I didnt think I was eating that many until you pointed them out... lol

Thanks for the advise

If you're eating carbs, make them brown! (wholewheat pasta/rice/bread)
Also peeling potatoes is hell on earth to me! So get a giant baking potato, put it in the oven for an hour and scoop out the potato from the skin in about 10 seconds. Easy.

chrissyrn04

I would suggest getting a food scale and measure EVERYTHing for a week or two. See if the serving sizes you think you are eating is really what you are eating. I was shocked by the difference. I also noticed a huge difference between measureing out my food in measuring cups and actually weighing it... I was cramming those cups full and was having almost double the actual serving weight.

lirby10

Well I was simular to you. I would get to about 10 lbs and it would be so difficult to lose weight. II am 46. I have lost almost 20 Lb. Many people told me I was fine at the weight I was and I should not expect to look like I did when I was in my 20's. As of today, I am weighing what I weighed in my 20's 126. A couple things I have done differently then when I dieted before. Watch your Sodium. Keep it under 2500. Sugar grams. Monitor them. Try to stay below 35 g. This is hard I know. Yesterday I went way over. Fat, calories, carbs are easy to stay in range. Carbs really should be 150 and below. Fat 35 g and below. This is so hard but if you do you will break your plateu. Also, as a women 1200 to 1500 cal should be the max regardless of what the program gives you back for exercise credit. Yes you can eat a few more but 1800 to 1900 would start to making you maintain unless you have alot of muscle. My friend is a female body builder and she would not ever recommend eating this many calories daily even with exercise and she has alot of muscle. You could eat that on a high day or cheat day. Yes. Also eat smaller meals/portions for your three main meals and eat 2 to 3 good snacks. It speeds up motabolism. You can find me and I have my menu's listed. You might not like some of my choices but you might get a couple ideas. Good luck.

Mell00546

This is probably sad but most of my focus was on calories and sodium. I never even noticed that I have been going over my fat. I was try and focus on all of my Macros. Thank you for pointing that out

I am not a big potato person. I will rarely order them at a restaurant and I dont ever cook them. I make mashed potatoes because there easy and there in the house (not for long) lol

Jking826

I just did the exact same thing for a month...I didnt lose anything. I kept going over in sodium you have to watch all these processed foods has a ton of sodium in it. I changed that last week and dropped 4lbs in a week : ) Goodluck!

mes1119

Do you wear a heart rate monitor? You may be eating too much. I suggest eating back half of your exercise calories and cutting down on the cardio.

ALSO, check body fat percentage! You may be getting smaller but it won't show on the scale. Water weight can also play a large role. Make sure you weigh yourself after a rest day because sore muscles retain water to heal.

auroranflash

Drink lots of water... try to get more protein. Keep at it. Lots of people on 30DS don't lose ANY pounds but their inches drop dramatically and you can definitely tell from before/after pics. I can't count the number of success posts I've seen where people say they only dropped a pound or two, but they look drastically more toned and smaller.

I haven't tried it myself but I just ordered some Killian Michaels DVDs because Groupon was offering a set. Watch this space for a toned T-rex in the future. Good luck.

Mell00546

Thanks you for your great advise. I will look at my calorie intake and how much sugar I am taking in

mes1119

I have my Macros set to 40% Carbs, 30% Protein, and 30% fat. I had it said to 30/40/30 but alwyas went over my carbs (although I hardly eat bread or pasta). I am happy with my Macros (except for my sodium that I always seem to go over).

I hope Im gaining muscle because this plateau is starting to get very discouraging.

if you're only doing the shred I doubt you are gaining muscle. It takes a calorie surplus or maintence to put on muscle mass--->and that is when lifting HEAVY weights. girls simply just don't put on muscle mass that easily.

I'm willing to say that it is water weight and the fact that you may be eating too much. I think you should eat back exercise calories, but not ALL of them.

Mell00546

Do you wear a heart rate monitor? You may be eating too much. I suggest eating back half of your exercise calories and cutting down on the cardio.

ALSO, check body fat percentage! You may be getting smaller but it won't show on the scale. Water weight can also play a large role. Make sure you weigh yourself after a rest day because sore muscles retain water to heal.

I was looking into a heart rate monitor but havent bought one yet. I swim alot and wanted to get one that is waterproof for the pool. I am also reading NROLFW but I wanted to lose anoth 10lbs before starting to lift.

connie_messina

Bump

viviennemayer

If you haven't done any weight training I would suggest that along with any cardio. Plus switching your workouts may help. I also agree with the sodium. It wrecks my body something awful if I don't watch it.

Mell00546

I have my Macros set to 40% Carbs, 30% Protein, and 30% fat. I had it said to 30/40/30 but alwyas went over my carbs (although I hardly eat bread or pasta). I am happy with my Macros (except for my sodium that I always seem to go over).

I hope Im gaining muscle because this plateau is starting to get very discouraging.

if you're only doing the shred I doubt you are gaining muscle. It takes a calorie surplus or maintence to put on muscle mass--->and that is when lifting HEAVY weights. girls simply just don't put on muscle mass that easily.

I'm willing to say that it is water weight and the fact that you may be eating too much. I think you should eat back exercise calories, but not ALL of them.

Thanks for the advise
I usually swim 5 days a week which burn between 500-600 calories, do 30DS in the morning, and run.
I will look at how many calories I am taking in and adjust my intake.