anyone else have this kind of metabolic issue?

Amryfal

at least, that's what i'm calling it. i don't know for sure if that's what the problem is. i've had basic blood tests to make sure i'm not diabetic or have thyroid problems, but i don't know what else to do about this and it's driving me crazy.

i've been on MFP for a year. SW 279, CW ~240, give or take water retention, which i have a problem with (HBP and meds). but i can't seem to lose anything more than about 10 lbs before i plateau and have to change calories or exercise to get things moving again. is my metabolism adjusting that quickly to my diet/exercise routines? i eat relatively healthy most of the time and don't exercise as much as i could or probably should. a year ago, i started out at 1200 cals and lost 10 lbs, then i stalled. i upped it to 1400, lost 20 lbs, stalled. said screw it for three months, gained 12. (argh.) set back to 1800 and started working out again - netting between 1400 and 1800, zigzagging based on what i'd burned that day - lost 10 and stalled. set myself to sedentary, calories to 1650, logged EVERYTHING...lost 10 and stalled. and that's where i'm currently sitting. whenever i change something, i start to lose very quickly and then stop after a week or two.

six years ago, i lost about 50 lbs (from 260 to ~210) in less than three months. i was never diagnosed with an ED but that's what it was. i would eat a chocolate bar for lunch, about three bites of dinner, and exercise until i was netting probably -400 calories. i crashed hard after a few months, got out of it, and gained everything back plus. i've never been thin my entire life; that 210 was the lightest i've been since high school. i was wearing a size 16. i'm wearing the same size now at 240, so i know that i have more muscle now, and that what i did before was very bad, and this is better. i want to lose weight the right way, be healthy, and keep it off, but i can't seem to get any lower. i've been stuck here for a month and half, although i think, very very very slowly, my waist is getting a teeny bit smaller - maybe 1/2 an inch in a month and a half? with the first 30 lbs, i lost like 6 inches all over in 6 months, but now it's stopped dead.

basic research says my metabolism should have bounced back, but i'm wondering if maybe i'm just very quick to adjust to wherever i set my calorie intake. and it's driving me to drink, tear my hair out, and every other "i'm very frustrated" cliche in existence. according to a couple of different formulas, 1650 is just below or just above my BMR - within 200 calories, either direction. i'd like to just set a number and maintain a slow, steady loss, but it isn't going to happen, apparently. last week i had a "screw it" week and averaged about 2100 calories a day - and stepped on the scale and had dropped 2 lbs (although i think some of that is water that i retained during TOM).

anyone else dealt with this constant plateau problem? i'm considering upping my calories to my goal maintenance and just facing the fact that i'm going to lose this weight really, really slowly, if at all. my diary is open, but remember i had a "don't give a crap at all" week this past week ;o) i struggle with keeping sodium and sugar under, but that's *all* the time, doesn't seem to affect when i lose or when i stop losing. i can't come up with any more explanations, and i don't want to get too frustrated and have a repeat of earlier in the year when i quit caring and gained. this journey is starting to really sap my motivation.

Amryfal

i can't be the only person with this issue, can i? LOL...

Hendrix7

Sounds like a major lack of consistency, you can't keep changing things about all the time and expect results.

One the biggest problems I see on this site is people way over reacting to not losing for a week or gaining a lb over the weekend and then changing their whole approach. Have a plan and stick to it, weight loss is never completely linear.

i started out at 1200 cals and lost 10 lbs, then i stalled. i upped it to 1400, lost 20 lbs, stalled. said screw it for three months, gained 12. (argh.) set back to 1800 and started working out again - netting between 1400 and 1800, zigzagging based on what i'd burned that day - lost 10 and stalled. set myself to sedentary, calories to 1650

4 different calorie allowances.......and where you did get these numbers from?

Forget zig zagging, exercise calories and all of that, most people would benefit from making their lives simpler not more complicated.

Use the TDEE method to get your daily calorie level, hit your macros every day.

Do this consistently for a month before you even think about changing things. No loss after a month then drop cals by 100-200 and start again.

It's not a metabolic issue.

Amryfal

probably not a metabolic issue. but it was longer than a few days between changes. that list of calorie #s was a year's worth. a month or so without changes in between.

i couldn't go down from 1200, so going up was the only option. and i would start to lose again after the change, quickly for a couple of weeks, and then nothing for at least a month.

Amryfal

1200 was MFP's recommended 2-lb loss when i started. after that was 1 1/2 pounds, which actually increased my loss temporarily. the next was after i adjusted my activity settings from sedentary to lightly active. then again back to sedentary while logging everything out of the ordinary.