One month with no weight change :(
Replies
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And up even more today, to 96.8 kg.
This is getting depressing. I'm staying within my calorie limit (as prescribed by both my doctor and MyFitnessPal). I'm doing daily exercise. Yet my weight this morning is now back to where it was on February 2.
I don't know what's wrong. The "eat more" people are clearly wrong I think. Yet if I drop below what I was eating before I increased my calories I'll truly be down in starvation mode levels.
This week my calories/day have been:
1608
1666
1644
1713
1372
1996
1770
Those are just not "starvation level" calories.
I think I really do need to just eat less. It's that simple.
doug0 -
Just keep doing what you feel comfortable with, and though being on a plateau is frustrating with hard work and determination you will be losing again just wait and see
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I hope so. My doctor says I just need to be patient and that the biggest risk of a plateau is getting discouraged and giving up or radically changing your diet.
He says just wait some more.
doug0 -
I may, just may, have gotten over the plateau. I'm not quite in new territory yet, but this week has definitely been better, with a net loss of 1.4 kg (3 lb) over last week, with weight slowly dropping all week. And I'm back to my previous low.
doug0 -
If I've learnt anything from dieting and excercise is that it really takes time. If it doesn't happen this month it will happen next month. As long as you know you are doing all the right things that is enough. Keep at it. You won't be disappointed in the end. Keep your chin up Doug!0
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1605 -220 = 1385 net
1549 - 220 =1329 net
1353 - 220 =1133 net
989 <- OK this one was pretty low (ultra busy work day) - 220 = 769 net
1451 - 220 = 1231 net
1486 - 220 =1266 net
1356 - 220 = 1136 net
Yes you are NOT eating enough. It's barely enough for a small woman.
This is less that I eat! You are definitely not eating enough x0 -
I've been on a 3 month plateau, more or less. Lost 12 kilos in my first 3 months of MFP, then it took another 3 months to lose another 3 kilos. I am trying a diet break to reset my metabolism back to normal. Eating 1800 gross plus half my considerable exercise calories for 3 weeks. Haven't gained while increasing my calories. Will try restricting more again next week. I'll let you know how I go when I restrict again.0
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I suggest you keep doing what you are doing - a 1 month stall ain't nothing. Some people have slower metabolisms and it increases with age. I learned the hard way that trying to speed things up by bumping calories did not work for me. 73 lbs since last May is AMAZING progress! Relax and keep it up and if you are getting nowhere in a few months you can play around with intake - slowly.
"Impatience makes smart people do foolish things."0 -
1605 -220 = 1385 net
1549 - 220 =1329 net
1353 - 220 =1133 net
989 <- OK this one was pretty low (ultra busy work day) - 220 = 769 net
1451 - 220 = 1231 net
1486 - 220 =1266 net
1356 - 220 = 1136 net
Yes you are NOT eating enough. It's barely enough for a small woman.
This is less that I eat! You are definitely not eating enough x
You're 22 - when I was 22 I could eat 4 times what I eat now - OP is 56 - age matters!0 -
1605 -220 = 1385 net
1549 - 220 =1329 net
1353 - 220 =1133 net
989 <- OK this one was pretty low (ultra busy work day) - 220 = 769 net
1451 - 220 = 1231 net
1486 - 220 =1266 net
1356 - 220 = 1136 net
Yes you are NOT eating enough. It's barely enough for a small woman.
This is less that I eat! You are definitely not eating enough x
You're 22 - when I was 22 I could eat 4 times what I eat now - OP is 56 - age matters!
Ahh - fair point :flowerforyou:0 -
Maybe just trying doing a different kind of exercise than cycling. Your body is just used to the workout and needs a changeup to get it shocked into losing again. I try to do different exercise every day - treadmill, elliptical, DVD circuit training, kettlebells. Just change it up - makes exercise less of a chore and more fun.0
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I think I'm probably still stuck in the middle of my plateau after all.
I'm afraid I don't have access to those other exercise options. And a treadmill is a metaphor for drudgery, isn't it?
I'm basically lazy, so I'm just happy I found some exercise I like! Cycling along the river is pleasant. I might add occasional swimming sometime.
Anyway, my weight is back up this morning. I'll let you know if I make extra progress.
For the "you should eat more" people - I think you should give up the ghost on that one.
But I really do appreciate all the responses!
Thanks,
doug0 -
the best workout for you is the one you will do and enjoy. no matter how many calories it burns.
in the long run, doing what you love burns more calories than doing something you despise and but burns a lot of calories
only to quit after just a few workouts.
You might try to make it more challenging, if you feel your body is used to it.
like cycling in a more hilly area, even if only slightly hilly
or adding resistance
or weight
my recumbent bike resistance was broken, so I wore ankle weights worked for many months for me.0 -
how's it going with the flax?0
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Hah. I saw your messages about flax, but I haven't tried it yet. I don't even know where to buy it.
I do get plenty of omega-3s though.
doug0 -
you might try looking for it in the baking section
or in the health food section where they have low carb, and the like
. I'm guessing you're on the other side of the pond?
in the uk it could be called linseed.
wasn't really trying to push it on your or anything.
I don't sell anything for fun or otherwise.
it's just really great to find a real food with so many benefits
including b vitamins, vegans often have trouble with
and yet it's so easy to prepare.0 -
I think I'm probably still stuck in the middle of my plateau after all.
I'm afraid I don't have access to those other exercise options. And a treadmill is a metaphor for drudgery, isn't it?
I'm basically lazy, so I'm just happy I found some exercise I like! Cycling along the river is pleasant. I might add occasional swimming sometime.
Anyway, my weight is back up this morning. I'll let you know if I make extra progress.
For the "you should eat more" people - I think you should give up the ghost on that one.
But I really do appreciate all the responses!
Thanks,
doug
Eating more does usually help some people. Just because it didn't work for you doesn't mean they are wrong, I honestly don't think you gave it enough time. But seeing as you don't find that working make sure you hit your goal EVERY DAY. Also eat back your exercise calories.
There is plenty of fun exercises.. try and change it up some, your body might be getting use to it. Do some research and find something else that you would like to do.
Good luck.0 -
Hi there,
I can understand your frustration as my scales have not moved for over 3 weeks since starting a new exercise routine (I've heard this is normal and will settle down).
Sounds obvious, but are you weighing and measuring everything? Are you being totally strict, logging every mouthful of food? Also with your exercise, do you use a HRM or are you relying on the MFP figures as many people say they are too generous?
Other than that, all I would suggest is when you change something, give it a few weeks to work, else you can't really see if your changes have had any effect. I know that's difficult as we are all impatient and want changes NOW.
Also how often do you weigh? As weight naturally fluctuates by a few pounds anyway, so maybe limit your weigh ins.
I hope you can figure this out, good luck!0 -
Weight up again today - to 96.0. Seriously, people, I find the more I eat the less I lose. I think I probably just have to eat less and/or exercise more.
For the person who asked where I am located, I'm in Tokyo.
I weigh everything vigorously on my little digital scale. Or I go by what it says on the package. I'll even call manufacturers if necessary to get calorie info - and to make sure the ingredients are vegan and have no added oils.
For exercise calories I either rely on MFP or MapMyRun - both are very similar numbers, within a few calories. For indoor cycling I rely on the exercise machine itself, which knows my stats and I can track progress on the LCD.
I weigh daily, but try to complain only once a week.
Thanks,
doug0 -
But starvation mode isn't supposed to kick in until under 1,000 calories per day.
Who told you that? Knowledge is power my friend read this and you will be in control. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-20130 -
Reducing calories too low causes your body, overtime, to slow your metabolism to compensate. It's not "starvation" it's a slowing down of metabolic processes to adapt to the reduced calories. Forget about the dang scale for a month! Try to get in more cardio and calculate your TDEE. I really think you've caused yourself a slow down by not eating enough.
Some informational reading...
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo
I recently Upped my calories, by 400 and after 2 weeks of really no change I started losing 2lb a week again.0 -
You might want to consider that vegan may not be best for you, and look into other styles of eating, such as paleo/primal, which seems to be very successful for a lot of people.0
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I really don't think I'm anywhere near starvation mode. And I don't think I'm eating so few calories that my metabolism is slowing down. I couldn't possibly be eating too few calories with all I eat. I'm eating all the time!
My metabolism may be slowing down because I'm older now (56) and except for the exercise I force myself to do each day I'm mostly sedentary. But I don't think I'm not eating enough.
Some references other than more forum posts would be more convincing. Like actual reputable medical sites or articles. Other forum posts are just other forum posts.
Today I'm at the same weight I was on February 5 - that' now almost 7 weeks with no weight change.
Here are my most recent days calories and the exercise calories for the day
Sun 1602 - 248
Mon 1616 - 235
Tue 1613 - 235
Wed 1488 - 247
Thu 1426 - 229
Fri 1487 - 288
Sat 1591 - 243
OK. After exercise I agree those are not high calorie amounts. But if I believed what the "I'm not eating enough people" are suggesting - I could theoretically eliminate my exercise entirely and lose more weight. Does that really make sense to anybody?
Oh, I don't know what to do. I suppose I could force-feed another serving of brown rice. I'm just really skeptical that will aid in weight loss.
About paleo/primal - I'm really scared to change the kinds of food I'm eating. I started this diet last May after having a heart attack. Since going vegan + no oils + no nuts my total cholesterol has dropped to 129, LDL has dropped to 70 and my blood sugar has returned to the normal range with no medication. And for those who know what cardiac EF (ejection fraction) is, it's gone from 50% (below normal) to 67% (high end of the normal range). I'm scared what introducing cholesterol and fats and oils will do to my heart health.
I'm torn as to what to do. I'm participating in two diet forums - here, and one more. Most people here are telling me I'm not eating enough, and most people at the other forums are telling me I'm eating too much.
doug@confused0 -
I feel for you, I really do, I've been pretty much on one big plateau since last year - I've started to lose now, since significantly increasing my calories!
Please don't think I'm down on you, I'm not, but you appear try to up the cals for a week, see a slight gain and freak out - if you READ about this stuff you will see that it can take up to 8-12 weeks to reset your metabolism IF you do it right (I'm 43 btw) - in that time you are likely to gain slightly, but its NOT fat gain, it can't be as you are eating below your TDEE. I try to make sure I hit my BMR daily, don't always manage it and forget to log when I eat fruit/yogurts etc, but generally I'm eating my BMR and not worrying until I go over my TDEE minus 20% which doesn't happen that often. (My diary shows around 1300 cals per day, its more than that, I log main meals, I don't log all of my protein shakes and fruit etc - I should do but I mentally log them and its also part of me trying to break away from fixating on every last darned calorie). Your TDEE and BMR are based on your age, height etc so its not the older metabolism problem, that's calculated in.
All of us can only tell you what works for us, but this is working for me - I'm not losing much but omg is my body changing, and now the weight is starting to drop - I don't officially weigh in til Tues but I seem to have lost around 3lb this week! That is major - its the weight I put on when I upped the cals and now its finally going. We've all been fed so much rubbish by the dieting profession (who make their money from repeat clients) that we need to cut cut cut, but its completely destroying our metabolism and making us have to diet again and again.
As regards exercise, that is down to you - I HATE running, I run 3 times a week, I loath it, hate every minute, but hate being fat even more. I'm combining that with swimming and with lifting (aiming to cut the cardio after a race I booked to motivate myself and move more to lifting) - but the trick is consistency and developing the habit - I don't want to be skinny fat, I want a body that burns fat continually :-)
Only you can know what you want to do, but you must give changes time - lob those damned scales, go by your tape measure, scales are ridiculous, they alter with the weather for goodness sake (or seem to!) Make a decision and stick to it, but don't think things that work so well for so many don't work simply because they do what they WILL do (ie slight gain) without waiting for the plummet the other side. You haven't wasted a month - eating the old way (presumably) you'd be several pounds heavier and still going up!0 -
I understand your frustration. I tried a little experiment with my fat loss. What I discovered is that my body had gotten used to my caloric intake and exercise regimen and adjusted itself to streamline the energy it used (I'm guessing that's what happens when you plateau). I blew my calories out of the water one day for two weeks and stopped exercising altogether. Once I started back, the weight loss started again. So maybe you just need to change some things to confuse your body and shock it back into weight loss mode.0
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Thanks for your replies again people.
There seem to be two broad schools of thought: I'm somehow not eating enough or my body's used to what I'm eating and has decided to maintain weight at this level. Or the other school of thought is that for me, my natural metabolism has gotten so slow that I'm just eating too much.
I myself don't know which is right. I have to admit I'm scared to death of eating more and actually gaining weight. I haven't gained back any weight yet. I'm sort of hovering in place for 7 weeks is all.
According to the BMR calculator at http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ my BMR is 1870. My doctor prescribed 1800 calories per day, so that's pretty close.
Question! Should that be net calories after exercise, or eaten calories? My doctor said I should limit my calories to 1800/day and also do daily exercise. So I'm assuming that means that no matter how much exercise I do I really should limit my eaten calories to 1800 a day. Anyway, that is close to my BMR.
I admit I'm not eating quite that much on average. If you look at the last 7 days my average eaten calories have been 1546 calories per day (pre-exercise). So that's about 250 calories per day less than my BMR if that is significant.
Side-point: Shouldn't we really use the BMR of my goal weight, since I want to maintain at my goal weight, right?
This other site that calculates TDEE (http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/) also shows my BMR at 1870 and my TDEE is 2244. That site recommends eating 1795 calories per day - almost exactly what my doctor recommended.
That site also says losing weight is "easy as 1 2 3" -
Exercise a bit more
Eat a bit less, and
Drink more water
I think that's generally true.
I'm scared to "blow my calories out of the water" one day every two weeks. It sounds attractive. But to me that's like telling an alcoholic they can have an occasional drink. I believe I'm a food addict, and one day will lead to more.
However your idea of "changing some things to confuse my body" might have something to it. I'm not "handy around the kitchen" and basically eat the same things every single day, with very slight variations. Same breakfast. Same lunch. Same dinner (varying only spices and particular vegetables) and same snacks.
Basically I found a set of foods with fit in with my diet and I stick with those. Maybe I should just try some new things.
doug0 -
Is there anywhere in Tokyo you can go to have your metabolism tested? That would give you clearer guidance on what your metabolic rate really is. Many universities have sports centers that offer the testing. That would be my recommendation at this point. You are older, if you don't exercise much, you lose muscle mass as you age, so it is possible your metabolism has slowed down past the point that your current eating would make you lose weight.
Get your metabolism tested, and get yourself some weights and start weight training. You need that in addition to the cardio you do on the bike for a lot of reasons--better bones, preservation of muscle mass, etc.
Good luck figuring this out.0 -
You may want to try the Eat, Train, Progress group here on MFP. They have great information there and if you follow their recommendations and are still stuck, they will give you advice.0
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If I were you I would try to NET 1800 calories a day. So if you burn 200 from riding your bike you should eat 2000 that day. I understand you are scared, and you might even slightly gain for a little while doing this, but if you give it some real time (like a month, not just a week) I think you will see it works. I think you are not eating enough and not giving yourself enough time at higher calories to see if it will really work. Like others have said, it would be normal to gain a little at first after upping your calories, but if you stick to it I do believe you will start to lose. Anyone who says you are eating too much is crazy! You are netting right around 1200 a lot of the time. How on earth does anyone think that is too much for a man to eat?!0
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Morning Doug,
For what it's worth....I lost 40 pounds over 17 yrs ago using Wt Watchers and returned there losing only 15 pounds. I was VERY frustrated because I burn 500-800 calories/day 5 times/wk(competitive tennis) and the scale wouldn't move for over 1 month. My body was used to this activity... I added a gym routine which I orig. hated but learned to enjoy 3 times/wk. Nothing moved! I discovered this site and only lost 1 pound the first wk and nothing the following wk so two wks ago, I changed my daily goal from 1200(most women here feel way too low for us) to 1400 calories/wk and actually didn't have time to get the walking 3 times/wk in but managed to see a change in the scale the last two wks. I eat only half of my burned calories/day and don't go below my BMR calories(1300/day)....adding only 200 calories/day and trying to keep my sodium 1200mg/day PLUS drinking an extra 16oz of water/day has made a huge difference....
My suggestion would be to change things around(calories or exercise for 2 wks) and see if you see any changes....
PS I hope to lose another 20 pounds before goal weight....
Good Luck and yes, be patient....0
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