Need help, kind of stalled

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deb3129
deb3129 Posts: 1,294 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have lost a total of 80 pounds since March, mainly due to changing to a whole foods, plant based diet. In the last couple of months I have added a decent amount of exercise to the mix. But now my weight loss has all but stalled. I am not sure what I need to be doing differently. I had my setting set to sedentary, as I spend a lot of time at a desk for work, but I have changed it to lightly active and it upped my calories by a couple of hundred. I don't know if that will help, or what. Can someone who knows more than me take a look at my diary and help? I am 41 years old, 5'7'' and 256 pounds.

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  • TrailRunner61
    TrailRunner61 Posts: 2,505 Member
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    First of all, congrats on your achievement!

    What kind of exercise are you doing? Maybe it's time to change it up and do something that uses different muscle groups and/or increase the intensity or duration?
  • benjit_t
    benjit_t Posts: 12 Member
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    I'm going to say that adding calories is unlikely to help you lose weight. Are you honestly logging all your calories ? I know I don't. That means that I never lose quite as much as I should. It would only take a couple hundred a day to completely stall my progress. I'm an engineer by trade, so I like numbers. There's about 3500 calories in a pound of fat. That means to lose a pound a week you need to eat 500 calories less per day than you burn. If I was cheating on my diary a bit (e.g. I had a bit more pasta and one more glass of wine) AND I upped my calories by 200 then I would stop losing weight. I would set your activity back to 'sedentary' (don't worry too much about the label) because that seemed to be working for you.

    I want to add that your weight loss so far is a terrific achievement. I hope you don't find my above comments too judgemental, but I was always told that being direct with people is a form of respect.
  • deb3129
    deb3129 Posts: 1,294 Member
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    Mainly just walking. I have started doing short intervals of jogging.
  • JoyousJessy
    JoyousJessy Posts: 1
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    Keep going! You can do it!
  • deb3129
    deb3129 Posts: 1,294 Member
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    I absolutely log all of my calories. I am eating a whole foods, plant based diet, and I have to log every bite I eat to even get close to my calorie goal.
  • UnstopableMother
    UnstopableMother Posts: 8 Member
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    Your diary is not viewable by others for anyone to help much. But keep in mind that it is natural for every one to go through a stage of no weight loss or being stalled it often starts back up on its own, often a change in exercise will quick start your weight loss either a higher intensity for a longer period or a different exercise all together. If you have lost that much on your diet alone before adding exercise it is probably not your diet but its hard to tell without seeing your food diary, you could cut back a little on portion size of meat or whole grains but do not cut back on veggies. Again its hard to tell without seeing your food diary.
    One piece of advise don't change more than one thing at a time give it several days or a week or so on each change or you won't know what helped if you do start loosing again. Again I would start with a change in your exercise. Good luck.
  • deb3129
    deb3129 Posts: 1,294 Member
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    I don't eat meat or animal products at all. I went into my setting earlier today and set it to be visible to the public, is there something else I need to do?
  • MTBrob
    MTBrob Posts: 513 Member
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    80 POUNDS!!!! So awesome for you ..

    It may be time to change things up a little ..

    eat more proteins, lower your carbs and fat intake..

    Up your work out intensity.. Try it for a week and see if it moves you .
  • benjit_t
    benjit_t Posts: 12 Member
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    Fair enough. These calorie measurements are not an exact science and MFP is only estimating your caloric requirements. Bear that 500 calorie per day deficit in mind. If it's just added 200 calories to your deficit it can only slow your progress. There are all kinds of crazy variables like the temperature of your office or how much you fidget that can affect your daily burn. The other poster suggested changing up your workout. Your body does get more efficient at performing exercises, so that could also be a factor.
  • jchester101
    jchester101 Posts: 6 Member
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    Up your cardio and lift some weights. Most days you are under your recommended fat and protein numbers. I would add some healthy fats and find a way to get more protein. If you are staying away from animal products you can buy plain vegetable protein powder I believe.

    Awesome job so far!
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
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    Congratulations on your weight loss so far. When you say "all but stalled" - has it actually stopped? Or just slowed down? If it as stopped altogether, when was the last time you saw a loss?

    Weight loss is not linear, and it's normal for it to go a bit slower at times than at others. Also, 80lbs in 5-6 months is quite a lot. It may be that your weight loss is settling down to a more "normal" rate.

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