Weight loss slowing down

martintanz
martintanz Posts: 280
in Motivation and Support
After a very encouraging August and September, weight loss this month has slowed down. Not prepared to call it a plateau, yet as the trend is still down. Just closer to 1 lb a week the last couple of weeks rather than the 2 lbs/week I had been doing. Maybe a big drop is just around the corner, or maybe not? I would have thought I would have gotten below 250 before weight loss started to slow down.

I have been logging food consistently. My diet isn't perfect, but it is not bad either, and I have worked hard to keep it consistent, with cheats few and far between. Also exercising more frequently and more intensely as my conditioning has improved. I look and feel better than I have in at least a couple of years. So I know things are getting better.

I know that as long as I am losing, I shouldn't complain, but damn! At 266, I still have a lot of weight to lose.

Replies

  • DenyseMarieL
    DenyseMarieL Posts: 673 Member
    Don't get discouraged and don't give up! One think I have learned on these discussions, is that a slower weight loss is easier to keep off. A half pound or 1 pound weight loss every week is very reasonable. Those people that drop 6 lbs in a week are just going to put it back on. Slow and steady wins the race!
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
    Slowing down is normal. If it stops completely, cut calories a bit and/or add more exercise.
  • msbeeblebrox
    msbeeblebrox Posts: 133 Member
    Have you gone into goals in mfp and adjusted your caloric intake because you've lost weight? Smaller people need less calories, and you're smaller now. This, in my opinion, is the suckiest rule of weight loss.
  • Gramps251
    Gramps251 Posts: 738 Member
    It seems pretty common to stall in your weight loss now and then. I hit a 3 week stall but lost 2" from my waist. My weight finally started moveing down again after taking a week off exercise but I don't know if it was really due to not working out (dropping some water?) of if I'd have started losing again anyway.

    My only suggestion is pay attention and don't get discouraged. If you make any changes, give them a few weeks to see if you get the outcome you want. There isn't a rush. This is your life now, not a quick loss diet.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    When you start cutting calories, a lot of the losses at first are water weight. While great at first, this can be discouraging when the weight loss evens out to a more normalized rate.

    I am not sure whether you are doing it now, but one of the mistakes people often make is to not weigh, measure and log food completely accurately, so I would encourage you to do that. Also, as you lose weight, your BMR decreases naturally which means that you actually need fewer calories to stay at the same deficit so you may want to check that your calorie intake is appropriate.
  • Pollywog39
    Pollywog39 Posts: 1,730 Member
    I've been stalled for quite some time........not saying this to discourage you, but I know it's my own doing. I HAVE been losing inches, and my weight has "shifted".........I am smaller, I feel pretty danged good, and although I'd like to lose more weight, I am unwilling to make too many more changes in my life to get there.

    Sometimes, you just have to accept where you are :bigsmile:

    Not saying this is the correct answer for YOU............but it's working for me right now.
  • DesignGrrl
    DesignGrrl Posts: 147 Member
    It seems pretty common to stall in your weight loss now and then. I hit a 3 week stall but lost 2" from my waist. My weight finally started moveing down again after taking a week off exercise but I don't know if it was really due to not working out (dropping some water?) of if I'd have started losing again anyway.

    My only suggestion is pay attention and don't get discouraged. If you make any changes, give them a few weeks to see if you get the outcome you want. There isn't a rush. This is your life now, not a quick loss diet.


    I've had something similar happen - I started C25k 6 weeks ago, and for the first 4 weeks, my weight stayed the same and even went up a pound! Then BOOM! I was down 4.7 in 3 days' time. Now, I've had 2 more weeks of the same thing. My foot hurts, so thinking about taking a few days off and see what happens with my weight.
  • _kannnd
    _kannnd Posts: 247 Member
    If you are exercising more now, it's possible you need to up your calories. It sounds like it would be the opposite, but once I found myself starting to plateau a bit, I readjusted and upped my calorie goals. Then I started to see the weight start dropping again. I looked through your diary some. You could probably just eat back some of your calories that you burn from working out. My number is set to 1430 calories a day. I've found that if I eat much less than that, the weight stays on. Eat good, healthy proteins, like nuts, to get the good calories into your diet.

    Good luck!
  • mamabosha
    mamabosha Posts: 22
    I've noticed that there are times that your body seems to get used to the workout that you are doing, I know mine does. I have to do something for a week to alter my workout for a while to shock my system back to where it was. It works most of the time.
  • schparks
    schparks Posts: 74 Member
    Have you gone into goals in mfp and adjusted your caloric intake because you've lost weight? Smaller people need less calories, and you're smaller now. This, in my opinion, is the suckiest rule of weight loss.

    ^This. Make sure MPF has made adjustments in your calorie limit.

    If it has, don't worry. Initial weight loss is always the quickest. Following MFPs guidelines for a loss of 1.5/week, I only lost about 4 pounds last month. It happens. Throw out any notions of achieving an "end goal" and just focus on the day to day. Patience. Don't read the success stories touting a 100 pound weight loss in nine months - they will discourage you. You are doing the right thing - being conscientious, but also working it into your lifestyle overall. Granted, "cheating" will result in somewhat slower weight loss, but in my opinion, it is critical to sustaining it over a long time. All-or-nothing usually doesn't work.
  • foleyshirley
    foleyshirley Posts: 1,043 Member
    If you are exercising more now, it's possible you need to up your calories. It sounds like it would be the opposite, but once I found myself starting to plateau a bit, I readjusted and upped my calorie goals. Then I started to see the weight start dropping again. I looked through your diary some. You could probably just eat back some of your calories that you burn from working out. My number is set to 1430 calories a day. I've found that if I eat much less than that, the weight stays on. Eat good, healthy proteins, like nuts, to get the good calories into your diet.

    Good luck!

    I personally agree with this poster. In looking at your diary, there are days where you eat only as much as I do, and I am a 5'4" female weighing 160 pounds. If you are ramping up your workouts, you may need to add more calories.

    That being said, 1 pound a week is still good. I know you want faster, but sometimes slower is better.
  • martintanz
    martintanz Posts: 280
    If you are exercising more now, it's possible you need to up your calories. It sounds like it would be the opposite, but once I found myself starting to plateau a bit, I readjusted and upped my calorie goals. Then I started to see the weight start dropping again. I looked through your diary some. You could probably just eat back some of your calories that you burn from working out. My number is set to 1430 calories a day. I've found that if I eat much less than that, the weight stays on. Eat good, healthy proteins, like nuts, to get the good calories into your diet.

    Good luck!

    I personally agree with this poster. In looking at your diary, there are days where you eat only as much as I do, and I am a 5'4" female weighing 160 pounds. If you are ramping up your workouts, you may need to add more calories.

    That being said, 1 pound a week is still good. I know you want faster, but sometimes slower is better.

    Trying to use my appetite as a guide as far as eating back exercise calories. Some days, I have a protein shake in the evening, some days I do not. Yesterday, I contemplated cutting my chicken sub iI bought for lunch in half. I would probably normally do this, but given that I had just finished a 45 minute spinning workout, I felt like if I were to eat a little more than I usually would, that would be the optimal time. Addressing other people's points, I also try to give a little wiggle room for food eaten out of the home, just in case my estimates are a little off. So using the example of the chicken sub I ordered yesterday, I basically had to guestimate. I have tried eyeballing portions at home, then weighing them to hone this skill when I don't have access to a food scale.

    Thanks all for the encouragement. I don't plan on giving up anytime soon.
  • TheBiggestLosee
    TheBiggestLosee Posts: 101
    After a very encouraging August and September, weight loss this month has slowed down. Not prepared to call it a plateau, yet as the trend is still down. Just closer to 1 lb a week the last couple of weeks rather than the 2 lbs/week I had been doing. Maybe a big drop is just around the corner, or maybe not? I would have thought I would have gotten below 250 before weight loss started to slow down.

    I have been logging food consistently. My diet isn't perfect, but it is not bad either, and I have worked hard to keep it consistent, with cheats few and far between. Also exercising more frequently and more intensely as my conditioning has improved. I look and feel better than I have in at least a couple of years. So I know things are getting better.

    I know that as long as I am losing, I shouldn't complain, but damn! At 266, I still have a lot of weight to lose.

    I started at a similiar weight, 280-285, in April. Now, midway through October, I am down to 233.3lbs. So, I know what you mean. I went from losing 4-6lbs per two weeks to 3-4lbs.

    It's frustrating, but you must stay persistent and keep doing what you're doing until you FINALLY reach your target weight.

    Good luck!

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