Stalled Already ?

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Hi Peeps, hope you can advise me.

Started my diet on the 2nd January with 77lb to loose.

Put my details into MFP which suggested 1200 calories a day. I have a desk job and walk the dog each evening and weekend for exercise. I am female and 5ft 4in and 45 years old.

7/1/13 - got on the scales after my 1st week of dieting and it said 7lb lost - woo hoo ! But also understood that most of this woud be 'water weight'.

14/1/13 - got on the scales and had lost a further 5lb. Fantastic I thought, but again, knew that this fast rate would not remain for ever and was ideally looking to loose a steady 1.5 to 2lb per week in the early stages, knowing i have a long way to go and i am very overweight.

21/1/13 - whichh is end of week 3 and I havent lost an ounce more than last week. I haven't been able to resist the urge to jump on the scales every day since then and my weight has not shifted at all and i am almost at the end of week 3 and ready to weigh myself again on the 28/1/3.

This is most disheartening. I am drinking plenty of fluids (oh another quick question - 8 glasses of water is how much water in litres please?) and I eating plenting of green leafy veg/salad along with my protien (meat, fish, or a bit of cheese). Also I am usually either 50 cals over or under my allowance each day.

Surely I havent plateaued already - that wouldnt make sense - so what do you think is going on?

Over to you fabulous MFP people :-)

Thank you.

Replies

  • RaineyLaney
    RaineyLaney Posts: 605 Member
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    Sounds like maybe you lost weight too quickly. Your body could be holding on due to that. I am sure in a week or so it will change back to losing. Just give it a little longer
  • RaineyLaney
    RaineyLaney Posts: 605 Member
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    also, Your food diary is closed. How many calories are you consuming? you said just under 1200, but is that like 900, 700 etc? I see that lots on here. If that is the case, It could be you lost water weight in beginning 2 weeks and now your body is holding on thinking it is starving (starvation mode). It is best to eat at least, not under 1200.
  • axialmeow
    axialmeow Posts: 382 Member
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    You have lost like 4lbs/week on average. Weight loss isn't exact week by week. You can go weeks with no loss then lose 3lbs the next week. It's weird!
  • mavsteriom
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    Thank you for you reply.

    As I mentioned in my orginal post - I am usually either spot on 1200 calories a day, or only 50 +/- each way, each day. So I should be getting the right amount each day. ?
  • HeelsandDumbbells
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    I'm surprised no one has said this to you but you are eating way too low and you can really mess up your metab and have thyroid issues over time. I'm 115. 5'2 and I eat more to lose fat. 1300 is my minimum. I will tell you 1200 is a miniumum for and extemely small person who doesn't even move out of bed. I will tell you from experience I had followed some of these reccomeded daily caloric things and my thyroid went to hell over a period of time. Losing weight for you is going to be extremly hard as you get near to your goal. To where you may not even be able to lose weight if you continue at that low of calories. Best advice I recieved more recently was figure your bmr and go at least 200 calories above that minumum. You don't want to dip too low. Mine is between 1265-1275. I have a very small window now after losing about 60lbs. Trust me I made this same mistake. The calculator is far from perfect. Make sure you get your protien in because you lose a hell of a lot of muscle losing a lot of weight. I would almost suggest you do some weight lifting because like in my case as I lost the weight looked like the same person just smaller =skinny fat with no muscle. Now I have to build that muscle back and because I did it that way makes it much harder to keep fat off. Muscles very important to help keep you lean and you'll be able to eat so much more. I'm far from starving here.Good luck. Be healthy.
  • NewPeppermint2
    NewPeppermint2 Posts: 5 Member
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    I would definately advise to stop getting on the scales everyday. I've done that before and it became a crazy obsession. Stick to weighing once a week. If you're doing everything else right, it will eventually show on the scale.
  • DeanBurrows
    DeanBurrows Posts: 116 Member
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    Work out your BMR with your current weight and TDEE:

    Katch-McArdle formula below;

    -For Women to calculate BMR = 655 + (9.6 x weight in kg) + (1.8 x height in cm) – (4.7 x age in years)

    ...For your weight, 1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds

    ...For your height, 1 inch = 2.54 cm

    Example #2: You are a female, 35 years old, 5 feet 6 inches tall (170.69 cm), you weigh 132 pounds (60 kg). Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) will be 655 + 576 + 307.24 – 164.5 = 1373.74 calorie intake per day!

    Once you know your BMR (basal metabolic rate) then use your daily activity factor to get your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE):

    -Sedentary................BMR x 1.2 (little exercise)

    -Lightly active...........BMR x 1.375 (light exercise)

    -Moderately active.....BMR x 1.55 (moderate exercise)

    -Very active.............BMR x 1.725 (hard exercise)

    -Extremely active......BMR x 1.9 (hard exercise daily)


    For example #2... if you are a moderately active female, your TDEE will be 1373.74 calories times your activity level of 1.55 which equals 2129.30 calories per day.


    SO!

    -For YOU to calculate BMR = 655 + (9.6 x weight in kg) + (292) – (211) =


    Then work out your TDEE and eat 10-20% LESS than that in calories while still meeting your macro (nutrient) requirements daily.
  • LottieLou13
    LottieLou13 Posts: 574 Member
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    Hi Peeps, hope you can advise me.

    Started my diet on the 2nd January with 77lb to loose.

    Put my details into MFP which suggested 1200 calories a day. I have a desk job and walk the dog each evening and weekend for exercise. I am female and 5ft 4in and 45 years old.

    7/1/13 - got on the scales after my 1st week of dieting and it said 7lb lost - woo hoo ! But also understood that most of this woud be 'water weight'.

    14/1/13 - got on the scales and had lost a further 5lb. Fantastic I thought, but again, knew that this fast rate would not remain for ever and was ideally looking to loose a steady 1.5 to 2lb per week in the early stages, knowing i have a long way to go and i am very overweight.

    21/1/13 - whichh is end of week 3 and I havent lost an ounce more than last week. I haven't been able to resist the urge to jump on the scales every day since then and my weight has not shifted at all and i am almost at the end of week 3 and ready to weigh myself again on the 28/1/3.

    This is most disheartening. I am drinking plenty of fluids (oh another quick question - 8 glasses of water is how much water in litres please?) and I eating plenting of green leafy veg/salad along with my protien (meat, fish, or a bit of cheese). Also I am usually either 50 cals over or under my allowance each day.

    Surely I havent plateaued already - that wouldnt make sense - so what do you think is going on?

    Over to you fabulous MFP people :-)

    Thank you.

    Like you said the first week was prob water weight, the 2nd week is likely to be the same. Weight loss isn't linear. Stop jumping on the scale and just weigh in once a week at the same time each week.

    Also go here.... http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12 and work out how many calories you actually should be eating :smile:
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    you haven't stalled. you just reached the point where it stops coming off easily. now you have to start working hard.
  • deniseblossoms
    deniseblossoms Posts: 373 Member
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    or you could plug your numbers into a site like this one...

    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

    Too many variables to predict why you didn't drop weight week 3. It is one of those things that happen from time to time. I seem to drop weight every 10 days or so. Sodium has a huge impact on me, I also seem to retain water on antibiotics, Tylenol and Motrin.
  • laddyboy
    laddyboy Posts: 1,565 Member
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    Add you calories in when you walk and eat what MFP tells you to eat. 1200 is a goal to reach not a goal to beat. You've already factored in a calorie deficit. If you're net calories (food you consume minus exercise calories), is below 1200 your body will go into a reduced metabolism state thus stalling your weight loss.

    Eat. Once you steady out you should see about a lb per week
  • Maggie821
    Maggie821 Posts: 55 Member
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    12 pounds in two weeks? That is an extremely high weight loss, even if it is water weight. I would think your body is now adjusting/trying to rebalance and you may even see a gain. Definitely look at your numbers again; follow the formula that the others have posted and readjust as needed. As a fellow scale addict, it's easy to get discouraged by the fluctuations on the scale. Shoot for once a week at most..and concentrate on listening to your body instead! Good luck!
  • mavsteriom
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    Thanks All !

    From the calculations give above working out my BMR and my TDEE -20%, I should be eating 1559 calories per day.

    So maybe I will up my calorie intake and see what happens .... here's hoping :-)

    Mavsteriom