One month with no weight change :(

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  • JeanDescole
    JeanDescole Posts: 152
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    Hmm... just read your calorie intake and it is smaller than mine - bear in mind I'm a teenage girk who only exercises Saturday to Monday.
    I'm no expert, but I think you should either increase your daily net or allow yourself a few cheat days!

    Best of luck :)
  • douglerner
    douglerner Posts: 237 Member
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    It seems strange to add more and more calories to try to lose weight. :)

    Anyway, in answer to the question I've added enough to eat about 1700 calories a day. One day I actually ate 2,000 calories! The net calories were just 1750 though with exercise.

    I'm going to see how this goes for another week. But people, let's remember conservation of energy ok? For the most part, the less you eat and the more exercise you do the more you lose, right?

    Thanks!

    doug

    p.s. Jean - I can't do cheat days. Ever. Never. Absolutely never. Not for any reason. That's like telling an alcoholic, "Just one drink is ok." :)
  • GiddyNZ
    GiddyNZ Posts: 136 Member
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    Hi There, I had a period where I was stuck around the 94 - 95kg mark for several months and couldn't get through it.. (I am 5'8 girl with large frame) I found the best thing for me was to change up my exercise, both increase the intensity and try new things, and the weight has been coming off very steadily ever since.. Feel free to add me as a friend and check out my food / exercise diary.

    As a quick overview, MFP recommends 1550 cals net per day (remember this already includes a deficit of around 20% of calories required to maintain current weight) plus any exercise cals lost.. between 300 - 1500, 5 days per week (depending on what I am doing), I would normally eat 1500 - 2000 calories per day (so generally don't eat ALL of my exercise cals), am currently 90kg and (hopefully) still dropping.. haha

    Have you actually looked at the daily calorie intake that MFP recommends?

    (Just thought that i would ad that I lost 10kg + before joining MFP recently..)
  • douglerner
    douglerner Posts: 237 Member
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    Hi, Giddy.

    Well this "eating more calories" isn't working. This morning I'm up over 96 kg again - to 96.2 kg!

    I've been using the fixed goal of 1800 calories a day recommended by my doctor.

    But since you asked, I just went into MFP and did a "guided goal" with my current weight and my goal weight of 75 kg with their recommended 1 lb/week weight loss and 30 minutes of exercise 5 days a week. MFP recommended net calories of 1720/day instead of the 1800/day I manually set for myself. Not so much different.

    On average I've been eating less than either a day anyway.

    I'd like to get on with weight loss again!

    doug
  • douglerner
    douglerner Posts: 237 Member
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    The suggestion of adding more calories is clearly not working. Another week of weight gain. I'm up to 96.6 kg now - the same weight I was on February 1!!! 6 weeks of dieting wiped out. Sigh.

    I think I have to eat less and/or exercise more. There is just no getting around conservation of energy.

    Half the people I have asked have told me I am eating too little. Half have told me I'm eating too much. The latter half are, I believe, correct.

    doug
  • PiperGabrielle
    PiperGabrielle Posts: 31 Member
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    Be careful when not taking in enough calories. Our bodies will think we are starving itself and hold onto every calorie we've got. This article might help clarify a bit
    http://goaskalice.columbia.edu/how-many-calories-does-it-take-lose-one-pound
    Try exercising more often. Keep the heart rate up and your metabolism will stay up for longer.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    Doug, when is the last time you spoke to your doctor or dietician about the Ornish? When is the last time you had testing done?

    For long term, the South Beach/ Mediterranean/ Sonoma diet styles have very good results and much better adhesion than the Ornish. Obviously, there are extreme cases where Ornish is a good tool, but since you have been on that so long, it might be time to transition to something more sustainable.
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
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    The suggestion of adding more calories is clearly not working. Another week of weight gain. I'm up to 96.6 kg now - the same weight I was on February 1!!! 6 weeks of dieting wiped out. Sigh.

    I think I have to eat less and/or exercise more. There is just no getting around conservation of energy.

    Half the people I have asked have told me I am eating too little. Half have told me I'm eating too much. The latter half are, I believe, correct.

    doug

    More than likely you have screwed up your metabolim by eat a VLC diet for too long. I really think you should see a doctor like the above poster mentioned.
  • CoachJake83
    CoachJake83 Posts: 108
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    I'd focus less on calories and more on macros. Ensure you get 1g of protein per lb of body weight, .25g of fat per lb, and fill the rest of your calorie goal with carbs. Goal should be roughly 20% deficit of maintenance (suggest you calculate with harris benedict) for a safe loss.

    If your training routine doesn't include weight training or enough resistance training that'll put things on rocket speed for results too. =D
  • douglerner
    douglerner Posts: 237 Member
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    I spoke with my doctor just yesterday actually about my diet. He said it's normal to plateau for a couple of months no matter what diet you are on and that the biggest risk is people giving up or switching to something else because of impatience. He urged me to just stick with what has/had been working for almost 300 days and wait and see.

    I'm really really really hesitant about going off of Ornish and eating non-vegan again. It would be a huge change for me at this point. Plus I'm really pleased at what has happened to my cholesterol levels and my heart efficiency fraction has increased from 50% to 67%.

    If I went off this way of eating (not talking about calories here, but kinds of food) I think I would just be lost, and worried that I'm building up cholesterol again. Plus it's harder to control calories on other kinds of diets, especially if you allow animal products and oil.

    Someone mentioned adherence. It is definitely not difficult to adhere to this diet. For over 300 days now I have not been tempted to go off it at all.

    Maybe more exercise is the answer. I wish I were disciplined enough for that sort of thing. Basically I'm a fat, lazy, middle-aged man. I've made a lot of progress, but a gym addict I'll never be. If I can get on my exercise bicycle for 30 minutes I feel like I've accomplished something.

    I also do daily resistance training with a Bullworker and do see some muscular definition now.

    My guess is I'm just older now (56) and my metabolism has slowed more than I'd like to think and I do just need to eat even less and, if possible, exercise more. Eating more doesn't seem to be the solution.

    Thanks,

    doug
  • douglerner
    douglerner Posts: 237 Member
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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.

    doug
  • JeanDescole
    JeanDescole Posts: 152
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    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 :)
  • douglerner
    douglerner Posts: 237 Member
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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.

    doug
  • douglerner
    douglerner Posts: 237 Member
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    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.

    doug
  • Caspiana
    Caspiana Posts: 15
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    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!
  • SamanthaClarexo
    SamanthaClarexo Posts: 353 Member
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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 x
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,699 Member
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    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.
  • lambch0ps
    lambch0ps Posts: 79 Member
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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."
  • lambch0ps
    lambch0ps Posts: 79 Member
    Options
    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!
  • SamanthaClarexo
    SamanthaClarexo Posts: 353 Member
    Options
    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:

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