Why did I stop?

MelindaGLloyd
MelindaGLloyd Posts: 5
in Motivation and Support
I started out at about 270lbs, and things went great the first few weeks. I lost 20 lbs in 5 weeks! But at this point I've stopped losing weight. I recalculated my bmr and lowered my calories accordingly, but now my weight is just bouncing back and forth between 248 and 254. Is this to be expected after losing 20 lbs so fast? It seems I gain weight after exercising. I am careful to never use all the calories I have supposedly burned off, but I will eat about half of the extra calories. (also I measure my food out very accurately, and tend to under-estimate when it comes to how much exercise I really have done so if I did an hour and a half of walking, but I took a short break for water and to get my breath back I will only put an hour, even though I likely walked an hour & 25 minutes)
So I guess I want to know, should I just wait and see if my body just needed to adjust after losing so fast before, or should I change something to break through this plateau?
This is my first post, so I hope I get some good advice!

Replies

  • Molly08
    Molly08 Posts: 153 Member
    Congrats on the weight loss thus far. I would stick with it. It could be your body is in "shock" and is holding on to the weight for that reason. Keep it up buddy. You will likely experience another big drop in the next couple of weeks. Just keep eating healthy, add some exersice and get lots of water. Commitment and consistency are key to long term success!
  • juliekins64
    juliekins64 Posts: 125 Member
    I'm not an expert.
    I think it's normal to be slightly heavier immediately after exercise from muscle swelling or whatnot. I am slightly heavier after I lift weights.
    I would not eat any of the exercise calories back, but that depends what your timeline for your goal is and how easily maintainable eating less would be for you personally. When I want to lose I don't eat back, if I want to gain some muscle I eat back. I lift weights though so my case may be different and my goals are specifically to reduce bodyfat %. Don't weigh yourself too often, sometimes the scale can discourage us when in actuality you are losing bodyfat and gaining muscle.

    I do not think you need to do anything to allow your body to adjust, just keep up the good work. If eventually (like 2-3 weeks) you haven't lost anything more then maybe cut another 100-200 cal/day or workout an extra 100-200 cal/day or preferably both.

    Great job, keep it up!
  • fololir
    fololir Posts: 5
    Melinda, I'm with you. I lost a pound a week the first 7 weeks, and the last three nothing. WTH? My food and exercise are the same! What do I do now? I don't want to get discouraged but...Too late! I don't really ever post on here because my daughter in law is on here and got me started and I talk to her, but she hasn't had this happen to her yet, she's still losing? I'm not sure what to do now?
    Any suggestions from people that have been through this part?
  • juliekins64
    juliekins64 Posts: 125 Member
    Is it possible that you are losing fat but increasing muscle a little so it's balancing out on the scale?
    Take measurements of your body circumferences if you are very concerned.
  • MelindaGLloyd
    MelindaGLloyd Posts: 5
    I really appreciate all the posts! Juliekins I am going to start looking closer at my measurements and not eating any of the burned calories. Molly, thanks for giving me some confidence that I will get over this slump! Fololir, I appreciate your story as my husband and I are losing together, and while I lost more to start, he has continued steadily where I have stopped. I guess everyone is a little different, and hopefully we will figure out these bodies of ours!
  • jessifreehugs
    jessifreehugs Posts: 81 Member
    Truth is...you may not be eating ENOUGH calories. If you have MFP set to lose 2 pounds per week and you aren't eating any of your exercise calories; you're likely not getting enough to eat! You should really set your MFP to lose 1 pound per week and invest in a heart rate monitor to accurately gauge how many calories you're really burning. MFP tends to over/under estimate on a lot of things. For example, when I log the 30 Day Shred video, MFP says I should have burned 269 calories, when my HRM says I only burned 200. Also, you should look into "eat more to weigh less". Just search the boards for this topic and you'll find tons of info on how MANY people are successfully losing weight by eating more calories per day.

    I started out only eating 1200/day and lost the first 15 pounds fairly quickly. Then, the weight loss completely stopped. It wasn't until I upped my calories to 1750 + exercise calories that the weight started dropping off again.

    ETA: I've been off the wagon lately and gained about 10 pounds back, but this past week I've lost 2 pounds by eating 1750 + exercise.
  • Goal_Driven
    Goal_Driven Posts: 371 Member
    You may want to try switching up your workouts and what your eating. Your body will get use to these things if you do the same type of workout or eat the same types of food. You may also need to shock you body by increasing your cal intake.
  • fololir
    fololir Posts: 5
    Wow, silly me. I didn't even think to measure myself. Didn't before I started, and a great idea. I will do that and keep following my plan. I do have days where I am under my goal and I do the same five workouts over and over. Time to switch things up I guess. Good luck all and thank you so much for your suggestions.
  • akdollie
    akdollie Posts: 69 Member
    Definately do your measurements! For myself, I know that I will have a steady loss for a couple of weeks then stall out but the tape shows a difference as does my clothes. I doing this more to focus on how I feel rather than a number on the scale. Keep at it and the results will come!
  • rach503
    rach503 Posts: 86 Member
    You're doing great! Don't get discouraged!!! I recently ran into a stall myself. I figured out I wasn't eating enough calories -- it felt so counterintuitive, I was full! Once I added in more snacks / cals I started losing again. I also have a FitBit Zip (it syncs with MFP) and that has been really helpful to see just how many calories I burn in a day. It turns out MFP was set to low for a "base" rate compared to what I actually burned in daily activities. Keep at it!! You're doing so great!!
  • thecakelocker
    thecakelocker Posts: 407 Member
    Speaking as someone who started from the same place, you may not be eating enough. I usually ate at least 1800 a day at my highest weight.
  • allybeegee
    allybeegee Posts: 5
    Also remember to weigh yourself at the same time every day for the most accurate results! Mornings are best because your weight fluctuates throughout the day depending on your clothes, what you've been doing, how much food is in your stomach, etc. The more you weigh, the more you'll notice that fluctuation. Someone who is 100lbs may only fluctuate 0.5-1.5 lbs, but someone who is 200 lbs may fluctuate 5lbs or more throughout the day. I'm about 170 and I notice a 3-4lb difference between morning and evening some days!
  • fololir
    fololir Posts: 5
    You guys are all awesome! Thanks for sharing your stories and keeping me from wanting to give up. I guess I just thought, oh if I do this it will work, this is easy and it did for the first seven weeks. So when I stalled, I was like crap... it's not working....but now I see I may have to find some patience and just keep pluggin' away at it. Do you guys eat back your exercise calories? I'm always torn about that. I was eating them till I stalled but now I don't. It seems if you take in less that you should lose, I guess it's more complicated than that.
  • juliekins64
    juliekins64 Posts: 125 Member
    You guys are all awesome! Thanks for sharing your stories and keeping me from wanting to give up. I guess I just thought, oh if I do this it will work, this is easy and it did for the first seven weeks. So when I stalled, I was like crap... it's not working....but now I see I may have to find some patience and just keep pluggin' away at it. Do you guys eat back your exercise calories? I'm always torn about that. I was eating them till I stalled but now I don't. It seems if you take in less that you should lose, I guess it's more complicated than that.

    I do not eat back my calories because I am trying to lose some bodyfat. At some point I do plan to eat back the calories because it's not long term (yrs) maintainable to be calorie restrictive. You can eat them back and still lose if you are eating less that your body uses per day (through normal living & exercise), it's a personal choice and for some people like me it's easy to do and keeps me motivated as I see results quicker than eating back. Do what works for you and keeps you healthy and feeling good.

    I should mention, if you don't eat back be careful you don't binge because that happens to some people because of too much restriction.
  • jadams1650
    jadams1650 Posts: 139 Member
    We've all read it a hundred times...weight loss is not linear. Keep doing the right things and you will be successful. Do not look at the scale, especially if you are looking for validation. Focus on the process of getting healthier and your body will naturally shed weight. Fundamentally, and over time, it is calories in vs. calories out. Maintain a reasonable calorie deficit, increase your fitness level, get plenty of water, rest as required, and you will be successful. The beauty of this process is that no one can invalidate the laws of physics...expend more calories than you consume and you MUST lose weight. No magic formulas, no secret potions, no creative diets, just plain and simple science. The key is that you must have the determination to power through the plateaus...stay on plan when excuses abound. Stay with it and you will reach your goals.

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