Frustrated!

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joy0589
joy0589 Posts: 2
in Motivation and Support
I've been doing MFP for 3 weeks, 1200 cal/day, walking briskly for 25 minutes/day for 4 weeks. I lost 6 llbs in the first 2 weeks, and now I'm just stuck. The scale is not moving! I weigh 169, am 5'6", 44 yrs old, and want to get down to 140. Some days I've fallen under 1200 cal, and I'm worried I'm in starvation mode. Any suggestions from the successful people out there? :sad:

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  • peggy1209
    peggy1209 Posts: 84 Member
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    just keep going . . . there will be ups and downs . . . could be hormones, or something salty, just keep going
  • AYrFrmTday61013
    AYrFrmTday61013 Posts: 6
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    Maybe try changing up your workout routine a bit :)
  • amye0721
    amye0721 Posts: 6 Member
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    I would try upping it to 1400 calories a day. I read a few places that if you plateau, perhaps your body has hit starvation/survival mode and up your calories 200 or so for a week or two and see if that helps.
  • Bekahmardis
    Bekahmardis Posts: 602 Member
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    Yup, I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but you need to increase your calorie intake. I did a quick figure on your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) which is what your body would burn if you did NOTHING all day - literally. In order to survive, you need to eat at least 1494 calories (http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/)

    What that means is that if you *don't* eat that many calories, your body actually betrays you and slows down its metabolic process to focus more on basic body functions (heart, lungs, etc) just to survive. If you feed it the fuel it needs, it will learn to trust you again and the weight will start to come off.

    How do I know this to be true? Because it worked for me! Try moving your calorie consumption up to 1400 a day as a start and see what that does for you. And you are SUPPOSED to be eating back all of the calories that you burn in exercise as well.....
  • Bekahmardis
    Bekahmardis Posts: 602 Member
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    Here's a good place to learn more about this: https://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/975025-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet
  • tazmaninaz
    tazmaninaz Posts: 16 Member
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    Don't give up! This is normal. Google Weight Loss Plateau. Don't walk all the time. Your body is getting used to that routine and compensating for it. Change it up. Try jogging. If you don't jog, walk for a minute, then jog for another minute, then repeat. Go bike riding. Don't let your body get used to the same routine.

    I am in the same boat you are. I have already done all this research. Don't rely on the scale 100%. Just because are you weighing the same, doesn't mean you're stuck. You might be changing fat into muscle. Replacing one pound of fat with one pound of muscle will make you weigh the same, but you will look different. See if you fit into your clothes better and if you do, then you ARE changing.

    Take some body measurements, then measure yourself again in 2 - 3 weeks. If there is change and you still weigh the same, then there IS a change, physically.

    Drink LOTS of water. I have drinking water, so I force myself to drink at least 3 cups of water in between meals and I eat 5 small meals a day.
  • shmatichka
    shmatichka Posts: 93
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    just keep going . . . there will be ups and downs . . . could be hormones, or something salty, just keep going

    Just had a 3 weeks plateau and all of a sudden started loosing weight again :)

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