So frustrated! Plateau?
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Ok a couple things...
1) with 30 lbs to lose, eating 2000 calories some days seems excessive, considering the exercise you are doing. What MFP setting are you using? Did you update your goal at all since you lost weight?
2) are you weighing all your food? are you sure you're not overestimating your exercise calories?
3) what kind of pedometer are you using? 1800 to 2900 on some days seems like a huge difference.
Because depending on what it was set to 1,800 to 2,000 calories is what MFP suggested I do to lose a pound a week. I've been weighing the food and trying to be vigilant about bringing my meals to work instead of eating out. And the pedometer which is on my watch wasn't something I was using to base my calories on. I just noticed the calorie function in the last month or so and have been watching it on the days that I wear it vs. the days that I've not worn it and its just strange. On the days that I didn't wear it, it said the calories burned were about equal to my calculated BMR. And I have made sure that the weight and height stats in it are the most current ones.
It's fine then, keep doing what MFP suggests. I think most pedometers keep running while you're not using them though, so that it gives you your bmr is about right.
Anyway, I'd look into strength/weight training for sure, muscles burn more calories so maintaining them while you lose is pretty important. Otherwise, keep doing what you're doing, plateaus are pretty normal especially with women with our cycles etc. You might just want to not eat back all your exercise calories in case they are overestimated.0 -
Weight watchers told me that my sedentary calorie use was 2400 calories / day. However, when I used a special scale/device at my doctor's office, I found out my true calorie burn is ONLY 1580 calories/day. So, when I had "cut back" to 1800 on WW, I was actually eating too much. To lose just over a pound/week, I now consume 1100 calories/day. Remember EVERYONE has a different resting metabolism rate. You may just have one that is lower than others (like me).
AND, what you eat DOES make a difference. Eating carbs encourages water retention. Many things are high in sodium! that will cause you to retain water weight. Focus on getting at least 75gm of protein a day. A good diet is one where you have 40% carb calories, 40% protein calories, and 20% fat. Keep your sodium under 2500/day. Try to hold your sugar consumption to 25 gm/day.
Measure everything. Do not eyeball anything. Always write down everything as you eat it.
My fitness pal grossly overestimates the number of calories you're burning, at least when you're walking. Ignore how many calories you have burned (i.e., don't eat extra because you've burned extra) and focus on staying below your "number", regardless of your exercise. You will lose the weight. Aim for a 500 calorie/day deficit.
Nooooo. Seriously, those scales measure your BMR most of the time. You got to add all your activity on top of that.0 -
many of us employ the "FAT FAST' to bust off of stalls and platues it simply works amazing, I was on a Plateau for almost 3 weeks, I went on the Fat Fast and in 4 days I had lost 6 pounds, it simply works every time, and the scale will jam down wards,, search it google Fat fast, or search here on my fitness pal the fat fast, many of us in the KETO group us this to keep the scale moving0
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Are you saying you are burning 1800 cals on your runs?? If so that could be why, you over estimating your burn calories.
Oh goodness no! That's over a 24 hour period. I've been resetting it every morning at 7:30 am right before my trek uphill to work.
And yes I do have more than 30 pounds to lose. The 30 pounds is my first goal.0 -
let me clarify...i'm saying that since the calories that are actually burned while you exercise seems to be overestimated by MFP, I would not trust them. If you want to lose weight, don't use calories burned while exercising as an excuse to add more calories to your total daily consumption.
My calculated BMR is MUCH higher than what the scale/device said it was. I consider the calculated one being off by 800 calories to be the primary reason I gained weight and couldn't not lose it over the past 12 years. I'm now losing (I've lost almost 28 lbs now) which is something that escaped me for over a decade.0 -
Well, I was going to contribute to this thread and offer a reassuring statement like "Plateaus are natural. It's the body's way of adjusting to your changing lifestyle. You just have to continually adjust your exercise and diet, and you'll beat the plateau." But then I looked at your food diary, and it's pretty obvious why you're not losing.
First of all, you really need to work with a nutritionist and figure out what a good calorie target is for you. I don't think 1800 is it. I'm a 6', 210-lb male, and 1800 is my daily target. Your target should be much lower.
Secondly (and yet another really good reason to meat with a nutritionist), your food choices are terrible. I don't mean to be offensive when I say that, but, honestly, where are the real foods? Where are the fruits and vegetables? Burgers, sandwiches and tacos aren't real meals. I would highly recommend that you avoid the calorie-dense, fat-dense, sodium dense foods and instead go after nutrient-dense foods, low-glycemic carbs, lean proteins, legumes, nuts, etc. If you don't change your food choices, your weight loss will not be permanent.
Thirdly, reducing your calories is going to seem a lot harder if you don't break those meals up and eat more often per day. Right now, I see two huge meals and one snack in your diary. Consider breaking that up even further to 3 smaller meals and 2 to 3 snacks per day. That will make eating fewer calories per day a lot easier to cope with.
Lastly, be willing to shake up your exercise routine. Change something once per month. Otherwise your body will adjust, and you'll plateau again.
Good luck!
In this case, what are some suggestions for lunches and dinners then? Yes, I need to work on the foods but as I said before, I'm just now getting to the point of keeping portions down. I don't really see how eating 3 meals a day is any worse than eating 5-6 smaller meals when I am already not hungry on the smaller portions I'm working on for my 3 meals a day.0 -
So I'm reposting this from my diary feed because I'm upset and I need validation or help or something (probably doesn't help that I'm starting to get tired from being up at 4:30a.m. to go run...)
" I'm so frustrated!!! How is it that I walk 40 minutes a day five days a week plus getting back to running 3x a week, stay within my calories and I'm not losing? I was feeling so good about myself and losing 12 pounds (the lightest I've been in about 3-4 years) but now I'm having a hard time focusing on that. I should have lost at least SOMETHING. What should I do? This is really making it hard to keep wanting to keep up with my calories. And this is despite me seeing about an inch to inch and a half loss around my waist.
And this is despite me trying out sedentary and logging everything vs. lightly active and only logging the run. And my pedometer says somedays I only burn 1,800 calories and some days 2,900. Even so, I'd think there would be a 1/2 pound loss at some point in the last month! " <end post>
I started this trying to get my portions under control so yeah, my diary has some naughty things in it. But if a calorie is a calorie and I'm sticking to goal plus weighing my food, what is the friggin' deal?!? Have I just completely missed something?
How many weeks have you been counting calories?
When did you lose the first 12 pounds?
If you lost the 12 pounds quickly, most of it may have been water weight, and your body is just catching up. Weight loss is not linear. You will have weeks you lose and weeks you don't. An overall average of 2 lbs per week would be good for you at this point.
If you lost the 12 lbs before you started here, and have been faithfully measuring and logging everything for a month without any loss at all, then your TDEE just may not be as high as you think it is. Calculators and other gadgets can be a bit off for some people. It gives you an estimate of how many calories you burn based on your height and weight, but other factors can affect your metabolism, i.e. body fat %, LBM, hormones, insulin resistance, etc.
Try dropping your cals 100 a day for a week and see if that helps. Or look into intermittent fasting. That works well for many people. Also, try dropping your carbs down a bit. Most of this is all trial and error.
Have patience and keep trying!0 -
So I'm reposting this from my diary feed because I'm upset and I need validation or help or something (probably doesn't help that I'm starting to get tired from being up at 4:30a.m. to go run...)
" I'm so frustrated!!! How is it that I walk 40 minutes a day five days a week plus getting back to running 3x a week, stay within my calories and I'm not losing? I was feeling so good about myself and losing 12 pounds (the lightest I've been in about 3-4 years) but now I'm having a hard time focusing on that. I should have lost at least SOMETHING. What should I do? This is really making it hard to keep wanting to keep up with my calories. And this is despite me seeing about an inch to inch and a half loss around my waist.
And this is despite me trying out sedentary and logging everything vs. lightly active and only logging the run. And my pedometer says somedays I only burn 1,800 calories and some days 2,900. Even so, I'd think there would be a 1/2 pound loss at some point in the last month! " <end post>
I started this trying to get my portions under control so yeah, my diary has some naughty things in it. But if a calorie is a calorie and I'm sticking to goal plus weighing my food, what is the friggin' deal?!? Have I just completely missed something?
How many weeks have you been counting calories?
When did you lose the first 12 pounds?
If you lost the 12 pounds quickly, most of it may have been water weight, and your body is just catching up. Weight loss is not linear. You will have weeks you lose and weeks you don't. An overall average of 2 lbs per week would be good for you at this point.
If you lost the 12 lbs before you started here, and have been faithfully measuring and logging everything for a month without any loss at all, then your TDEE just may not be as high as you think it is. Calculators and other gadgets can be a bit off for some people. It gives you an estimate of how many calories you burn based on your height and weight, but other factors can affect your metabolism, i.e. body fat %, LBM, hormones, insulin resistance, etc.
Try dropping your cals 100 a day for a week and see if that helps. Or look into intermittent fasting. That works well for many people. Also, try dropping your carbs down a bit. Most of this is all trial and error.
Have patience and keep trying!
The 12 pounds came off over two months then the last month I've been hanging around the same number. Hehe, this was by no means a quick loss but far better than I was doing before I started logging food, which by the way was zero pounds lost. September 6 marks the start of my 4th month.0 -
If you are fine with 3 meals a day, there is no reason to change that. Just substitute some non starch veggies for some of your breads and starchy foods.0
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How many calories were you eating when you lost the first 12 lbs?0
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How many calories were you eating when you lost the first 12 lbs?
1,880 to around 2,200.
Now MFP sets me at 1,780-1,980 depending on the activity level.0 -
How many calories were you eating when you lost the first 12 lbs?
1,880 to around 2,200.
Now MFP sets me at 1,780-1,980 depending on the activity level.
Your body may have adjusted down a bit after the 12 lb loss. I would try eating total 1700-1800 without adding extra exercise cals for a week and see what happens. If still no loss, take another 50-100 cals off per day. Or you can try having 1 or 2 days a week that you drop it down to 1200-1400 cals, then back to 17-1800 on the other days.
Would still suggest that you add in veggies and take the cals off of carbs if you lower your cals. Hang in there. You will figure it out.0 -
Well, I was going to contribute to this thread and offer a reassuring statement like "Plateaus are natural. It's the body's way of adjusting to your changing lifestyle. You just have to continually adjust your exercise and diet, and you'll beat the plateau." But then I looked at your food diary, and it's pretty obvious why you're not losing.
First of all, you really need to work with a nutritionist and figure out what a good calorie target is for you. I don't think 1800 is it. I'm a 6', 210-lb male, and 1800 is my daily target. Your target should be much lower.
Secondly (and yet another really good reason to meat with a nutritionist), your food choices are terrible. I don't mean to be offensive when I say that, but, honestly, where are the real foods? Where are the fruits and vegetables? Burgers, sandwiches and tacos aren't real meals. I would highly recommend that you avoid the calorie-dense, fat-dense, sodium dense foods and instead go after nutrient-dense foods, low-glycemic carbs, lean proteins, legumes, nuts, etc. If you don't change your food choices, your weight loss will not be permanent.
Thirdly, reducing your calories is going to seem a lot harder if you don't break those meals up and eat more often per day. Right now, I see two huge meals and one snack in your diary. Consider breaking that up even further to 3 smaller meals and 2 to 3 snacks per day. That will make eating fewer calories per day a lot easier to cope with.
Lastly, be willing to shake up your exercise routine. Change something once per month. Otherwise your body will adjust, and you'll plateau again.
Good luck!
In this case, what are some suggestions for lunches and dinners then? Yes, I need to work on the foods but as I said before, I'm just now getting to the point of keeping portions down. I don't really see how eating 3 meals a day is any worse than eating 5-6 smaller meals when I am already not hungry on the smaller portions I'm working on for my 3 meals a day.
Those bolded parts are not true....not to be offensive.
Calories in<calories out=weight loss.
There are a few things you could do.
Visit http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress and read the pinned posts to start with.
If you are using a scale for your food be more consistent.
Try using the TDEE-20% method as described in http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
Then use this instead of the MFP method. That way you don't have to worry about eating your exercise calories back and you are sure of what you should be eating...
Last but not least typically a stall is as mentioned before over esitmating your calories out and underestimating calories in.
Good luck0 -
In your profile you mention that you want to feel healthier.
A great way to do that would be to start with what you are putting in your body.
This is something none of us can control for you, it's really just up to you. Tons of science out there which connect your diet with how you feel, and I guarantee that feeling healthier through eating good food will 1) effect your weight loss and 2) increase your metabolism and 3) keep you feeling full longer 4) make all your walking and running a lot more fun because you'll simply feel better0 -
Perhaps try a different method than the MFP calculations? The TDEE - 20% route means you don't need to log exercise which might simplify things.
It's a case of finding out what works for you. :-)
Stick with it! xx0 -
I agree with Tim earlier when he mentioned the Fat Fast. If you've hit a stall you may want to change WHAT you're eating. You said a calorie is a calorie but it may not be when you're trying to lose weight. This is one of the most frequently asked questions in the Atkins world. Read the response below and if you think it's for you buy some veggies and meat and give it a try.
As long as I have no more than 20 daily grams of Net Carbs in Induction, why does it matter what carb foods I eat?
There are two reasons this won't work. First, Atkins is designed to prevent blood sugar levels from spiking and overproducing insulin, which helps convert carbs to body fat. Second, Atkins stresses the consumption of nutrient-dense carbs. So eating foods like a slice of bread or even a peanut butter cup as long as you stay at 20 grams of Net Carbs means that you’ll miss out on key vitamins and minerals in vegetables. And the roughly 12 grams of Net Carbs in a slice of whole-wheat bread will likely spike your blood sugar. Once you're close to or at your goal weight, you may be able to occasionally enjoy whole-grain bread, but that peanut butter cup just doesn't make the grade.0
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