How to stay motivated when the scale stalls?

Spiderkeys
Spiderkeys Posts: 338 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok, this my situation, I lost my weight quite rapidly in the first eight weeks from 113kg to 96kg, then week nine, I lost nothing, the scale wouldn't, now week ten, I upped my calories a bit, now i've gained almost a full kg to 97kg.

Im 178cm tall, and I was just 1kg away from going to the obese status to overweight status.

Disappointed but keeping at my diet routine, but just thinking back to the weight i've already lost.

Now im getting tired of counting calories and exercising and feel like i'm nothing but in maintenance mode, today I just didn't care as much, ate a bit more and gained nearly a kg.

Thing is, I expected to hit a plateau like everyone does, but expected to see my weight loss slow down before it hits it, instead I lost weight quite rapidly then out of nowhere, a stall. I thought I'll sense it coming.

Surely my height and age, I could be at least 10kgs lighter, I was never a fat person in my life, was always ideal to overweight, until the last 7 years when i became servery obese, I just want to be the weight I was back.
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Replies

  • Swiftdogs
    Swiftdogs Posts: 328 Member
    I hit the same pattern. My weight dropped quickly (too quickly) the first couple of weeks. Then NOTHING for almost two months, just bouncing around the same couple of pounds. Finally, last week my scale thought I'd lost four pounds, and I'm set for a half pound a week loss. It is definitely not linear. Just make sure your numbers are right and stick with it. Maybe exercise a little more, cut some sodium if you can and drink more water. Reading posts on these boards was a big help for me.
  • howardheilweil
    howardheilweil Posts: 603 Member
    First off, you can't classify 2 weeks of no weight loss as a plateau. Many people go months. It's definitely never going to be linear. That said, because you lost so much so quickly, don't get complacent. Be sure that you are accurately logging everything you eat. You're doing great so far, keep it up!
  • Spiderkeys
    Spiderkeys Posts: 338 Member
    Same before the stall it was going down too quickly, was losing an average of 0.3kg a day, everyday had to check-in MFP and happily record my new weight.
  • Siansonea
    Siansonea Posts: 917 Member
    "I don't understand why I'm not losing weight, I upped my calories."

    Math doesn't care how many people on the forums trumpet "you're not eating enough calories!" If you're not losing weight, you're eating too many calories, whether you realize it or not. A plateau is just unintentional maintenance. If you want to get off a plateau, you have to fix your calorie deficit. Right now it's broken, probably through a simple math error.
  • GCAsMom
    GCAsMom Posts: 120 Member
    My graph looks just like a series of long steps. I'll stall for two weeks to a month, then drop four to six pounds in a week to two weeks, then stall again. I've been repeating this process for a very long time now. I expect it's quite normal. When I average my overall loss, though, it works out to being ~1.2 lbs a week... on target. Don't get discouraged. Keep moving forward. :)
  • blc1971
    blc1971 Posts: 170 Member
    Just don't quit Spiderkeys! I've had many stalls (a week or 2 with no loss) and one really big plateau (10 weeks!) but I kept at it. You have to make this a lifestyle with no end. You may reach goal, but you will have to find a maintenance point and keep working at that. You will only fail if you quit. But if you keep working you WILL see results. It takes a lot of time and patience to get the weight off. I agree with the other posters on a couple of points. First, re-check yourself for creeping portion sizes and possible extra calories you may be consuming. Increase your exercise intensity and/or duration to burn more calories. Finally, be patient with your body as it adjusts to your new lifestyle. You got this!! :flowerforyou:
  • KeViN_v2pt0
    KeViN_v2pt0 Posts: 375 Member
    Bro....its time for a scooby snack...

    tumblr_mu2qggMtKB1s2wio8o1_500.gif

    ETA: Forgot Scoobys Link!!! http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/ Focus on Daily calories to maintain weight (TDEE)


    You look like a big guy and I am not sure what your goal weight is but try that calculator out. I had a similar issue and once I switched to this I lost another 15lbs pretty quickly. I am also a lot more active as far as exercise though.

    Are you interested in exercise or is walking just fine? (medical issues not withstanding)
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
    I'm the same way, 2-3 weeks stalls, then lose 4 lbs in 10 days, rinse and repeat... I just tell myself I'm eating below my TDEE so I'm going to lose eventually. Not gonna lie though, sometimes you wonder if your body has rebelled or something and will refuse to lose the weight this time...
  • echofm1
    echofm1 Posts: 471 Member
    I've been having a similar issue. For the first couple months I was losing about 3 pounds a week. I was just coming up on a mini-goal when I couldn't get get the scale to budge despite being extra good about my calories and exercising more. My boyfriend was visiting (long distance relationship) and I wanted to hit that goal before he got here. I didn't. After he left I started back on track, lost another 10 pounds in about 3.5 weeks, and have once again stalled for the last couple of weeks at 303 lbs. 300 is my first actual mini-goal and it has been super frustrating that I can't seem to get it to just go down those three pounds.

    Mostly I've been getting my motivation from success stories, and the knowledge that what I was doing was obviously working. It's just not linear and I have to stop stressing. I'm trying to drink more water, since I haven't been great about that lately, and be accurate with my logging. The rest is just trusting in the system and believing that the scale will start going down again soon enough.
  • Siansonea
    Siansonea Posts: 917 Member
    Hmmmm, I pretty much to the opposite of what everyone on this site advises, and I haven't hit a plateau yet. I don't exercise, I don't eat "healthy", I don't take supplements. I just sit on my a__ and count calories. No plateaus, my graph is pretty steady. So maybe focusing on that one aspect of weight loss is the key to making it happen? Maybe? :drinker:
  • LanaeCarol
    LanaeCarol Posts: 158 Member
    Sometimes when the scale stalls you can use other things to measure your progress. The most obvious one is your measurements but you can also use the way your clothes fit, differences in pictures (before and afters), and increases in your fitness levels (can do more than before or do new things that you couldn't do previously). While the scale is probably the easiest way to track your progress, it may not always be the most accurate.

    Don't give up and quit. Keep doing what was working (you may have to tweak it a little). It will eventually start working again. Use multiple measures to judge your progress.
  • Brige2269
    Brige2269 Posts: 354 Member
    did you recalculate MFP with the new weight? You will need to adjust you calories DOWN not up. Good luck!
  • DiaryofaMadFatMan
    DiaryofaMadFatMan Posts: 131 Member
    did you recalculate MFP with the new weight? You will need to adjust you calories DOWN not up. Good luck!

    Exactly. It should be updated after every 10 pounds lost.
  • hottamolly00
    hottamolly00 Posts: 334 Member
    Pictures. Scales lie!
  • inverseofmissy
    inverseofmissy Posts: 114 Member
    I just remind myself that the only way the scale will go down is if I stay on track. Something has to give eventually!
  • HollisGrant
    HollisGrant Posts: 2,022 Member
    Ok, this my situation, I lost my weight quite rapidly in the first eight weeks from 113kg to 96kg, then week nine, I lost nothing, the scale wouldn't, now week ten, I upped my calories a bit, now i've gained almost a full kg to 97kg.

    Im 178cm tall, and I was just 1kg away from going to the obese status to overweight status.

    Disappointed but keeping at my diet routine, but just thinking back to the weight i've already lost.

    Now im getting tired of counting calories and exercising and feel like i'm nothing but in maintenance mode, today I just didn't care as much, ate a bit more and gained nearly a kg.

    Thing is, I expected to hit a plateau like everyone does, but expected to see my weight loss slow down before it hits it, instead I lost weight quite rapidly then out of nowhere, a stall. I thought I'll sense it coming.

    Surely my height and age, I could be at least 10kgs lighter, I was never a fat person in my life, was always ideal to overweight, until the last 7 years when i became servery obese, I just want to be the weight I was back.

    This short, true video inspires me every time I see it:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9FSZJu448


    Plateaus will come. I read your body needs to catch up with what you are doing.
    I drank some shakes for one meal to jump start myself when I stalled. However, I know why I stalled -- I was eating more and exercising less, not a true stall.
    Weigh and measure everything.
    Sometimes when you start a new exercise your body holds onto water to heal your muscles.
    Change some of your food so you don't get bored.
    Change your exercise routine,
    Drink water.
    It takes time to get the weight off. You did not put it on all at once. Also, your body is alive, not a robot, and won't go according to plan sometimes.
    Keep at it and the weight will eventually come off.
  • Spiderkeys
    Spiderkeys Posts: 338 Member
    Deceasing my calories is out of the question, i'm at 1,500, if I was overeating I couldnt be much further than 1,600, most days i'm well under my goal, and still eating the same foods and eating habits that took off the first 17kg.

    I was thinking I no longer losing weight because i'm not eating enough.

    But thanks for your advces now i know stalls are perfectly normal, even straight after fast weight loss, now it just seems easier to gain than lose.

    I'll keep at it, i'll hate to regain the weight ive already lost, I dont expect to reach my goal weight, but it would of been nice to have got near it, well i look on the bright side, at least it stalled well below 100kg, I dont wanna weight 100kg or more for the rest of my life!
  • sharonmunday90
    sharonmunday90 Posts: 129 Member
    I have stalled for literally mooonnntrtthhhhsssss. I then gained on holiday. Lost to the same weight and ive stalled again. Im just leeping at it.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    Patience. If you're eating as you say, it'll come off. If you stay the same weight for a 6 wks, then I'd start re-evaluating.

    Probably more muscle than you would like will come off as well - 1500 is really low for a guy of your size. Hell, 1400 - 1500 is what I eat to lose, a sedentary, 5' 3", 39 yr old woman who wasn't even overweight to start with (according to BMI - looking at my old pics I was definitely overweight).

    If it helps, most of my loss you'd see a change once a week. Then it suddenly changed to once every two weeks (same loss rate, just came off in chunks). Then it was once every two weeks at a slower overall rate. Now that I'm so close and at a slight deficit, I see a change in the scale about once a month. I could speed it up by dropping my calories by a couple hundred, but then I get hungry and it's just not worth it to me. Besides, the holidays are coming, and there will be pie. I'm not denying myself that :)
  • Siansonea
    Siansonea Posts: 917 Member
    Deceasing my calories is out of the question, i'm at 1,500, if I was overeating I couldnt be much further than 1,600, most days i'm well under my goal, and still eating the same foods and eating habits that took off the first 17kg.

    I was thinking I no longer losing weight because i'm not eating enough.

    But thanks for your advces now i know stalls are perfectly normal, even straight after fast weight loss, now it just seems easier to gain than lose.

    I'll keep at it, i'll hate to regain the weight ive already lost, I dont expect to reach my goal weight, but it would of been nice to have got near it, well i look on the bright side, at least it stalled well below 100kg, I dont wanna weight 100kg or more for the rest of my life!

    How do you know you're eating 1500? Guess what, eating the "same foods and eating habits" that took off the first 17kg were probably only good enough to get you down to that point. If you were in a calorie deficit dramatic enough to get you under that point, you'd still be losing.

    Funny how everyone comes in here thinking that their weight loss stalls because they're not eating enough. No one ever wonders if they're measuring accurately, or if they're eating too much. Hmmm, it's almost like people want permission to eat more, because they really, really, really want to eat more...:huh:

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