Beginners Plateau?

desiree516
desiree516 Posts: 48 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm in the middle of my third week back on track. (5'3" Small Frame, SW: 213, CW:188)

Backstory: Summer 2011 I began losing weight and in about a year and a half I had lost 50 pounds. I was watching calories like a hawk but only working out like 1 or 2 times a week. Nothing crazy.

Over the next year or so I gained 25 pounds back. I lost my "umph" , fell into some depression, and was dealing with some other personal stuff.

Finally started to see the light and got back on this train ready to make fitness and health a priority for good.

Now here I am 3 weeks in and I have barely lost a pound. The first two weeks I was doing great with workouts hiking, circuit training, etc.. This week I am suffering from a cold/flu and I'm trying to take it easy but I'm on point with my cals (1200 day)

This formula worked for me before, and I'm feeling a bit defeated by not seeing the change on the scale.

The only *problem I could possibly come up with is that I'm not hydrated enough. I have issues with remembering to drink water. Other than that I just don't understand.

Should I wait a few more weeks and reassess or change something?

Replies

  • miqisha
    miqisha Posts: 1,534 Member
    It could be as simple as you are not eating enough calories. Hiking and circuit training burns a lot of calories and if you are not refueling yourself then the body may be storing the foot it gets as fat. You stated the last time you worked out 1-2 times a week. If you are working out more days now then your body may just be adjusting and your muscles probably are sore and holding onto the little water you are giving it. Water is a major factor in weight loss, got to get that water in daily.

    Are you actually counting your calories or eye balling it, because you may not even be eating as much as you thing. Weigh and measure everything, make sure to keep you sodium intake at a decent level, drink a lot of water.

    Give it a couple more weeks, if still no change try increasing calories by a couple hundred and see

    Good luck!!!!!
  • _Calypso_
    _Calypso_ Posts: 1,074 Member
    based on this information....

    You're TDEE is apx 1950 per day. Your BMR is 1620.

    If you've been down and out with the flu your body is probably only burning the 1620 (give or take) giving you a 400 cal per day deficit which is a deficit of 2800 cal per week. 3500 cal = 1lb. So that is less than 1lb per week loss. I don't know what your daily activity is like, so I figured desk job to be safe - this gives you about a 750 cal deficit a day = 5250 per week or 1.5lb loss per week.

    Only 3 weeks in and if you truly have been sticking to 1200; meaning weighing all your food and entering anything and everything you eat (even a bite of something....little calories add up) then you're not far behind the curve. Definetly not a plaeau yet.

    Keep at it!!! Fuel your body with good nutrients and stick to your plan. You'll see the numbers go down.
  • jos05
    jos05 Posts: 263 Member
    My scale hasn't moved in over 3 weeks... but I swear this morning I couldn't find a thing to wear!! THROW OUT THE SCALE! I think we get way to disappointed when we weigh ourselves. If you know that you're doing everything right and you're working out... the weight my not come off the scale all the time... but the inches will come off.

    Stick with it!!
  • desiree516
    desiree516 Posts: 48 Member
    Thank you for those calculations. That makes more sense.

    I do watch my calories like a hawk and I weigh everything. Slowly starting to pay more attention to my macros as well. I'm thinking water may be a big factor here. Based on other comments. My muscle gain has to be a lot more then when I did this before. Most of my hikes are putting me at 500 cals burned or more ( based on HRM). I'm hikin with my kids, pushing a big *kitten* jogging stroller up some hills with my 36 pound child in it. So I'm getting the burn for sure! But I haven't worked out since links last Friday.

    When I did this before the weight came of so effortlessly. Just calorie counted and mild exercise. I'm trying harder this time and seeing less results. It's just weird to me.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    Log everything you eat accurately & honestly. Find reliable database entries. (There's a lot of incorrect data in there.) Weigh your food. Log your exercise, and eat back your exercise calories for two weeks. If you're still not losing, eat back half your exercise calories.

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • desiree516
    desiree516 Posts: 48 Member
    Log everything you eat accurately & honestly. Find reliable database entries. (There's a lot of incorrect data in there.) Weigh your food. Log your exercise, and eat back your exercise calories for two weeks. If you're still not losing, eat back half your exercise calories.

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    That's an awesome reference. Thank you.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    I so wish the Sexypants link had been here when I started. I had to learn all that the hard way! I also wish I'd taken before pics.

    Edited to add that you're losing slowly, but you are losing. I'm 5'1 or 2", and it took me a year to lose 20 lb. The good thing about being short is that even small losses are super noticeable.
  • desiree516
    desiree516 Posts: 48 Member
    I so wish the Sexypants link had been here when I started. I had to learn all that the hard way! I also wish I'd taken before pics.

    Edited to add that you're losing slowly, but you are losing. I'm 5'1 or 2", and it took me a year to lose 20 lb. The good thing about being short is that even small losses are super noticeable.

    So true. So I upped hydration the last few days. A lot. And I think that was definitely the reason or the scale pause. So, I'm losing about a pound a week. Thats perfect and expected for what I'm doing. Slower then the last time I did it, but I'll be content if this continues.

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