Is My Body Trying to Hold on to Fat?

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GreatDepression
GreatDepression Posts: 347 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I started at almost 260lbs a year and a half ago. I am now down to about 170lbs. It's been a long and difficult journey and I know that if I want to be fit, the journey never ends (this is overwhelming to think about but that's another topic). I'm about 10lbs away from a healthy BMI for the first time but all of a sudden I've hit a weight loss plateau.

I'm trying really hard to not be discouraged by scale numbers but after putting so much effort into HIIT and weight training, I wonder why the scale won't move. My eating has been fair to good and I've made some big changes: I cut out almost all refined carbohydrates the past month and now nearly all my carbs come only from fresh (non-starchy) vegetables and fruit. I log what I eat and am pretty accurate about it (weigh most food that I can). I used to do very long sessions of medium-intensity cardio (which was within my emotional comfort zone) but recently switched to exhausting HIIT sessions. I have also taken weight training more seriously by doing it consistently.

I keep telling myself that my goal is fat loss and not a lighter number on the scale. It's allowed me to stay motivated but now I'm getting a bit skeptical. Cutting out nearly all refined carbs, my last food "joy" is fruit. I really don't want to cut that out too to lower my carbs. I eat a lot of fresh berries and pineapple. I love grapes but have stopped eating that due to its high fructose and glucose levels. The title of this topic was inspired by the health literature I've been reading on "body set points." I wonder if that is what I'm experiencing right now.

My predicament motivated me to think about using supplements to possibly help me over this hurdle. I made a thread asking about ephedrine (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1274250-ephedrine) and was attacked by a lot of people here. What I took from the responses is that someone as fat as me shouldn't think I can take some "magic pill" to just lose a bunch of weight without effort.

Replies

  • allotmentgardener
    allotmentgardener Posts: 248 Member
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    You are doing brilliantly so keep it up :)

    We often reach a stage where the weight seems to stall, persevere with it and it'll start moving again.

    Instead of looking at the scale try using a tape measure, often you find that the scales don't move but the inches/cm have :) You only have 10 lb left to lose, often the smaller amounts take the longest.

    You are doing great, a little patience and you will get there - as they say, Rome wasn't built in a day :)
  • Telomin
    Telomin Posts: 45 Member
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    I haven't lost that much weight so I can't really relate.. but I just went from training pilates 20 minutes 6 times /week to 50 minutes 6times/week, and I see a huge difference, in my muscles and body shape. If you always do the same routine when you work out your body will adjust to the workout, so you might need to switch it up.

    And try to not JUST do the workouts, you will need to do cardio too. I have the shin splints so I cant run or jogg, but I do try to take walks, and that will burn the calories.

    Oh! And one thing I noticed is that the net calories MFP set for me was the same for a very long time, like 1290 or so.. but when I re-did some of the settings it suddently changed my netcalories to 1200. This, lowering your net calories is something we MUST do when we lose weight, or else, you will get to a point where you can no longer see changes. So I really recommend you going in to the settings to log your most recent weight. Then you might get a new net-calorie number that you must follow.

    I never really quit carbs, I eat rice like every day, and bread too! It just that it needs to be in moderation. Try to measure or weight everything you eat so you know that you log correctly.

    You can also try to eat spiceier foods, that boosts the metabolism! :)
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
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    My predicament motivated me to think about using supplements to possibly help me over this hurdle.
    Supplements often do more harm than good. You may have felt "attacked" in the other thread, but I believe that the some of the posters had good intentions. Ephedrine is some nasty stuff. It sounds like you've come a long way without supplements, why start now?

    As you get closer to your goals the pounds don't drop off as quickly, it's just how it is. The first things to look at is underestimating caloric intake and overestimating caloric burn. Do you use a food scale to weigh your food? Are your calories burns too generous?

    Are you obsessing over the number on the scale? At some point in the journey fitness becomes far more important than a specific number. Are you stronger than you were two months ago? Have you been stuck at the same weight for a few months and yet your pants are a little looser?

    You might want to reassess your goals.
  • Kegsey55
    Kegsey55 Posts: 28 Member
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    You say you have recently changed what you eat and what exercise you do. I find that more exercise means weight gain/no weight loss until the body gets used to it and then it drops again. So keep at it and try to be patient.

    Also, have you adjusted your calorie requirements as you have lost weight? As you lose weight, you need fewer calories but MFP doesn't do this automatically you need to go and set your goals again and it will recalculate.

    Good luck!
  • bonoeuf
    bonoeuf Posts: 58 Member
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    I started at about the same weight as you, I am still 14 pounds heavier. You have done really well. I have had a week off, I put my calories back to maintenance, as I had friend coming to stay and I knew the beer and wine would flow along with more food. I did not weigh myself that week. I started again the following week and at the end of it I dropped three pounds. Have a try at a rest for a week or two. If you are not losing weight then why not relax for a while and start again. You are getting frustrated and can not keep cutting calories. Make sure you track well and keep up with the weights, I would also cut back on the cardio and HIT for a while, let your body settle and start again. Don't be down you have done well.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,968 Member
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    Well, it begs the question as to why at 170 lbs you need to lose more weight....what's your stats....age, height etc
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    Well your diary is where you need to look.

    Number one your goal is too low

    Number two you have a lot of entries that are suspect...245g of coocnut 163 calories??? according to USDA Coconut meat 245g has over 800 calories and you have a similar entry for a few days..

    http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/3700?man=&lfacet=&count=&max=25&qlookup=12104&offset=&sort=&format=Abridged&reportfmt=other&rptfrm=&ndbno=&nutrient1=&nutrient2=&nutrient3=&subset=&totCount=&measureby=&_action_show=Apply+Changes&Qv=2.45&Q6974=1.0&Q6975=1.0&Q6976=1.0

    As for a bodies set point yah I don't subscribe to that or cutting out carbs, or sugar...

    If you aren't losing your body isn't holding onto fat...you are at maintenance.

    And I read the link no one attacked you...they gave you advice and you got all up in arms because someone said you weren't a bodybuilder...

    Taking drugs to lose weight never turns out well.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
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    What I took from the responses is that someone as fat as me shouldn't think I can take some "magic pill" to just lose a bunch of weight without effort.

    What you should have taken from the responses was that people were concerned for your health and didn't want you to take a supplement that has severe adverse health effects, including death, just because you heard bodybuilders sometimes take it. And what people said was that you aren't a bodybuilder, you are not doing the diet or the training, and you do not have a team of people monitoring every aspect of your life for optimum performance, so taking the supplements thinking they are going to be the thing to help you get ripped is a foolish idea. Bodybuilders are in phenomenal shape in the off season; the supplements that some choose to take is for cutting for competition, not in general. The supplements are not going to do what you want them to do for where you are in your progress, and they might kill you.

    You've lost a lot of weight (good job) but the fact is that everyone's weight loss slows down the closer they get to their goal. It's going to take time, particularly if you are focusing on fat loss and retaining lean body mass.
  • karmasays
    karmasays Posts: 82 Member
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    You're about 10lbs from a healthy BMI...since you're this close, weight will start coming off more slowly. You can't really expect the 2+lb losses a week any more.

    Adjust MFP to lose .5lb to 1lb a week as this is a more reasonable amount.

    Try that for a few weeks and see what happens. No need for dangerous supplements!
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    My predicament motivated me to think about using supplements to possibly help me over this hurdle. I made a thread asking about ephedrine (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1274250-ephedrine) and was attacked by a lot of people here.

    No OP the "attack" on the ephedrine forum was to inform you that you should not consider taking a prescription only drug that is likely going to give you heart palpitations and endanger your health as a way to lose weight any more than you should take methamphetamine or cocaine, two pharmacologically equivalent compounds.

    That was concern for your health not a comment on you being fat.
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
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    OP, the people in the other thread were downright polite, compared to what you usually see around here. Try to take a step back and realize that they weren't attacking you -- they were trying to stop you from doing something that could give you a heart attack. If they said "yes, you could end up in the hospital, but it's worth it to take off 10 pounds," you'd know they didn't have your best interests at heart.

    The last 10 pounds are going to suck. I'm sorry to be blunt, but that's just how it is. They're difficult for everyone, and they take WAY longer to lose than you think they should. You're not alone in feeling that way. Now's the time to stay the course, not to start making drastic changes to what you were doing before. What you have been doing has CLEARLY worked, because you lost 90 pounds!
  • GreatDepression
    GreatDepression Posts: 347 Member
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    Number two you have a lot of entries that are suspect...245g of coocnut 163 calories??? according to USDA Coconut meat 245g has over 800 calories and you have a similar entry for a few days..

    http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/3700?man=&lfacet=&count=&max=25&qlookup=12104&offset=&sort=&format=Abridged&reportfmt=other&rptfrm=&ndbno=&nutrient1=&nutrient2=&nutrient3=&subset=&totCount=&measureby=&_action_show=Apply+Changes&Qv=2.45&Q6974=1.0&Q6975=1.0&Q6976=1.0

    Yes, the problem with getting accurate-ish measurements for non-western food. That USDA information and most calorie information on raw coconut is the MATURE (ripe) coconut which is the dried brown ones you see at most typical American grocery stores. Young (immature) coconut has much less "meat" than a mature coconut and its fat content is much, much lower. Coconut milk/cream/oil CANNOT be made from young coconut for this reason. The 245g measurement you see over and over in my diary is from opening fresh raw, green young coconuts and using some of its water AND meat to make a smoothie. I can't really get an accurate calorie measurement on it because it's not readily available online (water to meat ratio, age of coconut affects calorie amount, etc.).

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