Stuck after losing 20 lbs

fisherwomanjax
fisherwomanjax Posts: 14 Member
edited November 9 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi my names Jackie and I am 25 years old. I have lost 20 lbs so far but still have 20 lbs to go. It's been weeks since I have lost even 1/2 lbs! I uped my exercise and changed my diet! I also work a physically demanding job over 40 hours a week. I don't ever eat fast food. It's been months since I have seen anything and it's very difficult... Any tips please let me know and don't be mean =(. Thanks

Replies

  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
    Hi, sweetie, welcome. Do you log your food? Do you weigh and measure?
  • fisherwomanjax
    fisherwomanjax Posts: 14 Member
    Yes I log all of my food. I don't tend to weigh it but I go by serving sizes unless they are huge when I put them on my plate. I eat really slow also and with my new job my appetite has went down so much that it's almost a struggle sometimes to get enough calories.. I do log everything down to the mustard and pepper
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  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    You're eating more than you think you are.
  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
    Yes, it's easy to misjudged what a "serving" size is. For instance, most of the time, a "serving" of scoopable ice cream is half a cup. Half a cup of ice cream is tiny! Who the hell only eats half a cup of ice cream? (Well, okay, maybe some people do. Not me, though, that's for sure...)

    I remember my sister-in-law asking my brother what he thought a tablespoon serving was. He took out this giant soup spoon and scooped peanut butter to heaping. He must have had four tablespoons of peanut butter on that spoon.

    We are used to gigantic portions being a "normal" "serving." However, what most weight loss-geared calculators will figure on as a "serving" of any given food may be way, way smaller than what we eyeball and think of as an "average" amount of that food to eat.

    Weigh and measure.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    The margin of error gets smaller the closer you get to goal. Guesstimating your food is no longer good enough. Get a kitchen scale (they're only 12 bucks or so), and weigh everything—even packaged food. You're in for a shock when you see how big your servings really are.

    Also, set your goal to .5 lb. per week for the last 20 lbs. The closer you get to goal the more slowly it comes off. That's just the way the human body works. And the smaller deficit will help you transition to maintenance. Congratulations on your loss!
  • fisherwomanjax
    fisherwomanjax Posts: 14 Member
    Thanks everyone I'll be putting a kitchen scale on my list ASAP.
  • FaylinaMeir
    FaylinaMeir Posts: 661 Member
    Thanks everyone I'll be putting a kitchen scale on my list ASAP.

    Make sure it's digital. Walmart sells on, mainstays brand, for like 15 bucks that is AWESOME. Make sure it has a tare function and honestly get used to using grams instead of ounces, much more accurate and EASY once you figure it out.

    Also please keep in mind that weight loss in NOT linear. Some weeks you'll be up, some you'll be down but at the end you'll be better for it. You could also plateau for several weeks. Honestly if you're stuck for 4-6 weeks eat 200 more calories a week for a few weeks THEN go back down. It works wonders.
  • fisherwomanjax
    fisherwomanjax Posts: 14 Member
    I really don't eat much though. I wasn't working for almost one year and gained but now that my life is back to normal so are my eating habits. Everyone tells me i eat like a bird and honestly i exaggerate my portions on mfp because its not letting me log under a certain amount of calories. I'm not starving myself either. Anyway just throwing that in there
  • fisherwomanjax
    fisherwomanjax Posts: 14 Member
    Thanks everyone I'll be putting a kitchen scale on my list ASAP.

    Make sure it's digital. Walmart sells on, mainstays brand, for like 15 bucks that is AWESOME. Make sure it has a tare function and honestly get used to using grams instead of ounces, much more accurate and EASY once you figure it out.

    Also please keep in mind that weight loss in NOT linear. Some weeks you'll be up, some you'll be down but at the end you'll be better for it. You could also plateau for several weeks. Honestly if you're stuck for 4-6 weeks eat 200 more calories a week for a few weeks THEN go back down. It works wonders.
    Thank you I will definitely remember that
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  • KeriA
    KeriA Posts: 3,350 Member
    Do you know eat between your BMR and TDEE? I lost 20 pounds and stalled out. It turned out I had been eating below my BMR which is the calories you need to survive in a coma. Once I started to eat between my BMR and TDEE I started to lose again. I lost another 20 pounds. TDEE is your true maintenance level for all the activty you do. When I measure my food I find out it is below what I put on MFP too. However weighing your food isn't a bad idea. It is alot harder to lose after you have lost 10% of your weight because your body really starts to fight to keep from losing more.
  • fisherwomanjax
    fisherwomanjax Posts: 14 Member
    KeriA wrote: »
    Do you know eat between your BMR and TDEE? I lost 20 pounds and stalled out. It turned out I had been eating below my BMR which is the calories you need to survive in a coma. Once I started to eat between my BMR and TDEE I started to lose again. I lost another 20 pounds. TDEE is your true maintenance level for all the activty you do. When I measure my food I find out it is below what I put on MFP too. However weighing your food isn't a bad idea. It is alot harder to lose after you have lost 10% of your weight because your body really starts to fight to keep from losing more.

    OK! Now THAT sounds like what might be going on! Ty!
  • fisherwomanjax
    fisherwomanjax Posts: 14 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    Height?
    Weight?
    5'7
    170
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