Maintaining Weight when I should be Losing?

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Delaina1
Delaina1 Posts: 168 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
HI! I've been a member of MFP for around 2 years now (on and off). When I stick to the plan that MFP lays out for me, I always lose weight at the suggested rate. I log EVERYTHING just as I'm supposed to. Well, I've lost around 12 lbs over the last 2 years but now my body seems to be stuck. I'm still eating right, exercising like crazy, and logging it all. I've tried not eating back exercise calories, eating back half, and eating back all. I've done each of these for a long enough period of time to see a difference, however, I'm just sitting at the same weight. I've even tried zig zagging calories to give my metabolism a little boost. I'm 5 ft tall and I'm sitting at 130 lbs right now. Being that short, there is definately still some lbs to lose before I'm even close to being considered "skinny." I just want to lose another 5 lbs or so to be comfortable. Can anyone give any advice? Or does my body just not get any smaller? I'm so frustrated! I'm already at 1200 cals so I really don't want to go any lower! I've tried everything!!!!

Replies

  • Psychoanalytic
    Psychoanalytic Posts: 261
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    Sounds like you've just hit a plateau. Lots and lots and lots of water and try shaking your exercise routine and the types of foods up a bit? You body may have just gotten used to what you've been giving it.
  • A_New_Horizon
    A_New_Horizon Posts: 1,555 Member
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    I would suggest increasing your calories. I know it sounds weird that you have to increase to lose weight, but it really does work. I currently have increased my calories to keep losing, and I am 5'3". I felt my body was going into starvation mode, so I changed from losing a lb a week to 0.5 lb a week to see what happens. Your body needs fuel to exercise. Are you drinking enough water? Also, a very important thing. Maybe, you are working too hard. Have you tried taking a rest and then getting back at it again? Just a few suggestions from me that has worked. Just don't give up!!! You are still at a good weight if this is your maintenance weight.
  • abjelica
    abjelica Posts: 5
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    Wow, you look amazing. Your body is maybe resting a bit and stress can play big factor in hitting plateau. Just do not give up, keep doing what you are doing and in no time you will be at desired weight. Great work by the way.:smile:
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    HI! I've been a member of MFP for around 2 years now (on and off). When I stick to the plan that MFP lays out for me, I always lose weight at the suggested rate. I log EVERYTHING just as I'm supposed to. Well, I've lost around 12 lbs over the last 2 years but now my body seems to be stuck. I'm still eating right, exercising like crazy, and logging it all. I've tried not eating back exercise calories, eating back half, and eating back all. I've done each of these for a long enough period of time to see a difference, however, I'm just sitting at the same weight. I've even tried zig zagging calories to give my metabolism a little boost. I'm 5 ft tall and I'm sitting at 130 lbs right now. Being that short, there is definately still some lbs to lose before I'm even close to being considered "skinny." I just want to lose another 5 lbs or so to be comfortable. Can anyone give any advice? Or does my body just not get any smaller? I'm so frustrated! I'm already at 1200 cals so I really don't want to go any lower! I've tried everything!!!!

    You are probably not eating enough. When you have 15lbs or less to lose your weekly goal should be 0.5lbs/week or less. Which will give you much more than 1200 calories/day. change your goals and eat all of your calories and your weight loss should start again. Slow and steady this ensures you lose fat and not muscle.
  • Delaina1
    Delaina1 Posts: 168 Member
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    I drink a TON of water (I always have) and I've tried switching things up a bit. I thought that it was a plateau for the first 2 weeks, but now it has been over a month! I'm just going to keep at it! Somehting has got to give! Maybe I'll try cutting sodium and carbs a little. I'm never "over" but I'm sure cutting a little couldn't hurt! At least I'm not gaining :smile:
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    I drink a TON of water (I always have) and I've tried switching things up a bit. I thought that it was a plateau for the first 2 weeks, but now it has been over a month! I'm just going to keep at it! Somehting has got to give! Maybe I'll try cutting sodium and carbs a little. I'm never "over" but I'm sure cutting a little couldn't hurt! At least I'm not gaining :smile:

    Just change your goals and eat more.
  • Delaina1
    Delaina1 Posts: 168 Member
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    HI! I've been a member of MFP for around 2 years now (on and off). When I stick to the plan that MFP lays out for me, I always lose weight at the suggested rate. I log EVERYTHING just as I'm supposed to. Well, I've lost around 12 lbs over the last 2 years but now my body seems to be stuck. I'm still eating right, exercising like crazy, and logging it all. I've tried not eating back exercise calories, eating back half, and eating back all. I've done each of these for a long enough period of time to see a difference, however, I'm just sitting at the same weight. I've even tried zig zagging calories to give my metabolism a little boost. I'm 5 ft tall and I'm sitting at 130 lbs right now. Being that short, there is definately still some lbs to lose before I'm even close to being considered "skinny." I just want to lose another 5 lbs or so to be comfortable. Can anyone give any advice? Or does my body just not get any smaller? I'm so frustrated! I'm already at 1200 cals so I really don't want to go any lower! I've tried everything!!!!

    You are probably not eating enough. When you have 15lbs or less to lose your weekly goal should be 0.5lbs/week or less. Which will give you much more than 1200 calories/day. change your goals and eat all of your calories and your weight loss should start again. Slow and steady this ensures you lose fat and not muscle.

    I usually burn about 350-500 cals a day exercising and eat back at least half, if not all. If I eat back all of them (which I have tried) then I usually very gradually start to gain.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    HI! I've been a member of MFP for around 2 years now (on and off). When I stick to the plan that MFP lays out for me, I always lose weight at the suggested rate. I log EVERYTHING just as I'm supposed to. Well, I've lost around 12 lbs over the last 2 years but now my body seems to be stuck. I'm still eating right, exercising like crazy, and logging it all. I've tried not eating back exercise calories, eating back half, and eating back all. I've done each of these for a long enough period of time to see a difference, however, I'm just sitting at the same weight. I've even tried zig zagging calories to give my metabolism a little boost. I'm 5 ft tall and I'm sitting at 130 lbs right now. Being that short, there is definately still some lbs to lose before I'm even close to being considered "skinny." I just want to lose another 5 lbs or so to be comfortable. Can anyone give any advice? Or does my body just not get any smaller? I'm so frustrated! I'm already at 1200 cals so I really don't want to go any lower! I've tried everything!!!!

    You are probably not eating enough. When you have 15lbs or less to lose your weekly goal should be 0.5lbs/week or less. Which will give you much more than 1200 calories/day. change your goals and eat all of your calories and your weight loss should start again. Slow and steady this ensures you lose fat and not muscle.

    I usually burn about 350-500 cals a day exercising and eat back at least half, if not all. If I eat back all of them (which I have tried) then I usually very gradually start to gain.

    If that is the case you may already be in "starvation mode", slow metabolism, leading to excess caloreis stored almost immediately as fat, to ensure your survival. I urge you to eat more for a few weeks without getting on the scale, this is the only way to get you metabolism back to normal
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
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    Are you doing any weight/resistance training? If not, that's going to be the first step.

    Your cal levels are actually probably just about right; depends on your activity level. Your BMR is about 1260, so unless you're active or very active, you should have just about the right deficit at around 1200. You could try bumping up to 1300 as a baseline, though, and see what that does. Unfortunately, very petite women can have a tough time because there is very little leeway in cals when you're that small.

    The only other things I would recommend is:

    An HRM, if you aren't using one already. That will give you a better idea of burns.
    Getting RMR tested. Many gyms can do it, and it can give you a good "moment in time" picture of where your metabolism is right now.
    Getting a Bodybugg or Bodymedia - The best way to get an overall picture of what you're burning on a daily basis.
    Have you had thyroid tested? It's a thought.

    Basically, for most folks without medical issues, it boils down to intake vs expenditure. If you log intake accurately, then you're looking at an imbalance in expenditure. So you probably need to try to figure out how much you're actually burning in exercise and daily activity.
  • Beebs33
    Beebs33 Posts: 262
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    HI! I've been a member of MFP for around 2 years now (on and off). When I stick to the plan that MFP lays out for me, I always lose weight at the suggested rate. I log EVERYTHING just as I'm supposed to. Well, I've lost around 12 lbs over the last 2 years but now my body seems to be stuck. I'm still eating right, exercising like crazy, and logging it all. I've tried not eating back exercise calories, eating back half, and eating back all. I've done each of these for a long enough period of time to see a difference, however, I'm just sitting at the same weight. I've even tried zig zagging calories to give my metabolism a little boost. I'm 5 ft tall and I'm sitting at 130 lbs right now. Being that short, there is definately still some lbs to lose before I'm even close to being considered "skinny." I just want to lose another 5 lbs or so to be comfortable. Can anyone give any advice? Or does my body just not get any smaller? I'm so frustrated! I'm already at 1200 cals so I really don't want to go any lower! I've tried everything!!!!

    You are probably not eating enough. When you have 15lbs or less to lose your weekly goal should be 0.5lbs/week or less. Which will give you much more than 1200 calories/day. change your goals and eat all of your calories and your weight loss should start again. Slow and steady this ensures you lose fat and not muscle.

    I usually burn about 350-500 cals a day exercising and eat back at least half, if not all. If I eat back all of them (which I have tried) then I usually very gradually start to gain.

    If that is the case you may already be in "starvation mode", slow metabolism, leading to excess caloreis stored almost immediately as fat, to ensure your survival. I urge you to eat more for a few weeks without getting on the scale, this is the only way to get you metabolism back to normal

    Thanks for that comment. I hadn't thought of it that way. I have problems eating back my exercise calories but your body does require consistency to get out of that starvation mode and consistency doesn't happen over night!
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    Options
    HI! I've been a member of MFP for around 2 years now (on and off). When I stick to the plan that MFP lays out for me, I always lose weight at the suggested rate. I log EVERYTHING just as I'm supposed to. Well, I've lost around 12 lbs over the last 2 years but now my body seems to be stuck. I'm still eating right, exercising like crazy, and logging it all. I've tried not eating back exercise calories, eating back half, and eating back all. I've done each of these for a long enough period of time to see a difference, however, I'm just sitting at the same weight. I've even tried zig zagging calories to give my metabolism a little boost. I'm 5 ft tall and I'm sitting at 130 lbs right now. Being that short, there is definately still some lbs to lose before I'm even close to being considered "skinny." I just want to lose another 5 lbs or so to be comfortable. Can anyone give any advice? Or does my body just not get any smaller? I'm so frustrated! I'm already at 1200 cals so I really don't want to go any lower! I've tried everything!!!!

    You are probably not eating enough. When you have 15lbs or less to lose your weekly goal should be 0.5lbs/week or less. Which will give you much more than 1200 calories/day. change your goals and eat all of your calories and your weight loss should start again. Slow and steady this ensures you lose fat and not muscle.

    I usually burn about 350-500 cals a day exercising and eat back at least half, if not all. If I eat back all of them (which I have tried) then I usually very gradually start to gain.

    If that is the case you may already be in "starvation mode", slow metabolism, leading to excess caloreis stored almost immediately as fat, to ensure your survival. I urge you to eat more for a few weeks without getting on the scale, this is the only way to get you metabolism back to normal

    Eric, on this one I'd doubt she's eating too little. At her size, her BMR is about 1260 - so at ~1200 she's right around BMR and shouldn't be an issue (based on the info and assuming no medical issues, etc). That said, IF her metabolism is actually fast due to high muscle mass and/or high activity level, she could be eating too little. But that would be hard to know without RMR testing or a 24 hr device.
  • kimmerroze
    kimmerroze Posts: 1,330 Member
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    HI! I've been a member of MFP for around 2 years now (on and off). When I stick to the plan that MFP lays out for me, I always lose weight at the suggested rate. I log EVERYTHING just as I'm supposed to. Well, I've lost around 12 lbs over the last 2 years but now my body seems to be stuck. I'm still eating right, exercising like crazy, and logging it all. I've tried not eating back exercise calories, eating back half, and eating back all. I've done each of these for a long enough period of time to see a difference, however, I'm just sitting at the same weight. I've even tried zig zagging calories to give my metabolism a little boost. I'm 5 ft tall and I'm sitting at 130 lbs right now. Being that short, there is definately still some lbs to lose before I'm even close to being considered "skinny." I just want to lose another 5 lbs or so to be comfortable. Can anyone give any advice? Or does my body just not get any smaller? I'm so frustrated! I'm already at 1200 cals so I really don't want to go any lower! I've tried everything!!!!

    You are probably not eating enough. When you have 15lbs or less to lose your weekly goal should be 0.5lbs/week or less. Which will give you much more than 1200 calories/day. change your goals and eat all of your calories and your weight loss should start again. Slow and steady this ensures you lose fat and not muscle.

    I usually burn about 350-500 cals a day exercising and eat back at least half, if not all. If I eat back all of them (which I have tried) then I usually very gradually start to gain.

    If that is the case you may already be in "starvation mode", slow metabolism, leading to excess caloreis stored almost immediately as fat, to ensure your survival. I urge you to eat more for a few weeks without getting on the scale, this is the only way to get you metabolism back to normal

    I second third and fourth this! I lost sooo slowly, but then I raised my calories and now I am losing again. still slowly but not nonexistent...
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
    Options
    HI! I've been a member of MFP for around 2 years now (on and off). When I stick to the plan that MFP lays out for me, I always lose weight at the suggested rate. I log EVERYTHING just as I'm supposed to. Well, I've lost around 12 lbs over the last 2 years but now my body seems to be stuck. I'm still eating right, exercising like crazy, and logging it all. I've tried not eating back exercise calories, eating back half, and eating back all. I've done each of these for a long enough period of time to see a difference, however, I'm just sitting at the same weight. I've even tried zig zagging calories to give my metabolism a little boost. I'm 5 ft tall and I'm sitting at 130 lbs right now. Being that short, there is definately still some lbs to lose before I'm even close to being considered "skinny." I just want to lose another 5 lbs or so to be comfortable. Can anyone give any advice? Or does my body just not get any smaller? I'm so frustrated! I'm already at 1200 cals so I really don't want to go any lower! I've tried everything!!!!

    You are probably not eating enough. When you have 15lbs or less to lose your weekly goal should be 0.5lbs/week or less. Which will give you much more than 1200 calories/day. change your goals and eat all of your calories and your weight loss should start again. Slow and steady this ensures you lose fat and not muscle.

    I usually burn about 350-500 cals a day exercising and eat back at least half, if not all. If I eat back all of them (which I have tried) then I usually very gradually start to gain.

    If that is the case you may already be in "starvation mode", slow metabolism, leading to excess caloreis stored almost immediately as fat, to ensure your survival. I urge you to eat more for a few weeks without getting on the scale, this is the only way to get you metabolism back to normal

    Eric, on this one I'd doubt she's eating too little. At her size, her BMR is about 1260 - so at ~1200 she's right around BMR and shouldn't be an issue (based on the info and assuming no medical issues, etc). That said, IF her metabolism is actually fast due to high muscle mass and/or high activity level, she could be eating too little. But that would be hard to know without RMR testing or a 24 hr device.

    are you sure that at 130 the BMR is that low, I don't weigh much more than that and my BMR is over 1600. Might have to do with me being a male??? I jsut did a BMR on hers and it was 1385, and with not much to lose she does not have to eat under BMR to slow her weight in a slow and healthy manner.
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
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    Eric, on this one I'd doubt she's eating too little. At her size, her BMR is about 1260 - so at ~1200 she's right around BMR and shouldn't be an issue (based on the info and assuming no medical issues, etc). That said, IF her metabolism is actually fast due to high muscle mass and/or high activity level, she could be eating too little. But that would be hard to know without RMR testing or a 24 hr device.

    are you sure that at 130 the BMR is that low, I don't weigh much more than that and my BMR is over 1600. Might have to do with me being a male??? I jsut did a BMR on hers and it was 1385, and with not much to lose she does not have to eat under BMR to slow her weight in a slow and healthy manner.

    Just went with MFP BMR tool - 24 yr old, 5', 130 lbs. = 1261

    And yeah, I don't think eating under BMR is necessary. That's why I suggested trying 1300. But for really small women, it's very tricky. There's just not much room for error. But even if that's slightly low, I'd be doubtful whether it's low ENOUGH to put her in starvation mode -- again, unless her activity level is really high.
  • tellybelle
    tellybelle Posts: 144
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    Bump I want to follow this ;)
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    Eric, on this one I'd doubt she's eating too little. At her size, her BMR is about 1260 - so at ~1200 she's right around BMR and shouldn't be an issue (based on the info and assuming no medical issues, etc). That said, IF her metabolism is actually fast due to high muscle mass and/or high activity level, she could be eating too little. But that would be hard to know without RMR testing or a 24 hr device.

    are you sure that at 130 the BMR is that low, I don't weigh much more than that and my BMR is over 1600. Might have to do with me being a male??? I jsut did a BMR on hers and it was 1385, and with not much to lose she does not have to eat under BMR to slow her weight in a slow and healthy manner.

    Just went with MFP BMR tool - 24 yr old, 5', 130 lbs. = 1261

    And yeah, I don't think eating under BMR is necessary. That's why I suggested trying 1300. But for really small women, it's very tricky. There's just not much room for error. But even if that's slightly low, I'd be doubtful whether it's low ENOUGH to put her in starvation mode -- again, unless her activity level is really high.

    fair enough, I check an external site with her info. If that is the case 1300 Net should be a good target.
  • Delaina1
    Delaina1 Posts: 168 Member
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    Thank you so much guys. For more info, I am pretty active ( I guess). I do Insanity workouts 4-5 days a weed which are strength training and cardio combined. I usually eat back most of my exercise calories so I don't think that I'm in starvation mode. I think I'm just stuck.

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