Does this happen to you?

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marsandval
marsandval Posts: 16 Member
edited April 2015 in Social Groups
so, I have been doing well with staying within my calories, and burning about 500 a day more than I eat BUT the last 2 weeks the scale is not moving! It seems like my body wants to settle into this weight. Any suggestions to get it moving! I have been increasing the protein hoping that will work. Suggestions are welcome

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  • nikkib0103
    nikkib0103 Posts: 968 Member
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    I may be wrong, but it's possible that if you are burning 500 calories more than you are eating daily your body has gone into starvation mode and is clinging like a deranged lover to your always threatening to leave body fat. Maybe try eating back some calories or exercise a little less and eat your full quota for a few days and see if that helps? I just don't know.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    edited April 2015
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    OP - your diary is private, that would be the first place to look for clues.

    As for "starvation mode" and eating more to lose weight.... The first part is a myth and the most likely way to lose weight is eating less not eating more.

    What really stands out with the limited information is that it's only 2 weeks! That's nothing frankly and far too soon to call it a plateau. The last 4 pounds I lost took me 3 weeks to lose the first pound and just 2 more days to lose the next 3lbs. Weight loss isn't linear.
    With only 4lbs to go to goal your deficit should be small and weight loss should be slow.

    As for protein, yes an adequate amount is very important for many reasons (especially in a deficit) but it can't magically make you lose weight by eating more.

    So suggestions:
    1) Be patient, give it a couple more weeks.
    2) If that doesn't work review your logging accuracy. Open your diary if you want advice.
    3) Have a read of this regarding appropriate calorie targets and macros....
    community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets/p1


  • marsandval
    marsandval Posts: 16 Member
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    Thanks for the replies.
    I am working on those last 4 pounds so that might have something to do with it.
    How do I open my diary? I am very new to this.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    From a PC...
    My Home / Settings / Diary Settings / Diary Sharing - select the Public radio button.
  • nikkib0103
    nikkib0103 Posts: 968 Member
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    You know, many diet articles or books I have read have gone on about starvation mode so who knew it was a myth. I have found, in my own experience, that jiggling calories up and down for a few days has gotten my plateaus unstuck. When losing the last 4 pounds, alas, there's nothing but waiting the little monsters out. On my last successful during attempt it took a month to lose the last pound.
  • BRaye325
    BRaye325 Posts: 1,383 Member
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    I agree with everything that sijomial said above. I just was stuck for about 4 weeks. I double-checked and tweeked my weighing & measuring, increased my protein slightly, and increased my activity level a notch. Then all of a sudden last week I dropped 4.5 lbs.
  • nikkib0103
    nikkib0103 Posts: 968 Member
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    BRaye325 wrote: »
    I agree with everything that sijomial said above. I just was stuck for about 4 weeks. I double-checked and tweeked my weighing & measuring, increased my protein slightly, and increased my activity level a notch. Then all of a sudden last week I dropped 4.5 lbs.

    That is what I am trying this week. Because I am stuckish.
  • marsandval
    marsandval Posts: 16 Member
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    I am switching up the exercise routine and Increasing the protein a bit. Thanks for all your replies!
  • marekdds
    marekdds Posts: 2,209 Member
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    It is fairly common. Like has been said, weight loss isn't linear. You are on the right track shaking things up a bit. I hav had plateaus that were months long, but eventually things started moving again.
  • jlcase0000
    jlcase0000 Posts: 19 Member
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    I had trouble getting any weight off from the start, even logging faithfully. But then I stopped using the extra calories from exercise, and that helped. Sometimes I use some or most of them, but I try to not use them.
  • marsandval
    marsandval Posts: 16 Member
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    I never eat back the calories either. I try to stick to the 1200 it says I should have.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    marsandval wrote: »
    I never eat back the calories either. I try to stick to the 1200 it says I should have.

    MFP doesn't tell you to eat 1200 calories - you set the calorie target by the information you input.

    MFP also intends your goal to be plus exercise calories.

    I've been here long enough to spot a very strong correlation between people who use the tool appropriately and succeed.

    The flip side is a very strong correlation between people who go for the quickest rate of weight loss (often inappropriate to the individual's circumstances), make the deficit even more extreme by not accounting for their exercise and fail.

    That failure is either giving up because it's so hard, or failure through getting to goal and being disappointed that they don't look like they expected they would - a shrunken, baggy version of their former fat selves.

    It's really important to retain as much lean mass as possible for us older folks - it's so damn hard to get it back.
  • alphabetsoup2013
    alphabetsoup2013 Posts: 208 Member
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    sijomial wrote: »
    marsandval wrote: »
    I never eat back the calories either. I try to stick to the 1200 it says I should have.

    MFP doesn't tell you to eat 1200 calories - you set the calorie target by the information you input.

    MFP also intends your goal to be plus exercise calories.

    I've been here long enough to spot a very strong correlation between people who use the tool appropriately and succeed.

    The flip side is a very strong correlation between people who go for the quickest rate of weight loss (often inappropriate to the individual's circumstances), make the deficit even more extreme by not accounting for their exercise and fail.

    This is great advice. I have seen so many people go at this thing in a totally unsustainable way. They burn out and/or they trigger a starve-binge cycle. They get discouraged. They gain weight. And then they quit. Why set yourself up for failure when you can set yourself up for success?
  • beemerphile1
    beemerphile1 Posts: 1,710 Member
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    I have gone as much as four weeks without losing and then 5-6 pounds drop off in the following two weeks. It is normal.

    I am also down to my last four pounds. A week ago I tweaked my settings to 1.5# per week whereas I had been at 1#. As you lose weight your body becomes more efficient and burns less calories so a tweak may be necessary.
  • marekdds
    marekdds Posts: 2,209 Member
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    I could not exist on 1200. I am a small framed 63 year old lady. My bmr is about 1250. If I didn't eat some of my exercise calories, I would end up binging. Everyone is different, but I lost over 80lbs and ate most of my exercise calories. It isn't easy to stay focused when we hit walls, but it can be done.
  • lynnstacey2
    lynnstacey2 Posts: 34 Member
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    I pretty much stay between 1200 and 1400 depending on the day. My doctor put me on the 1200 and told me not to eat back the calories although I admit, sometimes I do. I'm only 5'1" and barely at that so I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that this isn't my "dieting" intake, this is my intake period of I want to continue to lose and later keep it off. If I want to eat more than that then yep, I'm going to have to really up my exercise!
  • marsandval
    marsandval Posts: 16 Member
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    I am small framed too and my doctor also told me I don't need more than 1200 calories a day. I am only 4 foot 10 so my number of calories was based on what she told me. Before I started this I was eating way more and not exercising at all. I am not looking for quick starve myself weight loss, just consistent. When I originally posted I just wanted to know îf others have hit hurdles like this. I just turned 50.