Started well but now have stopped losing

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jomarise
jomarise Posts: 10 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
For the last two - three weeks I haven't lost (or gained) despite sticking to 1200 cals. I do log everything (good or bad) I wonder if some more experience dieters could take a look at my diary and give me some advice - Whilst I watch the calories I guess it depends on all the other factors too. Thanks

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  • NoIdea101NoIdea
    NoIdea101NoIdea Posts: 659 Member
    edited May 2015
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    Hello!

    I am by no means an expert, but I did notice something:

    1.) Are you weighing all your food? I would recommend getting a little jewellery scale (super cheap on ebay) and carrying it around with you and weighing everything, even if it tells you how many calories something has in the packet. For example, a heaped tablespoon of peanut butter (the jar says is 10g) is about 120 calories. But if you actually weigh 10g of peanut butter, you will see it is actually quite a bit less than a heaped tablespoon! It is actually quite shocking when you realize just how off some of the calorie guidance is which means you could actually be consuming more calories than you think. Also, I see a bowl of wetherspoons chips which only came to 199 calories....I would be suspicious. Did you get that from the database?


    Also, we need a bit more information on you personally; start weight, how much you have lost so far, goal weight, height, activity level and age please (that's not me prying, but these things will help determine why you could not be losing) :)
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,074 Member
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    NoIdea101NoIdea wrote: »
    Hello!

    I am by no means an expert, but I did notice something:

    1.) Are you weighing all your food? I would recommend getting a little jewellery scale (super cheap on ebay) and carrying it around with you and weighing everything, even if it tells you how many calories something has in the packet. For example, a heaped tablespoon (the jar says is 10g) is about 120 calories. But if you actually weigh 10g of peanut butter, you will see it is actually quite a bit less than a heaped tablespoon! It is actually quite shocking when you realize just how off some of the calorie guidance is which means you could actually be consuming more calories than you think. Also, I see a bowl of wetherspoons chips which only came to 199 calories....I would be suspicious. Did you get that from the database?


    Also, we need a bit more information on you personally; start weight, how much you have lost so far, goal weight, height, activity level and age please (that's not me prying, but these things will help determine why you could not be losing) :)

    Seconding this. Additionally, weight loss is not linear, and water weight happens.
    Walmart also has cheap scales. I got my Taylor scale for under $30 last year, and so far no issues. I've only had to change the batteries once.

    Using generic entries can throw off calorie counts as well, since some members do not post accurate nutritional information, or post the nutritional information for their own specific recipes.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
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    missiontofitness wrote: »
    NoIdea101NoIdea wrote: »
    Hello!

    I am by no means an expert, but I did notice something:

    1.) Are you weighing all your food? I would recommend getting a little jewellery scale (super cheap on ebay) and carrying it around with you and weighing everything, even if it tells you how many calories something has in the packet. For example, a heaped tablespoon (the jar says is 10g) is about 120 calories. But if you actually weigh 10g of peanut butter, you will see it is actually quite a bit less than a heaped tablespoon! It is actually quite shocking when you realize just how off some of the calorie guidance is which means you could actually be consuming more calories than you think. Also, I see a bowl of wetherspoons chips which only came to 199 calories....I would be suspicious. Did you get that from the database?


    Also, we need a bit more information on you personally; start weight, how much you have lost so far, goal weight, height, activity level and age please (that's not me prying, but these things will help determine why you could not be losing) :)

    Seconding this. Additionally, weight loss is not linear, and water weight happens.
    Walmart also has cheap scales. I got my Taylor scale for under $30 last year, and so far no issues. I've only had to change the batteries once.

    Using generic entries can throw off calorie counts as well, since some members do not post accurate nutritional information, or post the nutritional information for their own specific recipes.

    There is an echo in here..
  • jomarise
    jomarise Posts: 10 Member
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    Hi, I do weigh most things but not absolutely everything (I will do from now on)

    The chips was just a few (literally about 6-8) I just put them in as that as I didn't want to log nothing but I was guessing. I have read somewhere today not to use the generic entries - Is that right?

    My start weight was 207 lbs (a year and a half ago) I went on Slimming World and got down to 154. When I tried to maintain my weight started to go back up and I got disheartened. I started MFP two months ago at 188 and am currently 174. I am 39 and ideally would like to be around 147. I see a personal trainer once or twice a week.

    Thanks so much for your help.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    A few calories off here and there isn't going to hurt you. 14 lbs lost in two months sounds pretty good. I'm guessing that your real problem is that you are being impatient. Weight doesn't always drop at a steady pace.
  • jomarise
    jomarise Posts: 10 Member
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    Yes maybe I am - I guess I lost it so easy the first time with Slimming World I expect it to do the same again.
  • NoIdea101NoIdea
    NoIdea101NoIdea Posts: 659 Member
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    Thanks for replying; ah, I see! I would recommend not using generic entries, as sometimes the nutritional information can be wrong, and it also depends on what country you are from (I'm in the UK, and the amount of calories in products that are pretty much exactly the same as they have in the US can vary). The way I do it is to check the packet, or even google sometimes, to see how much 100g of the particular food item has calorie-wise and then do the calculations from that. MFP also gives you the option to add your own food entries, which I use, so I know that they are more accurate.

    So you've lost 14lbs in two months-that's brilliant! Have you changed anything in your routine or is there anything that is noticeably different which may have an impact on why you have stalled? Also, do you know what your TDEE is? 1200 is pretty low, and whilst some people really do only need to consume that amount of calories, a lot of people go for that number as they see it as a 'safe' number, when in reality they should be eating more.

    I have found in the past when my weight loss has stalled, I have upped my calories by a couple of hundred for a couple of weeks, before going back down again. You may again a little bit, but I have found that when I dropped my calories back down again that came off, plus more. Definitely not sure about the science behind it and I'm not saying it will definitely work, but it has worked for me in the past.

  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    Your weighing actually looks like it's probably pretty accurate

    the less weight you have to lose, the longer it takes. patience is the name of the game. keep doing what youre doing.
  • Whiskeytub
    Whiskeytub Posts: 96 Member
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    NoIdea101NoIdea wrote: »

    I have found in the past when my weight loss has stalled, I have upped my calories by a couple of hundred for a couple of weeks, before going back down again. You may again a little bit, but I have found that when I dropped my calories back down again that came off, plus more. Definitely not sure about the science behind it and I'm not saying it will definitely work, but it has worked for me in the past.
    I no longer attempt to eat as low as 1200 calories daily, but when I did, I also had this experience.

  • jomarise
    jomarise Posts: 10 Member
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    Thank you all - I just needed to check that I wasn't doing something drastically wrong. MFP says my TDEE is 1770. I hadn't thought about increasing to kick start it. I think I will stick with it for a few more weeks before worrying. :)
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    jomarise wrote: »
    Thank you all - I just needed to check that I wasn't doing something drastically wrong. MFP says my TDEE is 1770. I hadn't thought about increasing to kick start it. I think I will stick with it for a few more weeks before worrying. :)

    yeah. no. dont do that. unless youre dead, your metabolism does not need to be kick started. and eating more will not result in losing weight. lol

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