lost weight for a while, now weight loss has slowed and stopped.. HELP!

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rudy336
rudy336 Posts: 66 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
hello all,
in 2014, i lost 25 pounds. i started out at 226 and got down to 201-203 pounds. family member became sick, slacked off, gained about 8 pounds back. i have slowly gotten back into fitness, doing brisk walking as my only form of exercise right now. i am currently on a 1800 calorie a day diet, and i've managed to get back down to 208-210 range. however, i can't seem to lose anymore weight!
any ideas? had to quit doing the weight training at gym was costing me 124.00 a month.

Replies

  • smokebillowing
    smokebillowing Posts: 6 Member
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    If you've stopped doing weights and also stopped losing weight perhaps the two things are linked. Either exercise to burn more calories or eat less calories in the first place. Simples!
  • katherine_startrek_fan
    katherine_startrek_fan Posts: 425 Member
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    Agreed. Can you buy your own set of weights to use at home?
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    You didn't mention how long you've been stalled, but looking through your diary you're eating more than you think. There are generic entries (pasta, and it doesn't have sauce logged either), inaccurate entries (2 cups of Cheerios with skim milk for 150 calories?), no oils logged for when you cooked the steak/eggs/bacon, no sign of a food scale being used.

    Read this thread and start working to tighten up your logging: community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101
  • rudy336
    rudy336 Posts: 66 Member
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    some of the days, (mainly last weekend) was out of town visiting family, had to guess, the steak, eggs and bacon are cooked in a skillet using NO OIL. i am measuring ALL of my food.
  • smokebillowing
    smokebillowing Posts: 6 Member
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    rudy336 wrote: »
    some of the days, (mainly last weekend) was out of town visiting family, had to guess, the steak, eggs and bacon are cooked in a skillet using NO OIL. i am measuring ALL of my food.

    In which case the only answer is to create a higher deficit. Calories in vs calories out man!
  • rudy336
    rudy336 Posts: 66 Member
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    anything below 1600 calories and im STARVING all day long. i use scales and weigh my food. i was off my diet for about 4 to 5 months and just started back about a month ago. thanks for your suggestions everyone
  • smokebillowing
    smokebillowing Posts: 6 Member
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    rudy336 wrote: »
    anything below 1600 calories and im STARVING all day long. i use scales and weigh my food. i was off my diet for about 4 to 5 months and just started back about a month ago. thanks for your suggestions everyone

    Try to eat lower calorie foods so you can have more. Also drink loads of water, makes you feel full! And eat slower.
  • maxit
    maxit Posts: 880 Member
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    Consuming 1800 calories a day should lead to a weight loss for someone of your size, I would think. And you say you don't want to cut calories further (which makes total sense to me if in fact all your tracking is pretty accurate). I guess the only answer really is to move (walk) more each day. And find some heavy things to lift so that you maintain lean mass as much as possible. If you are still stalled in another month then somehow you are eating at maintenance ....
  • nosebag1212
    nosebag1212 Posts: 621 Member
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    at 200 lbs you should be able to lose off 1800 cals easy, that is if you're actually eating 1800 and not more
  • marksuh
    marksuh Posts: 5 Member
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    Hey Rudy, I was in the same boat 2 years ago until I learned the importance of making sure you have or cheat days where you reward yourself. Do you already do this? If you keep eating at a calorie deficit your body will adapt by lowering your metabolism to protect itself. Once I started adding off days I would lose 1 pound a week but it was always 2 or 3 days after my off day that I would lose the weight. Basically you gotta trick your body into thinking it's going to get more food so your metabolism shoots up then cut it back the rest of the week while the metabolism is revving high. There's a lot of science behind it and it makes sense. Usually the first 10-20 pounds is the easiest. Then it gets tricky. I've been going from 180-220 for the last 10 years. It's a constant battle for me. There are tons of articles you can read but here's one that I'm experimenting with right now. http://fourhourworkweek.com/2007/04/06/how-to-lose-20-lbs-of-fat-in-30-days-without-doing-any-exercise/
    I just had back surgery 2 months ago and I'm limited in the gym right now so this program looked right up my alley.
  • jonathansilas1984
    jonathansilas1984 Posts: 36 Member
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    Switch things up if you get stuck. Try Intermittent Fasting. I skip breakfast, have a veggi smoothie for lunch and then have the bulk of my calories available at night. Lets you get that Stuffed feeling once a day,
  • DeterminedFee201426
    DeterminedFee201426 Posts: 859 Member
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    marksuh wrote: »
    Hey Rudy, I was in the same boat 2 years ago until I learned the importance of making sure you have or cheat days where you reward yourself. Do you already do this? If you keep eating at a calorie deficit your body will adapt by lowering your metabolism to protect itself. Once I started adding off days I would lose 1 pound a week but it was always 2 or 3 days after my off day that I would lose the weight. Basically you gotta trick your body into thinking it's going to get more food so your metabolism shoots up then cut it back the rest of the week while the metabolism is revving high. There's a lot of science behind it and it makes sense. Usually the first 10-20 pounds is the easiest. Then it gets tricky. I've been going from 180-220 for the last 10 years. It's a constant battle for me. There are tons of articles you can read but here's one that I'm experimenting with right now. http://fourhourworkweek.com/2007/04/06/how-to-lose-20-lbs-of-fat-in-30-days-without-doing-any-exercise/
    I just had back surgery 2 months ago and I'm limited in the gym right now so this program looked right up my alley.
    This about >>>Basically you gotta trick your body into thinking it's going to get more food so your metabolism shoots up then cut it back the rest of the week while the metabolism is revving high.
    So true i've done this before. i did 2 days of overeating like really eating as much as i want , and to my surprise I had losted a lb each of them days i was so surprised!
    i been trying to do it again but its not easy for me now.Ibeen having a bit of a rough time even getting pass 1900 calories :/ I'll have my day , just gonna take a little while.

  • DogRiverDude
    DogRiverDude Posts: 433 Member
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    DeterminedFee201426 wrote: »
    marksuh wrote: »
    Hey Rudy, I was in the same boat 2 years ago until I learned the importance of making sure you have or cheat days where you reward yourself. Do you already do this? If you keep eating at a calorie deficit your body will adapt by lowering your metabolism to protect itself. Once I started adding off days I would lose 1 pound a week but it was always 2 or 3 days after my off day that I would lose the weight. Basically you gotta trick your body into thinking it's going to get more food so your metabolism shoots up then cut it back the rest of the week while the metabolism is revving high. There's a lot of science behind it and it makes sense. Usually the first 10-20 pounds is the easiest. Then it gets tricky. I've been going from 180-220 for the last 10 years. It's a constant battle for me. There are tons of articles you can read but here's one that I'm experimenting with right now. http://fourhourworkweek.com/2007/04/06/how-to-lose-20-lbs-of-fat-in-30-days-without-doing-any-exercise/
    I just had back surgery 2 months ago and I'm limited in the gym right now so this program looked right up my alley.
    This about >>>Basically you gotta trick your body into thinking it's going to get more food so your metabolism shoots up then cut it back the rest of the week while the metabolism is revving high.
    So true i've done this before. i did 2 days of overeating like really eating as much as i want , and to my surprise I had losted a lb each of them days i was so surprised!
    i been trying to do it again but its not easy for me now.Ibeen having a bit of a rough time even getting pass 1900 calories :/ I'll have my day , just gonna take a little while.

    Um, this sure DID NOT work when I devoured 10,000 calories in two days. It took a full week at 1500 calories / day just to get back to my pre 10,000 calorie spree. So it was a full week lost (when I actually could have been losing.

    OP... my suggestion is similar to "smokebillowing"; lower calorie dense foods. Low fat protein and lots of veggies.
  • mandalynne
    mandalynne Posts: 13 Member
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    marksuh wrote: »
    Hey Rudy, I was in the same boat 2 years ago until I learned the importance of making sure you have or cheat days where you reward yourself. Do you already do this? If you keep eating at a calorie deficit your body will adapt by lowering your metabolism to protect itself. Once I started adding off days I would lose 1 pound a week but it was always 2 or 3 days after my off day that I would lose the weight. Basically you gotta trick your body into thinking it's going to get more food so your metabolism shoots up then cut it back the rest of the week while the metabolism is revving high. There's a lot of science behind it and it makes sense. Usually the first 10-20 pounds is the easiest. Then it gets tricky. I've been going from 180-220 for the last 10 years. It's a constant battle for me. There are tons of articles you can read but here's one that I'm experimenting with right now. http://fourhourworkweek.com/2007/04/06/how-to-lose-20-lbs-of-fat-in-30-days-without-doing-any-exercise/
    I just had back surgery 2 months ago and I'm limited in the gym right now so this program looked right up my alley.

    I do this once a week. Usually one weekend day I will eat what I want (within reason) and not worry about my goals for the day. But, still track your food as you don't want to break that habit. Sometimes when I hit plateaus, switching up the fitness routine will get things going too.

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