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I seem to be at a standstill with losing

EileenL2015
EileenL2015 Posts: 26 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I have lost 13# since July when I started the fitness pal losing and exercise along with my diet plan. However the last few weeks I seem to be at a standstill and not sure what I am doing wrong.
I was told 1350 calories a day would be correct for my age and activity time. Any suggestions would really be appreciated.
Thanks, Eileen
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Replies

  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    A few weeks doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong.

    If you stay at a standstill, you're eating too much.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    If you aren't losing weight, you're probably eating more than you think. Try a food scale to see if you've been estimating your portions correctly.
  • heatherlewisis
    heatherlewisis Posts: 118 Member
    Just keep doing what you're doing, and I'm sure you'll lose soon... I will sometimes go 2-3 weeks with no loss, and then have a big loss on the next week... It really shouldn't last more than 3 weeks if you're truly sticking to your deficit. If it lasts longer than that, you might want to tighten up your logging and see if you're eating more than you think you are.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Opening your diary might help to get you more specific advice, if you're comfortable doing so.

    These are my general tips. Maybe something will help you out.

    1. If it's been less than 3 weeks or so, don't sweat it! Normal fluctuations happen and unfortunately sometimes we stall for a week or two even when we're doing everything right. Give your body some time to catch up with the changes you're making.

    2. If you aren't already, be sure that you're logging everything. Sometimes people forget about things like veggies, drinks, cooking oils, and condiments. For some people these can add up to enough to halt your weight loss progress.

    3. Consider buying a food scale if you don't already have one. They're about $10-$20 dollars in the US and easily found at places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Measuring cups and spoons are great, but they do come with some degree of inaccuracy. A food scale will be more accurate, and for some people it makes a big difference.

    4. Logging accurately also means choosing accurate entries in the database. There are a lot of user-entered entries that are off. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries.

    5. Recalculate your goals if you haven't lately. As you lose weight your body requires fewer calories to run. Be sure you update your goals every ten pounds or so.

    6. If you're eating back your exercise calories and you're relying on gym machine readouts or MFP's estimates, it might be best to eat back just 50-75% of those. Certain activities tend to be overestimated. If you're using an HRM or activity tracker, it might be a good idea to look into their accuracy and be sure that yours is calibrated properly.

    7. If you're taking any cheat days that go over your calorie limits, it might be best to cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens. Some people go way over their calorie needs without realizing it when they don't track.

    8. If you weigh yourself frequently, consider using a program like trendweight to even out the fluctuations. You could be losing weight but just don't see it because of the daily ups and downs.

    9. Some people just burn fewer calories than the calculators predict. If you continue to have problems after 4-6 weeks, then it might be worth a trip to the doctor or a registered dietitian who can give you more specific advice.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Can you open your diary?
  • taco_inspector
    taco_inspector Posts: 7,223 Member
    This has helped a few people in your position... maybe it can help you a bit (very similar to what @diannethegeek posts above, but with pretty colors :) )
    nrerpuw69ptd.jpg
This discussion has been closed.