Why is the last 14 pounds SOOOO much harder than the first 86 pounds?
JunoBeachVan
Posts: 10 Member
Total plateau here. In the first 9 months of diet and exercise, I lost about 86 pounds. For the last 6, I haven't really lost any (+/- 2 pounds on any given week).
While it's great that I haven't rollercoastered up, I'm still on 1200 calories a day, and run 5-8 km 3-4 days a week. It doesn't make any sense. I don't give myself "cheat days", and even on days I go over 1200, the MOST is 1600... and then I'll usually put on a pound.
I even use a food scale and measuring cups to make sure I'm not under-counting my calories.
The wife thinks my frustration is not realistic, that I should be happy with where I've come, but c'mon... is my body really telling me that I need to stay on 1200-1400 calories for the rest of my life just to maintain my weight (even with the exercise), and that I'll never get down to my college weight again? ARGH!
While it's great that I haven't rollercoastered up, I'm still on 1200 calories a day, and run 5-8 km 3-4 days a week. It doesn't make any sense. I don't give myself "cheat days", and even on days I go over 1200, the MOST is 1600... and then I'll usually put on a pound.
I even use a food scale and measuring cups to make sure I'm not under-counting my calories.
The wife thinks my frustration is not realistic, that I should be happy with where I've come, but c'mon... is my body really telling me that I need to stay on 1200-1400 calories for the rest of my life just to maintain my weight (even with the exercise), and that I'll never get down to my college weight again? ARGH!
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Replies
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You're a man eating 1,200 calories a day and running regularly? Are you sure you don't have logging issues? That isn't much at all.0
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That is what happens when you eat so little, now yo have no where to go!! You need to eat at your maintenance calories for awhile. Reverse dieting.0
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Find the eat more to lose weight group. They will walk you through upping your calories, switching up your routine, and getting back on track. You will probably gain a few pounds while your metabolism evens out, but then you can get on a reasonable deficit and start losing again.
I am a 40 y/o woman who ate 1800-2000 calories a day on average, never hit a plateau and lost 45 pounds in 11 months. You need to fuel your body.0 -
There is no way you are eating 1200 calories and running 5-8km and not losing weight. Running 5-8km burns ~300-500 calories. I might believe you if you turn around and tell me that you are 4'6". My wife is 5'2" and is losing 1lb/week on 1400 calories with no real exercise.
There is no such thing as starving yourself into maintenance. If there was, we wouldn't have people starving to death and malnutritioned anorexics.
Also, eating an extra 400 calories for 1-2 days does not cause a 1lb fat gain. Maybe some water weight fluctuation and a tiny bit extra solid waste, but not 1lb of fat.
You are logging incorrectly AND you need to reset your understanding on how weight gain/loss works. There is a lot of good information on this forum. Maybe go read the thread stickies - http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10260537/most-helpful-posts-general-diet-and-weight-loss-help-must-reads#latest0 -
I don't know, but I am in almost exactly the same boat, down to the pound.
Just keep rowing.
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nordlead2005 wrote: »There is no way you are eating 1200 calories and running 5-8km and not losing weight. Running 5-8km burns ~300-500 calories. I might believe you if you turn around and tell me that you are 4'6". My wife is 5'2" and is losing 1lb/week on 1400 calories with no real exercise.
There is no such thing as starving yourself into maintenance. If there was, we wouldn't have people starving to death and malnutritioned anorexics.
Also, eating an extra 400 calories for 1-2 days does not cause a 1lb fat gain. Maybe some water weight fluctuation and a tiny bit extra solid waste, but not 1lb of fat.
You are logging incorrectly AND you need to reset your understanding on how weight gain/loss works. There is a lot of good information on this forum. Maybe go read the thread stickies - http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10260537/most-helpful-posts-general-diet-and-weight-loss-help-must-reads#latest
Yeah it's very odd indeed.0 -
OP is either severely undereating, or severely underestimating his calories. If he is screwing up that badly on the logging, (and we're probably talking 1000+ calories per day off) how did he lose 86 pounds?
Can you open your diary JunoBeachVan?0 -
OP, it's tough to say without more info. Absent an underlying medical condition, it would be difficult for a male to maintain a 1200-1400 calorie diet with 3-4 cardio days a week and not lose weight, especially over a 6-month stretch. Could you open your diary? It might help shed some light on the issue.0
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Yeah those are good suggestions. Your calories seem way low.0
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OP is either severely undereating, or severely underestimating his calories. If he is screwing up that badly on the logging, (and we're probably talking 1000+ calories per day off) how did he lose 86 pounds?
Can you open your diary JunoBeachVan?
It doesn't have to just be that his logging is off by 1000+ calories per day from day 1. It could have been more accurate in the past, he can also have short memory about his weight loss, and TDEE would have naturally dropped as he shed weight.
Just as a personal example, I feel like I haven't lost weight in forever and been stuck at 189lb. Turns out I have lost weight and exactly as expected (in the long run), but thanks to where I am in water weight flucations I went from being at an artificially low weight to an artificially high weight. I should start swinging back into faster than planned weight loss soon. If it wasn't for my weekly review of past results I could easily trick myself into thinking I couldn't lose weight at ~2000 calories.0 -
nordlead2005 wrote: »OP is either severely undereating, or severely underestimating his calories. If he is screwing up that badly on the logging, (and we're probably talking 1000+ calories per day off) how did he lose 86 pounds?
Can you open your diary JunoBeachVan?
It doesn't have to just be that his logging is off by 1000+ calories per day from day 1. It could have been more accurate in the past, he can also have short memory about his weight loss, and TDEE would have naturally dropped as he shed weight.
Just as a personal example, I feel like I haven't lost weight in forever and been stuck at 189lb. Turns out I have lost weight and exactly as expected (in the long run), but thanks to where I am in water weight flucations I went from being at an artificially low weight to an artificially high weight. I should start swinging back into faster than planned weight loss soon. If it wasn't for my weekly review of past results I could easily trick myself into thinking I couldn't lose weight at ~2000 calories.
You make some fair points. Something doesn't add up here for sure.
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tincanonastring wrote: »OP, it's tough to say without more info. Absent an underlying medical condition, it would be difficult for a male to maintain a 1200-1400 calorie diet with 3-4 cardio days a week and not lose weight, especially over a 6-month stretch. Could you open your diary? It might help shed some light on the issue.
I think that the OP has diabetes.
Why does everybody here immediately jump to the conclusion that nobody has any health problems?0 -
OP didn't say anything about a health condition, which is why I didn't address it in my posts to him.0
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azulvioleta6 wrote: »tincanonastring wrote: »OP, it's tough to say without more info. Absent an underlying medical condition, it would be difficult for a male to maintain a 1200-1400 calorie diet with 3-4 cardio days a week and not lose weight, especially over a 6-month stretch. Could you open your diary? It might help shed some light on the issue.
I think that the OP has diabetes.
Why does everybody here immediately jump to the conclusion that nobody has any health problems?
Because even with diabetes, an overweight (I assume, by virtue of his needing to lose more weight) male running 5-8 km 3-4x per week would lose weight 1200 gross calories per day.0 -
azulvioleta6 wrote: »tincanonastring wrote: »OP, it's tough to say without more info. Absent an underlying medical condition, it would be difficult for a male to maintain a 1200-1400 calorie diet with 3-4 cardio days a week and not lose weight, especially over a 6-month stretch. Could you open your diary? It might help shed some light on the issue.
I think that the OP has diabetes.
Why does everybody here immediately jump to the conclusion that nobody has any health problems?
What about the OP makes you believe he has diabetes?
Why don't people here learn some reading comprehension? "Absent an underlying medical condition..." OP said nothing about having diabetes or any other medical condition, so I framed my statement in a manner that indicated my comment was dependent on there being no health problems. If OP would like to clarify, he is more than free to do so.
Why does everybody here immediately jump to the conclusion that someone who isn't losing weight has a health problem?0 -
Have we even established if the OP is accurately logging?
OP, are you using a food scale and weighing everything?0 -
azulvioleta6 wrote: »I think that the OP has diabetes.
Yes, I am Type 2 diabetic (on Metformin), diagnosed summer 2014. This is what spurred the dieting and exercise. My A1c is now down from 11.6 (in August 2014) to 5.2 last month.
Yes, using a Salter food scale for everything that isn't already pre-determined (ie. something with the calories already declared on it).
I also use a Fitbit and a Fitbit Aria scale.
Let me try to figure out how to share my diary.0 -
JunoBeachVan wrote: »azulvioleta6 wrote: »I think that the OP has diabetes.
Yes, I am Type 2 diabetic (on Metformin), diagnosed summer 2014. This is what spurred the dieting and exercise. My A1c is now down from 11.6 (in August 2014) to 5.2 last month.
Yes, using a Salter food scale for everything that isn't already pre-determined (ie. something with the calories already declared on it).
I also use a Fitbit and a Fitbit Aria scale.
Let me try to figure out how to share my diary.
Food tab --> Settings --> scroll down and change to "Public." Can always change it back later.
ETA: Congrats on your progress so far!!0 -
JunoBeachVan wrote: »azulvioleta6 wrote: »I think that the OP has diabetes.
Yes, I am Type 2 diabetic (on Metformin), diagnosed summer 2014. This is what spurred the dieting and exercise. My A1c is now down from 11.6 (in August 2014) to 5.2 last month.
Yes, using a Salter food scale for everything that isn't already pre-determined (ie. something with the calories already declared on it).
I also use a Fitbit and a Fitbit Aria scale.
Let me try to figure out how to share my diary.
Thanks for clarifying, OP, and for being open.
Have your doctors given you recommendations on calorie totals?
ETA: You should check the weight of packaged food, too. The serving size is normally listed as 1 package (for example), but it should also give you a gram weight. I've found that packages aren't always to be trusted. I had a yogurt today that was listed as 150g and was actually 158g. Doesn't sound like a lot, but it's over a 5% difference. If you're eating a lot of packaged food, you'll want to be cautious, especially if you're trying to get past a plateau.0 -
JunoBeachVan wrote: »azulvioleta6 wrote: »I think that the OP has diabetes.
Yes, I am Type 2 diabetic (on Metformin), diagnosed summer 2014. This is what spurred the dieting and exercise. My A1c is now down from 11.6 (in August 2014) to 5.2 last month.
Yes, using a Salter food scale for everything that isn't already pre-determined (ie. something with the calories already declared on it).
I also use a Fitbit and a Fitbit Aria scale.
Let me try to figure out how to share my diary.
(1) I would not assume that a pre-measured food is the size it's advertised as. If you're having trouble continuing to lose at such a low intake, I would measure and log EVERYTHING, just to rule that out.
(2) You may be overestimating your burn for exercise. Are you "eating back" exercise calories?
(3) All that being said, it's still surprising for you to not lose at that amount. Do you ever find yourself sleep walking or anything like that?0 -
JunoBeachVan wrote: »
Yes, using a Salter food scale for everything that isn't already pre-determined (ie. something with the calories already declared on it).
This is most likely a big part of the problem. Weigh everything. Someone above gave an example of yogurt; that happens to me all the time too. I eat Chobani yogurt almost daily and a serving is 150g. My servings in the past seven days have been 157g, 148g, 151g, 152g, 158g, 150g, 152g. As you can see, it's rarely ever an exact 150g. Every gram adds up. My protein bars are often 8g over the package weight and that's an extra 20-30 calories right there. Even with diabetes, you should be losing if everything you state is true.
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I've gotten halfway to my goal weight and I look so much better than I did 30 pounds ago (I'm 5'2") that I've been lagging a bit. I've been basically the same weight for six weeks, but I know I've been sloppy in logging and not exercising nearly as much as I had been. But I am back on the bandwagon now . . . and it might take me four weeks to start seeing a difference. Best of luck to you.0
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I heard u have to double the exercise u do if u do 30 mins try doin 60 mins im at same stage I work out everyday same as I did from the start and from loosing a stone a month im down to loosing 1 to 2 pound of month0
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