Inches but no pounds?

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jpersutte
jpersutte Posts: 6 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Good Afternoon all!

I have been on my weight loss journey since October 2015- I started strong and quickly lost 20 pounds using CICO. Since about November, I have been stuck at 204lbs. I have lost two pant sizes, however the number is not moving at all. I work out about 5 days a week and have been pretty great about my food choices (with a few miss days here and there). Has anyone had this type of experience? How do I get that number moving again?

Replies

  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
    jpersutte wrote: »
    Good Afternoon all!

    I have been on my weight loss journey since October 2015- I started strong and quickly lost 20 pounds using CICO. Since about November, I have been stuck at 204lbs. I have lost two pant sizes, however the number is not moving at all. I work out about 5 days a week and have been pretty great about my food choices (with a few miss days here and there). Has anyone had this type of experience? How do I get that number moving again?

    How accurate are you with your calories (ie - are you weighing and measuring all portions?)

    What's your current calorie goal and activity level?
  • jpersutte
    jpersutte Posts: 6 Member
    My activity level is sedentary as I am stuck in a cube most of my days and my daily goal is 1200.

    I've been really good about measuring portions using a food scale.
  • jpersutte
    jpersutte Posts: 6 Member
    Every bite of everything is logged.
  • chandanista
    chandanista Posts: 986 Member
    You have lost pant sizes but the scale isn't moving?

    For me, the pant sizes would be good enough. Are you sure the scale isn't broken?
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,884 Member
    The scale will go down again but, really, it's just a number. You're still headed in the right direction if your clothes are getting smaller.

    Take measurements as well as weighing yourself. It's a better indication of weight/fat loss anyway.
  • ElizabethOakes2
    ElizabethOakes2 Posts: 1,038 Member
    If your measurements are going down, you're probably doing just fine. If it bothers you and you want to see the scale numbers dropping, too, try finding some time to fit in 20 minutes of movement, walking, dancing, whatever, into your day.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    jpersutte wrote: »
    Good Afternoon all!

    I have been on my weight loss journey since October 2015- I started strong and quickly lost 20 pounds using CICO. Since about November, I have been stuck at 204lbs. I have lost two pant sizes, however the number is not moving at all. I work out about 5 days a week and have been pretty great about my food choices (with a few miss days here and there). Has anyone had this type of experience? How do I get that number moving again?

    Food choices don't matter in this scenario, only food calories. Missed days could really add up.

    Tighten up your logging.

    What are you using to estimate your exercise burns? Exercise machines, MFP, and some fitness trackers tend to overestimate, so if you're eating all that back, there goes your deficit.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Logging issues..you're eating at maintenance

    Delete all your favourites and start again, choosing entries with care and logging carefully after weighing everything
  • scolaris
    scolaris Posts: 2,145 Member
    Yes, you're probably closer to maintenance than you think... I've done much the same. I lost a little over 20 in the fall semester when I joined MFP but I've been plateaued from mid December. I intended to spend a few weeks at maintenance, not six weeks! When I went back and analyzed my weekly deficits I can see that they shrunk. But even with a small steady deficit you will metabolize some fat. I've also continued to lose inches, too. Taking a maintenance break is not a bad thing for your body as it alleviates some of the low grade stressors of dieting. You did this before; you can do it again!
  • jpersutte
    jpersutte Posts: 6 Member
    Orphia wrote: »
    jpersutte wrote: »
    Good Afternoon all!

    I have been on my weight loss journey since October 2015- I started strong and quickly lost 20 pounds using CICO. Since about November, I have been stuck at 204lbs. I have lost two pant sizes, however the number is not moving at all. I work out about 5 days a week and have been pretty great about my food choices (with a few miss days here and there). Has anyone had this type of experience? How do I get that number moving again?

    Food choices don't matter in this scenario, only food calories. Missed days could really add up.

    Tighten up your logging.

    What are you using to estimate your exercise burns? Exercise machines, MFP, and some fitness trackers tend to overestimate, so if you're eating all that back, there goes your deficit.

    I haven't been accounting for gym on MFP speciically because I don't want to see and "eat back" calories lost.
  • jpersutte
    jpersutte Posts: 6 Member
    scolaris wrote: »
    Yes, you're probably closer to maintenance than you think... I've done much the same. I lost a little over 20 in the fall semester when I joined MFP but I've been plateaued from mid December. I intended to spend a few weeks at maintenance, not six weeks! When I went back and analyzed my weekly deficits I can see that they shrunk. But even with a small steady deficit you will metabolize some fat. I've also continued to lose inches, too. Taking a maintenance break is not a bad thing for your body as it alleviates some of the low grade stressors of dieting. You did this before; you can do it again!
    scolaris wrote: »
    Yes, you're probably closer to maintenance than you think... I've done much the same. I lost a little over 20 in the fall semester when I joined MFP but I've been plateaued from mid December. I intended to spend a few weeks at maintenance, not six weeks! When I went back and analyzed my weekly deficits I can see that they shrunk. But even with a small steady deficit you will metabolize some fat. I've also continued to lose inches, too. Taking a maintenance break is not a bad thing for your body as it alleviates some of the low grade stressors of dieting. You did this before; you can do it again!

    Can you explain what "eating at maintenance" means?
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    You have not lost weight since November so you are eating the same number of calories as you are using over the last 3 months

    This does not mean that your maintenance is your daily goal of 1200 but rather that you are not correctly estimating the amount of calories you are eating, this is extremely common ..normal almost ...most people under report their calorie and firmly believe they are logging properly

  • jpersutte
    jpersutte Posts: 6 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    You have not lost weight since November so you are eating the same number of calories as you are using over the last 3 months

    This does not mean that your maintenance is your daily goal of 1200 but rather that you are not correctly estimating the amount of calories you are eating, this is extremely common ..normal almost ...most people under report their calorie and firmly believe they are logging properly

    Gotcha. That makes total sense. I'm still learning all the lingo ;).
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