At what point would you see the doctor about a Plateau in weight loss?
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First, I would not eat back the exercise calories, which you are mostly not doing, so you are right there. Unfortunately things like "very brisk pace" are very subjective, so I would suspect for most people, they are nowhere close to accurate.
Second, I have averaged your 5 last days, and it is about 1750 calories, so you are doing fine. Give yourself a couple of weeks, and reevaluate how things are going, it is too soon.0 -
First, I would not eat back the exercise calories, which you are mostly not doing, so you are right there. Unfortunately things like "very brisk pace" are very subjective, so I would suspect for most people, they are nowhere close to accurate.
Second, I have averaged your 5 last days, and it is about 1750 calories, so you are doing fine. Give yourself a couple of weeks, and reevaluate how things are going, it is too soon.
Thanks, "Very brisk pace" is what my heart rate monitor lists my exercise as. I walk 3.6mph on the treadmill right now. Slowly building speed up there. But, because I have a short stride my steps generally put my mileage count up by 1/2 a mile based on my pedometer. Anyway,my heart rate monitor uploads my calorie burn based off heart rate. So if exercise is added on here it's because it does it automatically. I'm too lazy to try and figure those numbers out on my own.
Plus since I don't try to eat those calories back I don't fret over it too much. This was a odd week with the extra treats though.
Thanks for your input! I'm trying so hard to not fret over that darn scale. After over 2 months of no loss it's hard to do though. This week was pretty typical food wise of how I've been eating over those 2 months. Less eating out normally. But... I'll keep on keeping on.0 -
I would recommend keeping track of carb intake. Look for hidden carbs in your foods and if you are using artificial sweeteners get rid of them...they cause insulin release which then causes you to store energy in fat cells. The other thing that is beneficial for women is some basic weight lifting. Try a trainer for a session to find out how to lift properly because once you know the technique you can lift at home without additional supplies. Getting those leg muscles working for you along with back and chest muscles will assist you in burning more efficiently.
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I would recommend keeping track of carb intake. Look for hidden carbs in your foods and if you are using artificial sweeteners get rid of them...they cause insulin release which then causes you to store energy in fat cells. The other thing that is beneficial for women is some basic weight lifting. Try a trainer for a session to find out how to lift properly because once you know the technique you can lift at home without additional supplies. Getting those leg muscles working for you along with back and chest muscles will assist you in burning more efficiently.
No.
Lifting weights, yes. But the rest, no.
OP, Patience is your best friend. For the first month that I started doing this, it was a roller coaster ride with the scale going up and down, learning how to accuratly weigh and log my food, not seeing "fast enough" results, and I quickly just learned to be patient. I understand you've lost a lot already, so you know what to do.
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About hair loss. I started to take a multivitamin and my hair is now fuller. I was on such low calorie diet, that I guess I was missing some nutrients.0
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If you have a hard time logging accurately, maybe try lowering your calorie goal. It sounds like right now you think you're eating 1700ish, but in reality, it's more. Maybe if you start logging around 1400, you'll end up at 1700 with your inaccurate logging.0
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There's still too much inconsistency and random events.
Find some patience, log meticulously for 6 weeks, weigh yourself every day and average every 7, then plot it out on a piece of paper.
You're not being disciplined enough that's all.0 -
I would recommend keeping track of carb intake. Look for hidden carbs in your foods and if you are using artificial sweeteners get rid of them...they cause insulin release which then causes you to store energy in fat cells. The other thing that is beneficial for women is some basic weight lifting. Try a trainer for a session to find out how to lift properly because once you know the technique you can lift at home without additional supplies. Getting those leg muscles working for you along with back and chest muscles will assist you in burning more efficiently.
Sorry, but many of us eat lots and lots of carbs, and artificial sweeteners (I keep that to minimum as I believe they interfere with gut flora) and we are the leanest and fittest people here.
I was 30%+ body fat after years of low carb attempts. Now I'm sub 20%, and was 15% last year, all the while munching every kind of carb including alcohol.
Insulin release is very important after weight training to transport amino acid into the muscle cells.
No need to worry about it if you're non diabetic unless you're carbs are driving you over your calorie limit.
Muscle unfortunately doesn't burn that much more than other tissue. But it makes you look good.
It always comes down to calorie control, unfortunately for us foodies.0 -
Okay, y'all.
One week into logging more carefully. Not perfectly yet because of Valentine's Day we ate out twice and my husband brought home doughnuts. I didn't have any clue how to log those so I went with the numbers closest to the website's numbers. However I know those are probably off. Also, last Friday is empty because I had a stomach bug and didn't eat any food that day at all. I only had water and chicken broth and I just didn't bother weighing the broth to log it.
It was a lot of work at first but for the meals where I eat the same things it's easier now. I just change the amount of grams for what I ate that day (who knew store bought eggs could vary so much). Plus it's really fun to find out exactly how many calories are in the meals I prepare for my family.
I'd love to say that logging carefully has changed things and the scale is being friendly. It's not. I'm up .5 a lb from last week. I have an appointment with my doctor next week to have my yearly blood work done and I'll bring up the issues pointed out in this thread then too.
I was under my calorie goal every single day this week. I didn't put anything in my mouth that isn't listed in my logs. Not all of my exercise is shown though. I don't bother wearing the heart rate monitor for yoga most days and I never remember to manually put in exercise.
So before I get too used to logging food this way I'm asking y'all to look over my logs and see if you notice something I'm doing wrong.
I'm not on the verge of giving up or anything like that. I'm happy with the way I eat now. I crave the exercise I do and I feel so much better overall. It would just be nice if the weight would start coming off again.
Thanks again to those of you who have been so kind as to reply to me. I'm off to Pilates class. A one on one session on a machine. I'm a bit terrified. lol
On Wednesday 17 Feb you had "1 slice" of white bread. There's a risky guess.
Same day you had 100 grams of Brown Rice. Just wondering if that was a guess.
High calorie foods like these are the most important things to weigh accurately. If the food entry you've been using doesn't let you log in grams, find or create an entry that does.
Kind regards, and keep trying! This week's loss could also be masked by Time of Month water retention, as is mine.0 -
Give it more time than a week. a .5lb gain is nothing. I gain more than that in a day simply due to eating and drinking. Keep weighing your foods and logging strictly, and come back in one month. No need to cut out carbs as someone suggested up thread. Silly. All I'm saying is, don't give up, and give it more time.0
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I feel for you! It's hard waiting to see results, but they will come if you're patient and consistent. May I ask, what are you drinking all day long? I notice you mention coffee and creamer first thing, but that's the last beverage I see...are you drinking any juices, yummy beverages, hot chocolates or chocolate milk....I ask because my one French Vanilla from Tim Hortons today was 430 calories....That's a HUGE number if I weren't to log it. And If one weren't to log something like that every single day, that little liquid cup of heaven would add up fast!0
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JustMissTracy wrote: »I feel for you! It's hard waiting to see results, but they will come if you're patient and consistent. May I ask, what are you drinking all day long? I notice you mention coffee and creamer first thing, but that's the last beverage I see...are you drinking any juices, yummy beverages, hot chocolates or chocolate milk....I ask because my one French Vanilla from Tim Hortons today was 430 calories....That's a HUGE number if I weren't to log it. And If one weren't to log something like that every single day, that little liquid cup of heaven would add up fast!
Just now checking this thread and seeing the last few replies. @JustMissTracy Other then coffee I was only drinking water otherwise. I've added in tea a couple of times a day now and that shows in my recent logs. I do add honey to that but measure it with the teaspoon I keep in my jar of local honey.
Drinking my calories is a large part of what got me to my highest weight. So I pretty much only drink water now. lol
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On Wednesday 17 Feb you had "1 slice" of white bread. There's a risky guess.
Same day you had 100 grams of Brown Rice. Just wondering if that was a guess.
High calorie foods like these are the most important things to weigh accurately. If the food entry you've been using doesn't let you log in grams, find or create an entry that does.
Kind regards, and keep trying! This week's loss could also be masked by Time of Month water retention, as is mine.[/quote]
@Orphia
Sorry I'm just seeing this. The Rice I weigh out. I pre-make my lunches on Sundays and keep the rice and meat stored in the freezer so I can just grab it and heat it up.
The slice of toast in the morning is the only thing I don't weigh these days. Since it's just a slice from a pre-sliced loaf of bread I found each slice only varies by a gram when I tried weighing them each morning so I figured just logging one slice of that brand was close enough.
Since I monitor my blood sugar I can't really go over on carbs and not notice it when i test my 1 hour number after eating.0 -
Your entries are still inaccurate.
'pork loin'... what does that even mean? Is it cooked, is it raw, did you trim the fat?
Butter... you use a lot of butter. 8g of butter is not 34 calories but closer to 60.
And your rice - weigh it raw. Those 'cooked rice' entries on MFP underestimate calories by a lot (close to 30% last time I checked).
For the honey, I would weigh it, personally.
And yeah there are days that were not logged. I know I could easily undo at least a few days of deficit by going overboard and not logging one day.
So yeah, I think it's mostly an issue with your logging (and I also highly doubt that you're burning as many calories as you think from exercise).
But it still wouldn't hurt to get yourself checked out if you still haven't lost weight since you started this thread.0 -
Thought I'd update this thread since you all were so helpful to me.
Saw my doctor for my yearly physical yesterday. Took in with me my ridiculous notebook of of calories eaten, calories burned, blood sugar measurements of fasting and each meal and daily weight. Yes, I write it all in one notebook in hopes I can find trends or something.
Anyway, she's referring me to a endocrinologist and I should be getting a call Monday morning to set that appointment up.
My Iron level is still very low and all my other symptoms are the same. She said it's obvious that something is going on.
I've lost tiny bits the last two weeks and am back at the lower end of where my weight has hung out since the first of December. But I can't seem to fall below that number.
I'm frustrated with the scale but otherwise I feel pretty good about my health. I have weighed and measured on the 2nd of every month. December, January, February, and March. All 4 months my weight was 272 point something. However, between December and March I've lost 3 inches from my waist and hips, 4 from my chest and various other amounts between 1-2 inches on my thighs and arms. So all my hard work is showing just not on the scale.
I'll update again after I see the endocrinologist.
Note... I didn't log a single thing yesterday because my doctor told me to take a break from it all. She thinks I'm obsessing a bit too much. Exercise was logged because my heart rate monitor does that on it's own. Food yesterday was pretty much the same as normal for a Friday for me though. Since my blood sugar was normal all day I'm guessing my calories were the within range but truly since I didn't log I don't know that for sure.
Otherwise my logging is pretty much spot on. The "slice of bread" I explained above. For that I just went with the entry I could find closest to the information on the bread bag. I've found all slices of bread of this brand weigh within a gram of each other and most are normally the same weight. I suppose since I eat it daily I should find a better entry for it though.0 -
Thought I'd update this thread since you all were so helpful to me.
Saw my doctor for my yearly physical yesterday. Took in with me my ridiculous notebook of of calories eaten, calories burned, blood sugar measurements of fasting and each meal and daily weight. Yes, I write it all in one notebook in hopes I can find trends or something.
Anyway, she's referring me to a endocrinologist and I should be getting a call Monday morning to set that appointment up.
My Iron level is still very low and all my other symptoms are the same. She said it's obvious that something is going on.
I've lost tiny bits the last two weeks and am back at the lower end of where my weight has hung out since the first of December. But I can't seem to fall below that number.
I'm frustrated with the scale but otherwise I feel pretty good about my health. I have weighed and measured on the 2nd of every month. December, January, February, and March. All 4 months my weight was 272 point something. However, between December and March I've lost 3 inches from my waist and hips, 4 from my chest and various other amounts between 1-2 inches on my thighs and arms. So all my hard work is showing just not on the scale.
I'll update again after I see the endocrinologist.
Note... I didn't log a single thing yesterday because my doctor told me to take a break from it all. She thinks I'm obsessing a bit too much. Exercise was logged because my heart rate monitor does that on it's own. Food yesterday was pretty much the same as normal for a Friday for me though. Since my blood sugar was normal all day I'm guessing my calories were the within range but truly since I didn't log I don't know that for sure.
Otherwise my logging is pretty much spot on. The "slice of bread" I explained above. For that I just went with the entry I could find closest to the information on the bread bag. I've found all slices of bread of this brand weigh within a gram of each other and most are normally the same weight. I suppose since I eat it daily I should find a better entry for it though.
Ok read my post above about your logging. Your issue isn't the logging, it's the entries that you use.
Otherwise, good luck, I hope you get some answers!0 -
@Francl27
Thanks. Off to find a better butter entry. lol The pork loin I just went with what was closest to the info on the pack of raw meat. I just baked it without anything added other then salt. So I didn't add any calories to it.
I don't expect it to be exact really. I figure that I'm off by 100-200 calories each day just because of the entries and not having to time to double check info.
At my size (5'6" and 272 lbs) I should still be loosing weight even if I increased what is eaten by 200 calories.
It's about to drive me crazy. Hubby is threatening to take away all the scales. It drives him nuts that I weigh everything before eating it.
Anyway, thanks for pointing out the butter thing. I'm surprised that slipped past me. 0 -
After tightening up your logging you may wish to look at your exercise. You are 80-odd pounds lighter. Therefore when you walk the same distance as before you are burning less calories. So gradually increase your distance, increase your speed and increase your incline. But not all at once. One of these each day ie Mon-speed, Wed. incline and Friday distance. Add in some new activities. Take the kids out biking or for a hike or go fly kitses. Take everyone swimming or kick a soccer ball around.0
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I apologize if this has been said in this thread already, but I noticed you mentioned the time it takes to log super accurately being a bit of a crunch in your situation. If you have a smartphone and can get the MFP app for it, I find that scanning the barcodes on the foods I eat makes logging lots faster and a little easier to find the correct entries. You still have to double check the nutrition info between package and app, of course, but it might save you a little time and help you get on track with finding the most accurate available entries for your foods. Good luck figuring out exactly what's going on! 0
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The hair loss, the absence of weight loss and fatigue issues all suggest that you may need a few weeks of eating at a higher level (and a better variety). You've been dieting well, lost a lot and breaks are needed to allow the body to reestablish hormonal balance.
You may indeed be the rare case of under eating sand not losing weight due to bloating.
Look to your macro goals - make sure you get enough protein and fat.
And yes, see your doctor, other conditions could be responsible for these issues.
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No such thing as a plateau. It is just simply eating at a maintenance level0
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blues4miles wrote: »I'm exhausted all the time, freezing cold and randomly loosing a lot of hair. That has been going on since October. Which made me wonder if it had something to do with why the scale isn't moving.
Well that's concerning...have you had your thyroid checked recently? The cold could be from weight loss and the exhaustion could be from eating at a deficit while working out...but hair loss is not normal.
They checked it back in August I think. Could look up the date to be sure. I had small bald spots on my eyebrows and was loosing a lot of hair. Reminded me of what I went through after each of my 4 kids were born.
My main doctor was out on maternity leave so I had to see someone else in the practice. She sort of brushed everything off as I need to lose weight. She did run a blood test to check my thyroid level. The doctor told me it was on the lower end of fine but nothing to be worried about. Then told me I am low in B12. I've been anemic since I was a teenager and first had it checked. I'm also Vit D low. Very low at the time but that was up close to a low normal in December.
Anyway the doctor I had to see said it was all because I needed to lose more weight and eat and healthier diet. She said that cutting carbs and being low in B12, Iron and Vit D would make your hair fall out and since I did cut my carb amounts a lot to control my blood sugar I just went with that.
It goes through periods of falling out and not growing and then all of a sudden I have tons of "baby hairs" and things seem normal. 3 or 4 weeks later it's coming out in handfulls again. I was blessed to have very thick hair so it's only noticeable to me and my hairdresser. Especially since my hair dresser cut it shorter to help conceal it.
Because you are focusing on carbs and blood sugar, I assume you are diabetic (or at least pre-diabetic). If so, are you on metformin? There is some evidence that long term, metformin interferes with B12 absorption. I'm glad your doctor recommended an endocrinologist, who can help with both diabetic and thyroid issues. Be patient: often it takes time to get thyroid issues under control.
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[/quote]
Because you are focusing on carbs and blood sugar, I assume you are diabetic (or at least pre-diabetic). If so, are you on metformin? There is some evidence that long term, metformin interferes with B12 absorption. I'm glad your doctor recommended an endocrinologist, who can help with both diabetic and thyroid issues. Be patient: often it takes time to get thyroid issues under control.
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@theocine
Yes Type 2 diabetic. Technically on my medical file I'm just pre-diabetic but my doctor says that is a case of "6 of one, half dozen of the other". Especially given my family history on my dad's side of the family. I was diagnosed last March with a A1C of 6.6 and was on Metformin for 6mths. I've been off the Metformin since September. Last A1C in December was 5.4 just with diet and exercise.
Right now I don't take anything but a handful of vitamins that my Dietician and Doctor have either prescribed or put me on.0 -
EvgeniZyntx wrote: »The hair loss, the absence of weight loss and fatigue issues all suggest that you may need a few weeks of eating at a higher level (and a better variety). You've been dieting well, lost a lot and breaks are needed to allow the body to reestablish hormonal balance.
You may indeed be the rare case of under eating sand not losing weight due to bloating.
Look to your macro goals - make sure you get enough protein and fat.
And yes, see your doctor, other conditions could be responsible for these issues.
Thanks @EvgeniSyntx . My doctor hinted at the same thing. Switching my diet up some. Bless her heart she spent a good 45 minutes with me yesterday and went over most of my food logs on here. She thinks it couldn't hurt me to add some variety to my meals and that maybe I should try getting closer to the calorie goal MFP has given me daily for a while.
The thought of that terrifies me though. I certainly don't want to go back to where I was a year ago.
I think my doctor could see that on my face when she mentioned it. lol She told me to just hold steady with what I've been doing until I can see the Endo and then if everything there tests normal I can try adjusting how I eat.
So we'll see.0 -
I lost 71lbs a couple years back but as I lost I had to lower my calories I never ate exercise calories as I never had a hrm I only lost when I dropped my calories I was doing 12 cardio high impact classes a week walking 2 hours 5 days a week gym 3 days a week and c25k on 1500 calories at 170lbs
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I haven't read every comment so sorry if someone has already said this but the hand weights and yoga, and possibly even the walking, are likely to be building muscle and toning you up. This could go some way to explaining your loss of inches but no weight loss because muscle weighs more than fat - in other words you are losing fat but you're gaining muscle. Having said that though, as everyone else has said, being as accurate as you can when logging is the best way to be sure you're getting the right amount of calories and not going over.
On the bright side, you've managed to control your blood sugar, lost 83 pounds, and you at least haven't put any back on overall this year! So congrats!0 -
mischief_managed_22 wrote: »I haven't read every comment so sorry if someone has already said this but the hand weights and yoga, and possibly even the walking, are likely to be building muscle and toning you up. This could go some way to explaining your loss of inches but no weight loss because muscle weighs more than fat - in other words you are losing fat but you're gaining muscle. Having said that though, as everyone else has said, being as accurate as you can when logging is the best way to be sure you're getting the right amount of calories and not going over.
On the bright side, you've managed to control your blood sugar, lost 83 pounds, and you at least haven't put any back on overall this year! So congrats!
No. For starters, muscle is more dense than fat, but a pound of muscle weighs exactly the same as a pound of fat.
Additionally, it is highly unlikely that yoga, hand weights, and walking are causing enough muscle gains to cause weight loss to stall. Building that amount of muscle takes time and heavy lifting.0 -
I could never lose weight on 1600 to 1700 calories. Your body is requiring less calories now. I consult with a registered dietician and my personal physician who recommend 1200 to 1350 calories per day for 2 pound per week weight loss. I studied nutrition in college. My professors recommended changing every other day calorie intake to ensure that metabolism remains stimulated. I vary daily 1200 to 1300 per day and I never plateau. I recommend that you see an internal medicine specialist for a complete blood panel that includes thyroid testing. Other's here may disagree. Each metabolism is unique to every individual. Now that you've lost a great deal of initial weight your body requires less calories to continue weight loss. To confirm. Definitely make an appointment with a physician who is a weight loss specialist.0
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bellabonbons wrote: »I could never lose weight on 1600 to 1700 calories. Your body is requiring less calories now. I consult with a registered dietician and my personal physician who recommend 1200 to 1350 calories per day for 2 pound per week weight loss. I studied nutrition in college. My professors recommended changing every other day calorie intake to ensure that metabolism remains stimulated. I vary daily 1200 to 1300 per day and I never plateau. I recommend that you see an internal medicine specialist for a complete blood panel that includes thyroid testing. Other's here may disagree. Each metabolism is unique to every individual. Now that you've lost a great deal of initial weight your body requires less calories to continue weight loss. To confirm. Definitely make an appointment with a physician who is a weight loss specialist.
Nonsense. I lost all my weight eating 1650 or more.0 -
bellabonbons wrote: »I could never lose weight on 1600 to 1700 calories. Your body is requiring less calories now. I consult with a registered dietician and my personal physician who recommend 1200 to 1350 calories per day for 2 pound per week weight loss. I studied nutrition in college. My professors recommended changing every other day calorie intake to ensure that metabolism remains stimulated. I vary daily 1200 to 1300 per day and I never plateau. I recommend that you see an internal medicine specialist for a complete blood panel that includes thyroid testing. Other's here may disagree. Each metabolism is unique to every individual. Now that you've lost a great deal of initial weight your body requires less calories to continue weight loss. To confirm. Definitely make an appointment with a physician who is a weight loss specialist.
Nonsense. I lost all my weight eating 1650 or more.
I've lost 134lbs eating around 1700.
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