Taking ages to reach my target weight

zoe271191
zoe271191 Posts: 9 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,

I had a baby 8 months ago and started my diet of 1200 7 and half month ago. I was 11st 6lb and now I am 8st 4lb, so a lost of 45lb. I am 5'1. and my target weight is 7st 6lb. In the past month or so, I haven't been able to lose weight as fast, whereas before I was losing at least 1-3lb a week. Now it taking at least 17 days just to lose 1lb. Does anyone have any advice on how to speed up my weight loss? I am eating the exact same food I have been doing beforehand and I exerciSe 1 hour a day.

Replies

  • blues4miles
    blues4miles Posts: 1,481 Member
    Am I doing the math correctly, you are 116 lbs at 5'1"? That's a healthy weight for your height.

    Yes if you are eating the same it makes sense your weight loss will slow down. Why? Because when you were heavier, your body required more calories just to keep itself going. Now that you have lost weight, it's going to use less. An estimate for your TDEE (BMR + daily activity if you were sedentary) is 1558 based on the stats you provided. So if you were eating 1200 calories you could expect to lose 1 lb every 10 days.

    Since you are at a healthy weight, I think your current weight loss is just fine. Faster weight loss is not recommended because your body will cannibalize muscle after it gets rid of the most fat it can in a certain time period. This is based on how much excess fat you have. Since you are in the healthy range, you have very little excess fat.

    Lastly, you say you are eating the same foods...are you using a food scale? Have you recommitted to get serious about logging recently? It is easy to become complacent. No one wants to hear it, but if you are not losing weight as fast as the math indicates, you are probably eating more than you think. I don't think that's a bad thing though. You are at a healthy weight. You should be aiming for .25 - .5 lbs a week at most. Maybe focus more on resistance training and getting fit at this point as well as transitioning into maintenance.
  • zoe271191
    zoe271191 Posts: 9 Member
    Yes, that's right I am 116lb and I understand that is a healthy weight but I still don't feel happy at this weight. I do use scales and I do track my food, it really has not changed. What you explained about the body not needing as many calories the more weight you lose does make sense, so would you suggest I drop my calories to 800-1000 just so I am able to get this last 11lb off?
  • zoe271191
    zoe271191 Posts: 9 Member
    Is it possible that I am having a plateau or is this just a myth with no real science behind it?
  • chandanista
    chandanista Posts: 986 Member
    I'd suggest upping expenditure (exercise, activity) before lowering calories, since they are already so low.
  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,945 Member
    edited March 2016
    zoe271191 wrote: »
    Yes, that's right I am 116lb and I understand that is a healthy weight but I still don't feel happy at this weight. I do use scales and I do track my food, it really has not changed. What you explained about the body not needing as many calories the more weight you lose does make sense, so would you suggest I drop my calories to 800-1000 just so I am able to get this last 11lb off?

    Are you weighing absolutely EVERYTHING solid? Including pre-packaged/pre-portioned foods? Are you choosing accurate entries?

    105 lb puts you at the very bottom end of healthy weight range for your height, which could be fine - everyone's body is a bit different after all :)

    What don't you like about your current weight? Have you been doing any strength training? Often being a little too soft at a certain weight means you have too much fat, and getting into heavy lifting can help reshape your body so you look better.

    Also - are you breastfeeding? That can throw everything out of whack as far as weightloss goes, and I would suggest waiting to make any changes until you're done breastfeeding.

    ~Lyssa
  • Montepulciano
    Montepulciano Posts: 845 Member
    I'd suggest upping expenditure (exercise, activity) before lowering calories, since they are already so low.

    This.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,889 Member
    zoe271191 wrote: »
    Yes, that's right I am 116lb and I understand that is a healthy weight but I still don't feel happy at this weight. I do use scales and I do track my food, it really has not changed. What you explained about the body not needing as many calories the more weight you lose does make sense, so would you suggest I drop my calories to 800-1000 just so I am able to get this last 11lb off?

    Don't eat that little. Instead, accept that the last pounds just will be slower. Or start recomp.
  • MommyL2015
    MommyL2015 Posts: 1,411 Member
    I am 5'1" and about 122 pounds, sloooooowly trying to get down to 115. The smaller you are and the less you weigh, the longer it will take. I don't like going below 1200, so 1200 will give me about .2 per week loss. That means it will take me about 5 weeks to lose 1 pound. That's if I do no extra activity and if I do, I eat about half of those calories back to give me a little bit of a boost.
  • TxTiffani
    TxTiffani Posts: 799 Member
    I have seen some people recommend eating at maintenance calories for a week or two to kind of reset your body and then go back to a deficit:) I can't wait til I'm at 116!
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
    Try cutting carbs to burn fat. Keep below 100 grams/day. :)
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