30 days in and I see weight is hovering static ...

jcrobbinsdfw
jcrobbinsdfw Posts: 4 Member
edited December 1 in Health and Weight Loss
I started logging my meals (every meal, all day) since March 28th. About a month before then I started cutting back on my portions and then I started the log. I have been consistently eating about a 20%-30% deficit from my TDEE ... I saw about a 12 lbs loss within 3 weeks but since then the weight has stayed the same? FYI, I also bought and track my weight daily on a Withings scale so I see it each day ...

Is this static weight after an initial loss normal? I am eating roughly the same calories (and mix of food) as I was when I started March 28th, but the weight loss seems to have stopped ... hasn't come back either so that's something.

Just wanted to see what other people think about this ???

Replies

  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    Are you weighing all solid and semi solid food you're consuming on a food scale in grams? Can you please open your diary?
  • jcrobbinsdfw
    jcrobbinsdfw Posts: 4 Member
    I'm not weighing my food, just me ... for the food I'm using the vast database of MyFitnessPal and selecting the item, or scanning the bar code, or finding a "similar" item. I am adjusting the serving size (as best I can visually judge) based on what I am actually eating.

    I'm heavier than I should be but I'm not doing this for dire health needs (I'm trying to prevent them) ... overall my blood #'s are generally good and I feel fine ... I just want there to be less of me.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    There are mistakes that people commonly make that cause them to not lose weight that we might be able to spot if you change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    edited May 2016
    I'm not weighing my food, just me ... for the food I'm using the vast database of MyFitnessPal and selecting the item, or scanning the bar code, or finding a "similar" item. I am adjusting the serving size (as best I can visually judge) based on what I am actually eating.

    I'm heavier than I should be but I'm not doing this for dire health needs (I'm trying to prevent them) ... overall my blood #'s are generally good and I feel fine ... I just want there to be less of me.
    Definitely start weighing food. It really does help. I personally wasn't losing weight until I started weighing food. Weighing food ensures that you get the right volume of food for the calories entered. I weigh everything including bread slices and eggs...he database lists 1 large egg as 50g, but some of the eggs in the package I have now are close to 70g. Big difference. Bar code scanning isn't accurate as it brings up user generated entries which can be off, and that adds up over time. Weigh all your food and chose the most accurate database entries based on the food labels. Use entries with grams instead of cups/spoons, and only use cups for liquids.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    edited May 2016
    I'm not weighing my food, just me ... for the food I'm using the vast database of MyFitnessPal and selecting the item, or scanning the bar code, or finding a "similar" item. I am adjusting the serving size (as best I can visually judge) based on what I am actually eating.

    I'm heavier than I should be but I'm not doing this for dire health needs (I'm trying to prevent them) ... overall my blood #'s are generally good and I feel fine ... I just want there to be less of me.

    You are eating more than you think.

    https://youtu.be/vjKPIcI51lU
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
  • jcrobbinsdfw
    jcrobbinsdfw Posts: 4 Member
    Wow, these are all great information ... I loved those videos and do see how weighing would be far more accurate.

    If I was doing this for health reasons (ie, my blood pressure and cholesterol was at danger levels) or I developed some other potentially fatal decease then I could see diving head first into this level of commitment on food intake. But this scale of commitment is well advanced than what I'm doing now ... I would say the weighing food on a digital scale for every meal would be a level 7-8 (8-10 would be no syrup, creamer, dressing, etc) ... I'm at a level 2-3.

    But I do appreciate the information ... thank you
  • DisneyDude85
    DisneyDude85 Posts: 428 Member
    You're right. Continue doing what you are doing (that appears to have stopped working) and disregard the advice that you asked for. Virtually Everyone on this site who has had success weighed their food to accurately log what they ate.
  • jcrobbinsdfw
    jcrobbinsdfw Posts: 4 Member
    that's why I think MyFitnessPal has the best database ... so many people adjust and "keep it honest" ... I view it almost like Wikipedia, it is not 100% accurate and while there are items and facts that are wrong, there are enough basic's and overall ideas, concepts, and fact checkers that I think the end result will be acceptable since I'm just looking to be in the ballpark.

    Thanks
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    So it's been 3 weeks with no loss? I'd drop your calories at this point. No matter how you're measuring, you are at or close enough to maintenance that your weight loss has stalled or slowed greatly. Eating less is the next step.
  • LazSommer
    LazSommer Posts: 1,851 Member
    You're right. Continue doing what you are doing (that appears to have stopped working) and disregard the advice that you asked for. Virtually Everyone on this site who has had success weighed their food to accurately log what they ate.

    Nice.
  • capaul42
    capaul42 Posts: 1,390 Member
    Weighing everything seems to be a large commitment and like it would take a lot of time. But really, it takes maybe 5-7 minutes total in my day. And I've lost steadily since January weighing everything.
  • maxit
    maxit Posts: 880 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    So it's been 3 weeks with no loss? I'd drop your calories at this point. No matter how you're measuring, you are at or close enough to maintenance that your weight loss has stalled or slowed greatly. Eating less is the next step.

    Yup - if you are stalled for 3 weeks, as a guy especially, this is the way to go if you want to continue to drop pounds. If you are wondering what "maintenance" amounts of food would be, it seems like you have found out :)
  • jellybeanmusic
    jellybeanmusic Posts: 161 Member
    Have you recalculated your TDEE now that you've lost weight? Might be a really obvious question and you likely have, but if you've lost weight then your body doesn't need as much energy to move around anymore, so you need to recalculate regularly to stay on track.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Wow, these are all great information ... I loved those videos and do see how weighing would be far more accurate.

    If I was doing this for health reasons (ie, my blood pressure and cholesterol was at danger levels) or I developed some other potentially fatal decease then I could see diving head first into this level of commitment on food intake. But this scale of commitment is well advanced than what I'm doing now ... I would say the weighing food on a digital scale for every meal would be a level 7-8 (8-10 would be no syrup, creamer, dressing, etc) ... I'm at a level 2-3.

    But I do appreciate the information ... thank you

    I was going to say I find using a food scale easier and faster than measuring cups, as well as being more accurate, but I reread your earlier post and see you are visually judging serving sizes. So, you're eating more than you think. You could make up for this in a variety of ways:
    1. If you think you have a four ounce portion, log five.
    2. If you think you have one portion, log 1.1.
    3. Drop your daily calorie allowance by 250 (or whatever).
    4. If you exercise, log less exercise calories or time.
    5. If you don't exercise, start.

    I don't like guessing, so I weigh.
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