Didnt lose weight this week with a 4000 calorie deficit

dramagirl007
dramagirl007 Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, Ive logged my food for over 70 days and my plan is 2 pounds a week. I think Im eating right, mostly chicken breasts with a splurge here and there. I have been under my calories and this week, due to hiking, I managed a 4000ish calorie deficit, but I did not lose weight. Im wondering if I hit a plateau.

Replies

  • SingingSingleTracker
    SingingSingleTracker Posts: 1,866 Member
    dramagirl007 wrote: »
    Hi, Ive logged my food for over 70 days and my plan is 2 pounds a week. I think Im eating right, mostly chicken breasts with a splurge here and there. I have been under my calories and this week, due to hiking, I managed a 4000ish calorie deficit, but I did not lose weight. Im wondering if I hit a plateau.

    Could be. What is a plateau? Reason #9 in the link below covers the "plateau" quite well...

    Brutally honest blog here which is my number one primer to recommend everyone read.
  • critterbug15
    critterbug15 Posts: 55 Member
    edited May 2016
    It's likely water weight. The fat loss will show up eventually. How often do you weigh? Weighing often really highlights fluctuations in water weight... like after a high sodium day, you see an extra pound and say, "Yah, I thought so..." etc. It can give you a better understanding of the scale, but if you rely on the scale too much, it may be best to do measurements and weigh less often than daily. Don't worry about the fluctuations until it's a trend over a few weeks to a month. Really, I think 2 weeks is reasonable, but if you know you're on point in your nutrition, don't worry about the scale so much and look longer term.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Nah. It's only been a week and it sounds like you increased your activity a lot this week (which often comes with some water weight). I'd give it some time before worrying.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10196160/scale-stress-syndrome/p1
  • cariduttry
    cariduttry Posts: 210 Member
    Brutally honest blog here which is my number one primer to recommend everyone read.[/quote]

    i LOVE this article and everyone on mfp should read it (with an open mind)!
  • jordanmeyer89
    jordanmeyer89 Posts: 24 Member
    Don't worry about it stick the course. You may plateau and then have a larger drop in a few weeks or may have had any variation such as bloating or more full etc. Try not to look at it as a week by week thing and see it as a monthly journey.
  • meli_medina
    meli_medina Posts: 594 Member
    I haven't lost any weight since April 24, but I tried on a shirt I couldn't fit a month ago and it is really loose. I also bought a new pair of pants just last week and they were snug and now they're not. Sometimes the scale isn't the best determining factor for weight loss success. Are you taking other measurements? Sometimes that will show you more success than the scale.
  • tiffanylacourse
    tiffanylacourse Posts: 2,986 Member
    FIRST, One week is not even CLOSE to a plateau.

    SECOND, you say you "splurge here and there" - what exactly does that mean? One cheat meal or day could easily ruin an entire weeks progress or more, depending on how much you "splurge".

    THIRD, do you weigh all solid and semi-solid foods and measure all liquids? I mean ALL. If not, you should be. If you're eyeballing it, you could be off by hundreds of calories at each meal, and that adds up quickly.

    Best of luck! :flowerforyou:
  • nm212
    nm212 Posts: 570 Member
    edited May 2016
    Yeah, weight fluctuates. Drink alot of water and weigh again in a few days. I bet it will come off. Also, if you are on your monthly cycle, you can gain 2-4 lbs as well! Every month I see an increase and then it drops off the following week. :) Just stick to your diet and you should be fine! As long as you don't gain, that is still a win in my eyes! Losing will happen... just keep at it.
  • maxam123
    maxam123 Posts: 6 Member
    You may have plateau however it could have been several other things you may have ate more salt then normal which will cause to retain fluids or you can be building some muscles. But often it may only last a week or 2 just keep going. I lost weight then I plateau for a month but then lost 12.8 pounds in last 4-weeks.
  • lancelyell
    lancelyell Posts: 60 Member
    70 days is great and a .5-2lb per week weight loss goal is perfect! What do your macros look like? The proper amounts of protein, carbs, and fats can make all the difference. General rule I tell all my female clients is if your working out 3-6 days a week and not losing weight at 1200-1400 calories a day then you may have metabolic damage and you need to work on reverse dieting to increase your metabolism. Females who are working out should never be eating below 1200 calories a day. When losing weight ALWAYS eat as much as possible while losing .5-2lbs per week.
  • ArmyofAdrian
    ArmyofAdrian Posts: 177 Member

    cariduttry wrote: »
    Brutally honest blog here which is my number one primer to recommend everyone read.

    i LOVE this article and everyone on mfp should read it (with an open mind)![/quote]

    Awesome article thanks for sharing. I'd also like to mention that TDEE and BMR numbers are simply estimates and give us a starting point. Your actual results from what you actually ate is a much better indicator of how many calories you do or don't need than is TDEE. Also TDEE dynamic it's a moving Target as you lose weight or gain weight. Bottom line: adjust your calories based on your results.
  • Pam_1965
    Pam_1965 Posts: 137 Member
    edited May 2016
    @dramagirl007 I just logged my 70th day, too! Congrats to us! I often go back and look at my weight loss progress. There are many weeks when I posted no loss and I was always in enough of a deficit to be down 1 or 2 pounds. Instead of getting down I just got patient. I knew I was doing everything right and that it would all even out in the end, and guess what??? It has! Hang in there!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    dramagirl007 wrote: »
    Hi, Ive logged my food for over 70 days and my plan is 2 pounds a week. I think Im eating right, mostly chicken breasts with a splurge here and there. I have been under my calories and this week, due to hiking, I managed a 4000ish calorie deficit, but I did not lose weight. Im wondering if I hit a plateau.

    Where are you in your menstrual cycle? I gain at ovulation and right before my TOM.

    If the hiking is new, you could also be retaining water for that.

    Are you logging your splurges? And weighing your food?

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