Not losing weight

How much lower than recommended?

Starvation mode is a complete myth in the way it's commonly used on the forum.

OP you are losing weight, 2 pounds in 3 weeks seems healthy progress. Congratulations! How much have you got to lose in total?

If you really think it should be more, I'd make sure your food logging is correct first of all. Are you using a scale to weigh food (no cups & spoons for solids)? Are the food entries you select definitely accurate?

You are losing weight! Keep eating at a calorie deficit and try to add some activity a few times a week. Keep up the good work!

1. If it's been less than 3 weeks or so, don't sweat it! Normal fluctuations happen and unfortunately sometimes we stall for a week or two even when we're doing everything right. Give your body some time to catch up with the changes you're making.

2. If you aren't already, be sure that you're logging everything. Sometimes people forget about things like veggies, drinks, cooking oils, and condiments. For some people these can add up to enough to halt your weight loss progress.

3. Consider buying a food scale if you don't already have one. They're about $10-$20 dollars in the US and easily found at places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Measuring cups and spoons are great, but they do come with some degree of inaccuracy. A food scale will be more accurate, and for some people it makes a big difference.

4. Logging accurately also means choosing accurate entries in the database. There are a lot of user-entered entries that are off. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries.

5. Recalculate your goals if you haven't lately. As you lose weight your body requires fewer calories to run. Be sure you update your goals every ten pounds or so.

6. If you're eating back your exercise calories and you're relying on gym machine readouts or MFP's estimates, it might be best to eat back just 50-75% of those. Certain activities tend to be overestimated. If you're using an HRM or activity tracker, it might be a good idea to look into their accuracy and be sure that yours is calibrated properly.

7. If you're taking any cheat days that go over your calorie limits, it might be best to cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens. Some people go way over their calorie needs without realizing it when they don't track.

8. If you weigh yourself frequently, consider using a program like trendweight to even out the fluctuations. You could be losing weight but just don't see it because of the daily ups and downs.

9. Some people just burn fewer calories than the calculators predict. If you continue to have problems after 4-6 weeks, then it might be worth a trip to the doctor or a registered dietitian who can give you more specific advice.

TnR4life wrote: »

Your whole statement says a lot. One, you are putting your body in starvation mode. That for one is not good. The reason you are tired is because your body is not getting the fuel it needs and you need to make sure you get enough. The misconception is always that eating less calories results in weight loss. You need to go to the gym. I know all about being tired all the time, trust me, I work overnight shifts and I am always tired....but I make myself go to the gym. Even if its for 30 minutes. It's still better than nothing.

Nope. Starvation mode does not exist the way you are saying it. Try again.

Hold on...you HAVE lost 2lbs in 3 weeks. That is success and you are doing just fine.

If you are more tired than usual it could be that you aren't eating enough/ too agressive a calorie deficit. Fuel your body properly and tiredness wont be an issue any more.

bellabonbons wrote: »

For many, especially hypothyroidism, below maintenance does not create weight loss.

Do you mean maintenance as defined by calculators that are generally set up for the majority, or maintenance as defined by your body? I'd put weight on if I used the general calculators due to my medical conditions, but by definition I'd lose weight if I eat below my body's maintenance levels.

Edited because of double-negatives. Bad double-negatives!

If you're tired it is a clear sign you need food or sleep and most likely both . Listen to your body..you're losing and that's great. You are also perfecting your journey..and that's good too. You might also have low blood sugar and need to eat more often during the day to fuel your body. Be more concerned about being tired than a loss that isn't what you hoped. That's all of us.