Weight loss stalled then now I am up 2 pounds. What is wrong with me?

I completely understand how frustrating it is, but you have to give your body some time.

Maybe you had too much salt. Maybe your body needs time to catch up. It's only been a few days. You've done awesome so far... let your body do the work again now.

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

Let me guess - period due soon? Totally normal!

Francl27 wrote: »

Let me guess - period due soon? Totally normal!

OP is a male, so I highly doubt it.

Weight loss is not linear. It's a tough concept to wrap your head around, I know, but our bodies are so much more complicated than "eat less food, lose pounds". The amount of water our bodies are retaining is always fluctuating and it can sometimes mask fat loss. As fat cells empty of fat, water takes it place. Then the water is released suddenly as the fat cell shrinks which can account for the stall and then sudden drop of pounds. I've seen people say that their fat feels "squishy" when this is happening but can't confirm that since I've never been significantly overweight.

In addition to that effect with the fat cells, excessive sodium can cause temporary fluid retention as can hormonal changes. Changes in elevation and air travel also make me retain water.

3-5 pounds per week is actually not a healthy rate of loss especially over the long term. This isn't a race to see how fast you can lose weight, although I get the impatience believe me. In fact, if you are wise, you'll start a strength training program, if you haven't already. Your current muscle mass is significantly greater than someone who is smaller because while you've been gaining weight over the years some of what you gained was extra muscle so that you could simply move around your extra weight. That's a huge advantage if you're willing to capitalize on it!

When we lose "weight" the pounds we lose are made up of a combination of water, fat and muscle. The faster you lose weight, the more of that lost weight will be from muscle because our bodies are looking to preserve as much stored energy as possible against a future starvation period and unused lean muscle mass is an easy target. As you shed pounds, you need less muscle to move your mass around so your body will break it down and it'll be gone. Strength training forces us to use our muscles in such a way as to signal to the body that we need them. This limits muscle breakdown for energy and helps to retain the muscle you currently have. It's much easier to maintain your current muscle mass than it is to build new muscle (just for starters, building new muscle involves gaining weight!).

Strength training now will allow you to keep a lot of the muscle you have rather than losing it along with the fat and water. This means more of your weight loss will be from fat and that's what you really want to lose. It also means that when you reach the weight you want to be that your body fat percentage will be much lower and you'll be much firmer at that weight than you would have been if you simply "lost weight" quickly to get there. It's definitely something to think about.

You mention increasing your exercise intensity recently. That's a great thing!

But it can have a side effect: If you're exercising hard enough to require some muscle repair, your body will retain extra water weight to use in the repair process. Soon enough, your fat loss will outpace that bit of water weight gain, and the scale will move again. Counter-intuitively, you should be sure to drink adequate water, as that will help minimize water retention overall.

(BTW, I'm talking about muscle repair at the micro level, i.e., you might feel sore muscles, but I'm not talking about actual injury).

Patience! I predict you'll see the scale start dropping again soon, as long as you keep up your good work.

SueInAz wrote: »

3-5 pounds per week is actually not a healthy rate of loss especially over the long term. This isn't a race to see how fast you can lose weight, although I get the impatience believe me. In fact, if you are wise, you'll start a strength training program, if you haven't already. Your current muscle mass is significantly greater than someone who is smaller because while you've been gaining weight over the years some of what you gained was extra muscle so that you could simply move around your extra weight. That's a huge advantage if you're willing to capitalize on it!

When we lose "weight" the pounds we lose are made up of a combination of water, fat and muscle. The faster you lose weight, the more of that lost weight will be from muscle

As you shed pounds, you need less muscle to move your mass around so your body will break it down and it'll be gone. Strength training forces us to use our muscles in such a way as to signal to the body that we need them. This limits muscle breakdown for energy and helps to retain the muscle you currently have. It's much easier to maintain your current muscle mass than it is to build new muscle

Strength training now will allow you to keep a lot of the muscle you have rather than losing it along with the fat and water. This means more of your weight loss will be from fat and that's what you really want to lose. It also means that when you reach the weight you want to be that your body fat percentage will be much lower and you'll be much firmer at that weight than you would have been if you simply "lost weight" quickly to get there. It's definitely something to think about.

Everything said above (though some tiny parts removed so that I can be in absolute agreement). You may also want to increase your protein to the 150g range as doing so would also be lean mass sparing.

Your low amount of food eaten and large deficits will result in large losses over time, and while you're obese might not hurt you too much.

However, long term, this combination will lead to excess lean mass lost and, in my opinion, increases your risk of being affected by adaptive thermogenesis as suggested by recent articles about the biggest loser show contestants who are having trouble keeping their weight off.

You have discovered that by controlling your food and increasing your activity level you CAN lose weight. This is an excellent starting point.

Now start thinking about the future. Are you going to be eating 1500 Calories for the rest of your life? Are you going to swim 2 hours a day every day for the rest of your life? (or whatever activity you've chosen) Would some other combination of activities be more realistic for the long term?

Start developing strategies that are valid for a 5-10 year horizon.

And aim for a 25% cut off your total daily energy expenditure

Instead of 2000 Cal deficits... try to hit 1000 Cal or 750 Cal deficits...

In the meanwhile increase your calories by 100 Cal every few days till you get to those smaller deficit.

Anyway. That's my advice Good luck!

<and use an app such as www.weightgrapher.com, my favourite: www.trendweight.com, or happy scale for iphone>

Can't view your diary on this app to help you. Please message me.
How many calories are you eating daily?
How many times per week are you training?
How long each session?
How intense are the sessions?
What type of training involved? (Strength, cardio, bodyweight)

How are you sleeping and how are your energy levels daily?
-John

Looking at your diary, I can tell your macro nutrients are incorrect. Your protein is way too low, which means your carbs and fats are higher than they should be. You are also consuming too much sodium and sugar. I'd suggest dropping your intake of carbs, sugars, and sodium. Find out what your macro percentages are suppose to be at. This macro calculator was accurate for me and fat started melting off after following it strictly. Be aware you may have to increase your calorie intake because I was losing an average of 1 pound per day. Here's a macros calculator you can use: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/macronutrients_calculator.htm?searchTerm=macro calculator

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bele2009 wrote: »

Thank you all for the reply. Indeed my macros need to be adjusted. I am having hard time getting proteins higher without too much fat. Got some whey isolate powder today which taste not too bad. That should help to fill in the gaps.

Beside the protein shakes, what could I take with high protein?
Cheese = too much sodium
Red meat = too much fat
Chicken breast = too dry
Chicken dark meat = too much fat

Thanks

MFP has me at 1570 cal per days which seems to low according to a few TDEE I checked. My current calories goal is over -25% of TDEE

Greek yogurt, legumes (moderate protein, but also lots of nice fiber) . . . oh, and check this out:

Carbs and Fats are cheap. Here's a Guide to getting your PROTEIN's worth. Fiber also...

It's a thread over in the nutrition forum here that links to a spreadsheet which lists protein sources in order by their calorie efficiency - highest protein for the fewest calories. It's worth looking down the list, too, as you can add things like veggies or fruits with protein to your eating - those may have small amounts, and less complete, but it adds up surprisingly fast.

You could up your protein and fat a little. Then reduce the carbs and sugars a little to make room for the fat/oils.

Hear this: You have lost more than twenty pounds in 30 days.
You are doing well. Take lots of pictures and measurements to see your progress, especially when the scale is not cooperating.

If you are in a caloric deficit, you will be reducing bodyfat. Keep at it and the scales will catch up sooner or later. Weight loss is not linear!