Stuck and feeling hopeless... 106lbs down and a million to go

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ladybury
ladybury Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So a little background. My highest weight was 418. In January I was around 368, had lost 50lbs not trying to over a year's span. Got serious in January. From Jan to Feb lost 20lbs. Feb to March 10. March to April 10. April to may 8. May to June 6. June to July 2. 2!!!
I know any loss is great, but the last month has been horrible. All week I keep myself at around a 1000 cal deficit with food, and then I further that by exercising 5 times a week. Mostly zumba and swimming. I know my output has to be more than 2 lbs for the month.
What typically happens is from Monday through Friday I'll drop say 3 or 4 lbs. Then Saturday is my cheat day and I eat nontypical foods. Not overeating, not crazy, not tons of junk, just forgiving a few indulgences. Then Sunday rolls around and the scale says I've gained it all back. Then I start the process over and by the end of the week it's the same thing, same 3 or 4 lost, same gain come Sunday. I'm assuming it's from sodium in the cheat day foods, but I just keep losing and gaining the same weight for the last several weeks.

I don't know how to change it. I keep adjusting my intake cals the more I lose. I'm keeping active. I weigh food. I only drink 0 cal beverages. I'm trying to keep a decent macro ratio.
I'm just feeling defeated. The scale isn't reflecting my hard work.
Any ideas? I know I can't sustain the 20lbs initial loss per month. But I'd really like to be losing 10lbs a month. With all the exercise, at my weight (around 311 this morning), 10lbs a month seems beyond reasonable, right?

Replies

  • vespiquenn
    vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
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    First off, you really should feel accomplished in all that you have done. You are doing wonderfully.

    In regards to the cheat day, are you still logging on those days? If not, it might be better to start. Another method others find success with is having a cheat meal rather than a day. Or working those cheat day foods into your daily life while still remaining within caloric goals so you don't feel inclined for a cheat day. It might help with the sodium aspect of it.
  • dmt4641
    dmt4641 Posts: 409 Member
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    First congratulations on your loss so far.

    Second, do you track these cheat days or no? My guess is the sodium and extra calories are masking/reversing some of your weight loss. Instead of "cheating" once a week and going hog wild on foods you are missing, try incorporating some of your favorite foods through out the week. Just weigh it and log it and make sure it fits in your calories.
  • sweetpea03b
    sweetpea03b Posts: 1,124 Member
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    Congrats on your weight loss! As you lose, you have to constantly change your goals, and tweek things as you go along. Your body is an efficient machine. It might be time to shake things up a bit in your routine. That being said, more likely than not, that "cheat day" is what's really getting you. 9/10x I don't see my "real weight" for the same reasons, I'm doing really well for 4-5 days then let loose on the weekends and have wine or carby/salty snacks and retain water weight. It's important 1) to drink more water on those days to make up for the extra sodium/alcohol (as the case may be) 2) continue to log. Even if you have a bad day... not logging only hurts yourself because you don't get a realistic picture of how your slip effected your week. 3) Just keep going. I've only lost 3# since January... but I continue to log, I continue to move forward because even if you're not losing, your fitness level is increasing and you are creating a new sustainable (I hope) lifestyle for yourself. If you're maintaining, you're not gaining!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,902 Member
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    Congrats on your weight loss so far!

    I don't have cheat days because I fear exactly your outcome - that my calories on the cheat day would wipe out the deficit I created on the other days. I do eat more on the weekends, but I exercise more those days to earn exercise calories. In general, I stay under the calorie allotment MFP gives me for my weekly weight loss goal.
  • Godsgirl42
    Godsgirl42 Posts: 3,490 Member
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    Great job on the weight loss this far!!! You've done great! 1000 calories for a person your size is not enough food. I wasn't eating enough and I stopped losing. I started eating what MFP assigned me and I'm losing at a healthy rate now!!
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
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    What @godsgirl said. Given your success so far, I'm sure you know that 1000 is far to little. I would change your app to lose 1 pound a week and follow exactly what it says every day. Work cheat snacks into your everyday life and daily calorie goal and stop blowing it out on weekends.
  • ilex70
    ilex70 Posts: 727 Member
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    nowine4me wrote: »
    What @godsgirl said. Given your success so far, I'm sure you know that 1000 is far to little. I would change your app to lose 1 pound a week and follow exactly what it says every day. Work cheat snacks into your everyday life and daily calorie goal and stop blowing it out on weekends.

    OP said 1000 calorie deficit, not 1000 calories a day.

    OP you should be able to have some treats pretty much everyday with reasonable deficit. You might find that works better than weekly cheat days.

    Or, figure your daily intake to keep 1,000 calorie a day deficit and multiply by 7 for your weekly goal. Then eat a little less during the week to bank calories for a day with more food on the weekend.
  • melissa6771
    melissa6771 Posts: 894 Member
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    @godsgirl and @nowine4me she is not saying that she's eating 1000 calories, she's saying she has 1000 calorie deficit

    Congrats on your loss so far. That is amazing! Hard work!

    I would be careful with the cheat days. Make sure you're logging them and not going hog wild. If you're still having problems then, reevaluate again.
  • LPflaum
    LPflaum Posts: 174 Member
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    CONGRATS ON YOUR WEIGHT LOSS. I know you're feeling defeated, but you should be really proud. You're taking your life back and you've made some amazing progress.

    I had a stall very similar to yours a few months back, I did two or three major things to break it: 1) The cheat day probably has to go. I dropped mine to a cheat meal, as I found that if I gave myself a whole day I was EASILY eating 1000 cal + more than I should have been, especially since I love craft beer and was cheating on the weekends. I recently read an article that some craft beers have more than 300 cal, so I've cut way back. Now it's one meal, because I've found that unless you literally drink ranch dressing, it's pretty hard to eat more than 700-800 calories in any meal. 2) I had to up my cardio. That sucked, but it's made a big difference. I am running until I'm exhausted (20 minutes in the cardio zone and always hitting peak) almost every day now 3) I "shocked" my system by completely overthrowing my macronutrient balance. I've gone hard on protein and healthy fats and cut out most of my carbs/sugar. I have no idea why this worked, but it did. I actually stalled out when I was finishing every day low on fat and eating 1200 cal. I added back 100 cals with the goal of eating them all in fat and I actually lost weight? Again, I do not know why this worked.

    You also may want to incorporate strength training. There are a number of reasons- 1) lean mass burns more calories than soft mass, 2) strength training will make you stronger, which will allow you to push harder when you swim/zumba, which will subsequently allow you to burn more calories 3) it will change your body comp. You may notice lbs coming off slower (or not at all), but your clothes will look and fit better. For me, that was a huge motivator through the stalls.
  • OhMsDiva
    OhMsDiva Posts: 1,074 Member
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    to piggy back on what others have said, I do not have cheat days. I do make sure I have a "treat" or treats daily that I like. That may just be a fiber one brownie or a piece of coffee candy. What has worked for me is to not act like I am on a diet. This is my new way of living. I know that I am going to eat some unhealthy things once in a while, so when I do I plan for it and I do not feel guilty for it. I also find that if I have something that is really unhealthy on rare occasions, I appreciate it more than if I have it, say, once a week.
    I wish I could do trend analysis and all that other technical stuff, but my brain might explode. Whatever works, keep doing it.
  • Bxqtie116
    Bxqtie116 Posts: 552 Member
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    Congrats on the weight loss. Have you readjusted your calorie intake based on your current weight? The more weight you lose, the less calories your body needs. Also, 1000 calorie deficit may be a bit too high. Try 500-750 calorie deficit and see if that helps. Try eating what MFP gives you and don't focus on eating back your exercise calories unless if your burning more than 500 calories working out. Then you'll want to eat back 25-40% of your exercise calories. As far as your weekend treats, it usually takes your body 3-4 days to shed that excess sodium. Try increasing your water esp on the weekend to help flush out the excess sodium.
  • ladybury
    ladybury Posts: 2 Member
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    Thank you everyone for all your advice, support, and feedback.

    Moving forward I'm going to try and avoid the cheat day and just focus on consistent daily eating with a bit more here or there as I see fit. And also more water when I do eat higher sodium foods.

    I'm trying to eat up to the mfp daily calories requirements, and adjust them as I lose. I don't eat any extra on the days I exercise. For swimming mfp says I burn 630 calories when I swim, and 930 calories when I do zumba. I have gone ahead with the assumption that even for my size, there's no way that can be accurate, it's way overestimated. So I just eat the same each day regardless of exercise so I don't end up eating too much.

    Thank you all again, your advice has been helpful and I appreciate it greatly!!!
  • jordiblu
    jordiblu Posts: 145 Member
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    I've been dairy, gluten and sugar free for years
    I never eat processed or packaged food
    I recently cut out wine and instead I'll have vodka at health hour
    Add my my diary is open
    I'm at my high school weight (for years now) and skin is radiant
    I also take tons of vitamins and probiotics
    (It's my business)
    I love to share my tips!

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