Help, same weight for over a month now
stepsi7997
Posts: 7 Member
So I've been restricting for quite a while now and managed lose 18lbs, however, my weightloss has stalled since August.
It wasn't an easy road though; I lost and gained, binged and purged, restricted too heavily, then binged again,.. But that's over now, and has been since July.
In August, I ate about 1,300 calories/day and took at least 10,000 steps 6 days a week. I usually weigh myself weekly, but when I noticed that I'm not losing weight at all, it seemed weird to me. So I weighed myself daily and saw my weight fluctuating with each day (148lbs; 146lbs; 144lbs; 148lbs, and so on..). But that could've been water retention, because it doesn't fluctuate anymore, it just stays the same: 145lbs (I'm 5'7 and 19 years old).
I tried doing some higher calorie days, which didn't seem to help either. Last week I ate approximately 1,500/day and maintained.
It's so frustrating... any ideas on how to break this "plateau"?
Now I'm trying to eat 1,200-1,300 on days I don't exercise and 1,400-1,500 on days I exercise (by "exercise" I mean 10,000 steps or 40-60 minutes elliptical or swimming) and see if that helps..?
It wasn't an easy road though; I lost and gained, binged and purged, restricted too heavily, then binged again,.. But that's over now, and has been since July.
In August, I ate about 1,300 calories/day and took at least 10,000 steps 6 days a week. I usually weigh myself weekly, but when I noticed that I'm not losing weight at all, it seemed weird to me. So I weighed myself daily and saw my weight fluctuating with each day (148lbs; 146lbs; 144lbs; 148lbs, and so on..). But that could've been water retention, because it doesn't fluctuate anymore, it just stays the same: 145lbs (I'm 5'7 and 19 years old).
I tried doing some higher calorie days, which didn't seem to help either. Last week I ate approximately 1,500/day and maintained.
It's so frustrating... any ideas on how to break this "plateau"?
Now I'm trying to eat 1,200-1,300 on days I don't exercise and 1,400-1,500 on days I exercise (by "exercise" I mean 10,000 steps or 40-60 minutes elliptical or swimming) and see if that helps..?
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Replies
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How are you measuring your intake? 1200 calories is pretty low for someone of your age and size.0
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How much are you trying to lose? I can pretty much guarantee that gross 1500 cals is not maintenance for you given your stats and activity level0
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I just came out of a 4 week stall, I think it was just water in my case as it is dropping off now. I do agree your goal may be a bit strict - could this be causing "secret eating"?
But it could still be water retention. Hang in there.1 -
Are you weighing your food? Logging all your food and drinks? Using correct entries? Drinking at least 64oz water daily?1
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What exactly do you mean by that? I weigh everything and log it and since I rarely eat out I know how much I'm eating because I cook my own meals.How are you measuring your intake?
I'd like to get to 58kg (128lbs), so I've got 17lbs to lose.TavistockToad wrote: »How much are you trying to lose? I can pretty much guarantee that gross 1500 cals is not maintenance for you given your stats and activity level
That's what I thought too, so it seems really weird to me that I'm not losing anything..
Not really, since I'm quite strict with myself and rarely go over my calorie goal (except I worked out more that day and feel like eating back some calories. I never go over 1,500 though).CattOfTheGarage wrote: »could this be causing "secret eating"?0 -
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I just had a month long stall after losing about 13-14 pounds, that I'm hopeful I've seen the tail end of it.
I am grateful that I have been consistently logging everything (food, exercise, sleep, water, daily weight), so I could look back at my logs to try to figure out what has been going on. For the month, I was hovering around 135.6 +/- .4 lbs. Here's what I noticed:
- 1 week was TOM, so I pretty much have to throw out that data since it's always a hot mess.
- Some weeks I ate my usual calories (or even less), but my workout burns were down for that time too (we had a hurricane blow by which kept me inside so my workouts weren't as rigorous as the ones I do outside). So my net calories were much higher than than the weeks I was dropping weight (even on the days that I was eating less than normal). In other words, my CI = CO rather than CI < CO.
- I was also not getting my minimum of 8 cups of water a day. While some say it doesn't matter, for me, it makes a huge difference.
- And for some of the days, I wasn't sleeping well; often getting less than 7 hours a night. I find the more I can sleep, the more I can consistently lose.
This past week, I worked on pushing my workouts to get them up to my previous calorie burn levels; drinking at least 8 cups (if not more) of water each day; and getting at least 7-8 hours of sleep a night. I didn't see anything immediately after implementing the change, but yesterday I finally had a drop to 134.6 on the scale (and saw it again today, so it wasn't a fluke). So, it might take some time to see some results from changes, and you just have to be persistent and faithful to the process. But that is what worked for me. YMMV.
Here's some MFP articles on plateaus...some may have some additional things that resonate even more with your personal situation. http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/tag/weight-loss-plateau/
Hope you find what works for you! Good luck!1 -
stepsi7997 wrote: »
What exactly do you mean by that? I weigh everything and log it and since I rarely eat out I know how much I'm eating because I cook my own meals.How are you measuring your intake?
I'd like to get to 58kg (128lbs), so I've got 17lbs to lose.TavistockToad wrote: »How much are you trying to lose? I can pretty much guarantee that gross 1500 cals is not maintenance for you given your stats and activity level
That's what I thought too, so it seems really weird to me that I'm not losing anything..
Not really, since I'm quite strict with myself and rarely go over my calorie goal (except I worked out more that day and feel like eating back some calories. I never go over 1,500 though).CattOfTheGarage wrote: »could this be causing "secret eating"?
Yeah, I meant are you weighing your food. Usually people who post these types of posts aren't. And you're making sure every entry you use is correct, not choosing homemade items from the database, etc?
How long did it take you to lose the 18?1 -
My weight loss semi-stalled a couple of months ago - I was stuck within a pound or two of the same weight for five weeks or so, then I suddenly lost 6lbs in less than two weeks. Then I got stuck again at the lower weight! I'm just carrying on doing what I do and trusting that things will move again - I've lost a little more this week so perhaps they have.
Day-to-day weight fluctuations are normal, but if you've been exactly the same weight for a few weeks then I'd start by looking at your (bodyweight) scale - does it need new batteries?
Lemonlionheart's chart is great... take a look at that advice, make sure that you're being really accurate in your weighing of food and which entries you're choosing from the database (there are many incorrect ones, even those that have been "verified"), and being as accurate as you can in estimating your calorie burns if you eat those calories back. At the end of the day pretty much everything is an estimate anyway, so all we can do is try to be as accurate with them as possible!
Stick with it and don't give up... if you really are in a deficit then the weight has to come off eventually, because Science. 1 -
I'm slightly worried that nobody has mentioned OP stating that they had gone through a binge and purge cycle.
I think you should see a nutritionalist or someone who can assist you with that disordered behavior before attempting to restrict calories and or measure your weight at this point.
2 months is not indicative of recovery.4 -
Yep, I do.malibu927 wrote:And you're making sure every entry you use is correct, not choosing homemade items from the database, etc?
How long did it take you to lose the 18? If I cook homemade meals, I always create new recipes and make sure everything's correct.
I'm not so sure how long it took me because I had a lot of ups and downs and didn't weigh myself that frequently. In May I had regained everything I'd lost (I didn't weigh myself after that anymore because it stressed me out), that's what I know for sure. The next time I weighed myself was on July 23rd (150lbs). After that, my weight fluctuated -2lbs, +2lbs, +1lb,.. and I ended up with 145lbs.
I actually got a new scale because I thought my old one was brokenMy weight loss semi-stalled a couple of months ago - I was stuck within a pound or two of the same weight for five weeks or so, then I suddenly lost 6lbs in less than two weeks. Then I got stuck again at the lower weight! I'm just carrying on doing what I do and trusting that things will move again - I've lost a little more this week so perhaps they have.
Day-to-day weight fluctuations are normal, but if you've been exactly the same weight for a few weeks then I'd start by looking at your (bodyweight) scale - does it need new batteries?
Lemonlionheart's chart is great... take a look at that advice, make sure that you're being really accurate in your weighing of food and which entries you're choosing from the database (there are many incorrect ones, even those that have been "verified"), and being as accurate as you can in estimating your calorie burns if you eat those calories back. At the end of the day pretty much everything is an estimate anyway, so all we can do is try to be as accurate with them as possible!
Stick with it and don't give up... if you really are in a deficit then the weight has to come off eventually, because Science.
so my weight is definitely correct and I try to be as precise as possible when weighing and logging food.
Thanks for your encouraging words! I'm really trying to!
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Day-to-day weight fluctuations are normal, but if you've been exactly the same weight for a few weeks then I'd start by looking at your (bodyweight) scale - does it need new batteries?
LOL, I forgot to mention that in my post. The first thing I did was replace the batteries in my scale, because in years of using it I had NEVER seen it give me exactly the same weight 4 days in a row. I was almost thinking of buying a new scale. But it wasn't the scale...
I was blessed to have seen previous posts from others who had seen similar stalls that said to stick with the process. That alone was helpful for me to know it isn't uncommon to have a stall, to trust the process, and keep on doing it.0 -
stepsi7997 wrote: »
What exactly do you mean by that? I weigh everything and log it and since I rarely eat out I know how much I'm eating because I cook my own meals.How are you measuring your intake?
I'd like to get to 58kg (128lbs), so I've got 17lbs to lose.TavistockToad wrote: »How much are you trying to lose? I can pretty much guarantee that gross 1500 cals is not maintenance for you given your stats and activity level
That's what I thought too, so it seems really weird to me that I'm not losing anything..
Not really, since I'm quite strict with myself and rarely go over my calorie goal (except I worked out more that day and feel like eating back some calories. I never go over 1,500 though).CattOfTheGarage wrote: »could this be causing "secret eating"?
You said you ate 1500 for a week, that isn't long enough to say it's maintenance.
128lbs is pretty low given your height1 -
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_settings0
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Don't give up....maybe you are just building muscles! Try using a measuring tape instead of scale!1
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MARILYNENA wrote: »Don't give up....maybe you are just building muscles! Try using a measuring tape instead of scale!
OP would not be building muscle while eating 1200-1300 calories.0 -
MARILYNENA wrote: »Don't give up....maybe you are just building muscles! Try using a measuring tape instead of scale!
No0 -
There may be a lot of factors going on. You say you have stalled since Aug. Is that Aug 1st or 31st? If it's only been a couple of week, I say just keep on going. If it's been 6 weeks+, you body may be adjusting to to the lower calories requirements. 1200 calories is the cut off for starvation, and if your body gets into starvation mode....it adjusts so it doesn't eat itself up.
Check out
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/metabolism-and-calorie-adaptation.htm
http://healthyliving.azcentral.com/body-gets-used-less-calories-2118.html
You may want to increase your calorie intake as well as your exercise. You may need to adjust your carb/protein ratio. You may need to work larger muscle groups to get metabolism up (legs, back, etc).
Also...according to this height/weight chart...u are close to normal range. It may be your body telling you this is where u need to be.
http://www.lookscharm.com/tag/height-weight-chart0 -
You're right in the middle of a normal healthy weight range for your height. So getting down to the lower end of a healthy weight takes time, being precise, and losses can be masked easily. I'd give it more time. You should probably aim for .5 lb a week.1
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Yup, I'm there too. Not lost for what seems like ages, and it wasn't much then either. I just keep pushing on, and hope it'll come when I'm more aggressive with my food, like this week. I've slipped a little calorie wise with a holiday, but still eating at levels weekly, which others would lose at.0
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MARILYNENA wrote: »Don't give up....maybe you are just building muscles! Try using a measuring tape instead of scale!
LOL - by walking and eating 1200 calories?1 -
There may be a lot of factors going on. You say you have stalled since Aug. Is that Aug 1st or 31st? If it's only been a couple of week, I say just keep on going. If it's been 6 weeks+, you body may be adjusting to to the lower calories requirements. 1200 calories is the cut off for starvation, and if your body gets into starvation mode....it adjusts so it doesn't eat itself up.
You may want to increase your calorie intake as well as your exercise. You may need to adjust your carb/protein ratio. You may need to work larger muscle groups to get metabolism up (legs, back, etc
Since August 1st. On July 31st I weighed in at 146 and after that my weight fluctuated (at that time, I weighed myself weekly) +1lbs, -2lbs, +2lbs,.. although I never overate or anything like that. For 3 weeks now, my weight's pretty much the same (145lbs) despite including higher calorie days..0 -
stepsi7997 wrote: »There may be a lot of factors going on. You say you have stalled since Aug. Is that Aug 1st or 31st? If it's only been a couple of week, I say just keep on going. If it's been 6 weeks+, you body may be adjusting to to the lower calories requirements. 1200 calories is the cut off for starvation, and if your body gets into starvation mode....it adjusts so it doesn't eat itself up.
You may want to increase your calorie intake as well as your exercise. You may need to adjust your carb/protein ratio. You may need to work larger muscle groups to get metabolism up (legs, back, etc
Since August 1st. On July 31st I weighed in at 146 and after that my weight fluctuated (at that time, I weighed myself weekly) +1lbs, -2lbs, +2lbs,.. although I never overate or anything like that. For 3 weeks now, my weight's pretty much the same (145lbs) despite including higher calorie days..
So you lost a pound in 3 weeks and now have been the same for 3 weeks?0 -
Given the binging and purging and restricting, I would reverse diet your cals up as high as possible and then cut after maintaining for a while.0
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Exactly. It just doesn't make sense to me..TavistockToad wrote: »So you lost a pound in 3 weeks and now have been the same for 3 weeks?
Why? I don't binge and purge anymore, so that shouldn't be a problem.TavistockToad wrote: »Given the binging and purging and restricting, I would reverse diet your cals up as high as possible and then cut after maintaining for a while. 0 -
This may also be an issue with your scale. My previous scale "remembered" my previous weight and would only show an update if it there was a big difference from what it was remembering. Not sure what the exact amount was, but I think it was probably around half a pound. So I would show the same exact weight down to the tenth of a pound for several days in a row. Other scales will show you a new number every time you step on, even if you've only gained or lost a tenth or two tenths of a pound. If not seeing small fluctuations bothers you, you may want to consider a different scale. It is less frustrating for me to go up and down by little amounts each day than to see the same exact number all the time.
And yes, I do prefer weighing every day, I like seeing a graph and how it smooths out over time.0 -
stepsi7997 wrote: »
Exactly. It just doesn't make sense to me..TavistockToad wrote: »So you lost a pound in 3 weeks and now have been the same for 3 weeks?
Why? I don't binge and purge anymore, so that shouldn't be a problem.TavistockToad wrote: »Given the binging and purging and restricting, I would reverse diet your cals up as high as possible and then cut after maintaining for a while.
Because who doesn't want to eat as much as possible and still lose weight?
Reverse dieting would help if your problem is metabolic damage.0 -
This may also be an issue with your scale. My previous scale "remembered" my previous weight and would only show an update if it there was a big difference from what it was remembering.
I actually got a new scale because I didn't trust my old one anymore; the new one definitely doesn't remember my previous weight, because I notice small fluctuations (today I weighed 0,1kg, or 0,22lbs, more).
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