Why am I not losing...too early for plateau?

flavelljudy
flavelljudy Posts: 9 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there. For 45 days, I have been logging every bite and staying within the calorie guidelines to lose a pound a week. I am exercising light to moderate, and sometimes earing exercise calories. I am drinking 8 cups of water most days and keeping the macro nutrients in line, except for a bit of a struggle eating enough protein. The first week, I lost 3 pounds. Since then, it'S been up and down and I am 5.6 pounds down. I was hoping to be at least 7 pounds down 7 weeks in. I started at 194.6, am about 5'7", and my first goal is to lose 10%, which will take me to about 175. Then I will go for the goal of 159 by the end of March 2017. I know there will be a time of plateau, when it will be harder to get the pounds off, but it seems way too soon for a plateau. Has anyone had similar experience? Suggestions? Am I just being too impatient? Thank you for any input you can provide!

Replies

  • flavelljudy
    flavelljudy Posts: 9 Member
    Ok, so I guess I am being impatient, right? Yes, all this has been in the past 45 days. I just have a fear that the weight loss will stagnate, even as I am doing what I think I need to do.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    flavelljudy wrote: »
    Ok, so I guess I am being impatient, right? Yes, all this has been in the past 45 days. I just have a fear that the weight loss will stagnate, even as I am doing what I think I need to do.

    It's hard not to be impatient when losing weight -- I totally get it! But it sounds like you're making good progress.
  • maidengirl_
    maidengirl_ Posts: 283 Member
    It takes time to see change. It's only been 45 days. You have to stick with your current goals and you will see results. You will not lose each and every week.
  • CoffeeNCardio
    CoffeeNCardio Posts: 1,847 Member
    I think you're doing really well so far, but if you want to be absolutely sure and you're an information junky like me, you can always put best efforts toward tightening up your logging. You will have to anyway down the road, cause as you get closer to goal, every little tiny calorie begins to matter. These are some great posts on logging accurately, and I find for myself that knowing where I am within a very tiny threshold of error makes me feel better during the dry spells.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10012907/logging-accuracy-consistency-and-youre-probably-eating-more-than-you-think/p1
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited September 2016
    Honestly it sounds like you are losing weight and there aren't any problems. It isn't really reasonable to expect an exact number of pounds lost for an exact week count. In 7 weeks you could have lost 7 pounds of fat but retained an extra 2 pounds of water. You could have lost 9 pounds of fat and retained an extra 4 pounds of water. You could have lost 5 pounds of fat or you could have lost 3 pounds of fat and happened to have shed 2 pounds of water that day.

    There is to much variation in bodyweight from factors other than fat loss to get anything other than a trend with like a plus/minus three pounds day to day.

    Sounds to me like you are losing weight, you are concerned about your protein and are trying to address that which is good so everything sounds fine. If you have lost weight over 7 weeks you aren't in a "plateau".
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
    Keep doing what you're doing!
  • flavelljudy
    flavelljudy Posts: 9 Member
    Thank you all. Very helpful!
  • Dove0804
    Dove0804 Posts: 213 Member
    It sounds like you're more afraid of the idea plateauing than you are actually plateauing.

    The good news is that if you continue to stick to it and make sure to re-evaluate your goals as you lose weight, you won't truly plateau.

    As you lose weight, you may find that you have to either decrease your caloric intake even further, increase exercise efforts, or slow down your rate of weight loss in order to keep going. This is totally normal, because the amount of calories your body burns at rest decreases as you weigh less and less, so you're going to have to find a way to keep creating a deficit, or be content with slower weight loss. This is often the cause of "plateaus" for people- they expect that what works for them at the beginning of their weight loss will always continue to work for them, and they don't adjust what they're doing to match their smaller size.

    Another cause for plateaus is inaccurate calorie counting- humans are notorious underestimaters, especially when it comes to food. My weight loss game changed completely when I bought a food scale, so you may want to consider it (if you don't use one already) if you find you aren't getting the results you wanted. Prepackaged food will surprise you.

    Also, try to remember that natural fluctuations of weight will occur and make it seem like you're not losing weight- water retention can mess with your mind. Any number of things including increased salt intake or a new exercise regimen can cause your body to retain water and make it seem like the scale isn't moving. Don't let it discourage you and just keep pushing forward.

    Also, don't let people sell you on the "starvation mode" myth- there's no such thing as gaining weight from eating too few calories!

    Good luck!!
  • MissusMoon
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
    You're set to lose a pound per week, and have lost six pounds in six weeks. Where is the problem?
  • JenniferNoll
    JenniferNoll Posts: 367 Member
    You are doing fantastic. You rock!
  • flavelljudy
    flavelljudy Posts: 9 Member
    Dove0804, I really appreciate your insight. Thanks, everyone!
  • flavelljudy
    flavelljudy Posts: 9 Member
    edited September 2016
    MissusMoon wrote: »
    You're set to lose a pound per week, and have lost six pounds in six weeks. Where is the problem?

    I've only lost 5.6 in 7 weeks, but I know now I just need to hang in. Thanks!
  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,235 Member
    flavelljudy wrote: »
    MissusMoon wrote: »
    You're set to lose a pound per week, and have lost six pounds in six weeks. Where is the problem?

    I've only lost 5.6 in 7 weeks, but I know now I just need to hang in. Thanks!

    If you count 45 days as a month and a half and use six weeks as the divisor, you've lost .93 lbs/week. So you are only .07 lbs/week from what you anticipated. Celebrate and keep up the good work.
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    Wynterbourne wrote: »
    flavelljudy wrote: »
    MissusMoon wrote: »
    You're set to lose a pound per week, and have lost six pounds in six weeks. Where is the problem?

    I've only lost 5.6 in 7 weeks, but I know now I just need to hang in. Thanks!

    If you count 45 days as a month and a half and use six weeks as the divisor, you've lost .93 lbs/week. So you are only .07 lbs/week from what you anticipated. Celebrate and keep up the good work.

    There are seven days a week. 45/7 = 6.4 (so, six and a half weeks for 45 days) Why make it more complicated than that?
  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,235 Member
    SusanMFindlay wrote: »
    Wynterbourne wrote: »
    flavelljudy wrote: »
    MissusMoon wrote: »
    You're set to lose a pound per week, and have lost six pounds in six weeks. Where is the problem?

    I've only lost 5.6 in 7 weeks, but I know now I just need to hang in. Thanks!

    If you count 45 days as a month and a half and use six weeks as the divisor, you've lost .93 lbs/week. So you are only .07 lbs/week from what you anticipated. Celebrate and keep up the good work.

    There are seven days a week. 45/7 = 6.4 (so, six and a half weeks for 45 days) Why make it more complicated than that?

    Not making it more complicated. Just showing her that she is doing better than she's giving herself credit for. Nearly the pound a week she wanted. That simple.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited September 2016
    Lots of good advice

    Just keep this in mind, despite what we all think we don't have a set weight, we have a weight range ..of around 5lbs ...this is due to natural water weight fluctuations ...you can only look at trends

    Get a trendline tracker ..apps like libra or Happyscale, or sites like Weightographer.com or trendweight.com

    I use the last one

    I'm in maintenance

    I'm really good at being accurate, based on bio feedback with my calories

    This is my natural weight over a year at maintenance, check the wiggly grey line they are actual scale readings, the redline is the trend ...but I am consistently at goal because it's the overall weight

    1yz0wq53egxa.jpeg

    My goal is 160... On Monday I weighed 157.4, today I weighed 161.8 ..I have not put on 4.4lbs...I have hormones, training and excess sodium to thank for my 4.4lbs ...
This discussion has been closed.

Categories