Has anyone else hit a plateau after the first 10 lbs lost????

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I was on a roll for the first 5 weeks, losing 2 lbs/week, but now I've come to a halt and haven't lost any more weight since Oct 26th! Has this happened to anyone else and how did you get back on the "losing track?" lol
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  • crissy976
    crissy976 Posts: 91 Member
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    I'm going to try to "shock" my body by switching things up a bit. Maybe my body has become "used to" my ways of dieting for the past month and has grown comfortable with the initial changes.
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,222 Member
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    I haven't and like MissusMoon above I have used a food scale for everything and meticulously logged every day since February this year.

    I have long periods of stalls though each month as I mostly drop my weight after period and after ovulation in big chunks (wooshes).
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
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    crissy976 wrote: »
    I'm going to try to "shock" my body by switching things up a bit. Maybe my body has become "used to" my ways of dieting for the past month and has grown comfortable with the initial changes.

    Your body hasn't adapted to anything you have been doing for a month in any significant way that would stall your losses for two weeks from losing 2lb/week. "Shocking" it, whatever that means, isn't necessary.
  • crissy976
    crissy976 Posts: 91 Member
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    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    crissy976 wrote: »
    I'm going to try to "shock" my body by switching things up a bit. Maybe my body has become "used to" my ways of dieting for the past month and has grown comfortable with the initial changes.

    Your body hasn't adapted to anything you have been doing for a month in any significant way that would stall your losses for two weeks from losing 2lb/week. "Shocking" it, whatever that means, isn't necessary.

    I just figure it might be used to what I've been doing for the past 5 weeks or so. I've read that if you change things up a bit (or like I called it, "shocking" ... lol) it might give my body a metabolism boost. No?
  • everher
    everher Posts: 909 Member
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    I would just be sure I'm accurately logging everything I eat. How often do you weigh yourself ? There has not been any change what so ever since October 26th ? Also, have you adjusted your calorie goal for your 10 lb weight loss ?
  • crissy976
    crissy976 Posts: 91 Member
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    Bearbo27 wrote: »
    Not for me. You have to understand that just because you eat to lose 2 lbs per week, doesn't mean it will always come off like that every week. I eat to lose 2 lbs per week but some weeks I lose .2 lbs and some weeks I lose 3.5lbs. Water retention is a big culprit. If you don't watch your sodium levels, you could be retaining water. Time of the month is another. I gain water weight during ovulation and the first few days of my period. Are you weighing and logging everything solid? If not, that can be a huge issue as well. You need to not use measuring cups or eyeball your portions. I weigh everything solid and pretty much try to ignore the scale during those two time each month. It has all worked for me. If you look at my chart of weight loss, it is not some straight line that goes instantly down.

    Funny you should mention that time of the month, because it's about that time now. Like, I should be getting it any day now. Last time I had a loss was the last time I had my period, ironically.
  • Rocknut53
    Rocknut53 Posts: 1,794 Member
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    What are your stats? How much do you want to lose? If you don't have a lot of weight to lose, it may be harder as you reach your goal weight. If you still have a ways to go, be patient and just keep doing what you're doing. It will happen if you stick with it.
  • crissy976
    crissy976 Posts: 91 Member
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    everher wrote: »
    I would just be sure I'm accurately logging everything I eat. How often do you weigh yourself ? There has not been any change what so ever since October 26th ? Also, have you adjusted your calorie goal for your 10 lb weight loss ?

    I don't have a food scale, so I don't weigh anything, but I'm sure my portions are correct, because I've been successful in the past with weight loss and logging. However, I've hit the wonderful age of 40 this year and I know as we get older our metabolism slows down. I'm guessing that's why it's being a bit of a struggle this time. Honestly, I weigh myself every morning after I pee. lol... It doesn't discourage me or anything like that. I just do it out of habit anymore. There seriously has been NO change in my weight since 10/26. And yes, I have decreased my caloric intake, I believe, last week, to 1400... 100 cals less than what I was eating.
  • crissy976
    crissy976 Posts: 91 Member
    edited November 2016
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    Rocknut53 wrote: »
    What are your stats? How much do you want to lose? If you don't have a lot of weight to lose, it may be harder as you reach your goal weight. If you still have a ways to go, be patient and just keep doing what you're doing. It will happen if you stick with it.

    I weighed 180 lbs on Oct 1st when I started. I'm 5'10". 40 yrs old. My goal is 155 lbs, so I have 15 more pounds to go. So it's not a huge weight loss goal.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    edited November 2016
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    crissy976 wrote: »
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    crissy976 wrote: »
    I'm going to try to "shock" my body by switching things up a bit. Maybe my body has become "used to" my ways of dieting for the past month and has grown comfortable with the initial changes.

    Your body hasn't adapted to anything you have been doing for a month in any significant way that would stall your losses for two weeks from losing 2lb/week. "Shocking" it, whatever that means, isn't necessary.

    I just figure it might be used to what I've been doing for the past 5 weeks or so. I've read that if you change things up a bit (or like I called it, "shocking" ... lol) it might give my body a metabolism boost. No?

    No, and the turning 40 isn't a good excuse either. I'm in my 40s and can lose 2lb/wk pretty consistently. Try the food scale to tighten up your logging. Even prepackaged items are allowed to be off by 20% (usually 20% more) in their serving sizes. When you think about your most calorie dense items and add 20% to the calorie total, it is enough to wipe out/stall your losses. I see you said that it's close to TOM. Most women will gain 2-10lbs in water retention that week. If you don't want to try the food scale, then at least wait until TOM is over, there should be a good drop then.

    And stop reading diet/fitness information from magazines and blogs (I'm assuming this is where you are getting some of this information, if I'm wrong, then stop reading these other sources). They are so full of misinformation it's frightening. It creates confusion and leads people to feeling helpless and inept, when it really isn't all that complicated (that doesn't mean it's easy though).
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
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    This is a great collection of threads to read through. Should help you clear several things up:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10260499/i-like-old-posts-and-i-cannot-lie/p1
  • janetennet
    janetennet Posts: 143 Member
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    crissy976 wrote: »
    everher wrote: »
    I would just be sure I'm accurately logging everything I eat. How often do you weigh yourself ? There has not been any change what so ever since October 26th ? Also, have you adjusted your calorie goal for your 10 lb weight loss ?

    I don't have a food scale, so I don't weigh anything, but I'm sure my portions are correct, because I've been successful in the past with weight loss and logging. However, I've hit the wonderful age of 40 this year and I know as we get older our metabolism slows down. I'm guessing that's why it's being a bit of a struggle this time. Honestly, I weigh myself every morning after I pee. lol... It doesn't discourage me or anything like that. I just do it out of habit anymore. There seriously has been NO change in my weight since 10/26. And yes, I have decreased my caloric intake, I believe, last week, to 1400... 100 cals less than what I was eating.

    I'm very sorry but you cannot be sure your portions are correct UNLESS you are accurately weighing each item that you eat. I would suggest you invest in a food scale.
    Similarly it could also be intensified because of your impending TOM.
    Have you "recalibrated" your goal - after every 10pounds you lose you are meant to "reset" your goal which in turn lowers your calories to stop stalls.
  • sunfastrose
    sunfastrose Posts: 543 Member
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    You can't lose two pounds a week when you only have 15 pounds to go; the difference between your intake and your total calorie expenditure will not be large enough. Set your expectations lower - .5 pounds per week is reasonable for the amount you have to lose.
  • Bearbo27
    Bearbo27 Posts: 339 Member
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    Lack of food scale is your issue guaranteed. Just curious, how do you even log something like chickens breast accurately without a scale? I promise that if you get a food scale and weigh everything you eat, the weight will start to come off again. My guess is the first few pounds you lost were water weight, followed by a few more due to an overall calorie reduction. To have anymore decent weight loss you need to be more accurate in your logging.
  • Bearbo27
    Bearbo27 Posts: 339 Member
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    You can't lose two pounds a week when you only have 15 pounds to go; the difference between your intake and your total calorie expenditure will not be large enough. Set your expectations lower - .5 pounds per week is reasonable for the amount you have to lose.

    Also this^^^ you need to adjust your expectations. You should only aim to lose .5 lb per week with so little to lose. Also, the closer to your goal you get, the more accurate you need to be with your logging.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    crissy976 wrote: »
    Bearbo27 wrote: »
    Not for me. You have to understand that just because you eat to lose 2 lbs per week, doesn't mean it will always come off like that every week. I eat to lose 2 lbs per week but some weeks I lose .2 lbs and some weeks I lose 3.5lbs. Water retention is a big culprit. If you don't watch your sodium levels, you could be retaining water. Time of the month is another. I gain water weight during ovulation and the first few days of my period. Are you weighing and logging everything solid? If not, that can be a huge issue as well. You need to not use measuring cups or eyeball your portions. I weigh everything solid and pretty much try to ignore the scale during those two time each month. It has all worked for me. If you look at my chart of weight loss, it is not some straight line that goes instantly down.

    Funny you should mention that time of the month, because it's about that time now. Like, I should be getting it any day now. Last time I had a loss was the last time I had my period, ironically.

    Not really ironic. It is extremely common to have water weight gain leading up to menstruation and then see a drop-off right when your period starts.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10359984/women-menstrual-cycle-weight-and-fitness-matters/p1

    All, in all, 21 days of no weight loss for a woman doesn't mean you necessarily need to change anything. Compare weights at the same point in your menstrual cycle. One to two days after you start your period is usually a good time for it. If you don't have a decrease in weight between those two points, then drop your calories.
  • socioseguro
    socioseguro Posts: 1,679 Member
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