Confused if I should raise calories? Plateau?

kelhea · February 2017

Sorry if this doesn't make much sense, I don't really know how to explain it...
So I've hit a bit of a plateau with my weight loss. I've loss almost 45 pounds now and have gone back and forth with a pound for the last month now. What's confusing me is last night I ate well over my calories (+500) and this morning I have lost 2 pounds. Now I know that it could be that im not eating enough and that's why eating over kick started the metabolism but I have my calories already set at 1500-1700 a day (still exercising) and my bmr is 1514. So I'm quite hesitant to eat 2000 every day. Any suggestions if I should up my calories or if this was a one time thing? Or any suggestions on getting rid of a plateau? Again sorry if this makes no sense!

goalsforever03 · February 2017

Following

serindipte · February 2017

janejellyroll · February 2017

Overnight changes are a poor basis for changing your plan. There could be many reasons why you lost two pounds overnight, but none of them would be actual fat loss related to eating 500 calories over goal the day before.

Usually 6 weeks without a change is considered a plateau, but if you've been going back and forth for a month it could be that you've found the number of calories you need to maintain. Have you looked closely at your logging to eliminate potential logging issues? Sometimes when we don't lose it is because we're accidentally eating more than we think we are.

Alyssa_Is_LosingIt · February 2017

How much weight do you have left to lose?

If you lost 2 lbs over the past month, that's an average of .5 lbs per week, which isn't bad depending on how far you have left to go. Weight loss is not going to be completely linear - you may hold on to some weight for a few weeks and then lose a few lbs all at once, or you could gain a lb one week and the next week be down 1.5 lbs. The important thing is that you are on a downward trend over time.

P.S., there is no reason to worry about starvation mode or "kickstarting" your metabolism. That's not really a thing, at least not in the context you're imagining it.

goldthistime · February 2017

I've experienced the same on occasion, but don't let it fool you, permanently eating more will not speed up your weight loss. Perhaps it could be explained by retaining water because you were putting stress in your body pushing to lose more and when you eased up a bit, the water was released. Pretty sure that's what went on with me.

That extra food may have been the break your body needed but generally you just want to keep doing what you're doing.

jemhh · February 2017

Since you lost 2 pounds, I would not change anything at this point.

annacole94 · February 2017

I really needed to weigh in low today, so I had a beer last night to wake up a bit dehydrated. Totally worked.

No, adding a beer every day isn't going to help my weight loss.

And yes, you're essentially saying the same thing I am.

StaciMarie1974 · February 2017

Our bodies are not so efficient that what we do in one day automatically shows results the next day.

Your profile shows you are within 3 pounds of your goal weight. Your new smaller body burns less energy now than it did 40 pounds ago. Meaning that accuracy is very important now in order to have a deficit. Use a food scale, for everything solid. Expect to lose .5-1 pound a week at most, but a more reasonable # is 1-2 pounds a month.

kelhea wrote: »

Sorry if this doesn't make much sense, I don't really know how to explain it...
So I've hit a bit of a plateau with my weight loss. I've loss almost 45 pounds now and have gone back and forth with a pound for the last month now. What's confusing me is last night I ate well over my calories (+500) and this morning I have lost 2 pounds. Now I know that it could be that im not eating enough and that's why eating over kick started the metabolism but I have my calories already set at 1500-1700 a day (still exercising) and my bmr is 1514. So I'm quite hesitant to eat 2000 every day. Any suggestions if I should up my calories or if this was a one time thing? Or any suggestions on getting rid of a plateau? Again sorry if this makes no sense!

Tacklewasher · February 2017

annacole94 wrote: »

I really needed to weigh in low today, so I had a beer last night to wake up a bit dehydrated. Totally worked.

No, adding a beer every day isn't going to help my weight loss.

Damn!

I get the same thing, but the day following (so 2 mornings after the beer) I'm up.

youdoyou2016 · February 2017

This happens and is pretty common ... IMO, stick with your calories at a deficit. Sometimes I stay the same weight for weeks, and then I will drop 3 lbs in two days. I know people make it sound like the body works like a machine or with the predictable precision of a mathematical formula: X calories = Y loss per 7 days. Doesn't really seem to go that way -- at least for me. (I've lost over 100 lbs btw. Just keep doing what you're doing. Keep records, too -- over time you'll see trends, which I think helps when it feels like nothing is happening.)

Also, think of it this way: if the scale moves down this week (and stays down), it's probably because of what you did the previous week or two, not necessarily the previous 24 hrs.

annacole94 · February 2017

Tacklewasher wrote: »

annacole94 wrote: »

I really needed to weigh in low today, so I had a beer last night to wake up a bit dehydrated. Totally worked.

No, adding a beer every day isn't going to help my weight loss.

Damn!

I get the same thing, but the day following (so 2 mornings after the beer) I'm up.

I'm fine with that! I needed to be under 163 this morning to win my month on my diet bet. Now I've got 4 weeks to lose the next 5 lb, which severely limits my beer intake for the rest of the month.

lulalacroix · February 2017

Have you recalculated your deficit calories since your 45 pound loss?

Confused if I should raise calories? Plateau?

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