Weight loss has stopped

Hello! I'm 5'4 and weigh 158. I've been on 1200 calories a day for about 3 weeks, the first two weeks I lost 5-6 lbs which I assume is due to water weight loss. This past week no weight loss. I'm wondering if I should stay at 1200 calories or adjust my goals from 2 lbs of weight loss a week to 1/2 lb , based on reading other forums.
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Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Half a pound would be much better based on your stats, but weight loss isn't linear anyway. There could be a host of reasons why you didn't lose.
  • BlueSkyShoal
    BlueSkyShoal Posts: 325 Member
    Weight does fluctuate naturally from day to day, so don't get discouraged! I once had a day where I gained two pounds. Midday I weighed myself again--I had lost one pound. (Thanks to poopin', lol.) At the end of the day I weight myself once again--by that point I had lost another pound, so I was back to my 'original' weight from the day before. By the next morning I had lost a couple ounces on top of that.

    I've been thinking of adjusting my calories upward as well, because I don't have many more pounds to lose. It's all down to personal preference. :)
  • benjid69
    benjid69 Posts: 1 Member
    Wats the best way of loosening belly fat I gave cut carbs right down and fizzy pop in drinking week juice or water
  • StarvingDiva
    StarvingDiva Posts: 1,107 Member
    Are you do for your TOM? 3 weeks in I'd say you are probably near there, I can actually gain almost 5 lbs about a week before. Are you working out? is 1200 enough? I usually tweak things a bit until I see movement again. Either up my exercise a bit, change it up, up my calories, etc. play with my numbers a bit. I hit stalls all the time.
  • T0M_K
    T0M_K Posts: 7,526 Member
    benjid69 wrote: »
    Wats the best way of loosening belly fat I gave cut carbs right down and fizzy pop in drinking week juice or water

    you can't spot reduce. a calorie deficit with result in weight loss, some fat, some muscle. it goes away from where it wants. genetics plays a roll but what you eat other than perhaps higher protein to try to retain lean mass has little to do with it.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    Hello! I'm 5'4 and weigh 158. I've been on 1200 calories a day for about 3 weeks, the first two weeks I lost 5-6 lbs which I assume is due to water weight loss. This past week no weight loss. I'm wondering if I should stay at 1200 calories or adjust my goals from 2 lbs of weight loss a week to 1/2 lb , based on reading other forums.

    You've lost 5-6 pounds in 3 weeks. That's great. Weight loss has NOT stopped. Check back in a month.

    This, and do reduce your goal to at least 1 lb/week. :)
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    edited May 2017
    Hello! I'm 5'4 and weigh 158. I've been on 1200 calories a day for about 3 weeks, the first two weeks I lost 5-6 lbs which I assume is due to water weight loss. This past week no weight loss. I'm wondering if I should stay at 1200 calories or adjust my goals from 2 lbs of weight loss a week to 1/2 lb , based on reading other forums.

    Most people start out fast with lots of water weight loss. A few weeks in, the body realizes it dropped too much water and starts to retain some again, then it stays regulated.

    What this means in weight loss is: You lose a lot, 3-4 weeks in you stall or even gain a little, then you go back to normal targeted weight loss. The total cycle takes 4-6 weeks but if you are eating at a deficit, you will lose fat during that time.

    Wait for another couple of weeks. Assuming you are logging correctly, you do not need to do anything different.
  • misstrangiee
    misstrangiee Posts: 11 Member
    Are you do for your TOM? 3 weeks in I'd say you are probably near there, I can actually gain almost 5 lbs about a week before. Are you working out? is 1200 enough? I usually tweak things a bit until I see movement again. Either up my exercise a bit, change it up, up my calories, etc. play with my numbers a bit. I hit stalls all the time.

    What's TOM? I'm pretty active, I use my Fitbit to track everything and I usually get around 150-300 extra calories but I don't usually use them.
  • misstrangiee
    misstrangiee Posts: 11 Member
    Hello! I'm 5'4 and weigh 158. I've been on 1200 calories a day for about 3 weeks, the first two weeks I lost 5-6 lbs which I assume is due to water weight loss. This past week no weight loss. I'm wondering if I should stay at 1200 calories or adjust my goals from 2 lbs of weight loss a week to 1/2 lb , based on reading other forums.

    You've lost 5-6 pounds in 3 weeks. That's great. Weight loss has NOT stopped. Everyone loses a lot that first couple of weeks - it's normal. The scale takes a few days to catch up to that initial water weight loss, and normally most people start losing again in a couple of weeks. Check back in a month.

    Thank you! I will check back
  • BlueSkyShoal
    BlueSkyShoal Posts: 325 Member
    TOM = time of the month. :)
  • misstrangiee
    misstrangiee Posts: 11 Member
    earlnabby wrote: »
    Hello! I'm 5'4 and weigh 158. I've been on 1200 calories a day for about 3 weeks, the first two weeks I lost 5-6 lbs which I assume is due to water weight loss. This past week no weight loss. I'm wondering if I should stay at 1200 calories or adjust my goals from 2 lbs of weight loss a week to 1/2 lb , based on reading other forums.

    Most people start out fast with lots of water weight loss. A few weeks in, the body realizes it dropped too much water and starts to retain some again, then it stays regulated.

    What this means in weight loss is: You lose a lot, 3-4 weeks in you stall or even gain a little, then you go back to normal targeted weight loss. The total cycle takes 4-6 weeks but if you are eating at a deficit, you will lose fat during that time.

    Wait for another couple of weeks. Assuming you are logging correctly, you do not need to do anything different.


    So should I stay at 1200 cals a day? I weigh everything... my family is annoyed
  • misstrangiee
    misstrangiee Posts: 11 Member
    TOM = time of the month. :)

    Ahhh shark week hahah I get it next week
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    earlnabby wrote: »
    Hello! I'm 5'4 and weigh 158. I've been on 1200 calories a day for about 3 weeks, the first two weeks I lost 5-6 lbs which I assume is due to water weight loss. This past week no weight loss. I'm wondering if I should stay at 1200 calories or adjust my goals from 2 lbs of weight loss a week to 1/2 lb , based on reading other forums.

    Most people start out fast with lots of water weight loss. A few weeks in, the body realizes it dropped too much water and starts to retain some again, then it stays regulated.

    What this means in weight loss is: You lose a lot, 3-4 weeks in you stall or even gain a little, then you go back to normal targeted weight loss. The total cycle takes 4-6 weeks but if you are eating at a deficit, you will lose fat during that time.

    Wait for another couple of weeks. Assuming you are logging correctly, you do not need to do anything different.


    So should I stay at 1200 cals a day? I weigh everything... my family is annoyed

    Yes, keep doing what you are doing and wait another couple of weeks. After that, re-evaluate and decide if you need to eat more or stay the same.

    One thing though, if you have fewer than 50 lb to lose, you really should be eating to lose 1 lb a week. 2 lb a week is too aggressive for most people unless they need to lose 100 lb. or more.
  • BizMa2
    BizMa2 Posts: 6 Member
    Rotate your calories every day and change up your exercise routine. Keep the body guessing.
  • darrenstanley14
    darrenstanley14 Posts: 8 Member
    Hi, I came across this post and thought I could maybe give you an insight. First thing don't start yourself of at a loss on such a low caloric deficit. That amount of calories is going to be hard to sustain for a long period of time. I think I fact am pretty certain you could bump them calories up to around 1700-1800 calories a day minimum and still lose weight. You're losing weight to aggressively and will be sacrificing a lot of muscle mass there slow it down. Do you have a deadline or a specific goal? If not I think 0.5lb-1lb is more than enough. A few tips go for hi volume foods rather than calories dense. Weigh yourself daily in the morning after the toilet and note it down then at the end of the week so say Monday first thing then all the way till Sunday first thing. Add them up and divide by 7 and take an average then the following weeks do the same then see how much you are losing week to week on that average. This is a much better indication of weight loss as so many things can affect weight loss on a day to day basis examples - sleep, stress, sodium and many other factors. Continue you to weigh your foods and enjoy the process as I said stress will not help at all. Get a good intake of water too. What are you currently drinking as in how many litres a day? Any other questions feel free to ask.
  • darrenstanley14
    darrenstanley14 Posts: 8 Member
    edited May 2017
    I feel like I missed a few pointers too. So I'll post some when I get home. Sorry.
  • misstrangiee
    misstrangiee Posts: 11 Member
    Hi, I came across this post and thought I could maybe give you an insight. First thing don't start yourself of at a loss on such a low caloric deficit. That amount of calories is going to be hard to sustain for a long period of time. I think I fact am pretty certain you could bump them calories up to around 1700-1800 calories a day minimum and still lose weight. You're losing weight to aggressively and will be sacrificing a lot of muscle mass there slow it down. Do you have a deadline or a specific goal? If not I think 0.5lb-1lb is more than enough. A few tips go for hi volume foods rather than calories dense. Weigh yourself daily in the morning after the toilet and note it down then at the end of the week so say Monday first thing then all the way till Sunday first thing. Add them up and divide by 7 and take an average then the following weeks do the same then see how much you are losing week to week on that average. This is a much better indication of weight loss as so many things can affect weight loss on a day to day basis examples - sleep, stress, sodium and many other factors. Continue you to weigh your foods and enjoy the process as I said stress will not help at all. Get a good intake of water too. What are you currently drinking as in how many litres a day? Any other questions feel free to ask.

    Thanks so much for the notes! I stick to a high protein diet I usually get about 90-130 grams of protein a day sometimes more. I don't feel hungry but I do find myself "saving" calories for the end of the day for fear that I'll be hungry before I sleep. I've recently added more fiber into my diet also, going regularly is an issue for me. I drink well over a gallon a day, I stop measuring after I hit a gallon so I'm not exactly sure how much more I drink.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,162 Member
    Hi, I came across this post and thought I could maybe give you an insight. First thing don't start yourself of at a loss on such a low caloric deficit. That amount of calories is going to be hard to sustain for a long period of time. I think I fact am pretty certain you could bump them calories up to around 1700-1800 calories a day minimum and still lose weight. You're losing weight to aggressively and will be sacrificing a lot of muscle mass there slow it down. Do you have a deadline or a specific goal? If not I think 0.5lb-1lb is more than enough. A few tips go for hi volume foods rather than calories dense. Weigh yourself daily in the morning after the toilet and note it down then at the end of the week so say Monday first thing then all the way till Sunday first thing. Add them up and divide by 7 and take an average then the following weeks do the same then see how much you are losing week to week on that average. This is a much better indication of weight loss as so many things can affect weight loss on a day to day basis examples - sleep, stress, sodium and many other factors. Continue you to weigh your foods and enjoy the process as I said stress will not help at all. Get a good intake of water too. What are you currently drinking as in how many litres a day? Any other questions feel free to ask.

    Thanks so much for the notes! I stick to a high protein diet I usually get about 90-130 grams of protein a day sometimes more. I don't feel hungry but I do find myself "saving" calories for the end of the day for fear that I'll be hungry before I sleep. I've recently added more fiber into my diet also, going regularly is an issue for me. I drink well over a gallon a day, I stop measuring after I hit a gallon so I'm not exactly sure how much more I drink.

    Getting some fat is also important, when it comes to keeping yourself regular. Perhaps you're already doing this, but I mention it because some people cut fat way too much, thinking it's necessary in order to lose weight. It's not.
  • misstrangiee
    misstrangiee Posts: 11 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Hi, I came across this post and thought I could maybe give you an insight. First thing don't start yourself of at a loss on such a low caloric deficit. That amount of calories is going to be hard to sustain for a long period of time. I think I fact am pretty certain you could bump them calories up to around 1700-1800 calories a day minimum and still lose weight. You're losing weight to aggressively and will be sacrificing a lot of muscle mass there slow it down. Do you have a deadline or a specific goal? If not I think 0.5lb-1lb is more than enough. A few tips go for hi volume foods rather than calories dense. Weigh yourself daily in the morning after the toilet and note it down then at the end of the week so say Monday first thing then all the way till Sunday first thing. Add them up and divide by 7 and take an average then the following weeks do the same then see how much you are losing week to week on that average. This is a much better indication of weight loss as so many things can affect weight loss on a day to day basis examples - sleep, stress, sodium and many other factors. Continue you to weigh your foods and enjoy the process as I said stress will not help at all. Get a good intake of water too. What are you currently drinking as in how many litres a day? Any other questions feel free to ask.

    Thanks so much for the notes! I stick to a high protein diet I usually get about 90-130 grams of protein a day sometimes more. I don't feel hungry but I do find myself "saving" calories for the end of the day for fear that I'll be hungry before I sleep. I've recently added more fiber into my diet also, going regularly is an issue for me. I drink well over a gallon a day, I stop measuring after I hit a gallon so I'm not exactly sure how much more I drink.

    Getting some fat is also important, when it comes to keeping yourself regular. Perhaps you're already doing this, but I mention it because some people cut fat way too much, thinking it's necessary in order to lose weight. It's not.

    I get around 30g a day. Is that too much or enough?
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,162 Member
    Hello! I'm 5'4 and weigh 158. I've been on 1200 calories a day for about 3 weeks, the first two weeks I lost 5-6 lbs which I assume is due to water weight loss. This past week no weight loss. I'm wondering if I should stay at 1200 calories or adjust my goals from 2 lbs of weight loss a week to 1/2 lb , based on reading other forums.

    I joined MFP at about the stage you're at now. (IIRC, I was 154 pounds at 5'5" when I joined, but I'd been in a calorie deficit for 4 months or so beforehand without MFP, SW = 183.) At this stage, 1 pound would be a reasonable weight loss rate, 1.5 at the outside. I tried 1200 for a while when I first got here, and it was too low for me (even at age 59 at the time) - lost too fast, felt fatigued and weak, corrected that ASAP.

    As others have said, it's common to lose rapidly the first couple of weeks, then pause for a bit, especially if your menstrual cycle is at a stage where you hold onto a little water weight (which can happen any time from ovulation through menstruation - women vary). With patience, your fat loss outpaces your water weight gain/loss, and you start seeing the scale move downward again (but not in straight-line fashion: Expect ups and downs, with an overall downward trend).

    Once you have a month to 6 weeks experience, you'll get a good estimate of your actual average weight loss rate (ignore those first couple of wonky weeks). Try to keep that average at no more than 1% of your body weight per week, less as you get within 25 pounds or so from goal.

    (I joined in July 2015, and hit goal at 120 pounds in February 2016 - that may not be a rational goal for everyone at my height, but I'm built like a 14-year-old boy, broad shoulders, no hips to mention, literally no breasts (post-mastectomy)).

    You're doing great! Keep the loss rate reasonable, at an average loss rate you can sustain consistently (slowing it down as goal approaches), and just stick with it. Wishing you much success!
  • misstrangiee
    misstrangiee Posts: 11 Member
    edited May 2017
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Hello! I'm 5'4 and weigh 158. I've been on 1200 calories a day for about 3 weeks, the first two weeks I lost 5-6 lbs which I assume is due to water weight loss. This past week no weight loss. I'm wondering if I should stay at 1200 calories or adjust my goals from 2 lbs of weight loss a week to 1/2 lb , based on reading other forums.

    I joined MFP at about the stage you're at now. (IIRC, I was 154 pounds at 5'5" when I joined, but I'd been in a calorie deficit for 4 months or so beforehand without MFP, SW = 183.) At this stage, 1 pound would be a reasonable weight loss rate, 1.5 at the outside. I tried 1200 for a while when I first got here, and it was too low for me (even at age 59 at the time) - lost too fast, felt fatigued and weak, corrected that ASAP.

    As others have said, it's common to lose rapidly the first couple of weeks, then pause for a bit, especially if your menstrual cycle is at a stage where you hold onto a little water weight (which can happen any time from ovulation through menstruation - women vary). With patience, your fat loss outpaces your water weight gain/loss, and you start seeing the scale move downward again (but not in straight-line fashion: Expect ups and downs, with an overall downward trend).

    Once you have a month to 6 weeks experience, you'll get a good estimate of your actual average weight loss rate (ignore those first couple of wonky weeks). Try to keep that average at no more than 1% of your body weight per week, less as you get within 25 pounds or so from goal.

    (I joined in July 2015, and hit goal at 120 pounds in February 2016 - that may not be a rational goal for everyone at my height, but I'm built like a 14-year-old boy, broad shoulders, no hips to mention, literally no breasts (post-mastectomy)).

    You're doing great! Keep the loss rate reasonable, at an average loss rate you can sustain consistently (slowing it down as goal approaches), and just stick with it. Wishing you much success!

    Thank you so much for the feed back! I started out at 196.5 probably around 6 years ago and have just been slowly losing weight every year. I used MFP in the beginning and just started the app again for this diet. My goal weight is around 140-145 so I have about 15 lbs left to lose. I felt fine the first two weeks but this third week has been hard on me, I do feel fatigued, but I'm not sure if it's from sleep or because my cycle is coming up. Plus the cravings this week have hit me hard, as usual a week before my cycle.
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,571 Member
    I'm 5'4". At 158 I'd personally shoot for 1 lb, plus exercise calories.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,162 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Hello! I'm 5'4 and weigh 158. I've been on 1200 calories a day for about 3 weeks, the first two weeks I lost 5-6 lbs which I assume is due to water weight loss. This past week no weight loss. I'm wondering if I should stay at 1200 calories or adjust my goals from 2 lbs of weight loss a week to 1/2 lb , based on reading other forums.

    I joined MFP at about the stage you're at now. (IIRC, I was 154 pounds at 5'5" when I joined, but I'd been in a calorie deficit for 4 months or so beforehand without MFP, SW = 183.) At this stage, 1 pound would be a reasonable weight loss rate, 1.5 at the outside. I tried 1200 for a while when I first got here, and it was too low for me (even at age 59 at the time) - lost too fast, felt fatigued and weak, corrected that ASAP.

    As others have said, it's common to lose rapidly the first couple of weeks, then pause for a bit, especially if your menstrual cycle is at a stage where you hold onto a little water weight (which can happen any time from ovulation through menstruation - women vary). With patience, your fat loss outpaces your water weight gain/loss, and you start seeing the scale move downward again (but not in straight-line fashion: Expect ups and downs, with an overall downward trend).

    Once you have a month to 6 weeks experience, you'll get a good estimate of your actual average weight loss rate (ignore those first couple of wonky weeks). Try to keep that average at no more than 1% of your body weight per week, less as you get within 25 pounds or so from goal.

    (I joined in July 2015, and hit goal at 120 pounds in February 2016 - that may not be a rational goal for everyone at my height, but I'm built like a 14-year-old boy, broad shoulders, no hips to mention, literally no breasts (post-mastectomy)).

    You're doing great! Keep the loss rate reasonable, at an average loss rate you can sustain consistently (slowing it down as goal approaches), and just stick with it. Wishing you much success!

    Thank you so much for the feed back! I started out at 196.5 probably around 6 years ago and have just been slowly losing weight every year. I used MFP in the beginning and just started the app again for this diet. My goal weight is around 140-145 so I have about 15 lbs left to lose. I felt fine the first two weeks but this third week has been hard on me, I do feel fatigued, but I'm not sure if it's from sleep or because my cycle is coming up. Plus the cravings this week have hit me hard, as usual a week before my cycle.

    Given those additional clarifications, I'd encourage reducing your loss rate to 1 pound a week, or even 0.5: Less likely to be fatigued, improved room to respond to cravings, and 0.5 would be a better loss rate with only 10 pounds to go. You can kind of start practicing maintenance strategies, and eventually gradually increase calories a little at a time, to "coast" into maintenance when you get to goal.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,162 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Hi, I came across this post and thought I could maybe give you an insight. First thing don't start yourself of at a loss on such a low caloric deficit. That amount of calories is going to be hard to sustain for a long period of time. I think I fact am pretty certain you could bump them calories up to around 1700-1800 calories a day minimum and still lose weight. You're losing weight to aggressively and will be sacrificing a lot of muscle mass there slow it down. Do you have a deadline or a specific goal? If not I think 0.5lb-1lb is more than enough. A few tips go for hi volume foods rather than calories dense. Weigh yourself daily in the morning after the toilet and note it down then at the end of the week so say Monday first thing then all the way till Sunday first thing. Add them up and divide by 7 and take an average then the following weeks do the same then see how much you are losing week to week on that average. This is a much better indication of weight loss as so many things can affect weight loss on a day to day basis examples - sleep, stress, sodium and many other factors. Continue you to weigh your foods and enjoy the process as I said stress will not help at all. Get a good intake of water too. What are you currently drinking as in how many litres a day? Any other questions feel free to ask.

    Thanks so much for the notes! I stick to a high protein diet I usually get about 90-130 grams of protein a day sometimes more. I don't feel hungry but I do find myself "saving" calories for the end of the day for fear that I'll be hungry before I sleep. I've recently added more fiber into my diet also, going regularly is an issue for me. I drink well over a gallon a day, I stop measuring after I hit a gallon so I'm not exactly sure how much more I drink.

    Getting some fat is also important, when it comes to keeping yourself regular. Perhaps you're already doing this, but I mention it because some people cut fat way too much, thinking it's necessary in order to lose weight. It's not.

    I get around 30g a day. Is that too much or enough?

    Everyone has his/her own opinion about macros, but I personally go for .35-.45g minimum per pound of healthy goal weight, for fats. For me (goal 120), that's 42-54g. If you're going to add some calories to slow your loss rate anyway, maybe add some tasty healthy fats to your day, such as a small portion of nuts, avocado, and/or some olive oil in/on something - some healthy fat source that you enjoy. Try an experiment for a week, maybe, and see if it improves your "throughput", since you're already getting plenty of fiber (presumably) and water (certainly).
  • mohamedahmed07
    mohamedahmed07 Posts: 161 Member
    158 pounds 1200 calories? What the *kitten* man? Look here, from experience and achievements, you need to only read this comment, 1200 calories ain't *kitten* for 158, I am 170 and I cut at 1.800 calories with only lifting weight (no cardio) you need to only cut your calories back to 15-25% deficit, (250-400) maximum. exercise the rest, for example do a 10minute HIIT workout (10minutes excluding warmup-recovery etc) or 20minutes normal cardio. both will burn around 120-200 calories. depends on your intensity (hiit better ofc)

    and it's best if you lift weight, the more muscle you have the more calories you burn to maintain them (45 minutes resistance training is about 150 calories burned) combining both would be

    combining cardio with weight lifting that's around 300+, plus 300 from calorie deficit, 600 is pretty good, don't go over 750, that's an advise. And if you don't exercise, at least walk for 30minutes, if you can't at all, go for 500 calories deficit.

    But PLATEAUSES occurs mostly from carbohydrates, some people can't tolerate too much carbohydrates, and it seems you are afraid of fats, lower your carbohydrates to 25% and up your fat to I would say 45-50% and 30-35% protein

    If these don't work, go see a doctor because your hormones are so *kitten* up then
  • misstrangiee
    misstrangiee Posts: 11 Member
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    I'm 5'4". At 158 I'd personally shoot for 1 lb, plus exercise calories.

    I changed my goals to 1 lb a week! Thanks for your input :)