When did your weight loss slow down?

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aeloine
aeloine Posts: 2,163 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Goal is to lose 75-100 pounds. 25 down in 9 weeks, so I'm averaging just over 2.5 pounds per week, but that's to be expected since I'm starting so high. For those who have lost a significant amount of weight, when did your weight loss slow down? I've heard about plateaus and that the last X number of pounds are the hardest to lose, etc. Just wanting to keep an eye on it and to get ahead of the curve on getting discouraged once I get to that point.

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  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    edited July 2017
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    My weight loss slowed when I increased my calories. I lost ~50 pounds in 9.5 months. For about the first 6 months I ate 1400-1600 aiming for about 1.5 pounds per week. (Initially, as I lost weight my daily burn decreased slightly.) The last few months, I ate 1600-1800.

    As to the last few pounds being harder/slower, its not just because they are the last few pounds. A smaller person uses less energy than a larger person, all else being equal. A person with 5-10 pounds to lose is a smaller person than someone with 75-100 pounds to lose. So for now, you can handle a 500-1000/day deficit and possibly a little more. In 75 pounds, you'll probably only be able to do 500/day and still eat enough food to meet your needs.

    If you plug some #s into a Total Daily Energy Expenditure calculator (Google will bring some up) you'll see what I mean. WHen I started, I was burning 2300 per day. Now I burn 1800-2000 per day. (I'm in maintenance.)
  • womanisadevil
    womanisadevil Posts: 52 Member
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    My highest weight was around 210-215lbs and now I'm 160lbs. Ive been finding it tougher the last 4 pounds, it's not falling off like it used to!

    I get too hangry (hungry angry) if I lower my calories under 1500-1700 so I'm just exercising more and dealing with the slower process. I'm going to lower a bit soon with any luck.

    Only 5 foot tall so I still have about 40 pounds to lose but I've come to the decision that taking it slowly is better than getting discouraged and relapsing as I usually have done by now.
    This is my lowest weight in about 13 years when I was 12 years old. (25 now)

    When it does slow for you, don't fret.
    It can be discouraging, especially when you just seen yourself lose 2-3lbs a week.
    I got a bit frustrated at first.
    But it took me 13 years to gain it so I know it's not going to come off any time soon. :wink:

    Good luck!!
  • MoyMG
    MoyMG Posts: 312 Member
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    I've lost 140+ pounds. I have another 75 I want to lose prior to a "body tuck" (at my age - 64 - there is no hope of loose skin shrinking.) Your weight loss will plateau occasionally, and the best thing you can do is accept that your body is recalibrating, and just keep on keeping on. Make sure you recalculate your appropriate caloric range every 10 pounds or so, because as you shrink, your caloric requirements to maintain your current mass will shrink. If you plateau for several weeks, try shaking up some aspect - either switch up your exercise program, or INCREASE your daily calorie count for one week. Good luck!
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,874 Member
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    My weight loss slowed down when I reached my goal and increased my calories.
  • LisaTcan
    LisaTcan Posts: 410 Member
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    My loss always slows when I get into a healthy BMI and I'm losing vanity weight. Right now I'm trying to get from 148-135 and it's going very slowly.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
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    I have increased my energy expenditure and decreased caloric intake as I have gotten nearer my goal so my rate of loss has not slowed down.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
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    never really. I mean obviously the time I was at maintenance but for as long as I can remember I lost weight according to the deficit I kept the entire time I was cutting.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,170 Member
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    Mine slowed down when I intentionally slowed it down by eating a bit more, because losing too fast is more risky.

    1% of your body weight per week us a reasonable maximum loss rate unless you're very obese. Once you're within 50 pounds(-ish) of goal, its good to slow it to 1-1.5lbs/week, then 0.5-1lbs/wk at about 25 to go, and 0.5lb/week or less at 10 to go.
  • aeloine
    aeloine Posts: 2,163 Member
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    Thanks guys! @AnnPT77 , 1% or less is what I've been at since starting, but I'll keep the "1-1.5lbs/week, then 0.5-1lbs/wk at about 25 to go, and 0.5lb/week or less at 10 to go" In mind.
  • SeikoMonster
    SeikoMonster Posts: 105 Member
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    Its math.
    The less you weigh, the less you burn just standing around. Also the less you burn in the same amount of time doing the same exercise at the same intensity.

    Example at 400 pounds, you burn 3800 calories a day with zero exercise. When you are 250 pounds only 2700 calories being sedentary.
  • Lizzypb88
    Lizzypb88 Posts: 367 Member
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    I'm down 90 pounds, my weight loss slowed down over time but veryyyy gradually.. at 70 pounds down I stalled and probably wasn't trying my hardest, but ever since I hit 70 pounds down I have to work much harder to lose.. like you said when you're heavier you lose more in the beginning. As long as you're eating at a calorie deficit you will lose weight, I wouldn't worry about it
  • Chadxx
    Chadxx Posts: 1,199 Member
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    It slowed when I intentionally decreased my deficit because it was time to slow down. I lost 152 pounds with no plateaus. It is all about the calorie deficit.
  • juleeahnah
    juleeahnah Posts: 6 Member
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    I'm 5ft 8in, started at 168 lbs---currently 145 lbs-- goal is 135 lbs. Once I hit the 140's I slowed quite a bit but I also increased my calories. I could drop .75-1 lb per week but I found it made me feel miserable (constant fatigue, headaches despite drinking water, etc.) Dropped my goal to 1/2 per wk at that time and now feel much better. It is a tad frustrating to see 1.5-2lbs come off monthly, but you get used to it. A nice thing I've noticed about losing this slowly is that occasional deviations from deficits don't have a huge effect of the scale. I spent the last long weekend at wedding festivities eating BBQ and Mexican food ( + cake!) and drinking lots of wine/beer/champagne for several days. Yeah I gained .6 lbs (maybe legit, maybe water weight, who knows), but I'll actually end up down .2 lb overall this week despite the crazy weekend. Slow and steady is the way to go in my opinion. Good luck!
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    I lost almost 150. The first 50 took 6 months, the next 50 took 9 months, the last 50 took a year

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