Started walking, weight loss stopped
sweetgeeek
Posts: 22 Member
5'5/189/33F. Hypothyroid. 1400 calories a day. 55lbs down, 34lbs to go.
Lost 55lbs without exercise. Decided to start walking, not necessarily for weight loss but just because I enjoy it.
I started walking 4 weeks ago. I've been outside walking 3 times a week, at least 3 miles every time.
Since the day I started I haven't lost a pound. Haven't gained. Just stalled.
I eat my 1400. Sometimes I eat half my exercise calories but most of the time I don't because I feel full.
I'm not going to quit walking or calorie counting. I refuse to quit because I'm stalling. But I am feeling pretty disappointed.
Any advice/tips/stories to share?
Lost 55lbs without exercise. Decided to start walking, not necessarily for weight loss but just because I enjoy it.
I started walking 4 weeks ago. I've been outside walking 3 times a week, at least 3 miles every time.
Since the day I started I haven't lost a pound. Haven't gained. Just stalled.
I eat my 1400. Sometimes I eat half my exercise calories but most of the time I don't because I feel full.
I'm not going to quit walking or calorie counting. I refuse to quit because I'm stalling. But I am feeling pretty disappointed.
Any advice/tips/stories to share?
0
Replies
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Hi
I also have the same problem. Started walking 8000 steps a day about 2 months ago. Together with my normal cycling. Have been on the same weight for almost 2 months now. Going up 1kg and back again. Thats it. Tried less calories, then again a bit more. But no results.1 -
Sometimes when you start a new exercise you hold on to water weight because your muscles use it for repair. If you're sore at all, you're probably retaining water.
You might also want to look at how you're calculating your calorie burn from the walking. Some of the estimators will say you burned a crazy high number of calories, so even eating back half that much can cut into your deficit.
I assume you're weighing your food to calculate your calories, and haven't changed anything there.
Other than that, just be patient. My loss slowed for a while then started trending down again.6 -
You might also try to take other measurements to see if you are progressing in other ways - I found when I started exercise that my weight loss stalled but I was still losing centimeters. I was definitely glad to be taking tape measurements so I could track my body recomposition because I was also getting frustrated with not seeing the scales change.
Try to focus on the added benefits as well - you're obviously enjoying walking and it's giving you a mental health boost so that's great!5 -
I absolutely agree with evivahealth! Take measurements. You are likely building muscle, and toning your body, but measurements will continue to drop, even if weight doesn't. Keep it up!
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mreidkramer wrote: »I absolutely agree with evivahealth! Take measurements. You are likely building muscle, and toning your body, but measurements will continue to drop, even if weight doesn't. Keep it up!
If she is walking and eating in a deficit, she is not building muscle.
OP, could be many things. Usually when I start a new exercise program I retain water for a few weeks until my body adjusts. Give it a little time and, if you are still stalled, take a look at your logging.9 -
Good job on the walking. Don't eat back too many exercise cals. Tighten up your food weighing and logging. Recalculate your calorie needs in MFP. Check with doctor if you need medication adjustment for thyroid. Walking is great, keep doing it, forever!2
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So many other factors could possibly be at play here. You've lost enough weight to know that isn't linear and sometimes you can stall for weeks.
Any change in sleep patterns, nutrition, stress? Are you doing other training besides walking? If so, are you showing any signs of overtraining?
I'm assuming you're weighing and logging food correctly. Have you made a major shift in macros? Are you eating more sodium or carbs? These can cause your body to retain more H2O.
Remember calculating exercise calories isn't an exact science, so you might have to make some adjustments here.
Have you had your T3, T4, and TSH checked?
Unless you're very heavy (which if you were you wouldn't be eating 1400 calories), or carrying some type of load, I doubt you're building so much muscle just from walking that it is stalling your weight loss. There is some other culprit at play. I encourage you to examine each one, and you might have to take on the role of a lab rat for awhile to isolate it. Good luck!
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singletrackmtbr wrote: »So many other factors could possibly be at play here. You've lost enough weight to know that isn't linear and sometimes you can stall for weeks.
Any change in sleep patterns, nutrition, stress? Are you doing other training besides walking? If so, are you showing any signs of overtraining?
I'm assuming you're weighing and logging food correctly. Have you made a major shift in macros? Are you eating more sodium or carbs? These can cause your body to retain more H2O.
Remember calculating exercise calories isn't an exact science, so you might have to make some adjustments here.
Have you had your T3, T4, and TSH checked?
Unless you're very heavy (which if you were you wouldn't be eating 1400 calories), or carrying some type of load, I doubt you're building so much muscle just from walking that it is stalling your weight loss. There is some other culprit at play. I encourage you to examine each one, and you might have to take on the role of a lab rat for awhile to isolate it. Good luck!
I wouldn't make that assumption
How are you logging your food?1 -
stanmann571 wrote: »singletrackmtbr wrote: »So many other factors could possibly be at play here. You've lost enough weight to know that isn't linear and sometimes you can stall for weeks.
Any change in sleep patterns, nutrition, stress? Are you doing other training besides walking? If so, are you showing any signs of overtraining?
I'm assuming you're weighing and logging food correctly. Have you made a major shift in macros? Are you eating more sodium or carbs? These can cause your body to retain more H2O.
Remember calculating exercise calories isn't an exact science, so you might have to make some adjustments here.
Have you had your T3, T4, and TSH checked?
Unless you're very heavy (which if you were you wouldn't be eating 1400 calories), or carrying some type of load, I doubt you're building so much muscle just from walking that it is stalling your weight loss. There is some other culprit at play. I encourage you to examine each one, and you might have to take on the role of a lab rat for awhile to isolate it. Good luck!
I wouldn't make that assumption
How are you logging your food?
You're nitpicking here. I think it's pretty obvious I'm telling her to ask herself the same question.3 -
I actually went to the Dr last week to get my levels checked and they were great, thank goodness.
I do weigh and measure all food. I'm pretty strict with it. I looked back at my macros and the only thing I could really see different is I'm not eating as much protein as I have been. Can that really make a difference?
I sometimes eat back some exercise calories, but not often. MapMyWalk says I burn 500 and I don't believe that at all. I'll eat maybe 150 of it back.
I have had stalls in my 55lb weight loss, but none for a month. I didn't know if it's something I'm doing or not doing that's causing it. I appreciate all the comments so far, thank you!2 -
lesleykjones wrote: »I actually went to the Dr last week to get my levels checked and they were great, thank goodness.
I do weigh and measure all food. I'm pretty strict with it. I looked back at my macros and the only thing I could really see different is I'm not eating as much protein as I have been. Can that really make a difference?
I sometimes eat back some exercise calories, but not often. MapMyWalk says I burn 500 and I don't believe that at all. I'll eat maybe 150 of it back.
I have had stalls in my 55lb weight loss, but none for a month. I didn't know if it's something I'm doing or not doing that's causing it. I appreciate all the comments so far, thank you!
For your logging, you should be weighing all of your solids if you aren't already. There can be quite a large difference between calories in a measured cup serving vs. the actual grams. Peanut butter is especially disappointing
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lesleykjones wrote: »I actually went to the Dr last week to get my levels checked and they were great, thank goodness.
I do weigh and measure all food. I'm pretty strict with it. I looked back at my macros and the only thing I could really see different is I'm not eating as much protein as I have been. Can that really make a difference?
I sometimes eat back some exercise calories, but not often. MapMyWalk says I burn 500 and I don't believe that at all. I'll eat maybe 150 of it back.
I have had stalls in my 55lb weight loss, but none for a month. I didn't know if it's something I'm doing or not doing that's causing it. I appreciate all the comments so far, thank you!
It shouldn't, at least not in terms of simple weight loss. How about some of the other questions?
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lesleykjones wrote: »I actually went to the Dr last week to get my levels checked and they were great, thank goodness.
I do weigh and measure all food. I'm pretty strict with it. I looked back at my macros and the only thing I could really see different is I'm not eating as much protein as I have been. Can that really make a difference?
I sometimes eat back some exercise calories, but not often. MapMyWalk says I burn 500 and I don't believe that at all. I'll eat maybe 150 of it back.
I have had stalls in my 55lb weight loss, but none for a month. I didn't know if it's something I'm doing or not doing that's causing it. I appreciate all the comments so far, thank you!
Mapmywalk is notoriously bad at overestimating calories. Depending on distance, 150 may still be too high.
https://www.runnersworld.com/peak-performance/running-v-walking-how-many-calories-will-you-burn
After 55 lbs, you may need to re-look at your desired rate of loss and calories required.1 -
lesleykjones wrote: »I actually went to the Dr last week to get my levels checked and they were great, thank goodness.
I do weigh and measure all food. I'm pretty strict with it. I looked back at my macros and the only thing I could really see different is I'm not eating as much protein as I have been. Can that really make a difference?
I sometimes eat back some exercise calories, but not often. MapMyWalk says I burn 500 and I don't believe that at all. I'll eat maybe 150 of it back.
I have had stalls in my 55lb weight loss, but none for a month. I didn't know if it's something I'm doing or not doing that's causing it. I appreciate all the comments so far, thank you!
For your logging, you should be weighing all of your solids if you aren't already. There can be quite a large difference between calories in a measured cup serving vs. the actual grams. Peanut butter is especially disappointing
I agree with this. I measure everything in grams. Again, though, it's important to remember none of this is an exact science. If you were losing consistently and suddenly stopped I doubt it was because you didn't measure your food to the exact gram. I still theorize there is something else in the way.1 -
If you aren't able to nail down any other causative factors, you might want to consider strength training. I would encourage you to research this as it has been proven over and over it will help you lose weight. It might be the jumpstart you need, and now that you've dropped 55#, you'll probably feel good enough to crush a new program.2
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I do weigh solid and measure liquids. When I first started my weight loss I stalled at 20lbs because I realized I was measuring solids too, haha!
My sleeping is the same, no other exercise except the walking right now. I am a little stressed, about to start college soon.
I do have some soreness in my legs but otherwise I feel better than I have been in a long time!0 -
lesleykjones wrote: »I do weigh solid and measure liquids. When I first started my weight loss I stalled at 20lbs because I realized I was measuring solids too, haha!
My sleeping is the same, no other exercise except the walking right now. I am a little stressed, about to start college soon.
I do have some soreness in my legs but otherwise I feel better than I have been in a long time!
Don't underestimate this factor...3 -
As other have pointed out, make sure your logging is tight in regards to actual portions as well as the entries from the database you are using.
As you lose weight, margin for error shrinks. Also, if you've lost 55 Lbs I'm assuming you've been dieting for awhile...prolonged dieting will ultimately result in adaptive thermogenesis. Sometimes you just have to take a break and up calories a bit for a week or so and then drop them again. That always worked for me.0 -
Just a suggestion, but have you been drinking enough water? For me when I stalled I found that I wasn't drinking enough water so I got a water bottle to be sure that for me I was drinking at least 80 oz (I actually drink close or over 100oz, but I just like water). That seemed to make a big difference for me when I started to workout harder. Just something else to try to look at.5
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Firstly... Great progress so far and you seem really dedicated to your food macros. So as a few people have mentioned there could be a number of reasons you have plateaued, however there are a few things you can do.
a) Eat at your calorie TDEE, or just over for a few days. Seems counter productive to eat more, but over time whilst maintaining a deficit, your body launches into survival mode, your metabolism slows right down and starts to store fat. A few days at maintenance or just over is the perfect way to reverse the process
b) When you are out on your walk mix up your pace... Walk as quick as you can for 2 mins, then walk at a steady state to catch your breath for 30-45 seconds then go again. This is the basis of interval training which is proven to
kick your body into blubber busting mode.
c) Change your focus from "weight loss" to "fat reduction." If you "looked" a certain way (your ideal look), would you really care about your total mass? Fat is the key here and whilst your overall body mass might be stalling, you could still be reducing body fat which is the key. Keep the scale, but measure your arms, thighs, tummy, hips and *kitten* or have your GP, PT measure your BF percentage once a month and keep pushing to reduce.
d) Take the plunge and join a gym or class and get on the weights or body weight exercises
Just to be clear (as someone mentioned it above)... If you have been inactive for an age and have just started to exercise, and you have a mid to high level of body fat, you will be increasing your muscle density. Your muscles will begin to develop and retain more "water" (they are already 80% water based) as a reaction to a change in activity. Your legs are sore because the muscles are breaking down (this is a good thing) and then repairing (growing). So it is possible that you are building muscle and reducing body fat at the same time. In fact, just starting out you would see the biggest changes in the first 6 months
Make a small change, monitor for a few weeks then make another if required.
You're clearly doing great and hope some of my advice works for you!
JD
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JohnnyDee81 wrote: »Firstly... Great progress so far and you seem really dedicated to your food macros. So as a few people have mentioned there could be a number of reasons you have plateaued, however there are a few things you can do.
a) Eat at your calorie TDEE, or just over for a few days. Seems counter productive to eat more, but over time whilst maintaining a deficit, your body launches into survival mode, your metabolism slows right down and starts to store fat. A few days at maintenance or just over is the perfect way to reverse the process
Close, but no.
b) When you are out on your walk mix up your pace... Walk as quick as you can for 2 mins, then walk at a steady state to catch your breath for 30-45 seconds then go again. This is the basis of interval training which is proven to
kick your body into blubber busting mode.
Still No!
c) Change your focus from "weight loss" to "fat reduction." If you "looked" a certain way (your ideal look), would you really care about your total mass? Fat is the key here and whilst your overall body mass might be stalling, you could still be reducing body fat which is the key. Keep the scale, but measure your arms, thighs, tummy, hips and *kitten* or have your GP, PT measure your BF percentage once a month and keep pushing to reduce.
Not by walking.. So again. No!
d) Take the plunge and join a gym or class and get on the weights or body weight exercises
Just to be clear (as someone mentioned it above)... If you have been inactive for an age and have just started to exercise, and you have a mid to high level of body fat, you will be increasing your muscle density. Your muscles will begin to develop and retain more "water" (they are already 80% water based) as a reaction to a change in activity. Your legs are sore because the muscles are breaking down (this is a good thing) and then repairing (growing). So it is possible that you are building muscle and reducing body fat at the same time. In fact, just starting out you would see the biggest changes in the first 6 months
Almost, but still, No!
Water retention isn't muscle building.. And she's only walking.
Make a small change, monitor for a few weeks then make another if required.
You're clearly doing great and hope some of my advice works for you!
JD
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lesleykjones wrote: »I do weigh and measure all food. I'm pretty strict with it. I looked back at my macros and the only thing I could really see different is I'm not eating as much protein as I have been. Can that really make a difference?
If you've replaced protein with carbs, then you may be storing more glycogen and also storing the related water. Have you increased carbs a lot?
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In my opinion you should up that protein. And fat. Sometimes it seems that my body won't let go of the fat until I feed it some! Maybe try it for a couple of days? Then go back to what you were doing but don't eat those exercise calories back. Just my two cents but I've been doing it forever with success.2
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I try and drink 1 gallon of water a day. Is that enough?
I am eating about the same carbs, just the protein has changed a little. I can try going back to more protein.
Please correct me if I'm wrong but I thought weight loss is calories in/calories out. Upping or lowering macros will help?
I know something is up, or I wouldn't be where I'm at. I'm just at a loss because I've been doing right for so long...how could it be wrong all of a sudden just by adding exercise?0 -
lesleykjones wrote: »I try and drink 1 gallon of water a day. Is that enough?
I am eating about the same carbs, just the protein has changed a little. I can try going back to more protein.
Please correct me if I'm wrong but I thought weight loss is calories in/calories out. Upping or lowering macros will help?
I know something is up, or I wouldn't be where I'm at. I'm just at a loss because I've been doing right for so long...how could it be wrong all of a sudden just by adding exercise?
You aren't doing anything wrong. Just give it a little more time. Also, I forgot you said you were hypothyroid. Have you spoken to your doctor?1 -
I actually saw my doctor last week for my 6 month thyroid check. Said my numbers were good. Told him I started walking he said that was great. Didn't say much at all I guess haha.
I will wait it out. Maybe tomorrow I'll have the magic whoosh I've heard about.0 -
Congratulations on your progress so far. Loosing weight is about more than calories in and out particularly where a thyroid issue is involved. One support site gives 300 possible symptoms to go with thyroid problems. I can't remember the circumstances in which exercise is detrimental to a hypothyroid person, something to do with adrenals or another gland not behaving properly. I hate it when we are not told our actual numbers. If you can try to get the numbers the doctor has, you will then know which tests have been taken, t3, rt3, t4, tsh is often the only one taken but it needs these and more in order to establish if other glands in the network are working correctly. Often its an irregular, up or down, output in one or more of the endocrine gland which presents itself in thyroid malfunction it being the central factor. Please try reading around the thyroid. There is a wealth of information out there, accessing appropriate support is more complicated. Its a real pain of a thing to have a thyroid issues when most people think its a trivial excuse for weight gain, someone who is hyper can do either, gain or loose. All the doctors I've ever seen since I have been symptomatic think its trivial and there is a one size fits all sort of answer. Its far more complicated than that. Thinking 300 possible symptoms, we all have our bodies preferred few which are different to many others and some are quite obscure. Try looking into your national thyroid support site, hospital research papers and see how you go.All the very best.0
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OP that's sounds so incredibly frustrating! Plateaus do happen to the best of us at the worst of times.
I came across something yesterday called the "Whoosh" effect. Where for a couple of weeks you don't lose, then suddenly you will drop a few pounds in a week. this one explains it well https://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html/ I admit it sounded BS to me at first but when I think back I have had it happen a few times.
Keep going, you are doing brilliant, and it will happen.1 -
Good morning. I have read the following on the internet.
Walking is an resistance exercise and therefor increase your bone density. Which in return increase your body weight. But if your weight stays the same, you are actually loosing fat.
I have been on a plateaus for the last 2 months. Done some investigation. I have increases my steps since August from about 7200 steps a day to 8500-9500 a day. And it is since then, that I stayed on the same weight. How I see it now, correct me if I am wrong. I have increased bone density, but loosing fat, and therefor my body is more healthy?
Any views on this?5 -
Good morning. I have read the following on the internet.
Walking is an resistance exercise and therefor increase your bone density. Which in return increase your body weight. But if your weight stays the same, you are actually loosing fat.
I have been on a plateaus for the last 2 months. Done some investigation. I have increases my steps since August from about 7200 steps a day to 8500-9500 a day. And it is since then, that I stayed on the same weight. How I see it now, correct me if I am wrong. I have increased bone density, but loosing fat, and therefor my body is more healthy?
Any views on this?
If you haven't lost weight in 2+ months, you are eating at maintenance calories. You did not stall your weight loss by increasing your bone density via walking.0
This discussion has been closed.
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