We are pleased to announce that on March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor will be introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the upcoming changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!

Weight loss stall

potatoyeti
potatoyeti Posts: 38 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
After lots of early success (have lost 55 lbs in about 5 months) have hit a bit of a stall. Was wondering if anyone has any suggestions about the best way to push through it. I'm still about 40 lbs to goal weight.

Replies

  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    Any stall/plateau I've ever had has come down to

    1) poor logging/estimating
    2) not being patient enough
    3) a combination of #1 and #2

    So in most cases, people should
    - make sure their goals/targets are reasonable
    - make sure their logging is complete, accurate, and consistent
    - make sure their expectations are reasonable
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    How long has it been since you last lost any weight at the scale? If it's been less than 3-4 weeks, keep doing what you are doing. If it's been longer, it is time to drop calories. If you haven't been logging calories so far, it is time to start. If you've been logging calories but not weighing/measuring everything, that is one way to tighten up on calories and cut back. And then if you've already been logging, weighing, and measuring, just deciding to eat 100-200 per day fewer will work. The method depends a bit on what you've been doing up to this point but the bottom line really is just cutting back a bit more on what you're eating.

    Good job on your loss so far!
  • potatoyeti
    potatoyeti Posts: 38 Member
    I am still dropping but at a significantly decreased rate. It's been going on for about 3 weeks now.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    suzannesimmons3 wrote: »
    potatoyeti wrote: »
    I am still dropping but at a significantly decreased rate. It's been going on for about 3 weeks now.

    That's not a stall.

    Correct! A stall means you are losing nothing. When your car stalls, it doesn't run, right? You just sit there going nowhere. Same goes for a weight loss stalll--there's no forward (well, downward :)) movement on the scale.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    potatoyeti wrote: »
    I am still dropping but at a significantly decreased rate. It's been going on for about 3 weeks now.

    That's not unusual. You're more than half way to your goal. You've lost 55lbs in 5 months (11lbs/mo) - that's not sustainable long term. A slower rate of loss is probably a good thing in the long run, even if it's hard on you mentally right now.
  • Rocknut53
    Rocknut53 Posts: 1,794 Member
    jjpptt2 wrote: »
    potatoyeti wrote: »
    I am still dropping but at a significantly decreased rate. It's been going on for about 3 weeks now.

    That's not unusual. You're more than half way to your goal. You've lost 55lbs in 5 months (11lbs/mo) - that's not sustainable long term. A slower rate of loss is probably a good thing in the long run, even if it's hard on you mentally right now.


    I totally agree with this. It took me over a year to lose 60 pounds, the last 3 or 4 months were really slow. You're still losing so continue what you're doing. Your initial weight loss was fairly aggressive so it's not surprising it has slowed down.
  • mitch16
    mitch16 Posts: 2,113 Member
    Have you recalculated your goals here on mfp to account for your weight loss?
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    Recalculate your goal calories and make your rate-per-week less aggressive. If you were set to 2 lbs/week, change it to 1 lb/week, etc. The closer you get to your goal, the closer you will want to transition towards eating maintenance.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    potatoyeti wrote: »
    I am still dropping but at a significantly decreased rate. It's been going on for about 3 weeks now.

    Reduce your deficit and enjoy eating a bit more food... expect to lose 1lb per week.
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
    Sounds like you're right on track with where you should be at this point. Chill and start practicing how to eat for the long run when you're done losing the weight.

    Enjoy the ride. You're doing fine.
  • potatoyeti
    potatoyeti Posts: 38 Member
    Thanks everyone for your replies. I guess what I was perceiving as a stall really isn't one since I am still losing. It's just happening at a much slower pace then what had grown accustomed too.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,535 Member
    It sounds like you are doing all the right things. You can continue as-is if you like (I definitely tapered as I went along).

    If found that you can (if you choose and if there are no particular reasons not to) kick it up a notch by:

    1) Look into intermittent fasting. (Can be as simple as doing a fasting day every once in a while)
    2) Look into ultra-low carb. (even doing it for a week or two can produce results)
    3) Bump up the cardio. (I sometimes go for 2-hour bike rides, go hiking for an afternoon, jog for an hour, swim for an hour, etc. Combined with calorie restriction, it really drops the weight. Shorter daily cardio workouts help a lot, too.)
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    edited December 2017
    Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »
    It sounds like you are doing all the right things. You can continue as-is if you like (I definitely tapered as I went along).

    If found that you can (if you choose and if there are no particular reasons not to) kick it up a notch by:

    1) Look into intermittent fasting. (Can be as simple as doing a fasting day every once in a while)
    2) Look into ultra-low carb. (even doing it for a week or two can produce results)
    3) Bump up the cardio. (I sometimes go for 2-hour bike rides, go hiking for an afternoon, jog for an hour, swim for an hour, etc. Combined with calorie restriction, it really drops the weight. Shorter daily cardio workouts help a lot, too.)

    IF isn't going to kick anything up a notch unless it helps you maintain a calorie deficit. Any benefits that exist outside of that are minimal enough not to worry about.

    Ultra-low carb will lead to loss of water weight within the first few days/weeks and helps some people maintain a deficit, but any benefits outside of that are minimal enough not to worry about.

    Cardio is great for you health-wise, but all the cardio in the world won't lead to weight loss if you eat more calories than you use.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories