Stopped losing weight and don’t know why
MWAWMOM
Posts: 7 Member
I began dieting May 2016 and in a year I lost 45 lbs. counting calories and running 3-4 days per week. Then I suddenly stopped losing weight. After a month of not losing, I decided to change up my exercise routine. That didn’t help. Then I tried a new diet and ended up gaining weight. At this point I have gained 20 lbs back and haven’t stopped dieting (other than a little bit over Christmas) Now, I don’t know what to try and am becoming very discouraged. Any tips or suggestions would be so helpful. Thank you in advance!
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Replies
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How long has it been since you've lost weight?
How many calories are you eating per day and have you adjusted your calories at any point during your weight loss?
When you say you started a "new diet," what exactly does that mean?6 -
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If you are gaining weight without eating more calories I would suggest asking your doctor to check for thyroid problems. That was the first sign my sister had when hers started. She just started putting on weight without any change in diet.2
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janejellyroll wrote: »How long has it been since you've lost weight?
How many calories are you eating per day and have you adjusted your calories at any point during your weight loss?
When you say you started a "new diet," what exactly does that mean?
I haven't had a loss since April 29, 2017
I have been eating 1200 cal/day since I started dieting. I do not eat back workout calories unless I burn more than 700 calories and then I only eat back half or less of them.
I have tried changing up when I eat my big meal every day with no change. I tried intermittent fasting because it was supposed to be the best thing if you hit a plateau and I actually gained 10 lbs after a month on that.
I do record my food accurately and I use a food scale on any food I cook. I am just so confused.
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »If you are gaining weight without eating more calories I would suggest asking your doctor to check for thyroid problems. That was the first sign my sister had when hers started. She just started putting on weight without any change in diet.
I am going to see my new doctor in 2 weeks, but with the other 2 doctors I have tried to talk about this with I get treated like I am just a lazy woman who wants a quick weight loss fix. I even specifically asked to have my thyroid checked and that doctor flat out refused. Needless to say I am a bit nervous about asking this doctor. I am going to do it, but I am not holding much hope of him taking me seriously.0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »How long has it been since you've lost weight?
How many calories are you eating per day and have you adjusted your calories at any point during your weight loss?
When you say you started a "new diet," what exactly does that mean?
I haven't had a loss since April 29, 2017
I have been eating 1200 cal/day since I started dieting. I do not eat back workout calories unless I burn more than 700 calories and then I only eat back half or less of them.
I have tried changing up when I eat my big meal every day with no change. I tried intermittent fasting because it was supposed to be the best thing if you hit a plateau and I actually gained 10 lbs after a month on that.
I do record my food accurately and I use a food scale on any food I cook. I am just so confused.
Your diary is closed and we don't know your stats, but I would urge you to consider double checking your logging. Unless you are really short and light, 1200 cals plus subtracting exercise calories on top of that would leave you hungry and losing weight.- Try using a food scale for every solid and semisolid (packaged, whole food, condiments, nut butters, single serve, everything).
- Double check the entries you are using in the database. Don't use generic or recipe-style entries (like chicken soup) that you didn't create yourself. Many entries are user entered and wrong, and the recipe-style ones you have no idea what they put in it. Use brand names or USDA entries.
- Commit to this super accurate logging, making sure you aren't letting what seem like small things slip through, like beverages, cooking oil, condiments, nibbles, etc. for at least a week or two.
I used to think I was logging well and eating 1400 cals, but once I followed the tips above I realized I was eating 100s of cals more than I thought. If you do this and find you really are netting less than 1200 cals per day, keep trying to find a medical answer. Good luck.11 -
Good heavens, I can't believe a doctor refused to refer you for blood work to check for thyroid issues. What an irresponsible idiot! You will need to advocate for yourself and insist on a complete blood panel. My annual physical always includes these tests. You are not being unreasonable! If you want "proof" that you are being disciplined about your approach to eating, print out a few pages of your food diary and show them to this doctor. Repeat that you are very concerned that it is your overall health that is concerning you as much as your weight loss stall. Good luck!4
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There's an error here somewhere because if you had been eating 1200 calories for close to two years and running without ever really eating any of those calories back, even with thyroid troubles, to be blunt, you'd be dead.
Can you open your diary and see if we can help troubleshoot?16 -
As others have said there's something off with your logging because eating that little would have led to weight loss.
If you have been logging accurately then its time to get things checked out with hopefully a more helpful/ thorough doctor.4 -
VintageFeline wrote: »There's an error here somewhere because if you had been eating 1200 calories for close to two years and running without ever really eating any of those calories back, even with thyroid troubles, to be blunt, you'd be dead.
Can you open your diary and see if we can help troubleshoot?
Yes, this is my thought too.
OP, someone consistently netting less than 1,200 would be seeing some weight loss. My thought is that you may have some logging errors that were not as important at the start of your weight loss, but as your margin for error became less (because you now weigh less), they began to impact your progress. If you open your diary, we can probably help.6 -
janejellyroll wrote: »How long has it been since you've lost weight?
How many calories are you eating per day and have you adjusted your calories at any point during your weight loss?
When you say you started a "new diet," what exactly does that mean?
I haven't had a loss since April 29, 2017
I have been eating 1200 cal/day since I started dieting. I do not eat back workout calories unless I burn more than 700 calories and then I only eat back half or less of them.
I have tried changing up when I eat my big meal every day with no change. I tried intermittent fasting because it was supposed to be the best thing if you hit a plateau and I actually gained 10 lbs after a month on that.
I do record my food accurately and I use a food scale on any food I cook. I am just so confused.
If you've been eating 1200 calories every day without fail, without cheats, without special occasions, with impeccable logging, since May of 2016, then have you considered a diet break? I honestly cannot imagine sticking to 1200 calories for that long, especially with almost a year with no results, so kudos to you for managing it. But it might be time to step back and eat at maintenance for a while to let your body readjust.2 -
DebLaBounty wrote: »Good heavens, I can't believe a doctor refused to refer you for blood work to check for thyroid issues. What an irresponsible idiot! You will need to advocate for yourself and insist on a complete blood panel. My annual physical always includes these tests. You are not being unreasonable! If you want "proof" that you are being disciplined about your approach to eating, print out a few pages of your food diary and show them to this doctor. Repeat that you are very concerned that it is your overall health that is concerning you as much as your weight loss stall. Good luck!
I could. There are a disturbing number of docs who don't take womens' complaints seriously. Last time I talked to my own doctor about more treatment for my anxiety and depression issues, he basically said that if I wasn't willing to take medications (I have huge anxiety about it and quite frankly don't trust him enough to actually be thoughtful about a recommendation in the first place) how was he supposed to believe I was actually sick? This despite something like 7-8 years worth of medical records from the doctor whose practice he took over attesting to my long struggle with it. He's also been super reluctant with referring me to an actual anxiety clinic and is not a great listener. He wants you in and out as fast as possible. Finding a good doctor can be very hard, especially when you don't have a lot of selection to begin with.6 -
DebLaBounty wrote: »Good heavens, I can't believe a doctor refused to refer you for blood work to check for thyroid issues. What an irresponsible idiot! You will need to advocate for yourself and insist on a complete blood panel. My annual physical always includes these tests. You are not being unreasonable! If you want "proof" that you are being disciplined about your approach to eating, print out a few pages of your food diary and show them to this doctor. Repeat that you are very concerned that it is your overall health that is concerning you as much as your weight loss stall. Good luck!
Getting a doctor to listen to me and take me seriously is my current plan. My husband is even going to go with me to the doctor to back me up when I say that I have been dieting and exercising and still gaining weight. Thank you for the suggestion of printing out some of my diary pages. I will definitely do that before I go!4 -
diannethegeek wrote: »
If you've been eating 1200 calories every day without fail, without cheats, without special occasions, with impeccable logging, since May of 2016, then have you considered a diet break? I honestly cannot imagine sticking to 1200 calories for that long, especially with almost a year with no results, so kudos to you for managing it. But it might be time to step back and eat at maintenance for a while to let your body readjust.
I do allow myself set cheat days so I do not get burnt out and I have even done a few diet breaks since April in the hopes that it would jump start my metabolism again. Sadly, it does not work. I may end up having to go into maintenance for a longer period of time, but it makes me nervous since I have been gaining while dieting. I definitely do not want to gain all the weight back and have to start all over again.
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You don't jump start your metabolism. Based on this comment and a couple of others I strongly suspect your problem is in your logging. It's an easy thing to verify. Just open your diary and you'll have several suggestions in a matter of minutes.7
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diannethegeek wrote: »
If you've been eating 1200 calories every day without fail, without cheats, without special occasions, with impeccable logging, since May of 2016, then have you considered a diet break? I honestly cannot imagine sticking to 1200 calories for that long, especially with almost a year with no results, so kudos to you for managing it. But it might be time to step back and eat at maintenance for a while to let your body readjust.
I do allow myself set cheat days so I do not get burnt out and I have even done a few diet breaks since April in the hopes that it would jump start my metabolism again. Sadly, it does not work. I may end up having to go into maintenance for a longer period of time, but it makes me nervous since I have been gaining while dieting. I definitely do not want to gain all the weight back and have to start all over again.
What are your stats? How much do you weigh? How tall are you?
How do you measure your food?
Cheat days can definitely stop you losing.
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I just want to reiterate. There is no medical condition that would cause you to gain weight eating a net of sub 1200 calories for going on three years, adaptive thermogenesis is not that marked. The human body is efficient at self preservation but not that good. Anorexics continue to lose weight netting similar and lower figures. There is something else going on and it is absolutely about intake.16
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@MWAWMOM Can you please open your diary. I'd bet my bottom dollar the problem will be found in there somewhere..
Tick the 'public' box. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings You can close it again at a later point, but if you want trouble shooting advice, opening it up is the first and most obvious/easiest step.5 -
diannethegeek wrote: »
If you've been eating 1200 calories every day without fail, without cheats, without special occasions, with impeccable logging, since May of 2016, then have you considered a diet break? I honestly cannot imagine sticking to 1200 calories for that long, especially with almost a year with no results, so kudos to you for managing it. But it might be time to step back and eat at maintenance for a while to let your body readjust.
I do allow myself set cheat days so I do not get burnt out and I have even done a few diet breaks since April in the hopes that it would jump start my metabolism again. Sadly, it does not work. I may end up having to go into maintenance for a longer period of time, but it makes me nervous since I have been gaining while dieting. I definitely do not want to gain all the weight back and have to start all over again.
Even on so called cheat days, you should log all you eat. It throws off the calculations this program is making as you go day by day working this program.1 -
janejellyroll wrote: »How long has it been since you've lost weight?
How many calories are you eating per day and have you adjusted your calories at any point during your weight loss?
When you say you started a "new diet," what exactly does that mean?
I haven't had a loss since April 29, 2017
I have been eating 1200 cal/day since I started dieting. I do not eat back workout calories unless I burn more than 700 calories and then I only eat back half or less of them.
I have tried changing up when I eat my big meal every day with no change. I tried intermittent fasting because it was supposed to be the best thing if you hit a plateau and I actually gained 10 lbs after a month on that.
I do record my food accurately and I use a food scale on any food I cook. I am just so confused.
I notice you say you weigh any food you cook. Try weighing all food, including prepackaged foods. Every little thing adds up, very rarely prepackaged foods are the actual serving they say they are.2 -
janejellyroll wrote: »How long has it been since you've lost weight?
How many calories are you eating per day and have you adjusted your calories at any point during your weight loss?
When you say you started a "new diet," what exactly does that mean?
I haven't had a loss since April 29, 2017
I have been eating 1200 cal/day since I started dieting. I do not eat back workout calories unless I burn more than 700 calories and then I only eat back half or less of them.
I have tried changing up when I eat my big meal every day with no change. I tried intermittent fasting because it was supposed to be the best thing if you hit a plateau and I actually gained 10 lbs after a month on that.
I do record my food accurately and I use a food scale on any food I cook. I am just so confused.
I notice you say you weigh any food you cook. Try weighing all food, including prepackaged foods. Every little thing adds up, very rarely prepackaged foods are the actual serving they say they are.
This! I'm in the UK where prepackaged food is a bit closer to the goal content compared to up to 20% off I often read here for the US. Still the bread I had daily before moving was always heavier. Since moving I can put the whole loaf of bread on the scale to check if 18 slices = 800gr, and then just use the database entry.2
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