Struggle

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apple4164
apple4164 Posts: 16 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am 5ft2in, female, 18yrs old, and is currently 126 lb. I had a total loss of about 50lb (my highest weight was 175lb) and am aiming to lose another 10-15lb. I took a week or two of diet break about two weeks ago (gained from 125 to 127), and I lost 1 lb (so now 126lb) when I went back on track to my dieting on the 1st week. I haven't lost anything on the 2nd week and now am hoping to see some results in later weeks. I eat around 1600 calories (according to my activity level my fitnesspal recommends me to eat that much) and am aiming for a weight loss of .5-1lb/week. Should I still maintain my caloric intake and give my body time to adjust, or should I change the caloric consumption up? I know that weight loss is not linear, but I'm afraid that I may be doing sth wrong since in the past I have never attempted to lose weight with a relatively high caloric intake (I was a chronic yo-yo dieter, but now I'm determined to lose weight the healthy and sustainable way!). I feel like the closer I am to my goal, the harder and slower it is to lose...

Also, I noticed that my hands and feet are a lot colder now than when I was eating maintenance calories several week ago. Anyone notices that too?

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  • apple4164
    apple4164 Posts: 16 Member
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    Thanks so much! I'll keep the deficit and give it some time.
  • katnadreau
    katnadreau Posts: 149 Member
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    This last part will be slow. It's very likely your fat loss will often be masked by water weight, which is likely what your jump in the scale was when you were on maintenance Calories. During my last 10 I'd stay around the same weight for 3 weeks then *woosh*, right after my cycle down 2-4 lbs. Next week, another water weight jump up a pound or so, and the cycle repeated. Annoying as all get out, but it all evened out in the end. Keep being patient, and trust the system!
  • apple4164
    apple4164 Posts: 16 Member
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    Got it, thanks! Oddly enough, i rarely experienced a 2-week-long plateau during my 50lb weight loss, but now I guess it's time to accept the fact that weight loss will be slower.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
    edited March 2018
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    You are a healthy weight currently so further loss will be very slow. 0.5lb a week if even and it will take you accurately recording your intake. I used to find my weight loss would only happen in the 3rd week after my period, so once a month I got a 'whoosh' and lost at once.

    1600 cals sounds good to me, I lose eating 1750 and I'm the same height. So keep the faith, eat on as you currently are and the scale will reflect the loss at some point. It just takes time and patience.

    Plateaus are when our weight doesn't change for more than 6 weeks.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
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    ps My hands and feet are only colder now because we are having baltic weather.
  • apple4164
    apple4164 Posts: 16 Member
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    Thanks! It's reassuring to hear experiences from other people (especially ones who have the same height lol). It's interesting how when people within a healthy BMI want to lose weight, they lose it in "whooshes". I hope you stay warm with gloves and blankets :smile:
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,649 Member
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    Some of the signs of adaptive thermogenesis (AT = decrease in Calories Out due to your body downregulating to resist weight loss) include lower resting heart rate and marginally reduced core temperature. These often manifest as feeling colder.

    This will, of course, reduce your deficit... as it is designed to do.

    There is no doing this fast after a good 50lb decrease (congratulations by the way) without causing more long term problems.

    Your best bet is to continue at a modest deficit but also to engage in strength training if you are not already doing so.

    The second part may bring as much or more beneficial change as the weight loss.

    Hopefully you are already using a trending weight app or web site. There is NO WAY that, from the ground level, you can see a 0.5 per week or slower weight trend decrease. It gets lost in water weight variation.
  • apple4164
    apple4164 Posts: 16 Member
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    Thanks for the congrats, and yep, I have been doing strength training (and is now actually starting to lift weight![although quite light because I don't want to injure my rookie back]). I have tried monitoring my weight on a daily basis by using a trending weight app, but I realized that it probably is not my best choice since I am a person who can be easily emotionally affected by the scale #. Now I weigh around once per week to keep me sane.

    Hooray for losing weight the healthy and modest way and no longer yo-yo diet!
  • kokonani
    kokonani Posts: 507 Member
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    As a small female myself, It took me almost a year to lose 8-9 lbs. From 121 to 113 lbs. There will be alot of water weight fluctuations along the way and struggles eating at deficit. Because we are small and don't have much to lose, you will not see fast results. Adjust as you go, depending on how active you are. But most importantly, be consistent and be patient.
  • apple4164
    apple4164 Posts: 16 Member
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    I appreciate the advice to be patient when it comes to losing the last 10-20lbs. And an update to you all, after two (uh, TMI warning) sudden bowel movement yesterday, I weighed myself today in the morning, and I lost 0.4lb! It's not a huge drop on the scale, but hey, I'll take it :smiley:

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