Not losing weight

Yana_bae
Yana_bae Posts: 31 Member
edited November 25 in Motivation and Support
I do not understand why I haven’t been losing weight the past week and a half. Before now, I was shedding two pounds a week easily

Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Weight loss isn't linear
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    PMS?
    Constipation?
    More sodium than usual?

    If you are doing the same thing, eating the same calories and similar exercises, you are not going to go from losing two pounds a week to nothing overnight. However, water retention might cause the scale to stall out for awhile.

    That being said, 2lbs./week is pretty aggressive. Unless you are obese, you should probably eat a couple more hundred calories a day.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    In another thread you mentioned that you are 141 trying for 134. There is NO WAY you should be attempting to lose anything close to 2 lbs/week. You should carefully consider this thread, which also contains a link to another thread explaining what it means when we say "weight loss isn't linear":

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10569458/why-eating-too-little-calories-is-a-bad-idea/p1

    It appears there may be a question as to your age... future posters may want to keep this in mind.
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  • MichelleSilverleaf
    MichelleSilverleaf Posts: 2,027 Member
    edited March 2018
    Yana_bae wrote: »
    try2again wrote: »
    In another thread you mentioned that you are 141 trying for 134. There is NO WAY you should be attempting to lose anything close to 2 lbs/week. You should carefully consider this thread, which also contains a link to another thread explaining what it means when we say "weight loss isn't linear":

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10569458/why-eating-too-little-calories-is-a-bad-idea/p1

    It appears there may be a question as to your age... future posters may want to keep this in mind.

    Well when I started, I was 147. But do you mind if I ask why you say I shouldn’t be attempting to lose 2 pounds a week? I read that 1-2 pounds a week was the healthy way to go when attempting to lose weight.

    Because you don't have enough weight to lose to maintain even a 1lb a week regular loss. You're talking like a 7lb difference if you're sitting at 141 right now, weight loss is going to be slow. You have no room for error at this point and losses will often be masked by water weight. Change your stats to lose 0.5lbs/week, eat to that number, be super precise and most of all patient.
  • theabsentmindednurse
    theabsentmindednurse Posts: 404 Member
    edited March 2018
    Your expectations are unrealistic!!!
    Definitely read the links suggested.

    At 320 pounds I was losing 2 pounds a week.
    Now....At 180 pounds I lose 2 pounds a month!!
    Just give it time.
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  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    Yana_bae wrote: »
    try2again wrote: »
    In another thread you mentioned that you are 141 trying for 134. There is NO WAY you should be attempting to lose anything close to 2 lbs/week. You should carefully consider this thread, which also contains a link to another thread explaining what it means when we say "weight loss isn't linear":

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10569458/why-eating-too-little-calories-is-a-bad-idea/p1

    It appears there may be a question as to your age... future posters may want to keep this in mind.

    Well when I started, I was 147. But do you mind if I ask why you say I shouldn’t be attempting to lose 2 pounds a week? I read that 1-2 pounds a week was the healthy way to go when attempting to lose weight.

    Did you read the thread I linked?

    Weight loss is based strictly on a person's calorie deficit (the calories you expend in a day through day-to-day living and exercise minus the calories you eat). To lose 2 lbs a week requires that a person carry a 1000 calorie/day deficit. Say a person has a TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) of 1800 calories. That would require that person to only eat 800 calories to lose 2 lbs/week (1200 is the minimum required for women to meet their nutritional requirements, and as a young person still growing, you need more than the minimum). A person who starts off obese, like the above poster, has a lot of fat stores to burn *and* they burn more calories in day-to-day living just carrying the extra weight around- maybe a TDEE of 2700 calories- so they can safely burn that 1000. A person who is already at a healthy weight for their height cannot.

    Your best bet is to fill out your MFP profile and set a weekly weight loss goal of .5 lb/week (the activity level you choose, BTW, should not include any exercise you plan to do). MFP will give you a daily calorie allowance. You need to carefully log everything you eat and make sure you hit that calorie allowance. If you exercise, you log that as well under exercise and MFP will add some extra calories to your day. Many people choose to eat about 1/2 of those, because calorie burn estimates on here are usually very inflated. Then you wait... patiently. Many people on here that are very fit & experienced with weight loss find a few extra lbs very challenging to take off and it can take months. But you want to do it in a healthy way because hopefully that's the point... to be healthy. :)

  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    BTW, if you are already at a healthy weight for your height (I don't think we have your stats), it's possible you may be happy just focusing on fitness goals and changing the shape of your body, not necessarily your weight.
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,753 Member
    How old are you OP? If you are growing taller, maybe the weight you are at is perfect.
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  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    edited March 2018
    Yana_bae wrote: »
    try2again wrote: »
    BTW, if you are already at a healthy weight for your height (I don't think we have your stats), it's possible you may be happy just focusing on fitness goals and changing the shape of your body, not necessarily your weight.

    Im 141 pounds and 5”1 but I’m pretty sure I’m done growing since my family is short. I know I’m a teenager, but for example, my sister is 4”11 and she’s 24, do growing any taller is unlikely

    Thanks- the extra info is helpful! This means your BMI is actually a little high for your height and that your goal is perfectly reasonable. That makes us feel better giving you advice, because often young girls come here at an already healthy weight, seeking unreasonable goals. This also means you have some wiggle room, so 1 lb/week wouldn't be unreasonable. But listen- truly- 2 lbs a week is not a healthy rate of loss for you. I didn't mention before that one problem with an overly aggressive deficit is that, a person doesn't just burn fat, they burn more of their lean muscle mass. That's bad. You need and want to preserve the muscle you have, as it's very hard to rebuild once it's gone, and remember, your heart is a muscle. Reset your goal to 1 lb/week and see how many calories that gives you. It's not too much. And if you choose to become more active (a great idea since it's very helpful for weight management), don't try to eat the 1200 bare minimum... you need to fuel your body properly.

    Also, be aware that weeks with no loss, or even a gain, are perfectly normal. Weight fluctuates. A person may be 140 lbs right this second, 142 2 hours later, and 139 in the morning. As women, our cycles usually result in water retention at some point, affecting the scale. So don't be worried by any one scale result, but look at the trend over several weeks.

    Wish you well... just keep educating yourself :)

  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    Yana_bae wrote: »
    Tiny_Dancer_in_Pink wrote: »
    How old are you OP? If you are growing taller, maybe the weight you are at is perfect.

    What is OP?

    The original poster... you, in this case ;)
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  • MichelleSilverleaf
    MichelleSilverleaf Posts: 2,027 Member
    2lbs a week with 7lbs to go is a great way to lose muscle mass you'd rather keep.
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  • MichelleSilverleaf
    MichelleSilverleaf Posts: 2,027 Member
    Yana_bae wrote: »
    MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »
    2lbs a week with 7lbs to go is a great way to lose muscle mass you'd rather keep.

    What would be your suggestion then?

    Same thing I suggested above. Set it to a 0.5lb/week weight loss, be super accurate and be patient. You simply do not have enough fat to lose 2lb/week and not lose a lot of muscle mass in the process.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    edited March 2018
    Yana_bae wrote: »
    MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »
    2lbs a week with 7lbs to go is a great way to lose muscle mass you'd rather keep.

    What would be your suggestion then?

    These are the general recommendations. I conceded the 1 lb/week because you are 20 lbs from mid-healthy range, but you can see that's pushing it.

    What is a good rate of loss for me?
    1-20 lbs to lose- .5 lb/week
    21-40 lbs to lose- 1 lb/week
    41-60 lbs to lose- 1.5 lbs/week
    61+ lbs to lose- 2 lbs/week



  • newheavensearth
    newheavensearth Posts: 870 Member
    try2again wrote: »
    BTW, if you are already at a healthy weight for your height (I don't think we have your stats), it's possible you may be happy just focusing on fitness goals and changing the shape of your body, not necessarily your weight.

    This is where you may consider a recomp- adding muscle (therefore firming up and looking slimmer) while eating at your maintenance calorie level. There is more about this on the Maintenance board.
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