Scales not moving :(
BigMamaLynsey
Posts: 390 Member
Feeling a little deflated now. I am over 200lbs and I have started almost 2 weeks ago. I have lost 4lbs but nothing the last 5 days or so nothing has changed. It's like my weight has stalled. I am weighing my food and I can only have around 1200 which MFP recommends with lack of exercise. I have been keeping to this really well. May have gone over once or twice but not by much at all. Is there something I'm eating doing it but I'm sure you can eat just about anything as long as you stay within your cal limit. Is it normal for my size to lose the weight slowly? I have dieted in the past and always lost around 7lbs+ in couple of weeks but not this time. Need a little motivation thanks 
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Replies
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You’re perfect at the weight you are today! Don’t beat yourself up over a week. I challenge you to follow your calorie goals each day, walk for 30 minutes 4-5 days per week and only drink water for 3-weeks before you get back on that stupid scale. You’ll see results! It’s a long marathon, not a sprint. You didn’t gain the weight you want to lose overnight—give yourself a break and don’t try to lose it that fast either.
I started at 300lbs and got really mad when I worked so hard dieting and didn’t see the results after a few weeks. But I stayed with it. That was two years ago and now I’m down 100lbs and people don’t even recognize me anymore.
You’re perfect just the way you are, give yourself a break....it’s only been a few days!5 -
LynseyJane90 wrote: »Feeling a little deflated now. I am over 200lbs and I have started almost 2 weeks ago. I have lost 4lbs but nothing the last 5 days or so nothing has changed. It's like my weight has stalled. I am weighing my food and I can only have around 1200 which MFP recommends with lack of exercise. I have been keeping to this really well. May have gone over once or twice but not by much at all. Is there something I'm eating doing it but I'm sure you can eat just about anything as long as you stay within your cal limit. Is it normal for my size to lose the weight slowly? I have dieted in the past and always lost around 7lbs+ in couple of weeks but not this time. Need a little motivation thanks
its been 5 days? you didn't gain all the weight in 5 days, you wont lose it in 5 days... be more patient. and stop weighing yourself so often if it brings you down.7 -
Yep it's so addictive. I told myself once a month. Ended up doing it everyday.
Ok so i looked up a calculator thing and apparently to lose weight I can have 1600 cals to eat!?? Why did MFP tell me 1200. It sounds like I'm under eating. So I have now changed my cal intake to 1500.0 -
@ESJ4444 thank you that made me feel better thanks. I need to hide those scales away so I'm not so tempted I knew it would deflate me. I'm guessing I'm too impatient!
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The struggle is real, lol. You’re doing great, just don’t stop.1
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Oh, and they say proper rest has something to do with weight loss.
#middleofthenightMFP1 -
LynseyJane90 wrote: »Yep it's so addictive. I told myself once a month. Ended up doing it everyday.
Ok so i looked up a calculator thing and apparently to lose weight I can have 1600 cals to eat!?? Why did MFP tell me 1200. It sounds like I'm under eating. So I have now changed my cal intake to 1500.
you set up MFP... so the information you provided gave you 1200 cals. most other calculators include exercise in the number, so if you dont use MFP numbers then don't eat back exercise cals or you'll be double counting3 -
LynseyJane90 wrote: »Yep it's so addictive. I told myself once a month. Ended up doing it everyday.
Ok so i looked up a calculator thing and apparently to lose weight I can have 1600 cals to eat!?? Why did MFP tell me 1200. It sounds like I'm under eating. So I have now changed my cal intake to 1500.
Because the "calculator thing" works differently to MyFitnessPal which doesn't calculate TDEE, it also probably allocates a deficit in a different way from your estimated maintenance calories.
At your size 1500 + exercise calories should be fine to create a calorie deficit. Aim for sustainability rather than speed and the passage of time takes care of the rest.
As a woman you really need to be start looking for trends over the course of a month, not a few days.
There's nothing wrong with daily weighing unless you hang your happiness on the number displayed on a dumb measuring device.
Not all weight change involves changes in fat, water related fluctuations mask the trend in the short term.
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Great job on deciding to start this journey and keeping moving! I agree with the above replies, particularly about this being a marathon. What other progress have you seen? Are you developing a healthy relationship with food? Is it easier to make healthful choices? Can you move a little easier and walk/workout/whatever without as much a struggle? When I have slumps, looking at my NSVs (Non-Scale Victories) really help to keep me moving. There's threads on these forums that you can look at for those; I read them almost daily!
I also went through a stretch of weighing everyday and it quickly became an obsession. I was getting really kind of depressed by it and was focusing on it more than on the food choices and exercise choices I was making. I lost sight of the real reason for the life changes I wanted to make. One day it kind of clicked in my head that "I'm obsessed!!" and it took very little willpower to quit cold turkey. Now I weigh ~ once a month. Maybe that'll happen to you too, your brain and heart will just stop being obsessed? Good luck and keep up the work!!0 -
I gave exactly the same information to MFP and the other one also. I selected the not active bits . It's just a big difference with both of them and unsure which I should stick to. I'll happily add exercise if I managed to eat around 1500 though. I'm not sure what kind of foods to eat, I find it the hardest to do is know what to eat really.0
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LynseyJane90 wrote: »I gave exactly the same information to MFP and the other one also. I selected the not active bits . It's just a big difference with both of them and unsure which I should stick to. I'll happily add exercise if I managed to eat around 1500 though. I'm not sure what kind of foods to eat, I find it the hardest to do is know what to eat really.
whatever you like to eat, in portion sizes that fit your calories and macros. fruit and veg is good, cos health, but there are no magic foods that make you lose weight.2 -
@ESJ4444 yeah thankfully I manage to get decent sleep I know I will lose weight it's just it's been delayed for longer than I had thought so I'm abit paranoid thinking I'm doing something wrong and if I am I want to correct it 0
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LynseyJane90 wrote: »@ESJ4444 yeah thankfully I manage to get decent sleep I know I will lose weight it's just it's been delayed for longer than I had thought so I'm abit paranoid thinking I'm doing something wrong and if I am I want to correct it
4lbs in 2 weeks is a fine amount of loss, weight loss isn't linear, you need to be patient and accurate.
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If you change your mindset, you may find this weight loss journey, much easier. At present your aiming for a 2lb a week weight loss and it's great that is what you've achieved. So it's working and you need to trust the process and be patient.
As already stated weight loss is not linear, and another quote I've heard here on mfp and like is to
Expect the weight loss you deserve but not when you expect it.
I have successfully lost weight (+52lbs) since using mfp as a tool. Part of that time I had dropped my rate of loss to 0.5lb a week. But I never lost the same amount every week. In fact twice I went 10 weeks without any further weight loss, but I persevered with my journey. That my hard work and dedication would be reflected on the scales eventually and it was. As on both occasions I then had a sudden weight loss of 5lb in one week! Which meant I had hit my targets.
Perseverance and patience are key.
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There's brain weight and dream weight. We can opt for a steady 2 lb/wk weight loss but our brain and body can't guarantee that will happen. I started in 2014 and it took me 2 years. Embrace what's going on even when it's slow. Weight stacks on like pancakes but is slower than molasses to move.2
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Even though I didn't create the original post, I am finding this thread incredibly helpful. I am 3 1/2 weeks post op (Duodenal Switch) and the scale hasn't moved in a week. Getting my bearings with all of this and my new life. 1
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It's not unusual to hit a plateau or set point. Don't get frustrated if you don't see scale changes. Good time to take inventory. Are your clothes feeling loose? How's the nutritional quality of the food you are eating? Are you hitting your Macros? You might want to change up workout routine. How your digestive health? Do you take a probiotic? Do you have an inflammatory issues? Are you getting enough water? You might want to bump up your MCT fat calories 100-150 a day. Like half an Avocado.
I hit a patch where I had no weight change for almost 2 months. Hang in there. Some weeks will be slow or Zero. Body doesn't like change, it tries to maintain a balance. You are forcing it to find a new balance point.
Best advice is to do what you have already done. Ask Questions. No one here knows everything
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franklin5280 wrote: »It's not unusual to hit a plateau or set point. Don't get frustrated if you don't see scale changes. Good time to take inventory. Are your clothes feeling loose? How's the nutritional quality of the food you are eating? Are you hitting your Macros? You might want to change up workout routine. How your digestive health? Do you take a probiotic? Do you have an inflammatory issues? Are you getting enough water? You might want to bump up your MCT fat calories 100-150 a day. Like half an Avocado.
I hit a patch where I had no weight change for almost 2 months. Hang in there. Some weeks will be slow or Zero. Body doesn't like change, it tries to maintain a balance. You are forcing it to find a new balance point.
Best advice is to do what you have already done. Ask Questions. No one here knows everything
5 days is not a plateau though...6 -
LynseyJane90 wrote: »I gave exactly the same information to MFP and the other one also. I selected the not active bits . It's just a big difference with both of them and unsure which I should stick to. I'll happily add exercise if I managed to eat around 1500 though. I'm not sure what kind of foods to eat, I find it the hardest to do is know what to eat really.
But they may be using different formulas and the daily goal is different too.
And the activity multipliers are different even if they have the same name (here it excludes exercise, on TDEE sites the multipliers are daily activity plus exercise..
And they commonly take away a percentage whereas here you select a desired rate of loss.
It's not as straightforward a comparison as you believe.
Why do you think you need to change the kinds of foods you eat?
You can simply eat the same foods but just less of them.
It's clearly sensible to have a think about the nutrition of your overall diet and satiety factors when you need to eat less but you don't have to eat "diet foods" to lose weight. Don't make the job harder than it needs to be.
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In 2007-2008 I lost 60+ pounds going from fluctuating between 180-185 down to 130. It took me 18 months. The one thing that helped me the most was weighing myself once a month. I knew my weight would fluctuate some throughout the month especially with my period or increased salt levels. I forced myself to only weigh myself on the 1st of each month. There were months where I only lost 2-3 pounds but seeing that there was still a difference really helped. I might have been frustrated if I had weighed myself more frequently and not seen change.
Another thing that could help would be to take pictures once every 3-4 weeks. Then if you don't see the numbers decreasing you could see a visual progression.1 -
So firstly congrats for keeping with it.
I know this happens to a lot of women trying to lose weight but no one talks too much about it because it is taboo...however, I am going to put it out there.... My weight loss is completely dependant on my monthly cycle. So for the first week of my cycle, I can lose up to 10lbs in a week (currently I have lost 6lbs since Monday). The next two weeks is slow and steady maybe 2lbs in a week at a push. The last week before I am about to come on I almost always gain, most of the time only a few pounds but sometimes more. It is all to do with water and hormones. I just keep going every day to log the calories, go for walks and spinning and know I have a great week to look forward to at one point in the month. Everything other time I just know I adding to that week and not to worry too much about it.
This may or may not be the reasoning for you but worth noting.2 -
I can’t help myself, I weigh daily. The happy scale app has helped me manage the psychological side of weight fluctuations as it shows a trend in your weight.
Pictures and measurements once a month have also helped me ‘see’ the progress I’ve made0 -
So firstly congrats for keeping with it.
I know this happens to a lot of women trying to lose weight but no one talks too much about it because it is taboo...however, I am going to put it out there... My weight loss is completely dependant on my monthly cycle. So for the first week of my cycle, I can lose up to 10lbs in a week (currently I have lost 6lbs since Monday). The next two weeks is slow and steady maybe 2lbs in a week at a push. The last week before I am about to come on I almost always gain, most of the time only a few pounds but sometimes more. It is all to do with water and hormones. I just keep going every day to log the calories, go for walks and spinning and know I have a great week to look forward to at one point in the month. Everything other time I just know I adding to that week and not to worry too much about it.
This may or may not be the reasoning for you but worth noting.
My body does the same thing. The week of my cycle, it's like the pounds aren't moving. I gain some water weight that my body GRUDGINGLY lets go of after. Then... BAM. Pounds start rolling off like hotcakes. I'm always excited for the great fat exodus! Because I know the rain of goodness is about to hit the desert as the pounds stall. They'll still creep off, but it's like they're afraid to go away after all their buddies apparently decided to depart a sinking ship. Is the ship sinking? Will they be okay? WHERE DID THEIR LITTLE FAT BUDDIES GO. They'd better stay. Then it's time for the Great Nothing. And NO ONE jumps ship.
Until it all begins again in the Great Exodus of the next month.
Happy Scale holds my sanity! Love that app!
(Obviously, anecdotal stories are what keep me sane. XD)
ETA: all this behavior usually averages out to about 1.5-2lbs/week loss. Further proof of the not-linear aspect of weight loss.1 -
I went through this with my CrossFit coach. Think fat loss not weight loss. You will start noticing changes in your face. Your clothes will start to feel loose. Get a scale that measures body fat. There is a good one on amazon for 30 bucks.0
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I went through this with my CrossFit coach. Think fat loss not weight loss. You will start noticing changes in your face. Your clothes will start to feel loose. Get a scale that measures body fat. There is a good one on amazon for 30 bucks.
scales that measure body fat are not accurate. a tape measure would be more accurate than that scale
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I took a pic last week so I can compare in a month. I did this before and noticed difference. I'm not worried about the scales now because I'm alot more confident thanks to everyone here. I'm gonna be patient now and just keep going. It's not even just about losing the weight it's more about my lifestyle. A healthier one because i can't believe how much more active in feeling. That itself just makes me feel so good!1
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