weight plateau

scale has not moved in a couple of weeks, lost 17 lbs with 17 to go, any suggestions would be appreciated.
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Replies

  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,753 Member
    Keep going! 17 pounds more to go? You should expect those last 17 pounds to take 17 weeks. Out of curiosity, do you use a food scale to weigh everything you eat?
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,409 Member
    There is no way I could survive on 1200 cals, brenn. Are you set at "Sedentary?" Are you still working or taking care of a house? Most people aren't really sedentary.

    With 17 to go, you should be set at "Lose 1/2 pound per week," have you been adjusting your GOALS?

    Are you getting any exercise at all ( I didn't see any logged ) that would help.

    I'm in my mid sixties and I lose weight on a lot more calories than you have as your goals. I am 5'8" and 140 and I lose on 1700 plus exercise cals. How tall are you?

    Also, I see that you eat a lot of grains - cereals, chips, etc. You're using "cups" measurements - notoriously inaccurate.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    The last few pounds are slow. Set MFP to lose 0.5 pounds per week, and don’t be surprised if it takes longer than that. Use a food scale to weigh and log every single bite you can possibly weigh. With only a little to lose, your deficit becomes very small and only a few little errors can take you out of a deficit completely.
  • brenn24179
    brenn24179 Posts: 2,144 Member
    I am short 5'3 and lost 10 lbs in a couple of weeks and then it slowed down. Yes I need patience and know it will take a lot longer to get the other 17 lbs off. I did low carb and lost fast but I know I can not continue to go low carb, so much discipline. Yes, I love cereal, maybe eating too much of it. I will have to measure. If I go over 1600 calories I gain weight. 1400 to maintain, 1200-1300 to lose
  • jdubois5351
    jdubois5351 Posts: 460 Member
    For the last two weeks, my body has stubbornly clung to 83 kg. Theoretically, it should be less, but apparently my body doesn't want to let go of the water/waste/whatever. I go up a little, then down a little, then up again etc. etc. Happy Scales tells me, my trend is downward nonetheless, so all is good. Just stick to the play, it WILL come off eventually.
  • siobhanaoife
    siobhanaoife Posts: 151 Member
    I have had plateaus longer than 2 weeks even though I have much more to lose than you do.

    Check your work (logging accuracy, etc), stay focused, and give it time.
  • brenn24179
    brenn24179 Posts: 2,144 Member
    thanks for the comments, now I have only 5 lbs to go and have hit another plateau, last time I was just patient and it finally came off. Sunday I did eat more and so I will check on my weight this week and see if that helps. Wow the last few pounds have been much harder than in the beginning. I guess my body has to adjust.
  • fiddletime
    fiddletime Posts: 1,868 Member
    brenn24179 wrote: »
    thanks for the comments, now I have only 5 lbs to go and have hit another plateau, last time I was just patient and it finally came off. Sunday I did eat more and so I will check on my weight this week and see if that helps. Wow the last few pounds have been much harder than in the beginning. I guess my body has to adjust.

    Be patient. I’m 63 and 5’2”. Lost 15 pounds at 1200 cal then maintained that for 8 months. It was really hard to keep at 1200 cal and I probably averaged close to 1400. Two months ago I tightened up my logging and lost the 5 pounds in a month. I’ve kept it off. I finally got determined enough to put the effort in.

  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    brenn24179 wrote: »
    thanks for the comments, now I have only 5 lbs to go and have hit another plateau, last time I was just patient and it finally came off. Sunday I did eat more and so I will check on my weight this week and see if that helps. Wow the last few pounds have been much harder than in the beginning. I guess my body has to adjust.

    the last 5 lbs can be really really slow. so if you dont already set your loss to .5(1/2) a lb a week.also plateaus are 6-8 weeks of no loss or gain
  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
    brenn24179 wrote: »
    thanks for the comments, now I have only 5 lbs to go and have hit another plateau, last time I was just patient and it finally came off. Sunday I did eat more and so I will check on my weight this week and see if that helps. Wow the last few pounds have been much harder than in the beginning. I guess my body has to adjust.

    I'd still suggest what others did previously and tighten up on your logging. You could easily be eating much more than you think you are if you are not using scales to weigh everything (including prepackaged food) and checking for accurate database recipes. When you are down to those last few pounds accurate logging can make the world of difference.

    You have done a great job by the way and should be proud of your achievement!
  • tess5036
    tess5036 Posts: 942 Member
    Congratulations.
    To be honest, and you may not like this, 2 weeks is not a plateau. Weight loss is not linear, and sometimes you will have periods where it looks like it's not coming off, and then there is a whoosh. you just have to keep going and trust that it will work.
    However the advice about weighing rather than measuring is spot-on, and so is the advice about shaking is up a bit and doing something different.
  • DonM46
    DonM46 Posts: 771 Member

    tess5036 wrote: »
    To be honest, 2 weeks is not a plateau.
    Plateau, stalled, whatever ... I lost zero from the first part of April to the end of May. I didn't change anything, just stubborn, I guess. Then, things were back to normal.
    Discouraging, yes, but not to the point of giving up.



  • Blythmag
    Blythmag Posts: 252 Member
    Well done you
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    brenn24179 wrote: »
    FINALLY GOT PASSED THE PLATEAU! I had to be patient, ate a sausage buiscuit to try and shake it up, but honestly I just had to wait it out, lost no weight for 16 days then 3 pounds came off. I accepted if I stay at this weight it is ok but once I let go and knew I was eating right the weight started to go down. Thank you MFP, finally at goal weight,feels good

    Congratulations! Welcome to maintenance!
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,979 Member
    edited November 2018
    Lillymoo01 wrote: »
    For every 10 lbs you lose, your metabolism slows down by a couple of hundred calories because smaller bodies need lesse energy. Make sure that after every 10 lbs, you reset your goals, take your calorie intake down a 100 cal and increase exercise intensity/duration or both to burn an extra 100 cals. You could consider adding weight training, too. If you don't adjust your calorie in calorie out, you will remain at a plateau.

    I looked multiple places on the internet and can find nothing like this. I am still eating at same amount as when I started in May 2018 and I have lost 69 pounds. Really if you are going to give out this type of supposed assistance, you really need to quote a reliable source of information.

    The less you weigh the lower your BMR will be to maintain that weight. It takes less energy to maintain a 150-pound body than it does a 200-pound body. I could find a reliable source to back this up but really, it is just common sense and basic science. For this reason, you should update your goals for every 10 pounds lost because MFP does not do it automatically for you. Either that or realise that your weight loss will slow down gradually if you continue to eat the same number of calories which could cause problems the closer you get to goal.

    I agree with you that we burn less at lower weights but the poster she was quoting said your metabolism slows a couple hundred calories for every ten pounds. It changes no where near that amount.