I always get stuck in the 330s... Help?
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No it isn't, but lots of people report this phenomenon.CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »Do you have an activity tracker?
I kept losing the same 20 pounds, gaining and losing multiple times. I got an activity tracker and realized I was under eating. I upped to 2400 calories (burning 2900 a day) and have been losing a pound a week, slow but steady.
nope if a person isnt losing weight eating more isnt going to cause weight loss,if you are undereating youre still going to lose weight albeit dangerously and with lean mass/muscle being burned as well.
I wonder if what's happening is that at the lower calorie intake they end up reducing their activity level to compensate, without noticing.
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10 days at the same weight isn't long enough to be a plateau but I totally understand your frustration. I'm wondering how long you have been dieting this time around. If you are comfortable that you are logging every calorie and if you stay stuck for another 3 weeks or so then I suggest the diet break. That doesn't mean quitting it means eating at maintenance for a couple weeks. I was stuck after a year of dieting and couldn't get the scale to budge. I took a diet break and although I gained a couple pounds during the break after I went back to dieting it came right off along with the last 20 lbs I needed to lose. But it was slow. I was stuck for 3 months tho so again give it more time. Lots of folks get stuck and many things cause your weight to stall. Sometimes it's just food still in your digestive system if things aren't moving along normally. Could be water due to exercise, hormones or if you aren't drinking enough. The more you drink actually the more your body lets go of the water. Hang in there my friend. I know it seems like a long way to go and may even feel hopeless but trust me it's not and you CAN do it. Go check out the success thread and picture yourself there one day.4
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HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
No it isn't, but lots of people report this phenomenon.CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »Do you have an activity tracker?
I kept losing the same 20 pounds, gaining and losing multiple times. I got an activity tracker and realized I was under eating. I upped to 2400 calories (burning 2900 a day) and have been losing a pound a week, slow but steady.
nope if a person isnt losing weight eating more isnt going to cause weight loss,if you are undereating youre still going to lose weight albeit dangerously and with lean mass/muscle being burned as well.
I wonder if what's happening is that at the lower calorie intake they end up reducing their activity level to compensate, without noticing.
That does indeed happen. Also this - they are intending to eat too few calories, but are hungry and over eat, and end up eating way more calories per day than if they had a sustainable calorie allowance.
https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/1200-calorie-diet/
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Ah yes. Unattainable goals never lead anywhere good.kshama2001 wrote: »HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
No it isn't, but lots of people report this phenomenon.CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »Do you have an activity tracker?
I kept losing the same 20 pounds, gaining and losing multiple times. I got an activity tracker and realized I was under eating. I upped to 2400 calories (burning 2900 a day) and have been losing a pound a week, slow but steady.
nope if a person isnt losing weight eating more isnt going to cause weight loss,if you are undereating youre still going to lose weight albeit dangerously and with lean mass/muscle being burned as well.
I wonder if what's happening is that at the lower calorie intake they end up reducing their activity level to compensate, without noticing.
That does indeed happen. Also this - they are intending to eat too few calories, but are hungry and over eat, and end up eating way more calories per day than if they had a sustainable calorie allowance.
https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/1200-calorie-diet/
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One thing that kept me going this go around: Think about where you could be a year from now if you don't give up today. Would you rather look back a year from now and think " I should probably start up again" or would you rather look back and think "Wow, look how far I came?"
Think about this. If you stick with the process <---(Key words here) What is the worst that could happen in a year's time? What if you lose less then what you were going for? It's still MORE then what it would be if you stop now. It's still progress. It still gets you one step closer to where you want to be. Chances are you'll lose more then you think if you just stick with it. Within 1 year, You'll mess up. You'll want to quit. You'll get frustrated. This is all normal and happens to us all. BUT You'll also continue to learn what works for you. You'll learn what doesn't work too. You'll adapt. You'll evolve. If anything a year from now you'll have gained a knowledge base you didn't have before if you stopped now. All which adds progress to your goal.
Another quote that keeps me going:
Perfection is the enemy of Progress
So the scale is being a jerk this week? Focus on the other areas you are making progress. The Non-Scale victories. (A thread I HIGHLY reccomend checking out BTW) Counting your calories (even after a big meal), meeting your calorie goal, Getting in your workouts, these are all things within your immediate control that you can continue to work on even if the scale is not moving at the moment.
Best of luck. You've got this! :flowerforyou:13 -
Here are 2 of the tricks I used to help me through the first few months:
1) Ignore the bathroom scale as much as possible. The scale had been my biggest enemy in my previous attempts so I didn't weigh my first time until I had already been in a deficit for 6 weeks. It took months for my relationship with the scale to get where it is now.
2) I shifted my thinking from weight loss to just eating a healthy amount of calories. I tried my best not to think about losing weight and put it out of my mind as much as possible. I wanted weight loss to be a side bonus of doing things the right way not my primary focus... I still do. I started heavier than you and I knew it was going to take a really long time and I didn't want my weight to drag me down mentally like it had in the past.14 -
Just piping in to say that aside from all the other incredibly good advice already given, for me, in moments of low morale I find coming to MFP and reading threads like this is a huge boost to my commitment to stay on track. Everyone has moments, days, weeks of self doubt and there are so many people here who really know what they are talking about, have great advice and the support is fantastic.
There have been a lot of days where I too have wondered if I'm doing things correctly, but then I read a great thread like this one and it brings me back to knowing I am, and remembering how much better I feel than I did 3-1/2 months ago and how much better I'll feel 3-1/2 months from now if I just keep doing what I'm doing, which IS working.
Even if it you aren't in to one-on-one communication with anyone, the group vibe is enough to help get you over those moments when you are feeling hopeless with your progress. So a big thank you to everyone from another person here who finds these words extremely helpful on a daily basis in keeping me going too!6 -
emmylootwo wrote: »Thanks guys... but I'm like 2 seconds away from deleting my account, throwing away my Fitbit, and never trying to lose weight again. I'm downright depressed.
I found it very helpful when I first tried to lose weight to focus on a variety of goals, not just weight loss. In fact, I didn't believe I could lose weight, kind of superstitiously, so I told myself that if I couldn't be thin, I'd be as healthy and fit as I could be. So even when the scale didn't move I could focus on my exercise/training goals, on getting in a certain number of steps, on eating really healthfully (on getting in my vegetable goals). With MFP, I'd add with logging really well and maybe trying to improve on some factor like fiber or protein.
That can help you realize you are doing good things and making progress even when the scale stalls, and it gives you something to focus on that you can control directly.5 -
I'm in a similar boat as far as weight & goal rate - something that i've found to be helpful to myself is to look at the calories i need to eat to maintain my current weight and keep it in mind as i go. Right now my goal is 1730, but to maintain my current weight i need to eat about 2350. I've promised myself i will log honestly, and log everything i eat, and know that even if i blow past my 1730 goal for today, if i eat under 2350, i'm still doing SOMETHING toward losing, however slow it may be. I don't know if that will help you, but knowing that number helps me.
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You have an advantage now over the last few times. You know the pattern. Continue logging and eating as you have been - if you really have been logging correctly then the weight will come off. You might be due a woosh in the next few days - and when that happens, you'll be so glad you didn't quit.
I can honestly say for me i have NEVER had the whoosh effect1 -
HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
No it isn't, but lots of people report this phenomenon.CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »Do you have an activity tracker?
I kept losing the same 20 pounds, gaining and losing multiple times. I got an activity tracker and realized I was under eating. I upped to 2400 calories (burning 2900 a day) and have been losing a pound a week, slow but steady.
nope if a person isnt losing weight eating more isnt going to cause weight loss,if you are undereating youre still going to lose weight albeit dangerously and with lean mass/muscle being burned as well.
I wonder if what's happening is that at the lower calorie intake they end up reducing their activity level to compensate, without noticing.
usually it is and when they increase calories they increase activity. more food for many means more energy. or they could have ended up with adaptive thermogenesis and eating more reversed it.0 -
This post was written with the extremely slow weight loss that happens when a person is close to goal in mind, but the principle is true for everyone:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10662287/the-goal-is-the-process/p1
Make your goal the little things you need to accomplish each day to achieve a calorie deficit and then go about your life and let the weight take care of itself.5 -
BuffyBourbon wrote: »I'm in a similar boat as far as weight & goal rate - something that i've found to be helpful to myself is to look at the calories i need to eat to maintain my current weight and keep it in mind as i go. Right now my goal is 1730, but to maintain my current weight i need to eat about 2350. I've promised myself i will log honestly, and log everything i eat, and know that even if i blow past my 1730 goal for today, if i eat under 2350, i'm still doing SOMETHING toward losing, however slow it may be. I don't know if that will help you, but knowing that number helps me.
I agree with this 100%!4 -
Try something different this time. Keep at it.
A three week stall is not the end of the line (especially if you happen to be a menstruating female, in which case water retention as a result of hormonal fluctuation can mask fat loss in the short term). If you are stalled at the same weight in 2 more weeks, shave a hundred or so calories off your daily intake. The whole calories in/calories out thing works, but one issue that comes up is that both sides of that equation are basically estimates.4 -
🤗 How are you doing today, @emmylootwo? Are you feeling any better? I know it’s hard, but you can do this. Stick with it! Tons of good advice here. The scale has been kind of cranky with me this week, but I’ve decided that given up is not an option.2
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witchaywoman81 wrote: »🤗 How are you doing today, @emmylootwo? Are you feeling any better? I know it’s hard, but you can do this. Stick with it! Tons of good advice here. The scale has been kind of cranky with me this week, but I’ve decided that given up is not an option.
Doing a little better today. I appreciate everyone's kind words of advice. I decided to keep on trying... even though the scale still stays the same today.
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emmylootwo wrote: »witchaywoman81 wrote: »🤗 How are you doing today, @emmylootwo? Are you feeling any better? I know it’s hard, but you can do this. Stick with it! Tons of good advice here. The scale has been kind of cranky with me this week, but I’ve decided that given up is not an option.
Doing a little better today. I appreciate everyone's kind words of advice. I decided to keep on trying... even though the scale still stays the same today.
the scale wont always move, weight fluctuates all the time and sometimes it stays the same. its normal. you wont lose every day it doesnt work that way. some days it may go up due to water retention,waste,that time of the month and so on. you gotta keep going. the body can only burn so much fat at a time. be patient and it will happen trust me. some days my weight is the same,some days its up, sometimes its down. its life and its what happens. you want to look for the downward trend in weight over time. give it a month or two and see if it goes down even if its a little at a time.you should start to see something happening soon.2 -
Having also done this a few times, I sometimes feel like my body wants to settle into "preferred" weights that also coincide with a 3- or 4-week mini-plateau and intense cravings for the things I used to eat a lot more of. Around 330 lbs is one of them for me (5'11" M, s: 416, c: 320). So is 285 lbs and 240 lbs.
The correct answer of course is that if you're in a deficit, you have to lose in the long run, and if you're not losing over the long run, then you're not in a deficit. Make sure you have your calorie target set correctly and you're logging your food and activity accurately.
But how long is the "long run?" I recently was stuck at 332 lbs from 12/10 to 1/6. Then in consecutive weeks I dropped to 326 lbs and 320 lbs. Of course, I didn't really lose 12 pounds in two weeks (as far as meaningful body mass is concerned), and aside from a couple of Christmas cheat days, I wasn't greatly out of whack with my target calories. It's almost like my body was stubbornly hanging onto everything it could while shouting "Hey man, feed me!" And then finally gave up fighting.
I also feel like the psychological aspects of trying to lose a lot of weight are often greatly underappreciated. Being in a prolonged deficit sucks. I've been in one for six months, and I have maybe 15-20 more in front of me. I'm always at least a little tired and sore and resentful. Seeing the numbers on the scale go down and my clothes fitting more loosely is a "reward" for something that doesn't really make me feel better in and of itself. When I'm not being rewarded, it's like, "This sucks. What am I doing this for?"
At times like those you have to find whatever motivates you to keep going, and -- to borrow a term currently popular in the world of pro sports -- trust the process. There are many things in life where the payoff for your effort is uncertain. This is not one of those things. Make an effort to do the things you need to do to lose weight, and you will lose it, whether you see the payoff today or tomorrow or a month from now.
Good luck.10 -
emmylootwo wrote: »witchaywoman81 wrote: »🤗 How are you doing today, @emmylootwo? Are you feeling any better? I know it’s hard, but you can do this. Stick with it! Tons of good advice here. The scale has been kind of cranky with me this week, but I’ve decided that given up is not an option.
Doing a little better today. I appreciate everyone's kind words of advice. I decided to keep on trying... even though the scale still stays the same today.
That sucks. Mine is showing that I gained 2.4lbs this week and it sucks too. I was kind of expecting my weight to fluctuate up and I know without a doubt it is water retention but it would make everything so much easier if this didn't happen for anyone. I definitely lost ~2lbs of fat this week and it will certainly show up on the scale but usually I have to wait for 3 weeks to finally see it. My wife usually has to wait even longer.
Please try and remember that stress can increase water retention and I believe that can include the stress over the scale.7 -
Just hold on a bit longer. My weight loss comes in one week out of every month so I guess it’s hormonal. Then the rest of the month I have to struggle to keep the motivation to keep the scales at the same weight. It’s worth it if you can just wait. I also usually have one very hungry day during that time where I just eat a bit more but don’t go overboard.3
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