Kick starting weight loss again after a years maintenance?

4hj0cb6pkc2o.jpeg

Hey guys, I haven’t ever posted in this community before. I usually just use this app and don’t worry about connecting with others as I’m often embarrassed that I ever got over 100kg. However, I’m a bit stuck and could do with some advice. I have attached my progress so far and I need to lose another 10kg to get to a healthy bmi. As you can see I lost a lot of weight fairly quickly but it’s been fluctuating between 85-90 for the past year. My mum believes in a thing called your personal weight ‘set point’ where your body is happy. She says I’ve probably reached mine but I feel I still need to lose more. I carry my weight pretty well and fit into size 12/14 (Australian) but I’m more concerned about my health as I’m only 22 but have already had a few health issues. Any advice to move past this? I think a bit of it is emotional as I stoped losing the weight when I went through a relationship breakup.

Replies

  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    There is no biological set point. There's a "mental" set point which is where feel comfortable with a balance between what we eat and how much we move. That can be changed by eating less or moving more. Do you still weigh all your food and log dailY in MFP?
  • 88olds
    88olds Posts: 4,532 Member
    I lost from 285 lbs to 215-220 and stayed stuck there for years. Life was pretty good there. I trained with weights and built my body. My CPAP was in the trash. I ran my kids into the ground in the parks in Orlando.

    But that nagging voice- my initial goal had been 204lbs. No matter how hard I worked I couldn’t get below 212lbs. And when I got there, I couldn’t stay there.

    Then, in desperation, I joined Weight Watchers. WW then was just fancy calorie counting set up so they could get trademark protection. But that’s where I learned tracking aka a food diary.

    My problem- I was eating too much. Looking back, at 215lbs my portions were too big to get lower. And I was eating too much bread and rice and not enough green vegetables.

    You don’t say, but if you don’t keep a food diary, start one. If you don’t use a food scale, start that. Keep your diary for about a month and you’ll see why you are stuck where you are.

    If you’re already doing that stuff, start it all again like it’s day 1. Check every number and assumption about your calorie counting. If that doesn’t help, bite the bullet and cut 100 calories per day as a test. See what happens. Even with all our gadgets, calorie counting isn’t all that exact. Keep adjusting and testing. You’ll get it.

    Btw my GW ended up being 184 lbs. I’ve been maintaining for years. And don’t kick yourself for being where you are. Sometimes we just need a break. I’ve had to reinvent my program about 3-4 times.
  • rosiorama
    rosiorama Posts: 300 Member
    I din’t believe there is a set weight that our body likes. We just need to learn better eating habits and learn how to eat a proper number of calories.

    If you don’t weight your food already, buy a scale and weigh and log everything you eat. Set a modest deficit (i prefer 0.5 a pound per week) so you don’t feel deprived. Time and consistency is all you need. Be patient. It’ll take more time than you’d like. Learn better habits along the way. ❤️

    FWIW, you’re doing good - you’ve kept the weight off. Congrats!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Not a body's set point, but most people's lifestyle leads to a certain weight that is "normal" for them. that can change if someone incorporates moving more and eating less for the long term though.
  • Rose8870
    Rose8870 Posts: 2 Member
    Thanks for the reply’s. I did stop logging my food in MFP for a couple of months but started again about 2 months ago. I eat between 5000-7000 kJ per day but I don’t often weigh my food as I live at college and I eat 1 meal a day in the cafeteria where I can’t weigh things. So I have to estimate and my estimations may not be completely accurate. In terms of nutrition though I’m pretty good. I’m vegetarian so I must consume a lot of legumes and green leafy vegetables to get my iron. Although I do also eat quite a lot of carbs. My other problem is I’m prone to comfort eating. If I don’t feel good about myself I’ll eat. Since my relationship breakup I don’t feel very good about myself.