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lucymann001
lucymann001 Posts: 8 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there, I started my weight loss journey on jan 1st at 12.4lbs. I'm 5'10 so fairly tall and aimed for a 2lb a week loss. However, I was finding after a few weeks I wasn't losing at all. I've never had a gain but plenty of weeks where I've not lost either. So I decided to reduced my aimed weekly weight loss to increase my calories from 1200 to 1410. I then noticed the pounds slowly shifting to the point where I am now 11.3lbs. But once again, I've found my weight loss has slowed again and I'm plateauing again. So my question is.. My should I carry on as I am or look to decrease my calories back down to 1200?

Replies

  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    Do you use a food scale, weighing all your food, and logging it all religiously? No skipping, cheating, or forgetting? If no, start there.

    At 5'10, you should be able to eat significantly more than 1400 calories and lose. (I'm 5'9, and can lose on 2000 calories per day.)

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1
  • lucymann001
    lucymann001 Posts: 8 Member
    I started at 12st 4lbs
  • etherealanwar
    etherealanwar Posts: 465 Member
    RelCanonical wrote: »
    Wait, what weight did you start at?

    Yeah I was confused too but maybe she means stone? I don't know how else to interpret such low numbers lol.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    I assumed she meant stones, not pounds, @RelCanonical.
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
    edited April 2019
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    I assumed she meant stones, not pounds, @RelCanonical.

    I thought she meant 124 pounds, and I was like gurrrrrl. I didn't realize you could write stones in that way, I've only seen it written out, haha.
  • lucymann001
    lucymann001 Posts: 8 Member
    Yeah, sorry I meant stones and pounds ☺️
    I track everything and eat only within my calorie allowance.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    lucymann001 wrote: »
    Yeah, sorry I meant stones and pounds ☺️
    I track everything and eat only within my calorie allowance.

    But do you use a food scale? Did you look at the link I posted upthread?

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1
  • lucymann001
    lucymann001 Posts: 8 Member
    I buy meals with the calories displayed and I track and plan every day so I don't use a food scale as I have no need to ☺️
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    lucymann001 wrote: »
    I buy meals with the calories displayed and I track and plan every day so I don't use a food scale as I have no need to ☺️

    Everything you eat is single serving? No cereal, salad, peanut butter, nuts, pork chops, chicken breast...?
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    You should not be aiming for 2 pounds a week. That rate of loss has nothing to do with height. So do not lower your daily calories. I am not sure of your goal weight but you should probably only be losing about 1 pound a week which you are currently in the ballpark of doing.

    It is possible that your meals have a higher sodium content and it is helping to mask some of your fat loss. You should also know that weight fluctuations are normal and for some people can mask fat weight loss for an extended period of time.

    Check out this link:

    http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/

    If possible you might want to get a food scale and periodically verify that your meals add up to what they say they should be.





  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    MikePTY wrote: »
    2 pounds was always too aggressive for your weight, and especially is now. For those who don't do stone well, she is 157 pounds, which at 5'10" is in the middle of a healthy BMI. If you try to lose any further, you should be aiming for a half a pound a week of weight loss. Maybe even focus on a recomp. I would not cut your calories any further.

    I didn't check where her BMI was for her current stats.

    OP, your body is only physically capable of metabolizing a certain amount of fat each day to make up for your calorie deficit. That limit decreases when you have much less to lose. When you exceed that limit your body will begin to burn muscle and that is not what you want.

    As @MikePTY suggests if you are going to try and lose more drop to .5 pounds per week or shift your focus to recomp.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    MikePTY wrote: »
    2 pounds was always too aggressive for your weight, and especially is now. For those who don't do stone well, she is 157 pounds, which at 5'10" is in the middle of a healthy BMI. If you try to lose any further, you should be aiming for a half a pound a week of weight loss. Maybe even focus on a recomp. I would not cut your calories any further.

    Good catch.

    I agree with recomp at this point if you aren't happy with how your body is looking, @lucymann001. Eat at maintenance and lift heavy (for you).
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    gearhead426hemi wrote: »
    You will hit plateaus in your journey quite often so keep changing things up to see what works the best. Change how many carbs you eat and the time of day you eat them. Change the intensity or type of workouts when you hit plateaus. Your body will start to become really accustomed to your workout routine if you do the same workout at the same time everyday. Keep your body guessing and keep it interesting. It will be hard but try not to focus on the scale as much as how you feel. If you are feeling good and your strength and endurance are increasing then what the scale says shouldn't matter. Great job on what you have accomplished so far keep it up!!!

    You can't confuse your body. It does what it does. What you think works only momentarily changes some weight fluctuations and that has nothing to do with real weight loss.
  • lucymann001
    lucymann001 Posts: 8 Member
    Thank you all so much for your advice. I reset my goal and that dropped my calorie intake by 100 calories. I didn't know to reset it but I read after a 10lb loss you should recalculate so having done that now I shall continue onwards ☺️
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    lucymann001 wrote: »
    Thank you all so much for your advice. I reset my goal and that dropped my calorie intake by 100 calories. I didn't know to reset it but I read after a 10lb loss you should recalculate so having done that now I shall continue onwards ☺️

    So how many calories are you going to be eating, and how many lbs per week is that supposed to be?
  • Muscleflex79
    Muscleflex79 Posts: 1,916 Member
    lucymann001 wrote: »
    Thank you all so much for your advice. I reset my goal and that dropped my calorie intake by 100 calories. I didn't know to reset it but I read after a 10lb loss you should recalculate so having done that now I shall continue onwards ☺️

    you must have missed the questions about your food intake - is everything you eat truly single serving with calories listed? no chicken breast? banana? apple? grapes? steak?
  • lucymann001
    lucymann001 Posts: 8 Member
    Because of the nature and hours of my job, I buy meals that either go in the oven or microwave and have the calories for that meal listed on the front. As for breakfast and snacks and coffee throughout the day, I know they calorie value for them all so it is very easy to stay on track.
  • lucymann001
    lucymann001 Posts: 8 Member
    As it stands, as I am near my first goal of 11st, I decided to review my goal. I'd like to get to 10st 7lbs and I'm aiming to lose 1-1.5lbs a week and it has now calculated a daily calorie count of 1310.
  • MichelleSilverleaf
    MichelleSilverleaf Posts: 2,025 Member
    Even single serve packaged meals can be off in terms of weight. I've had some that were a little under, were on the money, and many that were over (esp enough to make a calorie difference).
  • Panini911
    Panini911 Posts: 2,325 Member
    edited April 2019
    lucymann001 wrote: »
    As it stands, as I am near my first goal of 11st, I decided to review my goal. I'd like to get to 10st 7lbs and I'm aiming to lose 1-1.5lbs a week and it has now calculated a daily calorie count of 1310.

    it was also recommended earlier that you opt for 0.5lb/week (I think that's .25 stones/week??) given you are already in the middle of the healthy BMI for your height?

    though there are clearly logging issues if you are not losing (or it's just a natural time of the month water retention period and you are in fact loosing).
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    lucymann001 wrote: »
    As it stands, as I am near my first goal of 11st, I decided to review my goal. I'd like to get to 10st 7lbs and I'm aiming to lose 1-1.5lbs a week and it has now calculated a daily calorie count of 1310.

    As pretty much everyone who responded suggested, I would strongly advise slowing down that rate of loss. And if you continue to stay stalled, you might want to reconsider how sure of your logging you are. Packaged foods do not necessarily weigh what the serving size says, and eyeballing or remembering portion size is notoriously ineffective, even for trained professionals.

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1

    And please keep in mind, MFP's calorie goal is before exercise, you are supposed to log exercise and eat back at least some of those calories. Best of luck.
  • lucymann001
    lucymann001 Posts: 8 Member
    quiksylver296 I'm not entirely sure what you mean when you say my op implies I am not?
    Not what? 🤔
  • Muscleflex79
    Muscleflex79 Posts: 1,916 Member
    lucymann001 wrote: »
    quiksylver296 I'm not entirely sure what you mean when you say my op implies I am not?
    Not what? 🤔

    I think she means the bolded part - "staying on track" - you claim you know the calories in everything so you don't have to weigh things and say this is working for you, all while saying it is not working because you have hit a plateau.
  • Silentpadna
    Silentpadna Posts: 1,306 Member
    edited April 2019
    At your current height and weight, you should expect many "plateaus" because you do not have a lot to lose.

    There is great advice in this thread, but all of it is predicated on whether you are accurately measuring and logging. From your responses, it appears that you might be close if single serving packaged food is all you eat and if the labels are accurate (a dubious assumption).

    Your resistance to using a food scale is common. But it will most likely open your eyes when you get one and use it meticulously.

    You cannot effectively make adjustments that make sense if you don't. You can only guess. And guessing based on notoriously ineffective ways to measure introduces more likely errors in your process.

    Why not take the step with the food scale? For me, I've found that if I had to pick between a food scale and bathroom scale and could only have one, I would pick the food scale every single time.
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