Stuck

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xlilphishx
xlilphishx Posts: 23 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Stuck at the same weight for weeks.
What can I do to shake it up?

Replies

  • BattyKnitter
    BattyKnitter Posts: 503 Member
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    Are you using a food scale to weigh your food?
  • sarajean1976
    sarajean1976 Posts: 5 Member
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    That was going to be my first question too - do you use a food scale?

    Do you exercise...if not, add some activity. If you already do exercise, change it up!

    How long have you been in a deficit?
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    edited June 2019
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    How many weeks? It is not uncommon to go 2 or 3 weeks without showing loss on the bathroom scale. How long have you been losing weight?
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
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    sarajean1976 wrote: »
    That was going to be my first question too - do you use a food scale?

    Do you exercise...if not, add some activity. If you already do exercise, change it up!

    How long have you been in a deficit?

    You don't change exercise because your bathroom scale isn't moving. If anything that could increase water retention and scale weight. It is best to start with checking logging accuracy and expectation of how the scale will move.
  • Panini911
    Panini911 Posts: 2,325 Member
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    it has not changed AT ALL? or not much?
    just 2 weeks?

    Weight loss is not a straight line. our weight isn't just fat but lots of other things and water fluctuations for a variety of reasons:
    http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/

    So a few weeks or more without loss or even a small bump up in weight is not unsual. in fact it's a normal prat of the process. it doesn't mean you need to "change" anything. And if you want to take some sort of action, the very first one should be to double down on logging. review your weighing practices (of food not your body) and recheck the entries you use.
  • Panini911
    Panini911 Posts: 2,325 Member
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    Came back to add: being on the last 13 or so pounds of your journey, the rate of loss is likely small like 0.5lb/week (or it should be soon). water weight easily masks such small loses.

    going on low carb (you mention atkin) means you lost a lot of water weight the first month. rate of loss will stabilize once that is gone and thus fat loss will be slow.
  • xlilphishx
    xlilphishx Posts: 23 Member
    edited June 2019
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    I started my program on April 28th. Since then, I have lost almost 11 pounds. I remember being in my 20s and losing 10 pounds in a month! I do exercise. 3-4 days a week. 2 mile run followed by crossfit. I am prepping for a marathon hoping that gets my *kitten* in gear!
  • xlilphishx
    xlilphishx Posts: 23 Member
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    Oh and to answer, no. I do not use a food scale.
  • AustinRuadhain
    AustinRuadhain Posts: 2,574 Member
    edited June 2019
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    xlilphishx wrote: »
    Oh and to answer, no. I do not use a food scale.

    So my experience, and that of many people, is that the key factor in weight loss is food intake. So start by getting clearer on that! If you can, go pick up a digital food scale (a "tare" function will be super useful; this will run about $15 at a store like Walmart) and start actually weighing your food. Even packaged items like granola bars. "The nutrition labeling law [in the U.S.] allows a 20% deviation for all nutrients and product weight." That 20% can really undermine the deficit you are shooting for, depending on how calorie-dense your food choices are, where the error happens to show up, etc .

    From your profile, it looks like you only have 25 pounds to lose. It's not a lot, but allow plenty of time. It likely took you a while to get here. A healthy rate of weight loss is 1-2 pounds a week for most people, though many have a bump at the start where things move faster. For the last 10-20, many people find that a rate like 0.5 pounds/week is more doable.

    It sounds like you are remembering a weight loss experience from years ago, and maybe pre-pregnancy. Time and life change how our body reacts, so maybe just be curious, gather more data, and watch to see how your body reacts.

    Some helpful links:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1290491/how-and-why-to-use-a-digital-food-scale

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    1. If it's been less than 3 weeks or so, don't sweat it! Normal fluctuations happen and unfortunately sometimes we stall for a week or two even when we're doing everything right.

    2. If you aren't already, be sure that you're logging everything. Sometimes people forget about things like veggies, drinks, cooking oils, and condiments. For some people these can add up to enough to halt your weight loss progress.

    3. Consider buying a food scale if you don't already have one and use it for everything. Everything. For a couple of weeks to see what kind of discrepancies you're running into. They're about $10-$20 dollars in the US and easily found at places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Measuring cups and spoons are great, but they do come with some degree of inaccuracy. A food scale will be more accurate, and for some people it makes a big difference.

    4. Logging accurately also means choosing accurate entries in the database. There are a lot of user-entered entries that are off. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries. Don't trust the barcode scanner or restaurant entries 100%.

    5. Recalculate your goals if you haven't lately. As you lose weight your body requires fewer calories to run. Be sure you update your goals every ten pounds or so.

    6. If you're eating back your exercise calories and you're relying on gym machine readouts or MFP's estimates, it might be best to eat back just 50-75% of those. Certain activities tend to be overestimated. If you're using an HRM or activity tracker, it might be a good idea to look into their accuracy and be sure that yours is calibrated properly.

    7. If you're taking any cheat days that go over your calorie limits, it might be best to cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens. Some people go way over their calorie needs without realizing it when they don't track.

    8. If you weigh yourself frequently, consider using a program like trendweight, happy scale, or libra to even out the fluctuations. You could be losing weight but just don't see it because of the daily ups and downs.

    9. Some people just burn fewer calories than the calculators predict. If you continue to have problems after 4-6 weeks, then it might be worth a trip to the doctor or a registered dietitian who can give you more specific advice.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    xlilphishx wrote: »
    I started my program on April 28th. Since then, I have lost almost 11 pounds. I remember being in my 20s and losing 10 pounds in a month! I do exercise. 3-4 days a week. 2 mile run followed by crossfit. I am prepping for a marathon hoping that gets my *kitten* in gear!

    11 pounds in 7 weeks sounds like good progress to me, especially with marathon training in the mix. How long has it actually been since you saw a drop on the scale and how much are you aiming to lose?

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