Can CI/CO eventually stop working? (Long)

I’m no stranger to losing weight. When I started over 15 years ago on my own journey I went from 190lbs to 125lb. Years later, with the help of MFP, I was able to maintain between 130-140lbs (very happy with that). I gave birth over a year ago and my new postpartum starting weight on MFP was 175. I’ve been on MFP for 70 days and got down to 155lbs (my goal is 148 which would put me just at normal BMI).

The problem is for almost 2 weeks my weight has stayed not only the same, but increasing the past couple days. I truly believe in calorie in/calorie out - I weigh and measure everything, accurately. If I can’t weigh it or log it, I don’t eat it. I don’t guesstimate, I don’t order takeout, etc. In the beginning of the 70 days, I was able to work in formal cardio and I would log that, but the truth is my life is very different now and the gym isn’t on the agenda for me (yet, but will be again). So far I’ve just been putting my trust in weight loss based on what I’m eating without the exercise part (which I’ve read on the boards will still work!). I’ve been having wonderful steady results so far - some weeks I would lose less than a lb but then the next week there was a big drop - but no matter what I was always “losing” each week. I keep waiting for my big “drop” but the scale is only going up. So frustrating.

The only other background information I can provide is that I’m mid-cycle and I actually do feel somewhat bloated despite my water intake (but not 2 weeks of bloating, just the past couple days). I don’t do anything special with my diet, I’m not low carb or doing IF or anything. I’m just a healthy eater and otherwise healthy individual. I had blood work done a month ago and everything is normal. My diet is naturally low salt so I’m not sure why I feel bloated. Maybe I’m being impatient because I do want to be in normal BMI range before I start trying to have another baby (which hopefully is very soon). (And no I am not pregnant!)

I also want to mention that 130-140lbs is my body’s “happy weight.” I figured setting my goal to just under 150 was going to be no problem hitting for me as I would be no where near close to trying to lose “the last 10”. I do still have a lot of fat on my body to lose, but I was settling on being satisfied with a normal BMI range before getting pregnant again.

This has never happened to me, and I’m at a loss for why the math stopped working on my CI/CO formula (what MFP gives you). I’m definitely still at *some* deficit (even if it’s not the same amount I started with) so I don’t know why I’m not seeing something. Any insights or similar anecdotal stories would be appreciated.

I haven’t been watching my macros (just making sure I meet all my vitamin and calorie requirements) but would a low carb/sugar intake help here? I always felt that stuff was nonsense because it always comes down to calories. But I obviously don’t know everything or else I wouldn’t be here. Otherwise, I really don’t have the wiggle room to lower my calories even more. I have never lost weight without exercising and now I don’t know if it’s even possible after a certain point. Is this normal?
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Replies

  • Terytha
    Terytha Posts: 2,097 Member
    2 weeks is not enough time to know much. Plateaus are only established after 6+ weeks precisely because so many things influence your scale weight: poop, glycogen, water, bigger meals than usual, exercise... etc. The less you have to lose, the longer these flat periods can last. Women in particular see jumps during that TOM.

    If you feel bloated and it's that time, you probably are holding a lot of water. You can try low carb for a bit to see if it helps the bloating, I hear keto-ers see a big initial drop due to water weight loss. You can try drinking more water too, see if that flushes it through.

    Mostly though I'd say wait it out. See how you feel when Aunt Flo is gone.
  • TheRealSlim_Shelly
    TheRealSlim_Shelly Posts: 66 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    I'm honestly surprised you've never had this happen before.

    Your weight includes the weight of everything in your body, not just the fat. All that other stuff constantly fluctuates as your body does all the stuff it's constantly doing in there. My weight can go up or down 3 or 4 lbs per day, probably usually due to water weight fluctuations.

    CICO is about fat gain/loss/maintenance. It has nothing to do with water retention, digestive contents, and all the other random stuff inside of you that is included in your scale weight.

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1

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

    Sorry I should clarify I have had this happen to me but only when I was at a much smaller weight, when I was in the 130’s trying to get more fit. That was an incredibly long process. I wasn’t expecting it at the weight I am now. But I’ve never lost weight without exercise so this is all new territory for me. I usually only weigh in once per week so I’m not sure what normal fluctuation looks like for me specifically but this past week I’ve been weighing daily in hopes to see something move ... and it’s been disheartening to say the least. Thank you for the links and in the mean time I will try to take it easier on myself mentally.

  • TheRealSlim_Shelly
    TheRealSlim_Shelly Posts: 66 Member
    Terytha wrote: »
    2 weeks is not enough time to know much. Plateaus are only established after 6+ weeks precisely because so many things influence your scale weight: poop, glycogen, water, bigger meals than usual, exercise... etc. The less you have to lose, the longer these flat periods can last. Women in particular see jumps during that TOM.

    If you feel bloated and it's that time, you probably are holding a lot of water. You can try low carb for a bit to see if it helps the bloating, I hear keto-ers see a big initial drop due to water weight loss. You can try drinking more water too, see if that flushes it through.

    Mostly though I'd say wait it out. See how you feel when Aunt Flo is gone.

    Thank you for the insights ... I had no idea plateaus were a 6 week thing, and that gives me hope. I’m not due for my TOM for at least two weeks but I’ve been curious if being mid-cycle is playing into this somehow.

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,846 Member
    Terytha wrote: »
    2 weeks is not enough time to know much. Plateaus are only established after 6+ weeks precisely because so many things influence your scale weight: poop, glycogen, water, bigger meals than usual, exercise... etc. The less you have to lose, the longer these flat periods can last. Women in particular see jumps during that TOM.

    If you feel bloated and it's that time, you probably are holding a lot of water. You can try low carb for a bit to see if it helps the bloating, I hear keto-ers see a big initial drop due to water weight loss. You can try drinking more water too, see if that flushes it through.

    Mostly though I'd say wait it out. See how you feel when Aunt Flo is gone.

    Thank you for the insights ... I had no idea plateaus were a 6 week thing, and that gives me hope. I’m not due for my TOM for at least two weeks but I’ve been curious if being mid-cycle is playing into this somehow.

    Yes, many of us do retain at ovulation as well as premenstrually.

    When you compare your weight to this point in last month's cycle, what do you get?
  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
    Give it longer. CICO works, it’s the way weight is lost, no matter the program you follow.
    There’s something to say for weighing once a month. May be a clearer picture.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,846 Member
    apullum wrote: »
    NovusDies wrote: »
    CICO can definitely stop working...

    ...when you die.

    Ok but what if you’re undead...like a zombie?

    There are many types of undead. If you’re a vampire, your CI is obviously blood, and your CO is probably turning into a bat and looking for more blood. Let’s try to be inclusive of all undead beings.

    Given a certain blood supply, vampires maintain a perfect energy balance effortlessly. More study is needed. Who want to help me write the research grant proposal?
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    apullum wrote: »
    NovusDies wrote: »
    CICO can definitely stop working...

    ...when you die.

    Ok but what if you’re undead...like a zombie?

    There are many types of undead. If you’re a vampire, your CI is obviously blood, and your CO is probably turning into a bat and looking for more blood. Let’s try to be inclusive of all undead beings.

    Given a certain blood supply, vampires maintain a perfect energy balance effortlessly. More study is needed. Who want to help me write the research grant proposal?

    That's a big assumption, though. What happens when there's a shortage of human blood--say, if you're a vampire in a rural area? Does the vampire then turn to animal blood, and if so, is it metabolized in the same way? I agree, we need a grant to study this.
  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,970 Member
    I have to update my profile every 10 lbs lost or so to see if my calorie allotment needs to be lowered. I think a lot of people forget to make this adjustment.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,394 Member
    For a small cut I'll help with the application process! 😇
  • TheRealSlim_Shelly
    TheRealSlim_Shelly Posts: 66 Member
    LyndaBSS wrote: »
    I have to update my profile every 10 lbs lost or so to see if my calorie allotment needs to be lowered. I think a lot of people forget to make this adjustment.

    I’m not sure if we’re talking about the same thing but MFP automatically does this (so I thought?). I’ve seen my calories automatically change based on whatever weight I’ve entered (at least MFP did in the past). Unfortunately I don’t have much wiggle room to play with as far as reducing my calories even further.

  • SueSueDio
    SueSueDio Posts: 4,796 Member
    apullum wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    apullum wrote: »
    NovusDies wrote: »
    CICO can definitely stop working...

    ...when you die.

    Ok but what if you’re undead...like a zombie?

    There are many types of undead. If you’re a vampire, your CI is obviously blood, and your CO is probably turning into a bat and looking for more blood. Let’s try to be inclusive of all undead beings.

    Given a certain blood supply, vampires maintain a perfect energy balance effortlessly. More study is needed. Who want to help me write the research grant proposal?

    That's a big assumption, though. What happens when there's a shortage of human blood--say, if you're a vampire in a rural area? Does the vampire then turn to animal blood, and if so, is it metabolized in the same way? I agree, we need a grant to study this.

    Do vampires need to follow the Blood Type Diet? :)