Help I've stalled!
Servalbanshee
Posts: 14 Member
Hey everyone! So I started MFP back in December and have lost an amazing 68 pounds since then. However I seem to have stalled at 214 pounds! I've been patient and waited for about 45-50 days to see what would happen. I'm fluctuating between 216-214.5.
I'm eating 2300 cals a day and use a fit bit as well to track burned calories. I show to be in a 1000 deficit on most days but still..... I'm stalled. What should I do? Eat more calories?
more cardio? I am logging religiously daily and have not missed a single day.
I know the drill, either I'm not burning what I think I am or I'm not logging as tightly as I should be.... could there be anything else? What can I do to loose these last 15 pounds?
Oh and I used to have cheat days one day a month but have since cut that out. It's don't have the desire.
I'm eating 2300 cals a day and use a fit bit as well to track burned calories. I show to be in a 1000 deficit on most days but still..... I'm stalled. What should I do? Eat more calories?
more cardio? I am logging religiously daily and have not missed a single day.
I know the drill, either I'm not burning what I think I am or I'm not logging as tightly as I should be.... could there be anything else? What can I do to loose these last 15 pounds?
Oh and I used to have cheat days one day a month but have since cut that out. It's don't have the desire.
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Replies
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Not knowledgeable enough to offer advice, but wanted to send you a supportive hug, at least! From what I've read, these plateaus (plateaux?!) can last up to six months, but they break eventually... Good luck!1
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Do you use a food scale? Do you double check that the database entries you are using show the correct calories?
I can't tell on my phone, but if your diary isn't public, would you be willing to temporarily make it public? We might be able to help you trouble shoot.
How many extra exercise cals do you typically get, and how many of those do you eat?
You say you know the drill, but don't say whether you know your logging could be tighter.0 -
Yep my diary is public. I do have a scale and weigh everything. If I eat it, i weigh it. As for my logging, I think I'm logging as accurately as I have any other time. I don't snack here and there and not count it. For instance. We have some chicken breast leftover I like to nibble on throughout the day. What I do is weigh so I know there is x amount of calories in that container. I log it and eat it here and there throughout the day. I'm worried my metabo is slowed to match my intake. My Fitbit says I'm burning 3500+ easily daily though.
As for exercise, no time right now. As many calories as I burn I thought I'm doing ok.
I don't want to lower my intake below 2000, I'm at 2360 now I think.
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Not knowledgeable enough to offer advice, but wanted to send you a supportive hug, at least! From what I've read, these plateaus (plateaux?!) can last up to six months, but they break eventually... Good luck!Not knowledgeable enough to offer advice, but wanted to send you a supportive hug, at least! From what I've read, these plateaus (plateaux?!) can last up to six months, but they break eventually... Good luck!
Thanks! Well I'm here for the long haul, I'll never give up! If all it will take is time, I can do that. Thanks again!
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Have you adjusted your weight on your Fitbit and MFP to reflect your weight loss?
With 68lbs lost your body needs less calories than it did when you were heavier. Your BMR drops as a natural outcome of weight loss and this affects your NEAT and TDEE.
You may still be losing but much slower.
Try taking a diet break, a week or so eating at maintenance, then when you restart your deficit make sure you have adjusted for your current weight and cal goal. It would also be a good idea to slow your rate of loss to 0.5-1lbs a week as you are nearing maintenance.
Cheers, h.5 -
First off I'd get a food scale and also cut back on the sodium, also cut back on any drinks that contain sugars and electrolites. Also when I stalled I added a cheat day once a month to trick the body out of starvation mode, once I did that I started droppping again. On the cheat day its very important to drink 2X the water youd normally drink to flush out the system of sodium build up.These are just a few things i did to reactivate my stall. A side note you will bloat up when you drink tons of water, but its only temporary.13
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First off I'd get a food scale and also cut back on the sodium, also cut back on any drinks that contain sugars and electrolites. Also when I stalled I added a cheat day once a month to trick the body out of starvation mode, once I did that I started droppping again. On the cheat day its very important to drink 2X the water youd normally drink to flush out the system of sodium build up.These are just a few things i did to reactivate my stall. A side note you will bloat up when you drink tons of water, but its only temporary.
Ignore this.
I second re-calculating your calorie needs and settings in Fitbit now that you've lost some weight.5 -
I have had a food scale since day one, as far as drinks, All I drink is water, nothing else. And I have been updating my weight in my fitness pal and Fitbit. I think I'm going to try adding a cheat day and see what happens. I really don't see that I am doing anything wrong. Maybe I should just be more patient and give it more time. I have just done so well that I want to be sure I keep this going.
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We obviously don't know your stats, but 2300 seems high for a deficit for many/most people (but obviously not all). I assume by now you've run all those numbers, double-checked for the normal Fitbit inaccuracies, etc and are compensating for the usual issues with activity trackers. Have you taken a planned diet break/refeed period yet? Your diary looks good to me in terms of tracking. If you've been in a prolonged deficit then a refeed might be the thing to try: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p13
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I'm currently at around 218 lbs. and I came from 280 last April. Your calorie intake seems high to me? I exercise 6 days a week and have my numbers set to lose 1 lb a week right now. that gives me 1840 calories a day before exercise. I don't usually eat back my exercise calories, maybe a few here and there, so I am actually losing 1.5-2 lbs per week....my goal is 1802
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I agree with the above poster who mentioned readjusting your calorie allotment.3
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I took a quick look at a couple of days in your diary - you have a lot of pieces, slices, tbsp, etc. Try weighing everything that isn't liquid - when you are down to the last few pounds weight can come off super slow and you need to be really diligent with your food weighing.2
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OP how many steps per day are getting you those calorie burns with no exercise? Considering your current weight (I guessed on your height), your sedentary TDEE would be 2300ish.1
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Here's a screen shot from my fit bit app. Some say I need to be eating less than 2000k, my RMR is 2025, I don't think I should be eating below that.
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You tend to eat a lot of the same things (I do that too!). Make sure you aren't assuming that because you eat them all the time you don't have to weight them out.
What I would suggest is to go to the link in Dianne's post and follow the instructions on the correct way to take a diet break (there's a specific way, not just going off the rails). Then commit to 4 weeks of super accurate logging - weigh every damn thing. Double check that the entries you're in the habit of using are correct. Do a gut check that there is nothing slipping through the cracks. If you're still not losing at that point, a checkup might be in order, and if everything checks out, you would have to lower your calorie goal a bit.
Your calorie burns still seem high to me, but I'm no expert in that area, so I can't really speak to that.
I'm sorry your stuck, hang in there!4 -
2300 is above maintenance. You have great consistency, and a great routine. Mix it up for a mere, a tiny, a short, two weeks, okay? Do stuff very differently for two weeks.
An example: pretty much stop vigorous exercise, focus on getting and extra hour+ of sleep, see a movie, read a book, eat 1900 kcal. Then after two weeks click back into your old routine.
You can do the discipline thing, obviously. Practice doing something very different, and returning to your routine.2 -
You tend to eat a lot of the same things (I do that too!). Make sure you aren't assuming that because you eat them all the time you don't have to weight them out.
What I would suggest is to go to the link in Dianne's post and follow the instructions on the correct way to take a diet break (there's a specific way, not just going off the rails). Then commit to 4 weeks of super accurate logging - weigh every damn thing. Double check that the entries you're in the habit of using are correct. Do a gut check that there is nothing slipping through the cracks. If you're still not losing at that point, a checkup might be in order, and if everything checks out, you would have to lower your calorie goal a bit.
Your calorie burns still seem high to me, but I'm no expert in that area, so I can't really speak to that.
I'm sorry your stuck, hang in there!
Thanks! I will do that! Yea I think the burns are high too, the 4K plus days are fishing days when I spend the entire day on my feet fishing on a pier or out on the river running trot lines etc. I'll be back later with an update thank you guys.
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After losing 40 pounds I stalled for a couple of months. Increasing exercise and pushing calories extremely low (seldom above 1200) didn't move the needle at all. Then I changed to the 5:2 method while cutting back on exercise, and 20 pounds fell off in a few weeks. I don't think 5:2 is necessarily better than exercise, but rather that to change it up is what did the trick. The human body can get used to most anything, so "the new usual" must after awhile lose its initial effect. I have nothing but an anecdote so far, but hope it helps.2
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Hmmm. How many calories did you consume on the 5 normal days?0
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Eating days vary between 1800 and 2200 calories, though I aim for 2000 (so up from 1200 which clearly was not healthy and seemed to burn more muscle than fat). The two fasting days, I desperately try not to eat anything (I drink lots of water though), but the book says 600 is OK. I initially made the change because I messed up a foot and couldn't work out for awhile, but it worked out great for me. If/when I stall next time, I'll try another change back to more exercise. Like I said before, I believe it was the change in routine rather than the specific solution that kickstarted the process again, but it's only a hypothesis.0
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Not sure if this was mentioned, but are you getting enough sleep/ downtime?
I went through a frustrating slump where the scale didn’t budge even though my eating and gym habits were solid. A suddenly super busy schedule and extra stress had me doing late nights and early mornings. Once I was able to catch up on some rest and started getting back on track with some daily yoga moves, I started losing again. It may seem a little silly but stress and sleep deprivation really stalled my progress.
Another thing that may help is to change up your exercise routine. Maybe your body isn’t being challenged enough and you need to amp it up a little or even try a more intensive workout class.
It’s so frustrating when progress stalls. I’m sorry your going though it, just keep pushing through!2 -
chris_in_cal wrote: »2300 is above maintenance. You have great consistency, and a great routine. Mix it up for a mere, a tiny, a short, two weeks, okay? Do stuff very differently for two weeks.
An example: pretty much stop vigorous exercise, focus on getting and extra hour+ of sleep, see a movie, read a book, eat 1900 kcal. Then after two weeks click back into your old routine.
You can do the discipline thing, obviously. Practice doing something very different, and returning to your routine.
Thanks, I may try that. I'd rather do that then cut my calories really low. Sounds like a good way to kill my metabo. For sure don't wanna do that.
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I don’t think you’re really doing anything wrong. You know the game and you’ve played it well. You’re active and you weigh and log foods and you know the formula to lose weight. Congrats on your weight loss so far! The human body is just a seriously complex thing. Definitely don’t go too low on your calories. 2,300 doesn’t sound high to me. In fact that’s where I lost the last 5 pounds to get to my goal weight. We’re all different. Some people need to be at 1,200 calories to lose and others can be a lot higher. MFP has me at 2,600 calories to lose 1/2 lb a week and I’m Male 6’0 and 168 pounds. I’m in construction too so I’m pretty active. I think there’s some weight in taking a break. Sometimes a fitness or diet routine just needs to be set aside for a week to let the body recover. More isn’t always better. For some people doing a fast can help you reset and then get back to work. Definitely get your sleep and don’t let stress get to you. Maybe change your macros up a bit. But you’ve got it figured out. Maybe just need a little more time. After all you’ve lost a lot of weight so your body has worked really hard to ditch the fat.1
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Ok guys so what I've decided to do is this, I've started 20:4 fasting. I'm on my second day and have lost 1 pound so far. Hope that a sign of what's to come. I've also added in 1 solid hour or cardio on my bike. I'm burning 770 calories in that hour. Hope this change in routine pull my out of the plateau! Thank you all!1
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