Help! I keep gaining and losing the same 5 pounds!
Bjane01
Posts: 23 Member
I can't seem to get over the hump with weight loss. It's actually been going on for years. I can get my weight to about 150 maybe 147 but it doesn't want to budge from that. I am still considered overweight at 5'3". I follow the calories. I gave up this summer and just maintained. But I'd like to lose at least 10-20 lbs. I feel my age is against me. I am 45. I do work out and my intensity has varied from 5 days a week one hour down to 2 days a week.
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Replies
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How accurate and consistent is your logging? Do you use a food scale? Double check that the entries you are choosing in the database have the correct calories? Do you log everything - condiments, cooking oil, beverages, late night snacks, cheat meals, etc?
Once you get close to a healthy weight, many find that the "good enough" logging that got them so far starts to fail them. At the least, a month of super accurate logging will make it easier to figure out what's going on
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Do you know how many calories you were eating to maintain your weight through summer? Shave off 250 to 500 calories per day.11
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L1zardQueen wrote: »Do you know how many calories you were eating to maintain your weight through summer? Shave off 250 to 500 calories per day.
That is a good idea. I think I was eating around 1200-1500 a day. I think I need to change my settings to sedentary since I have a desk job. I am pretty active outside of work but just sit at a desk all day for work. It brought me down to the minimum of 1200 calories with only a .08 weight loss per week. My weakness is chocolate and I can blow 400 calories a day on it!
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How accurate and consistent is your logging? Do you use a food scale? Double check that the entries you are choosing in the database have the correct calories? Do you log everything - condiments, cooking oil, beverages, late night snacks, cheat meals, etc?
Once you get close to a healthy weight, many find that the "good enough" logging that got them so far starts to fail them. At the least, a month of super accurate logging will make it easier to figure out what's going on
I do log everything. I am not sure I am 100% accurate though with it. I don't have a scale.0 -
How accurate and consistent is your logging? Do you use a food scale? Double check that the entries you are choosing in the database have the correct calories? Do you log everything - condiments, cooking oil, beverages, late night snacks, cheat meals, etc?
Once you get close to a healthy weight, many find that the "good enough" logging that got them so far starts to fail them. At the least, a month of super accurate logging will make it easier to figure out what's going on
I do log everything. I am not sure I am 100% accurate though with it. I don't have a scale.
Before trying to randomly cut calories, try to log super accurately for at least a couple of weeks. You can get a digital food scale for $15 off Amazon or Walmart. Choose your database entries carefully and match the calories listed to the package or the USDA published info for whole foods. Log every little thing. It might shine a light on where you are wasting calories and can more easily cut them, and you will have a better idea how much you are really eating.
When I did that back in the day, I found I was eating 200-300 cals per day more than I thought I was when logging casually.
Good luck!8 -
What the above posters said.
And don't let your age hold you back. I'm 46, 5'2.5", and went from 182 to 133 in the last couple of years. The first 40 pounds in 2017, the next 10 in 2018. The closer you are to goal, the slower it goes. But it will go if you stick with it!8 -
I am the same height & about same weight & quite a bit older & if I put 1/2# a week, it gives me 1390 net calories.
I also put it as lightly active, tho, because although retired & pretty lazy, I do walk quite a bit.2 -
Kathryn247 wrote: »What the above posters said.
And don't let your age hold you back. I'm 46, 5'2.5", and went from 182 to 133 in the last couple of years. The first 40 pounds in 2017, the next 10 in 2018. The closer you are to goal, the slower it goes. But it will go if you stick with it!
Thank you. I'd like to get back to the "normal" weight. I can easily get down to 150 but everything after that seems to stall. I think I am eating too many calories.
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Just make sure you're doing weight training as well, you will need those calories, don't worry too much about the scale, concentrate on how your body is feeling and changing.0
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How accurate and consistent is your logging? Do you use a food scale? Double check that the entries you are choosing in the database have the correct calories? Do you log everything - condiments, cooking oil, beverages, late night snacks, cheat meals, etc?
Once you get close to a healthy weight, many find that the "good enough" logging that got them so far starts to fail them. At the least, a month of super accurate logging will make it easier to figure out what's going on
I do log everything. I am not sure I am 100% accurate though with it. I don't have a scale.
That's your answer right there. You've most likely been taking in more calories than you believe.9 -
We need to be friends. I am in the EXACT SAME BOAT.....I am 5'-2" though but stuck between 147-150 what seems like forever. I think I know how to maintain now (which is great). I just need to get off the last 8-10 lbs.1
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We need to be friends. I am in the EXACT SAME BOAT.....I am 5'-2" though but stuck between 147-150 what seems like forever. I think I know how to maintain now (which is great). I just need to get off the last 8-10 lbs.
It's like my body loves this weight!! I can maintain easily but can't seem to lose any more no matter what I do!0 -
We need to be friends. I am in the EXACT SAME BOAT.....I am 5'-2" though but stuck between 147-150 what seems like forever. I think I know how to maintain now (which is great). I just need to get off the last 8-10 lbs.
It's like my body loves this weight!! I can maintain easily but can't seem to lose any more no matter what I do!
Weigh your food as a first step in figuring stuff out. I bet you’ll find that helps your body lose.5 -
We need to be friends. I am in the EXACT SAME BOAT.....I am 5'-2" though but stuck between 147-150 what seems like forever. I think I know how to maintain now (which is great). I just need to get off the last 8-10 lbs.
It's like my body loves this weight!! I can maintain easily but can't seem to lose any more no matter what I do!
Although our Mums tell us we are special we really aren't.
If you consistently maintain a calorie deficit you will lose weight.
Without logging fully and accurately you probably won't achieve that consistent deficit though.
It's surely worth a few dollars and a few minutes of your time a day?
If it isn't then you really don't want it enough. Sorry if that sounds harsh but this really is in your own hands to fix.
BTW - it's nothing to do with your age, that might make a small calorie difference to your maintenance level but it doesn't and cannot change the fact that a deficit results in loss.
The good news is that if you can maintain overweight easily (like me) you can also probably maintain at your goal weight fairly easily (like me).
It might just be a few months of effort to achieve what you want. Don't get to your 50's (like me) and regret you didn't put that effort in earlier.15 -
Same story here . I am at 145lbs and it’s always fluctuating but not going to be less than 145. I don’t use food scale. Let me know if you do any changes and see the results. Thanks0
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rajikaurbajna wrote: »Same story here . I am at 145lbs and it’s always fluctuating but not going to be less than 145. I don’t use food scale. Let me know if you do any changes and see the results. Thanks
I’m going to try eating small amounts all day. Healthy food. And tracking better. I suspect I’m eating too much. I’m at 148 this morning. I’d like to break 140 by 30 days. We’ll see.1 -
Eight pounds in 30 days isn't realistic at this point. You don't have that much to lose and should only be aiming for about half a pound a week. Start weighing your food, do it consistently, and the weight will come off eventually.
Eating small amounts of "healthy" food throughout the day is great if that helps you stay in a deficit, but it's the calories that matter for weight loss.8 -
At your current stats weight loss will be slow and logging accurately becomes more important. Using a food scale is definitely more accurate. However, I don’t use one. I measure by volume. I have my goal set to lose 0.5 lbs per week and I end up losing 1.0 lbs per month. I know the reason I am not losing as quickly is because my logging isn’t as accurate as it can be. Is a scale required? No. Is a scale difficult to use? No. I’m just old, lazy and stubborn, and I don’t want to bother since I’m still losing (albeit slower). I’m ok with losing slower. FWIW my stats are female, age 52, 136.5 lbs, 5’1”. My starting weight was in the 170s. I’ve been tracking on MFP for a year and a half. I plan to keep tracking. Likely forever. I’m 11.5 lbs from goal. I’m
in no hurry as longs as I don’t gain.
Start where you are.
1. Do you track everything you eat? If not, start here. Don’t stop tracking just because you go over calories. It’s just data. Keep logging.
2. Are you eyeballing portions instead of measuring? If not, tighten up on measuring in some way even if that means measuring cups/spoons.
3. Already using measuring cups/spoons but not losing at anticipated rate? Consider a scale
4. Using a lot of generic entries in the database? Look for USDA when possible. Double check entries against nutritional labels.
5. Don’t want to change your current calorie intake but are maintaining? Try adding a 20-30 leisurely walk daily without eating more than you currently are.
My point is that there are lots of strategies. And a food scale is your friend. But if you don’t want one yet, there are still some other strategies that may help.
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