Trying to be Optimistic

etherealanwar
etherealanwar Posts: 465 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I decided back in the beginning of November to increase my calories because I was fed up with aiming for 1200 calories for the past year. I know that I was somehow averaging a 2 lb loss a month for the majority of 2019...which did not add up since I was expecting 1 lb a loss a week at that deficit. I do weigh everything that I eat minus anytime I eat take out. Can it really be that the take out I ate was considerably higher calorie than the posted nutritional information? I say this because I averaged my calories for the month of November to be 1498 calories which should have resulted in a 1.4 lb loss over the month. I know eating more=more water retention + food waste in the system so my weight did go up to 135 lbs from my lowest of 132 lbs.

In december my average calories for the month was 1541 calories. During this month I went up to a high of 137 lbs ...my weight fluctuated between 133-137 lbs up until today (where I weighed in at 137 lbs this morning). So it has been almost 9 weeks at a higher calorie amount and my weight has not returned to my lowest and has reached a high of 137 lbs. I am getting worried that worse than just not losing weight that I may be gaining? I walk an avg of 7-10k steps a day which I believe should give me a bit more calories than sedentary (which MFP lists as maintaining at 1660 calories a day, I am 5'4" for reference).

I only have 15 lbs left to lose and after 2 years of weight loss going from 200 lbs to 132 lbs I really don't want to stop before reaching my goal. I know these last 15 lbs make the biggest visual difference for me but it has been a real struggle. Any thoughts on what may be happening and any suggestions? My aim was 1410 calories but obviously I went over that with the holidays and such....Should I aim for 1300-1400 and see if that helps?

Replies

  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
    After my first year on MFP I hit a plateau and couldn't lose for about 3 months. I was on 1200 calories. I have no idea what was going on with me. Logically I should have seen a loss but being fairly sedentary and 60 years old nothing seemed to be moving. Finally I went on a diet break for a week (should have done 2). I had gone from 235 to 165 the previous year so I'd had good results but getting stuck for that length of time was discouraging. Anyway I gained 2 or 3 pounds on my week off but then went on the following year to lose another 20 lbs. I can't explain why this worked but it did. If you haven't had a diet break take one. You eat at maintenance during the break not whole hog but it seems to do your body good to have a rest. Could be fluid build up who knows but in the long run I had a rest and went back to losing. That's what counts.
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
    Maintenance calories - There are lots and lots and lots of calculators to give you average maintenance calories (TDEE), and I'll add some below...but, these are just averages, and can vary from person to person...the best way to find your maintenance calories is to track food and maintain weight and then average it out to a daily intake...that way you know what your individual target amount of food is for maintenance.

    These two calculators hit pretty close to my actual maintenance calories and may be interesting to you...

    this is a keto calculator, but actually spits out a bunch of eating options and daily calories:
    land-boards.com/KetoCalc.html

    this one is designed for leangains eating, but also calculates daily TDEE:
    https://x-gains.com/MacroCalculator

    Diet breaks - I'm a huge huge fan of taking a break from deficit eating and spending some time eating at maintenance...I find it helps my adherence when I am at a deficit, and it improves my sanity because I get super tired of always having to limit all the yummy foods. For me, I will usually do either 2 month on deficit, and then 1 month at maintenance, or 6 weeks on deficit and then 2 weeks at maintenance...just depending on what fits my calendar schedule best. I like to cosplay, so I try to time my deficits to end right before a con, and then go to maintenance after so I can relax and enjoy life at bit at the convention...but, it's also nice to be a maintenance for other special events like holidays or vacations.

    It sounds like you have already made great improvements to your health and weight, and it's definitely frustrating to be close to goal when every pound becomes so much harder to lose...but this is forever, right? You don't want to just return to being unhealthy and overweight, right? Change the plan to fit what you need right, and maybe now you need some time at maintenance, and then you can get back to shaving off that last few pounds when you are ready.
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,224 Member
    How often are you weighing yourself? Are you using a trending app (Libra/Happy Scale) to help see trends over time? Are you using the trended weight to determine if you’re losing/maintaining/gaining?

    You’re at a healthy weight (by BMI) and aiming for the low end of that range - which is fine, but it means progress will be VERY slow. And slow progress can be easily masked by normal weight fluctuations.

    If you’re not weighing daily and using a trending app, I would start with that.

    If you are already doing that-it’s very possible that your takeaways and any holiday indulgences could combine to wipe out your small deficit.
  • tracybear86
    tracybear86 Posts: 163 Member
    Just glancing at your food diary it looks like you eat out almost every day? I am guessing this is probably where your issue lies. With already being at a healthy weight an only having 10-15 pounds to lose the most you should be targeting is 1/2 pound of weight loss per week. That means a 250 calorie deficit each day which is not a lot of wiggle room. The calories posted for restaurants are very much estimates and can vary a lot depending on who is actually making the food. An extra dash of oil here or sprinkle of cheese there and you have wiped out your deficit. I am in pretty much the exact same place as you (5'4", between 130-135 pounds with an ultimate goal weight of 120) and I find that I can eat out only about once a week. I have been maintaining for the past couple months, mostly because I am not sure I am ready to give up a couple of things that I know I need to in order to continue losing. If you need to eat out pretty much daily for work or personal reasons maybe consider maintaining or look into recomp vs continuing to lose (that is my current plan).
  • Luke_rabbit
    Luke_rabbit Posts: 1,031 Member
    edited January 2020
    Would it be possible for you to add in strength training? Because I would say to try to zero in on your maintenance calories (don't try to lose right now) but start a strength training routine. Building muscle could be exactly what you need right now.

    I haven't explored this on MFP, but I know someone else can point you in the right direction.

    Good luck.

    And congrats on your great weight loss!
  • etherealanwar
    etherealanwar Posts: 465 Member
    Duck_Puddle wrote: »
    How often are you weighing yourself? Are you using a trending app (Libra/Happy Scale) to help see trends over time? Are you using the trended weight to determine if you’re losing/maintaining/gaining?

    You’re at a healthy weight (by BMI) and aiming for the low end of that range - which is fine, but it means progress will be VERY slow. And slow progress can be easily masked by normal weight fluctuations.

    If you’re not weighing daily and using a trending app, I would start with that.

    If you are already doing that-it’s very possible that your takeaways and any holiday indulgences could combine to wipe out your small deficit.


    Yes I do weigh myself daily, my current trending weight has gone up to 136 lbs which is discouraging as it was 133.5 lbs before increasing my calories back in November. I always fail to limit my take away when I try, I do well for 2-3 weeks then go back to it.... Maybe I need to "aim" for 1200 so I have more wiggle room for the take away being more than listed calorie wise ...
  • etherealanwar
    etherealanwar Posts: 465 Member
    edited January 2020
    bold_rabbit wrote: »
    Would it be possible for you to add in strength training? Because I would say to try to zero in on your maintenance calories (don't try to lose right now) but start a strength training routine. Building muscle could be exactly what you need right now.

    I haven't explored this on MFP, but I know someone else can point you in the right direction.

    Good luck.

    And congrats on your great weight loss!

    I have started a strength training routine which was part of the reason I increased my calories in the first place! I hope even if the scale isn't moving that changes are being made with my composition. Thank you :)
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,540 Member
    etherealanwar wrote: »
    I have started a strength training routine which was part of the reason I increased my calories in the first place! I hope even if the scale isn't moving that changes are being made with my composition. Thank you :)

    Many people find that they gain a certain amount of water weight, and keep it, for as long as they're engaged in progressive weight training.

    Your numbers, as stated, don't make much sense without changes to water weight either due to training or stress or other reasons

    If you were losing two pounds at 1200 calories, then your TDEE during restriction was 2200+, and to maintain you would probably need slightly above that.

    Even if you were losing one pound at 1200, then your tdee would be 1700 or more.

    So gaining at below 1700 doesn't compute unless you're factoring in something other than fat, which in most cases has to do with water retention for various reasons

    As to goals, a reminder that the healthy weight range doesn't mean that all points in it are equally healthy for a single particular individual

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