Only lost 2lbs in a month - what gives?

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Female, 23, 5’6. I’m currently down 102lbs (280-177.8lbs), it’s taken about a year and a half. I did this through a 500 calorie deficit and incorporating strength training and a splash of cardio on average 5 days a week of exercise for 30-40minutes a piece - note I never ate back my burned calories so my actual deficit would be higher than 500 at the end of the day.

Since February I’ve only lost 2lbs even though my eating habits haven’t changed (1350 cals daily with everything measured out on a scale) and my exercise has slightly increased: Strength training 4/5 days a week at 30-40m (Apple Watch says 250-350 active cals a session) as well as a good walk with incline 4 days a week for 30m (Apple Watch says 175-215 active cals) * I know my watch is very likely to be over estimating my active calories but gives you an idea.

I’ve never really hit a plateau before and I would love some advice about getting through it. I know starvation mode always floats around but there’s conflicting info about if this actually happens (ie. Minnesota Starvation Experiment) but maybe I’m eating too little when my strength training + walks are factored in?

Replies

  • taylormarie097
    taylormarie097 Posts: 6 Member
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    Thank you for such a detailed response and for such a great explanation! I definitely suspected that it might be due to eating too little but it’s really helpful to hear from other people on this as well. I think you’re definitely right that I’m under eating (TDEE calculators agree as well) but it can definitely be a mind struggle to increase my calories when I’m trying to lose weight - seems counter productive when it really isn’t. I appreciate you taking the time to help!
  • taylormarie097
    taylormarie097 Posts: 6 Member
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    @AnnPT77 thank you for the info and the link! I believe the Apple Watch is definitely heart rate based so I definitely take it with a grain of salt - it’s also why I never ate back my exercise calories since I think it’s definitely overestimating. I do more of a circuit style strength training to keep my heart rate up versus the traditional 3 sets of an exercise with rests in between - if that might make a difference as to why my watch calories are high but I still don’t believe it’s accurate.

    I have taken a few little breaks here and there (a month at a time of eating at maintenance) but it’s just not a great time to take a large break right now. But maybe I’ll think about eating a bit closer to maintenance and keep a small deficit of maybe 250cals or something.

    Thank you for the support! Crazy to think I was 100lbs more than I am now - the human body is certainly capable of some amazing changes!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,721 Member
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    @AnnPT77 thank you for the info and the link! I believe the Apple Watch is definitely heart rate based so I definitely take it with a grain of salt - it’s also why I never ate back my exercise calories since I think it’s definitely overestimating. I do more of a circuit style strength training to keep my heart rate up versus the traditional 3 sets of an exercise with rests in between - if that might make a difference as to why my watch calories are high but I still don’t believe it’s accurate.

    I have taken a few little breaks here and there (a month at a time of eating at maintenance) but it’s just not a great time to take a large break right now. But maybe I’ll think about eating a bit closer to maintenance and keep a small deficit of maybe 250cals or something.

    Thank you for the support! Crazy to think I was 100lbs more than I am now - the human body is certainly capable of some amazing changes!

    For circuit training estimates, you could compare MFP's "Circuit training, general", which I think makes your Apple estimate a little more plausible. Hard to tell whether Apple's using heart rate, or not: Most of the manufacturers are a little close-mouthed about their algorithms, and some devices that track heart rate don't always use it for all exercises (again, that's assuming they know what exercise you're doing).

    As an aside, the small deficit idea IMO can be pretty powerful. However, it can be frustrating, as half a pound a week can be obscured for up to a couple of months, maybe more, on the bodyweight scale, amongst routine daily water weight fluctuations of a pound or two. If you use a weight trending app (like Happy Scale for Apple devices) that may help a bit, but it's still just doing statistical projections, not magic insights, so it can be misled.

    I've been losing super slowly (intentionally), in what's basically maintenance, for over a year, at a smaller effective deficit than that. It's been pretty much painless, yet I'm down 12-15 pounds overall (exact number depending which day you ask! 😉). My trending app (Libra, for Android) has had the delusion that I've been maintaining, maybe even gaining, for as much as a month at a time over that span, but I'm confident enough in my personal calorie calculations that I didn't worry about it. Sure enough, expected losses showed up eventually.

    Best wishes!
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,866 Member
    edited March 2021
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    You may want to start using a weight trend app as your weight loss slows down when you have less available to lose..
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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  • Strudders67
    Strudders67 Posts: 984 Member
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    @springlering62 thank you for the kind words!

    It can just be so hard mentally when I was dropping weight so quickly - sometimes 10lbs change in a month so now to only see a few lbs leaves me feeling disappointed + defeated.

    I’m also going to take a wack of measurements as I seem to be down an inch on my waist too. The scale just seems like such an easy weight to measure progress but measurements + pictures are fantastic as well.

    Good idea to take measurements. I also agree with the suggestion to look at a weight trending app. To answer another post, I just looked at my weight loss figures over the two and half years I was losing. I averaged 1.3lb a month so, as someone above said, I'm one who would have jumped at your 2lb a month. The key thing is that your weight is still going down. It may not be as fast as you'd like, but it's still going down and I'd encourage you to focus on that rather than any disappointment. You still weigh less than you did a month ago.
  • all4yum
    all4yum Posts: 43 Member
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    Our weights and weight losses are very similar. Im 5'6" down from around 310 to 172 now. So I'm impressed that your weight loss hasn't slowed down before this. I've had months without mine shifting a single pound, months of just losing 1/2 a pound the entire month. Just don't stop. Keep going. You'll lose 24 pounds in another year at this rate, just enough to help you be near 25 bmi!

    I totally agree with maintenance weeks. Once weight loss slows, it can help. I read a study that showed people lost more when they dieted for a few weeks and maintained for a week, repeat. I do maintenance week every one in a while.

    I also do fast days when nothing else is working, two fast days often help shift things.

    Well done on the weight loss. You're doing great


  • taylormarie097
    taylormarie097 Posts: 6 Member
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    @all4yum thank you! Congratulations to you as well! Looking back I guess I have taken small breaks here and there but I’ve been conscious of them so it hasn’t bothered me or I’ve just expected no change since I’ve stopped tracking so diligently.

    March has been really awesome mentally for me and I have lots of motivation so I’d like to keep that ride going but I think come April I’d like to take a quick diet break for 7-14 days to give my body a bit of a switch up then get back to it!