Weight Loss Plateau
raiibrahimasif15
Posts: 15 Member
Hey guys
I have been going to the gym and looking after my dieting for over three months now. I have lost just a bit over 7 kg (15 lbs). But in the last couple of weeks my weight has been stable around 132 kg (290 lbs) even though I am in a significant caloric deficit diet-wise and training. I have been burning over 1000 calories every day for two weeks now but the weight just doesn't seem to drop further. Do you have any suggestions as to what I should do? Any help is appreciated.
I have been going to the gym and looking after my dieting for over three months now. I have lost just a bit over 7 kg (15 lbs). But in the last couple of weeks my weight has been stable around 132 kg (290 lbs) even though I am in a significant caloric deficit diet-wise and training. I have been burning over 1000 calories every day for two weeks now but the weight just doesn't seem to drop further. Do you have any suggestions as to what I should do? Any help is appreciated.
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Replies
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If you're not losing weight, the most likely answer is that 1) you're eating more than you think you are and 2) you're not burning as many calories as you think. Unless you are exercising for 4 hours straight, it's unlikely you're burning 1000 calories through exercise. It's really common that people look at the "calories burned" in online calculators, their fitbit, or the workout machine, and think that it's accurate. Sadly, it's not.1
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Weight loss isn't linear. You can do the same exact thing for a week and the next and get different results because of small variances in your body's hormone level, stress, environment, etc.
Just continue. As long as it's NOT going past 6 weeks, it's not a plateau. Stall happen now and then and are just part of the weight loss journey.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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sollyn23l2 wrote: »If you're not losing weight, the most likely answer is that 1) you're eating more than you think you are and 2) you're not burning as many calories as you think. Unless you are exercising for 4 hours straight, it's unlikely you're burning 1000 calories through exercise. It's really common that people look at the "calories burned" in online calculators, their fitbit, or the workout machine, and think that it's accurate. Sadly, it's not.
I do workout around 3 hours a day0 -
Weight loss isn't linear. You can do the same exact thing for a week and the next and get different results because of small variances in your body's hormone level, stress, environment, etc.
Just continue. As long as it's NOT going past 6 weeks, it's not a plateau. Stall happen now and then and are just part of the weight loss journey.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Thank you, that was helpful. I'll track my weight for another couple of weeks and see if things change.0 -
raiibrahimasif15 wrote: »sollyn23l2 wrote: »If you're not losing weight, the most likely answer is that 1) you're eating more than you think you are and 2) you're not burning as many calories as you think. Unless you are exercising for 4 hours straight, it's unlikely you're burning 1000 calories through exercise. It's really common that people look at the "calories burned" in online calculators, their fitbit, or the workout machine, and think that it's accurate. Sadly, it's not.
I do workout around 3 hours a day
Makes sense to just watch and wait for another couple of weeks then.1 -
If a consistent loss stops suddenly it’s usually water retention as your homeostatic system wants to store water weight to balance out the fat that has been lost.
You’ll most likely experience a whoosh of water loss at some point and the scale will drop several pounds in the span of a couple of days2 -
tomcustombuilder wrote: »If a consistent loss stops suddenly it’s usually water retention as your homeostatic system wants to store water weight to balance out the fat that has been lost.
You’ll most likely experience a whoosh of water loss at some point and the scale will drop several pounds in the span of a couple of days
Oh okay, when do you think this whoosh of water loss might occur? Could you make a rough guess please0 -
Thursday at 3:02 pm.raiibrahimasif15 wrote: »tomcustombuilder wrote: »If a consistent loss stops suddenly it’s usually water retention as your homeostatic system wants to store water weight to balance out the fat that has been lost.
You’ll most likely experience a whoosh of water loss at some point and the scale will drop several pounds in the span of a couple of days
Oh okay, when do you think this whoosh of water loss might occur? Could you make a rough guess please
In all seriousness, it happens when your body decides to let it happen. Sometimes a higher calorie day will trigger it. Dont go high calorie trying to make it happen though. Many people have that high cal day, drop water, the scale goes down and it's the "See! I ate more and lost weight so I wasn't eating enough" mentality.
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Three hours of exercise is a lot, combined with a steep calorie deficit.
Stress is one possible cause of water retention (a lot of exercise = stress, calorie deficit = stress), and muscle repair after exercise is another potential cause.
I would make sure you're not pushing yourself too hard, definitely sounds like it's possible.
What are you doing for 3 hours per day? And how much are you eating?1 -
If you're exercising 3 hours a day because you love doing it, and you can achieve good overall life balance while doing it, that's great. (Good overall life balance = enough time and energy for family, social life, job, non-exercise hobbies, anything else important to you.)
If you're exercising 3 hours a day just for weight loss . . . I'd suggest that you don't do that. For people with a lifelong tendency to overweight (like me), weight management isn't a quick, extreme project to lose weight fast, after which things go back to normal. (That's the recipe for yo-yo regain and loss, the least healthy lifestyle.)
Weight management is a forever endeavor, finding a new, enjoyable (at least tolerable) set of routine eating and activity habits that we can groove in and continue almost on autopilot to first reach goal weight, then stay at a healthy weight forever.
That said, I agree with the others. If you were losing at a reasonable rate, then stalled suddenly, it's probably some kind of water weight effect.** If loss gradually tapered off over multiple weeks, you may simply be eating at maintenance.
** This is a good read, especially the article linked in the first post:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10683010/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-fluctuations/p1
Your plan to be patient for a couple of weeks is a good one. While you're being patient, maybe think about whether your current course is one you can sustain long enough to lose the total amount of weight you hope to lose, then ideally continue on afterward in some similar-ish manner long term.
Best wishes for success!2 -
Three hours of exercise is a lot, combined with a steep calorie deficit.
Stress is one possible cause of water retention (a lot of exercise = stress, calorie deficit = stress), and muscle repair after exercise is another potential cause.
I would make sure you're not pushing yourself too hard, definitely sounds like it's possible.
What are you doing for 3 hours per day? And how much are you eating?
Half of my workout consists of weight lifting and strength training, I have seen a lot of progress in that. The other half consists on cardiovascular activities, usually walking on the treadmill, biking or using the elliptical machine. The weight training takes just a bit over an hour and I do that in the afternoon. I go to the gym again in the evening for the cardiovascular session.
I have been focusing on a high protein diet which ends up around 1500 calories a day.0 -
Three hours of exercise is a lot, combined with a steep calorie deficit.
Stress is one possible cause of water retention (a lot of exercise = stress, calorie deficit = stress), and muscle repair after exercise is another potential cause.
I would make sure you're not pushing yourself too hard, definitely sounds like it's possible.
What are you doing for 3 hours per day? And how much are you eating?
I get what you are saying, when I started going to the gym, I quickly lost motivation after a couple of weeks. Thankfully, I had a friend there with me who has been going to the gym regularly for over a year and he encouraged me to go. I have joined many gyms before my current one and I usually stop going after 2-3 weeks. But this time I have been consistent so far.
There was a point where going to the gym started to feel like a chore, it felt like something I had to do, not something I had fun doing and that really isn't sustainable. But thankfully now I enjoy going to the gym, I catch myself looking at the clock waiting impatiently for my gym time almost everyday. In fact, I enjoy it so much now that I started going in the evenings as well and that is just as much fun as the afternoon session. I came from a place of absolutely hating doing any cardio exercises to going to the gym a second time just to do cardio workout. I have exams coming up soon so I don't go out much apart from the gym, maybe that's why I feel more motivated to go nowadays.
I almost forgot, thank you for that article, it really is a good read!0 -
tomcustombuilder wrote: »
Thursday at 3:02 pm.raiibrahimasif15 wrote: »tomcustombuilder wrote: »If a consistent loss stops suddenly it’s usually water retention as your homeostatic system wants to store water weight to balance out the fat that has been lost.
You’ll most likely experience a whoosh of water loss at some point and the scale will drop several pounds in the span of a couple of days
Oh okay, when do you think this whoosh of water loss might occur? Could you make a rough guess please
In all seriousness, it happens when your body decides to let it happen. Sometimes a higher calorie day will trigger it. Dont go high calorie trying to make it happen though. Many people have that high cal day, drop water, the scale goes down and it's the "See! I ate more and lost weight so I wasn't eating enough" mentality.
Honestly, going high calorie to promote weight loss sounds dumb. I guess I'll keep weighing myself and see if there is any difference.0 -
raiibrahimasif15 wrote: »Three hours of exercise is a lot, combined with a steep calorie deficit.
Stress is one possible cause of water retention (a lot of exercise = stress, calorie deficit = stress), and muscle repair after exercise is another potential cause.
I would make sure you're not pushing yourself too hard, definitely sounds like it's possible.
What are you doing for 3 hours per day? And how much are you eating?
Half of my workout consists of weight lifting and strength training, I have seen a lot of progress in that. The other half consists on cardiovascular activities, usually walking on the treadmill, biking or using the elliptical machine. The weight training takes just a bit over an hour and I do that in the afternoon. I go to the gym again in the evening for the cardiovascular session.
I have been focusing on a high protein diet which ends up around 1500 calories a day.
You're taking in more than 10,500 calories a week. At your weight and that much exercising you world have lost a lot more than you have. It may be a combo of underestimating weekly calories and not actually doing that much in the gym when it comes down to it and there is the NEAT factor to consider which is your non exercise activity which makes up a big part of your calorie burn0 -
tomcustombuilder wrote: »raiibrahimasif15 wrote: »Three hours of exercise is a lot, combined with a steep calorie deficit.
Stress is one possible cause of water retention (a lot of exercise = stress, calorie deficit = stress), and muscle repair after exercise is another potential cause.
I would make sure you're not pushing yourself too hard, definitely sounds like it's possible.
What are you doing for 3 hours per day? And how much are you eating?
Half of my workout consists of weight lifting and strength training, I have seen a lot of progress in that. The other half consists on cardiovascular activities, usually walking on the treadmill, biking or using the elliptical machine. The weight training takes just a bit over an hour and I do that in the afternoon. I go to the gym again in the evening for the cardiovascular session.
I have been focusing on a high protein diet which ends up around 1500 calories a day.
You're taking in more than 10,500 calories a week. At your weight and that much exercising you world have lost a lot more than you have. It may be a combo of underestimating weekly calories and not actually doing that much in the gym when it comes down to it and there is the NEAT factor to consider which is your non exercise activity which makes up a big part of your calorie burn
I don't think this adds up to 10,500 calories a week.0 -
You would have lost twice what you did or more if that was your diet every dayraiibrahimasif15 wrote: »tomcustombuilder wrote: »raiibrahimasif15 wrote: »Three hours of exercise is a lot, combined with a steep calorie deficit.
Stress is one possible cause of water retention (a lot of exercise = stress, calorie deficit = stress), and muscle repair after exercise is another potential cause.
I would make sure you're not pushing yourself too hard, definitely sounds like it's possible.
What are you doing for 3 hours per day? And how much are you eating?
Half of my workout consists of weight lifting and strength training, I have seen a lot of progress in that. The other half consists on cardiovascular activities, usually walking on the treadmill, biking or using the elliptical machine. The weight training takes just a bit over an hour and I do that in the afternoon. I go to the gym again in the evening for the cardiovascular session.
I have been focusing on a high protein diet which ends up around 1500 calories a day.
You're taking in more than 10,500 calories a week. At your weight and that much exercising you world have lost a lot more than you have. It may be a combo of underestimating weekly calories and not actually doing that much in the gym when it comes down to it and there is the NEAT factor to consider which is your non exercise activity which makes up a big part of your calorie burn
I don't think this adds up to 10,500 calories a week.3 -
tomcustombuilder wrote: »
You would have lost twice what you did or more if that was your diet every dayraiibrahimasif15 wrote: »tomcustombuilder wrote: »raiibrahimasif15 wrote: »Three hours of exercise is a lot, combined with a steep calorie deficit.
Stress is one possible cause of water retention (a lot of exercise = stress, calorie deficit = stress), and muscle repair after exercise is another potential cause.
I would make sure you're not pushing yourself too hard, definitely sounds like it's possible.
What are you doing for 3 hours per day? And how much are you eating?
Half of my workout consists of weight lifting and strength training, I have seen a lot of progress in that. The other half consists on cardiovascular activities, usually walking on the treadmill, biking or using the elliptical machine. The weight training takes just a bit over an hour and I do that in the afternoon. I go to the gym again in the evening for the cardiovascular session.
I have been focusing on a high protein diet which ends up around 1500 calories a day.
You're taking in more than 10,500 calories a week. At your weight and that much exercising you world have lost a lot more than you have. It may be a combo of underestimating weekly calories and not actually doing that much in the gym when it comes down to it and there is the NEAT factor to consider which is your non exercise activity which makes up a big part of your calorie burn
I don't think this adds up to 10,500 calories a week.
This has been my diet for almost a month now, my previous diet was 2000 calories0 -
I think you are eating more than you think, and overestimating the number of calories you are burning at the gym. Weightlifting doesn't burn that many calories. For an hour and a half, you might burn 300 calories. Walking on a treadmill for an hour is maybe about 300 calories. I would cut your estimated calorie burn in half and see what happens when you adjust your calories down for a few weeks.2
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If you UNDEREAT too much, you will cause your body's metabolic rate to slow down. Exercising 3 hours a day and eating 1,500 calories for a guy is LOW regardless of how much you weigh. The body is very smart and reacts to the stimuli you give it and part of that is how much you're eating. Eating too little will cause the body to burn less calories at rest (where you burn the most body fat) and stall much faster.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition 0 -
you are undercounting your calorie amounts on a weekly basis. Even at 2,000 at your weight you would have lost more.raiibrahimasif15 wrote: »tomcustombuilder wrote: »
You would have lost twice what you did or more if that was your diet every dayraiibrahimasif15 wrote: »tomcustombuilder wrote: »raiibrahimasif15 wrote: »Three hours of exercise is a lot, combined with a steep calorie deficit.
Stress is one possible cause of water retention (a lot of exercise = stress, calorie deficit = stress), and muscle repair after exercise is another potential cause.
I would make sure you're not pushing yourself too hard, definitely sounds like it's possible.
What are you doing for 3 hours per day? And how much are you eating?
Half of my workout consists of weight lifting and strength training, I have seen a lot of progress in that. The other half consists on cardiovascular activities, usually walking on the treadmill, biking or using the elliptical machine. The weight training takes just a bit over an hour and I do that in the afternoon. I go to the gym again in the evening for the cardiovascular session.
I have been focusing on a high protein diet which ends up around 1500 calories a day.
You're taking in more than 10,500 calories a week. At your weight and that much exercising you world have lost a lot more than you have. It may be a combo of underestimating weekly calories and not actually doing that much in the gym when it comes down to it and there is the NEAT factor to consider which is your non exercise activity which makes up a big part of your calorie burn
I don't think this adds up to 10,500 calories a week.
This has been my diet for almost a month now, my previous diet was 2000 calories
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tomcustombuilder wrote: »
you are undercounting your calorie amounts on a weekly basis. Even at 2,000 at your weight you would have lost more.raiibrahimasif15 wrote: »tomcustombuilder wrote: »
You would have lost twice what you did or more if that was your diet every dayraiibrahimasif15 wrote: »tomcustombuilder wrote: »raiibrahimasif15 wrote: »Three hours of exercise is a lot, combined with a steep calorie deficit.
Stress is one possible cause of water retention (a lot of exercise = stress, calorie deficit = stress), and muscle repair after exercise is another potential cause.
I would make sure you're not pushing yourself too hard, definitely sounds like it's possible.
What are you doing for 3 hours per day? And how much are you eating?
Half of my workout consists of weight lifting and strength training, I have seen a lot of progress in that. The other half consists on cardiovascular activities, usually walking on the treadmill, biking or using the elliptical machine. The weight training takes just a bit over an hour and I do that in the afternoon. I go to the gym again in the evening for the cardiovascular session.
I have been focusing on a high protein diet which ends up around 1500 calories a day.
You're taking in more than 10,500 calories a week. At your weight and that much exercising you world have lost a lot more than you have. It may be a combo of underestimating weekly calories and not actually doing that much in the gym when it comes down to it and there is the NEAT factor to consider which is your non exercise activity which makes up a big part of your calorie burn
I don't think this adds up to 10,500 calories a week.
This has been my diet for almost a month now, my previous diet was 2000 calories
So what do you suggest that I do
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@raiibrahimasif15
Losing 15 pounds in 3 months, even though you’ve stalled for two weeks, is really good. You have been doing something right. You could try tightening up your food log by weighing everything on a food scale if you don’t already. You could do a bit of research to get a more accurate estimate of your exercise burns. (It’s good to do both of these things anyway!) Or, you could give it a little more time and see if the scale starts to move again.
It’s way too soon to call it a true stall (water weight is real) and it’s also too soon to worry that you’re negatively affecting your metabolism like someone suggested earlier—your rate of loss shows that you’re not operating on some absurd deficit. I will reiterate that averaging a pound a week is a safe, healthy pace and whether or not you are super accurate with your calorie intake and burns, whatever you’re doing is working.
Edited to add: I just saw your food log. Somehow I missed it. I’m not going to delete what I said above, but I don’t get why you’re doing that to yourself. You could be eating a great variety of food with the workouts you’re doing and lose 1-2 pounds per week pretty easily. I’m a 51-year old woman and lost 1 pound per week with an average of 1500-1600 net calories per day. I do nothing but walk for exercise and love food.2 -
raiibrahimasif15 wrote: »tomcustombuilder wrote: »raiibrahimasif15 wrote: »Three hours of exercise is a lot, combined with a steep calorie deficit.
Stress is one possible cause of water retention (a lot of exercise = stress, calorie deficit = stress), and muscle repair after exercise is another potential cause.
I would make sure you're not pushing yourself too hard, definitely sounds like it's possible.
What are you doing for 3 hours per day? And how much are you eating?
Half of my workout consists of weight lifting and strength training, I have seen a lot of progress in that. The other half consists on cardiovascular activities, usually walking on the treadmill, biking or using the elliptical machine. The weight training takes just a bit over an hour and I do that in the afternoon. I go to the gym again in the evening for the cardiovascular session.
I have been focusing on a high protein diet which ends up around 1500 calories a day.
You're taking in more than 10,500 calories a week. At your weight and that much exercising you world have lost a lot more than you have. It may be a combo of underestimating weekly calories and not actually doing that much in the gym when it comes down to it and there is the NEAT factor to consider which is your non exercise activity which makes up a big part of your calorie burn
I don't think this adds up to 10,500 calories a week.
That's 1100 calories. No one can live on eggs and egg whites, chicken breast, and yogurt.
Get better nutrition and a whole lot more food and your body will be functioning (and losing) more efficiently.
Where are the fats, the fiber, the necessary nutrition you get from a varied plan that includes sufficient FATS (like about double your current 30g,) whole fruits, whole vegetables, pulses, nuts, and lean protein? Your diet is lacking a whole lot of nutrients and you'll likely cause yourself all kinds of problems pretty quickly - regardless if you think you're eating enough - which, you aren't.
I think you need about 800-1000 more calories per day. Your body is highly stressed right now.
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...before anyone jumps on me, I see that he's actually getting nearly 50g fat...I missed the totals at the bottom.
And also, yes, he would have lost a lot more weight if that was an accurate representation of his actual food.
Something is not right with his story, but I stand by my statement that 1100 calories is way too low, and the general nutrition in that menu day is not good.1 -
cmriverside wrote: »...before anyone jumps on me, I see that he's actually getting nearly 50g fat...I missed the totals at the bottom.
And also, yes, he would have lost a lot more weight if that was an accurate representation of his actual food.
Something is not right with his story, but I stand by my statement that 1100 calories is way too low, and the general nutrition in that menu day is not good.
I also agree that something is strange.
I'm just wondering if water retention could be masking a large calorie deficit (lots of exercise combined with the stress of eating that little)?
The menu day shown is definitely inadequate.0 -
Thank you all, I think I'll get a professional nutritionist to make me a meal plan that suits me better and looks after my nutrients. I believe the amount of exercise I am doing is sufficient and sustainable so I'll stick with that.0
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What doesn't add up is many things. 1,100 cals at his weight and 3 hours of training, minnimal weight loss in his stated timeframe.
Probably not really training very hard, taking in more calories than reported.2 -
tomcustombuilder wrote: »What doesn't add up is many things. 1,100 cals at his weight and 3 hours of training, minnimal weight loss in his stated timeframe.
Probably not really training very hard, taking in more calories than reported.
Exactly this. But I've found that, on here, there's little use it trying to tell anyone that. Most people in his situation, and many people here, are too invested in their own story that they've told themselves to be willing to identify the issues.0 -
tomcustombuilder wrote: »What doesn't add up is many things. 1,100 cals at his weight and 3 hours of training, minnimal weight loss in his stated timeframe.
Probably not really training very hard, taking in more calories than reported.
The 3 hour workout and the diet I shared is relatively new, just a couple weeks so far. Previously I wasn't looking after what I ate so back then I must have been eating a lot more. Actually, my weight loss has slowed since I moved to this diet for some reason which I don't understand.0 -
raiibrahimasif15 wrote: »tomcustombuilder wrote: »What doesn't add up is many things. 1,100 cals at his weight and 3 hours of training, minnimal weight loss in his stated timeframe.
Probably not really training very hard, taking in more calories than reported.
The 3 hour workout and the diet I shared is relatively new, just a couple weeks so far. Previously I wasn't looking after what I ate so back then I must have been eating a lot more. Actually, my weight loss has slowed since I moved to this diet for some reason which I don't understand.
Multiple people have tried to explain to you why you may have stopped losing weight. I think your idea to go to a nutritionist is a good one.0
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