Anyone have advice for weight loss?

christinafspate
christinafspate Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss

Hi there, I'm looking for some advice. I feel like I've hit a plateau after only 2 months and 15 pounds of my 100 pound goal weight loss. I feel like I'm going crazy. My calorie numbers and macros are about as perfect as you can get. I haven't deterred from the plan for a couple weeks at all and the number on the scale has not changed. I checked and rechecked my goal settings, everything looks good. Obstacles: My work is quite sedentary. I do 12 hour shifts on a desk. My cycle has been dragging me down. I don't exercise too intensely, 100 extra pounds on joints is no joke, but I do hit at least 6,000 steps per day (normally 10,000) and I'm eating the extra calories it gains me because not eating to support my exercise is what got me 100 pounds higher to begin with. I'm also a 40 year old female. Any tips?

Answers

  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 7,335 Member

    So you've lost 15lbs in 2 months. That's a fast rate of loss. A few weeks without any losses is perfectly normal, especially if you're weighing in once a week but even if you're weighing daily.

    It's extremely common for people to lose quickly at first (this will be fat loss and some water weight) and then experience a stall as their water weight level 'recalibrates'.

    A real plateau is 4-8 weeks (or 1-2 menstrual cycles) without any losses (and no change in routine) which isn't the case here. Patience is the most important weight-loss skill! 🙂

  • csplatt
    csplatt Posts: 1,435 Member

    ^^this. just wait it out. no need to adjust at your current rate.

  • christinafspate
    christinafspate Posts: 2 Member

    Okay, I'll do my best to be patient and consistent. Thanks for the advice!

  • suedgaudet
    suedgaudet Posts: 1 Member

    Consistency is the key. Look at it from this analogy: You can go to the gym every single day. And every single day you stand there at the gym and as you look in the mirror you won't notice much of a change, if any at all.

    But at the end of 6mos you look back to where you started and the change is dramatic. While the scale may not be moving, by consistency eating well, your body is probably shifting it's shape and changing in small unnoticeable ways.

  • heirloomtomato
    heirloomtomato Posts: 13 Member

    I have found that MFP and step trackers tend to over estimate the number of calories burned. Try only eating back half of the exercise calories and see if the needle moves. Good luck. This isn't easy.

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 38,198 Community Helper

    +1 to what Lietchi and csplatt said: Fast loss, then a short stall that's probably just water retention. Keep going.

    Don't adjust calories downward unless you see 4-6 weeks (or one whole menstrual cycle) of literally steady weight, after a gradual tapering off of loss. Short time periods, or a sudden drop in loss without a major change in eating, exercise, or daily life activity? Water and waste are masking weight loss.

    Impatience is the enemy. If a person cuts at every short scale stall, they increase their odds of failure, because every calorie reduction makes the process harder to stick with.

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48700090#Comment_48700090

    Trackers and MFP just recommend calories that would be approximately right for average people. Not every individual is average.

    Your tracker over-estimates your calorie burn? I believe you. Mine underestimates my calorie burn by around 500 calories or more daily, compared with nearly 10 years of food logging and daily weigh-in experience. The same brand/model tracker estimates well for other people who've talked about it here. It isn't necessarily that the trackers are inaccurate: It's more that you and I aren't exactly average.

  • briscogun
    briscogun Posts: 1,252 Member
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10943365/anyone-have-advice-for-weight-loss

    Not to be "that guy", but am I the only one that saw this:

    "…but I did hit at least 6,000 steps per day (normally 10,000) and I'm eating the extra calories it gains me because not eating to support my exercise is what got me 100 pounds higher to begin with."

    I'm not sure if I'm reading that correctly or if there was a typo, but two observations: first, I would NOT eat back any calories your tracker or whatever is giving you just for moving around (steps). If you set your activity level correctly in MFP when you set your goals, it is accounting for you moving around throughout the day and that is already calculated into your daily goal. If you are adding steps in as "exercise calories" and eating them back, you are now over-eating.

    Second, you won't gain weight by NOT eating back exercise calories. If you burn more than your body uses you will lose weight, not gain. You don't eat more to lose. People post things similar to that here and it's just not true.

    Sorry if I'm being blunt but that line just caught me off guard and I wanted to address it. 15 pounds in 2 months is REALLY good (that's pretty much 2 lbs a week!). Keep it up!

  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,818 Member
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48701056#Comment_48701056

    You're not the only one that noticed that line! I was going to comment too, but you covered it well. Thank you for addressing it.

  • sollyn23l2
    sollyn23l2 Posts: 2,175 Member
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48701056#Comment_48701056

    Yep, you hit the nail on the head with all of this. Came to say exactly that.

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