Please Help me I've stopped losing wieght!!!!

sashaeverett
sashaeverett Posts: 44 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok all, I'm needing some advice. When I started MFP about 3 mo. ago, I was losing wieght quite rapidly, now it has become difficult for me to lose wieght and if I do I will go up and down on the scale for a week or two. I stay within my calorie goal which is 1200 a day and I excersie a few days a week. Also, I have lost 32 lbs, but yet I look just a little slimmer. I am half way to my goal, so I figured I would look better than I do but not really. My clothes are looser and I do look better but I have not went down any sizes. I have thought maybe I needed to up my calorie intake but I want to get some advice first.

Replies

  • A_New_Horizon
    A_New_Horizon Posts: 1,555 Member
    I would try increasing your calories or changing things up. Zig zagging your calories might help too - it always helped me get off a plateau when I was stuck on one. Also, change up your workouts and get plenty of water.
  • Lozze
    Lozze Posts: 1,917 Member
    First off you aren't looking a 'little' slimmer you're looking a LOT slimmer. You face has changed completely, well done!

    Secondly, open your diary. Without knowing what you're eating and what your exercise is like, it's difficult to give advice.

    What is your height and weight?
  • ebenso1
    ebenso1 Posts: 39 Member
    I will be anxious to hear any replies as well. I am in the same boat! I've lost 30lbs, half way to goal weight but only down about 1/2 a size! And I have been stuck and fighting with the same 2 pounds for almost 3 weeks, up and down, up and down. I feel your pain! Sorry I can't be of any help. But, take comfort in knowing that some one else is in the same situation as you :smile:
  • kgprice11
    kgprice11 Posts: 749 Member
    Ok all, I'm needing some advice. When I started MFP about 3 mo. ago, I was losing wieght quite rapidly, now it has become difficult for me to lose wieght and if I do I will go up and down on the scale for a week or two. I stay within my calorie goal which is 1200 a day and I excersie a few days a week. Also, I have lost 32 lbs, but yet I look just a little slimmer. I am half way to my goal, so I figured I would look better than I do but not really. My clothes are looser and I do look better but I have not went down any sizes. I have thought maybe I needed to up my calorie intake but I want to get some advice first.


    Hahaha you hit your plateau....its ok though because that means your body is in good shape or starting to get accustomed to the great exercising routine you implemented!!! Congrats and I would eat protein at the same calorie intake to have your body take longer to process the stuff and you feel full faster!! Good luck and I have so much for I can type however I can not because I am at work
  • NewChristina
    NewChristina Posts: 250 Member
    Do a search for "Eat more to weigh less" There is a ton of info there. I think it'll help you decide what to do.
  • mrseelmerfudd
    mrseelmerfudd Posts: 506 Member
    increase your protein :)
  • tabinmaine
    tabinmaine Posts: 965 Member
    http://eatmore2weighless.com/why-eating-less-and-exercising-more-can-backfire/
  • Jacwhite22
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,010 Member
    Ok all, I'm needing some advice. When I started MFP about 3 mo. ago, I was losing wieght quite rapidly, now it has become difficult for me to lose wieght and if I do I will go up and down on the scale for a week or two. I stay within my calorie goal which is 1200 a day and I excersie a few days a week. Also, I have lost 32 lbs, but yet I look just a little slimmer. I am half way to my goal, so I figured I would look better than I do but not really. My clothes are looser and I do look better but I have not went down any sizes. I have thought maybe I needed to up my calorie intake but I want to get some advice first.

    You aren't eating enough. Your weight might go up at first as your body works to readjust.
  • Jacwhite22
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,010 Member
    Do a search for "Eat more to weigh less" There is a ton of info there. I think it'll help you decide what to do.

    Just don't question anything they post in there or question the effect of zig-zagging calories vs. eating the same amount every day......That will get you banned.
  • sashaeverett
    sashaeverett Posts: 44 Member
    First off you aren't looking a 'little' slimmer you're looking a LOT slimmer. You face has changed completely, well done!

    Secondly, open your diary. Without knowing what you're eating and what your exercise is like, it's difficult to give advice.

    What is your height and weight?

    I do have my diary open, I'm not sure why it is not showing but I will look into that. I am 5ft. 6in. and I weigh 167.
  • LordBezoar
    LordBezoar Posts: 625 Member
    I'm not seeing your diary as open either. Maybe you have it open only to friends?
  • BeautifulBetsy
    BeautifulBetsy Posts: 60 Member
    I'm at a 1230 calorie daily goal, and I find it almost inpossible without feeling like I'm constantly starving, which we probably are. I'd say eat 1500-1700 calories a day and start doing simple walking and yoga, sometimes your body losses weight when it's not expecting it!
  • grmpy1
    grmpy1 Posts: 462 Member
    Please don't yell at me but I have a question....you say your clothes are looser but you haven't gone down any sizes. How tight were your clothes to begin with? The reason I ask this question is to get you to think about where you really started.

    I lost a lot of weight but never went down any sizes either. Then I started to think about how those same clothes actually fit me before. I should have boughten bigger sizes but kept squeezing into my smaller ones. They were so stretched out that once I lost the weight I realized I really wasn't a size 24 but a 26 or possibly even as big as a 28. Now I am an 18 and still have a lot to go, but I still can wear A LOT of my old clothes and I can breathe in them too. Clothes size isn't everything. You look better and you feel better. That is what counts.

    Try the zigzagging. It helps a lot of us move that scale when it gets stubborn. And be patient...it isn't a race!
  • toxicmikki
    toxicmikki Posts: 60 Member
    I'm also interested in the advice given here because I have hit a plateau as well. With only 10 lbs left to go I haven't lost an ounce since last week! It's very discouraging and even though I'm staying within my daily calorie goal I find that I haven't been making the best food choices. I've been thinking about trying the zig zag but adding all those additional calories is a scary thought to me.

    Best of luck to you! =)
  • Lozze
    Lozze Posts: 1,917 Member
    I do have my diary open, I'm not sure why it is not showing but I will look into that. I am 5ft. 6in. and I weigh 167.

    Using fat2fitradio.com your BMR is 1640. This is the aboustle minimum you need to eat to survive if you were lying in bed all day. So eating well below that at your weight is not feeding your body properly. At your current weight you are just in the overweight category. There's no need to eat so far below your BMR.

    Looking at your diary for the past week you're not eating enough. Most days you're under by a couple of hundred calories. You don't need to starve to lose weight. I'm also a bit wary of your calories. The tuna sandwich you're having for lunch is really, really low. I have a can of tuna with two pieces of rye crisps and that's around 190. Bread is usually higher calories than crispbread.

    Are you exercising? There's nothing entered for the past week. You can lose weight without exercising, you're not going to get the look you want though.

    Are you drinking water?

    You need to eat more. At the aboustle minimum you have to be hitting 1200 every day. You should be eating more, but try and at least hit that. Your body is a machine and it need to be fueled. It starts to slow down if you don't give it the proper fuel.
  • sashaeverett
    sashaeverett Posts: 44 Member
    I do have my diary open, I'm not sure why it is not showing but I will look into that. I am 5ft. 6in. and I weigh 167.

    Using fat2fitradio.com your BMR is 1640. This is the aboustle minimum you need to eat to survive if you were lying in bed all day. So eating well below that at your weight is not feeding your body properly. At your current weight you are just in the overweight category. There's no need to eat so far below your BMR.

    Looking at your diary for the past week you're not eating enough. Most days you're under by a couple of hundred calories. You don't need to starve to lose weight. I'm also a bit wary of your calories. The tuna sandwich you're having for lunch is really, really low. I have a can of tuna with two pieces of rye crisps and that's around 190. Bread is usually higher calories than crispbread.

    Are you exercising? There's nothing entered for the past week. You can lose weight without exercising, you're not going to get the look you want though.

    Are you drinking water?

    You need to eat more. At the aboustle minimum you have to be hitting 1200 every day. You should be eating more, but try and at least hit that. Your body is a machine and it need to be fueled. It starts to slow down if you don't give it the proper fuel.

    Yeah I eat till I'm full, but the things i pick normally do not have alot of calories in them. The tuna sandwhich you are seeing is only a half a sandwhich. I do not eat a whole sandwhich for lunch. Yes, I excercise a few times a week on my treadmill for about half an hour or sometimes an hour just depends. I don't record my workouts, because I never wanted to eat back my calories. I drink water, but I don't record that. But no I don't drink as much as i should. I probably drink 16-32 oz of water a day.
  • stangirl1995
    stangirl1995 Posts: 43 Member
    i was in the same boat and starting zigzagging this week and lost 1 pound already!
  • VanessaGS
    VanessaGS Posts: 514 Member
    Have you changed your workout routine? Sometimes that will cause you to gain weight for a short period of time do to a change in your muscles, but then it will start coming back down.
  • Lozze
    Lozze Posts: 1,917 Member
    From what you've said (and this would obviously need to be checked by a doctor) your metaobilisim appears to have slowed down. Half a sandwich for lunch isn't normal. You're not giving your body enough nutrients to be able to function properly and therefore you're finding it harder and harder to lose weight. I would suggest going to your doctor and getting blood work done or even a nutrionist. Eating is wonderful and your body requires food to function. What you're eating is fine you just need to eat more of it.
  • caramia311
    caramia311 Posts: 49 Member
    Unless you are not logging everything you eat, it looks to me like you are not eating enough. Especially if you are working out, I would make sure to eat a minimum of 1200-1300 a day. Try to up your protein intake and water consumption as well -- that will help boost your metabolism. You may also want to throw a few more work outs in as well -- try mixing it up from the treadmill -- weights, other cardio etc.
  • aprileigh27
    aprileigh27 Posts: 37
    you need to up your calories....

    tdee-15%.....and go from there...will take a few weeks before you start loosing again but you need to fuel your body.
  • Bigjohn312
    Bigjohn312 Posts: 2
    Kgprice11 had a very good point. Assuming no medical issues, hitting a "plateau" is actually a good thing. It means that your body is getting stronger and more efficient. The human body is a marvelous machine. As you get stronger, your body begins to adjust to the exact amount of calories it needs to burn in accordance with your routine. Sometimes one can do something as simple as re-arranging the order of the exercises that one does to cause muscle confusion and "kickstart" the "engine" into high output burning again. Other times you may need to do completely different exercises. This is the backbone of "muscle confusion" routines like P90 and Insanity. ...(and NO...I'm not trying to plug any product or routine). I'm just saying ..do something different...that's all. You'll be fine.
  • thrld
    thrld Posts: 610 Member

    Yeah I eat till I'm full, but the things i pick normally do not have alot of calories in them. The tuna sandwhich you are seeing is only a half a sandwhich. I do not eat a whole sandwhich for lunch. Yes, I excercise a few times a week on my treadmill for about half an hour or sometimes an hour just depends. I don't record my workouts, because I never wanted to eat back my calories. I drink water, but I don't record that. But no I don't drink as much as i should. I probably drink 16-32 oz of water a day.


    You should eat back your workout calories.

    "The most effective way to lose weight is to consume fewer calories than you expend, creating a calorie deficit. But if your calorie intake dips too low, says Lummus, your body could go into starvation mode. "Your body will start to store fat because it thinks it is not going to get anything," says Lummus. "You will be at a point where your body is kind of at a standstill."

    Lummus says that when your body goes into starvation mode, your metabolism slows to a crawl, burning calories as slowly as possible to conserve its energy stores. This is why people who cut their calories too much may reach a plateau and stop losing weight.

    Eating too few calories can be the start of a vicious cycle that causes diet distress. When you cut your calories so low that your metabolism slows and you stop losing weight, you probably will become frustrated that your efforts are not paying off. "
  • SoozeE512
    SoozeE512 Posts: 439 Member
    If I were you, I'd add sodium and sugar to your tracking. You might be doing okay there, but it can't hurt to keep an eye on those things just in case. This site seems to set sodium at 2,500 but I've read elsewhere that 1,500 is a healthier standard for adults.

    Also, I'd been at a standstill in my weightloss recently; so for a week or two, I allowed myself to have up to 100-200 extra calories a day, and decreased my activity level significantly. After that, I began focusing more on cutting down on sodium and limiting my calories again, and I'm beginning to notice my numbers on the scale heading back in the right direction.

    I guess, sometimes you just need to give things a break to get things going again!
  • kateflourishes
    kateflourishes Posts: 246 Member
    Just because you're losing weight doesn't mean you're losing it from your waist- I've heard of a "top-down" theory that bascially says you lose weight in your face first, and then down your body. I've lost 8 lbs but three inches from under my bust- and only 1 inch from my waist. Weight from the tummy is often the last to go- of course, this depends on your body type.

    Also, after a month or so of losing weight, I hit a wall too- actually gained a few lbs back! Then I upped my calories to AT LEAST my BMR (per the Fat2Fit website calculator) of 1401, and I've lost almost 2lbs in a week since then. 1200 works for the first bit but as you become regularly more active your body needs more fuel to build muscle and burn fat. Check out the Fat2Fit website, it's helpful.

    Good luck! Feel free to add me :-)
  • suziecue66
    suziecue66 Posts: 1,312 Member
    Up your protein, increase calories to 1400 and change up exercise - some kind of bodyweight exercises rather than just cardio.
  • EmilyOfTheSun
    EmilyOfTheSun Posts: 1,548 Member
    Try working out at least 5 days a week!

Categories