weight loss plateau question

elements2005 · July 2012

Hello! About three weeks ago I started eating healthy, and I lost about 10 pounds the first two weeks. I went from 192 to 181.5, I was hoping to lose some weight this week at least a pound or two but I have remained at 181, the weight isn't coming off despite eating healthy. I'm not working out right now because I have started a new office job and I'm very busy. When I lost weight those first two weeks I would say that my calorie intake was pretty low, I wasn't very hungry because I'm super busy at work and I'm wondering if I'm not losing any more weight because my calories are too low? Do you think I have to increase my calories? I have been consuming between 800-1000 calories and haven't felt hungry but my reccomended intake is around 1500. Please help

CynthiaAnnGA · July 2012

You might need to add a 20 min. walk. At 900 calories a day, you should be losing steadily. I would try to eat a small meal or snack every 3 hrs. to increase your metabolism. A handful of nuts or an apple, some protein every day. Eat alot of greens too. Good luck.

dg09 · July 2012

Yes, eat more than 800-1,000. Also I would hardly call this a plateau, it's your 3rd week in and you lost 10lbs the 2 weeks prior. That is a lot and most of it was water which you're probably putting back on this week. Just stick to it.

scorpio61 · July 2012

You have to eat more If you don't eat enough your body goes into starvation mode It's either to much or not enough I know Get moving add in cardio You have to find out what works for you what your body responds to But eating 800-1000 calories is not good

jchizick · July 2012

Figure out how many calories you need based on your age, sex, weight, and body fat. You are not eating enough, basically the 10 pounds you lost came from fat and muscle. You don't want to lose muscle because the more muscle you have the more calories you burn. Also if you eat the same amount of calories every day your body will adapt by reducing your energy etc.. Do some homework, figure out your macros and take it from there.

tmauck4472 · July 2012

Don't feed into the starvation mode crap, it's just that crap.

I usually have a good week loss followed by a bad week loss.

This week ate way over what I like but haven't gained anything but haven't lost anything either. Giving it one more week and if the scale doesn't budge I'm going back to 600 and stay there till I'm ready to quit losing.

HeidiHoMom · July 2012

*face palm*

HeidiHoMom · July 2012

And yes, you need to eat more than 800-1000 calories. There is a reason you have a recommended intake. And even that is probably not enough.

irisheyez718 · July 2012

MFP gave you that total, because you told MFP how much you wanted to lose each week. You should eat as close to that total as you can.

Hezzietiger1 · July 2012

1 week isn't a plateau... the first 10 lbs was probably mostly water weight. If you are mostly sedative (desk job) like me, 1100-1300 is probably enough depending on height. I wouldn't eat less than that cuz it's unnecessary. Spread your food out 5 meals a day.. include protein, low glycemic carbs, and healthy fats with each meal.. eat as clean as possible and drink as much water as you can tolerate. You can lose 2-3 lbs a week but you have to pay attention to every calorie you consume and they have to be built around nutrition.

You can do it!!!!

Hezz

Coccoyng99 · July 2012

Yes. You must eat more quality foods. If you burn more calls than you eat, your body will go into starvation mood. This will stop weight loss and ruin your metabolism . Bump your cal intake to a range of 1200-1500 cals. Try that for 2 weeks and see how it goes. Remember to log your food and add comments about how you feel. Listen to your body. Not all answers and suggestions will work for everyone. Good luck.

mermx · July 2012

"double face palm"

You can not be seriously encouraging someone to eat 600 cals a day that is ridiculous! You may have lost your weight that way but it certainly is not healthy and you should not advocate someone to follow that behaviour!

To the OP. You need to eat a minimum of 1200 to feed your organs. Brain/kidneys/skin/hair/etc need calories and energy to function properly.

I would not count it as a plateau, maybe that you have been under eating so far and now your body is storing a little to combat the famine.

It is not sustainable to eat under your BMR for ever so if you want to lose weight and be healthy then eat some more ;-)

mom2my3angels123 · July 2012

whoever said tnot to buy into starvation mode needs to be smacked. hard. your body needs at least 1200 calories to sustain itself for one day. if you eat any less than that, yeah, sure you'll lose weight.. for a while.. but then your body will realize you're starving it, and it will hold onto every ounce of fat it can find. it thinks it'll need it because you're not getting enough to eat. they say it's healthy to lose 1 1/2 to 2 pounds a week. but usually no more than that. and i agree w/everyone that said the 10 pounds you lost is probably water weight. i've been back on phase 1 of the curves weight management plan and have taken off almost 13 pounds in a week... and i know most of that is water weight. get some healthy food into your system, and no less than 1200 calories. in my program, phase 1 is no lower than 1200. you can even ask a dr and they will tell you that you need at least 1200 to get thru the day.

Kybelle132 · July 2012

ADD exercise to a LOW calorie diet??? really? Not a good idea....

Kybelle132 · July 2012

Isnt that the point? To burn more cals than you take in?? Otherwise how are you going to lose any weight? By no means do you have to go under 1200 cals...but you will still burn more than you take in...

tmauck4472 · July 2012

Don't panic, I got this. Doc says it's okay, I'm NOT encouraging her to do it. She can eat more if she likes. For me it's not an option as it's not working. Gonna give it another week and we'll see

icemaiden17_uk · July 2012

Yes you should eat over that! I hit a plateu eating that and as soon as I upped my calories I haven't stopped losing!! Do your research!! And don't be misslead by the starvation mode information! We are not talking about starvation! We are talking about the damage you are doing to your metabolism! The less you eat for a sustained period the slower your metabolism becomes. Yes, if you are truly starving you do lose weight and keep losing but you are (I assume) not an individual living in a famine and the damage to your boby can be very severe! Feed your body what it needs to function. If you don't know what that is, find out! You will feel better, have a better and healthier body and you will lose weight!

Good luck!!

Wanted to add that while you do need to burn more than you put in you need to take into account your daily activity! Even brushing your teeth burns calories so does brain function, liver function and even eating! So yes, burn more than you put in but for goodness sake KNOW WHAT YOU ARE BURNING first!!

rm830 · July 2012

Please listen to this ^^ and not the advice to eat 600 calories. That's just ridiculous and unhealthy!

christiangandy · July 2012

firstly, eat all of your recommended MFP calories otherwise your body will learn that it will only get 800-1000 cals per day....

secondly, if ur body learns this, and it requires, let's say, 2250 cals, it will simply store all the energy instead of burning it, hence your body will not let you lose fat, because it thinks it needs it for the future cos its only gonna get a max of 1000 per day,

also known as starvation mode...................... eat when you are hungry, and eat ur calsories even when ur not, it is essential.

Thirdly, if you exersize when ur not getting enough calories, your body will stop you from exersizing as much by breaking down your muscle tissues, so you simply cannot perform as well..

your body is cleverer than you, do not try to out wit it (not that you are, but a lot of people do)

good luck

christian

silverkitten13 · July 2012

eat 1500 for a couple days, you will probably gain some but then go down to a 1100-1200 a day diet and you will lose back what you gained and then some. stay at 1200 a day and when you start to plateau go up to 1500 for a day and then back down.

mermx · July 2012

The point is to have a calorie deficit at the end of the day. You put your settings in with age/height/weight and active level how much weight recommended 1lb per week most times. MFP then give you your minimum cals for the day to eat. You exercise and this gives you extra cals after taking into account all your settings. Then you have your deficit built in.

You may at the beginning lose weight faster than the target of 1lb a week due to water/muscle loss. Long term it will slow and you will end up `skinnyfat` Your body could be missing out on lots of healthy nutrients because you have not eaten properly.(if you under eat with exercise/no exercise)

tjk71 · July 2012

You need to eat more!!! Check out this link to figure out your numbers to eat more to lose weight.
Eat healthy unprocessed foods. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

devil_in_a_blue_dress · July 2012

OP -- eat to your calorie goal. Period.

You can certainly eat under 1,200 once and a while and nothing TERRIBLE will happen to you -- but that shouldn't be a regular occurrence unless you are under a doctor supervision because it can eventually affect how your body functions. People generally don't get overweight by just NOT being able to eat 1,200 in a day. You might be busy with you new job -- but all that means is that you have to take some time to plan your meals ahead of time to make sure you are getting the right nutrition.

You can't take short cuts to being healthy.

jfan175 · July 2012

I don't believe that there's a starvation mode that stops weightloss, but I do believe that if you restrict calories to that extent you will lose as much or more muscle than fat.

mermx · July 2012

I would sack your doctor if he is advising you to eat 600 cals a day and is following your diet! It is terrible, sorry for saying that but your diary is open and I would not recommend it to anyone to be healthy!

devil_in_a_blue_dress · July 2012

Unless you have a medical condition you are not disclosing, there is no reason a doctor would be on board with a diet this restrictive. Period. If you doctor actually is, find another or seek counsel of a nutritionist or dietician.

scorpio61 · July 2012

Did I miss something here? Is someone really saying it's ok to eat 600 calories and be healthy? Eating 800-1000 is not safe nor is it healthy I guess if I buy into this crap I'm crazy to Yes some of us don't eat enough and some of us eat to much Or just eating the wrong things and wonder why we are not losing Like I said you have to play with food and see what works for you Just like doing cardio and lifting wts what your body responds to

Amber_lee_81 · July 2012

You need to eat more than the 800- calories. The body goes into starvation mode and will hold onto every ounce of food and turn it into fat. I would up the cals to the 1500 or so (1400-1600) and I think you will see results in loss but also general feel less tired etc.

elements2005 · July 2012

thank you so much everyone! I appreciate how active the users on this website are!

Blaineyyy · July 2012

MINIMUM calories, at NET have to be at 1,200 for even a lower, but still healthy, intake. Higher if you're working out, and higher still if your workout is higher intensity. At 1,200 your body will have enough energy to keep your body working at it's best, and you'll no doubt feel more active and "into" what you're doing.

Any exercise you can get in, do it. Whether it be a gym workout, or simply changing your transport to work from a car/bus, say, and brisk walk it instead. Though I don't know how convenient that is for you, but you get my meaning.

Also, meeting your calorie goal means very little if the food you're eating is plain junk, and your body won't thank you for limiting it's calorie intake in the first place, let alone if the limited calories are processed rubbish. So be sure to find unprocessed and natural foods. Most will also keep your fuller for longer so you're also less liable to snack.

Oh and by the way, one week isn't a plateau. Not that I've had one personally, but I've seen people who've had them for weeks/months due to personal or otherwise circumstances, so that'd be what I'd more likely class as one if I had to say. Weight can fluctuate in a week, that doesn't mean to say it's a plateau - just have patience. And good luck!

weight loss plateau question

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