I (23M) am having trouble breaking a two week plateau when MFP is set to lose 2 lbs per week. I work out about 40 minutes, 6 days per week, getting in four weight lifting sessions and 2 cardio sessions. I averaged my calorie intake and it’s 1554/day. In the first week, I went down from 223.7 to 216.9, and now two full weeks later have been hovering in between 216-218 at each daily weight in.
I realize this is still on track for 2 lbs/week, but worry because of the initial quick loss then *nothing* that it was all water weight and I’m not losing any real fat. My BMR is somewhere around 2500 calories so in theory, I should be losing (1000*7)/3500= 2lbs fat per week. Not even counting that I work out for about 250 extra calories every day.
Am I just impatient and tweaking out? First picture is my weights and my goal weights (calculated via NIDDK) and second is a 7 day average of my weights with the three days prior to each point and the three days following factored in.
by DeliciousSandman
10 Comments
That seems normal. Stay consistent for 6 more weeks and then see if you need to make any changes from there.
(Your calories do seem low for your age and size, so you may have to increase that if the stress/cortisol from eating too little is messing with your systems.)
Your weight has only been stalled for 11 days. Be patient and keep going. Your expected fat loss of 1 to 2 lbs in that time is easily hidden by water weight fluctuations. Watch the average over the next month.
You’re working out a LOT, it’s more than likely your weight looks the same because you’re building muscle. I did an inbody scan yesterday and my weight had only changed by a few ounces in 2 weeks but my body fat percentage had gone down and I had gained at least a pound of muscle. You would probably see more progress measuring your body inches (L/R bicep, L/R thigh/calves, low hip, waist, chest).
I had a several pound upswing in my weight recently when I started working out and decreasing calories. Your body will fluctuate.
For what it’s worth I think you’re tracking too much info, keep it simple with just your weight and a weekly average. BMI is not a good metric.
Stay strong, you can do this. You’ve done harder things.
Maybe a bit off topic, but that spreadsheet looks delightful. I wish I had one.
From what I’m seeing, you’re working out quite a bit. This looks like muscle gains or water retention to me. Also, it’s really hard to try and do a goal weight because our bodies don’t work on schedules. They work as they feel and meet their own needs. I think that section is stressing you out and a bit discouraging when you don’t meet or exceed that expectation you’re putting in your face every time you log. Maybe replace that section with a measuring tape section so you can see the weight coming off in numbers of circumference rather than just the scale.
Yo drop the link to that spreadsheet so I can steal it and use it for myself please lol
This is why averages are what matters, sometimes a 2lb a week weight loss looks like 6lbs one week and none for the weeks following. Based on this data you’re perfectly on track and should change nothing.
it’s okay if your weight plateaus at the beginning. this happened to me when i started taking my weight loss journey. i lost a good 10 pounds and then it stalled for awhile. what helped me was high fiber veggies like broccoli (i’d get the frozen broccoli florets to eat on the side for dinner), and also upping my reps but doing lower weight. instead of 10 lat pull downs on 50 pounds, i’d do 15 lat pull downs on 25. apparently doing over 10 can give you the same effects as cardio. this helped me drop another 20 pounds in over 6 months
First I’d like to say you’re doing awesome.
Some factors that can be the cause: sleep, activity levels, stress, water intake, and hormones.
You can work on prioritizing the things I listed above. You can choose one to work on each week or work on it all at once.
My coach says you should be consuming 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30 %fats. And you should be eating approximately 100g of protein each day.