I was so happy to be in the 240s for the first time in 2 years.. only to now be heavily stagnating.
I’m eating <1600 cals a day, every day. Usually less than 1400.
This is depressing. I’ve only been tracking my weight/cals consistently for the past month (done it plenty before, just not in a while), and I’m obviously still very obese, so this is very demotivating 🙁
And for anyone saying I’m not tracking correctly, I used to weigh 105 lbs, and I got there by counting cals, so I know what I’m doing.
by Reddit-Sama-
17 Comments
Just wanted to comment my solidarity. I ate 15-1600 calories on average for 67 days straight and I lost one pound. The first 40 days I gained 7 pounds of water weight, and I guess it never came off. I’m ashamed but I abandoned the diet after that. My husband even bought me a brand new scale because he was in such disbelief. It was humiliating. I’m tired of being hungry all the time. I’m going to try low carb, starting next week and see if that makes a difference.
My advice: weigh yourself once every two weeks. Same day of the week, same time of the day. Don’t give in to the temptation to weigh more often than this.
Make sure you’re focusing on eating whole foods, portion control and including fruits and veggies in your diet. Limit processed foods, candy and alcohol. To speed up the process adding some weight training and cardio 3-5 days out of the week will be very helpful. Don’t worry about the numbers on the scale. Watch how different your clothes fit. This will ensure you are making progress. Maybe do a weigh in monthly or biweekly instead of daily…fluctuations in water retention can cause changes in weight, also known as water weight. Hope this helps!
This may sound crazy but maybe bump up your calories to 1600 and add some exercise in (if you’re not already). I honestly think 1400 at your weight might be too low and maybe your body is holding onto fat in a panic mode? Just a thought tho you obviously know yourself and body best!
But you’re down 2 pounds in 2 weeks, thats still a pound a week which is awesome. I had something similar to this before where by the end of 2 weeks I ended up at the same weight as I was 2 weeks prior. I couldn’t figure out why my weight went back up about 2.5 lbs and then plateaud where it stayed that weight for a few more days. I ended up eating an extra 200-300 calories a day for 2-3 days on purpose then dropped back down. It sort of “reset” my metabolism again I think because then I started dropping again finally. I’m not sure about the science behind it but it felt like i was reminding my body that “if we wanted we CAN eat more, food is accessible. So stop stalling and start dropping again we aren’t in a crisis without food available” 😆
Start exercising every day (a daily walk is fine, no need to join a gym) and prioritize getting enough sleep.
Dropping 2.9lbs in 11 days actually seems pretty great! I’m sorry you’re feeling discouraged, but you are progressing!
Take some body measurements
It’s frustrating when this happens. I have had a few periods of 6-8 weeks losing and gaining the same 1-3lbs. The important thing is to keep going and not give up. Would you consider weighing yourself just once a week (same day and time) rather than daily? I think weighing daily can be demoralising.
I also agree with someone’s suggestion of increasing your calorie allowance to 1600 and some exercise to see how that goes. Might shake things up a bit. Weirdly I lost more weight when I was having 2000-2200 calories at the beginning of 2024 than when I was having 1200-1600 calories at the beginning of 2022 (same starting weight both times).
keep reminding yourself that you just need to lose 1 lb to get back into the 240s! You can do it!
I should show you my MFP weight data the past 6 months. Basically the same kinda roller coaster. Down 2 then up 3. Down 1 then up 2.5, etc.
I will say that my ‘heaviest’ weight has definitely trended downward though. Maybe look at your data over a 3-6 month period?
Also I’m assuming you’re a woman… the water weight with ovulation and menstruation is crazy! I gain 3lbs during ovulatuon, then lose it, only to gain 3-5 pounds when my period starts. I’ve kept track of all this so my weight spikes are expected.
What’s your sleep schedule like? Are you lightly or somewhat active, or not at all? How is your water intake? These are factors I have found to be very influential on my weight. My weight did something VERY similar to yours! Tons of fluctuations. As I consumed fewer calories, I tended to have a less regular bowel schedule (sorry for the TMI), but never felt bloated. But I think the body can go through periods of retaining water (and food haha).
I had to look at the overall trend over several weeks to see that I was, in fact, losing weight. The daily fluctuations are what always threw me off or frustrated me. As a rule of thumb, I find that a gallon of water per day was a good goal, attainable with some effort lol. Typically your metabolism is much slower with a lower daily calorie consumption as well. Maybe these are all things you already know, but just felt that they are good reminders or things to consider. To ensure adequate protein intake, and that carbs and fats are coming from good sources of food. Though there are fluctuations there, I can see your weight IS still trending down! Keep it up!
This is almost exactly what I’m going through right now, but after about four weeks fluctuating between 255 and 258lbs, my weight finally started moving consistently in the right direction again for the past seven days.
The crazy part? I didn’t change anything. I just kept weighing myself daily, eating ~1600 calories, walking >6k steps every day, and doing an hour of cardio three to five times each week.
Don’t give up. Be honest about your intake and output. Your health is more important than your weight, so focus on how eating better and exercising is making you feel better. Don’t give up.
download happy scale! i love it because you can weigh daily but it’ll tell you your average rate of weight loss (ex. 2lb per week) and it’ll tell you what weight you’re trending at so the up and down doesn’t feel so devastating when you see it, your body weight changes constantly so it evens it out for you to see where you’re really at.
I always stalled at 249/250. For years it was a brick wall that prevent any progress. I can’t tell you why it always happened but it did.
I tried eating at maintenance. Eating at 1200 calories. Working out more. Working at less. Eventually I slid past, but it was annoying.
Also look at your body. Are you injured? That’s my latest blocker. I broke my toe and Boom! Instant stall.
Make sure you’re actually consuming 1600 calories. Don’t estimate, measure.
Don’t weigh yourself daily if you’re going to stress over it.
I posted this a bit ago. Depending on where you’re at in your fluctuations, it can make it seem like you’re not losing weight. Remember this isn’t a week to week or even month to month thing. This is a long process and you KNOW you’re counting correctly so just stay strong, sit tight, and you’ll drop 2 pounds in one day and it’ll all be alright https://www.reddit.com/r/CICO/s/ZyfFwl0RxV