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My weight loss story

When I started walking last June, I was in a size 24 at 291. I did not like the weight I was at, and was tired of being overweight. There were times I even avoided going to the doctor's because I didn't want to know what my weigh was.

I decided to start walking last June because I have my 20th class reunion coming up in 2018, and I'd like to come back smaller than I was when I was in school. I think I'm probably back to where I was when I graduated. I know that I'm already smaller than I was when I was pregnant with all three of my kids.

Of course, now I'm stagnant as far as my weight loss. I don't know what I need to do to fix that. I mean, I have ideas, but I don't know how to implement them, and I don't really have anyone that is able to help me out with those changes.

I guess I'll just keep trying. I guess I just needed to put these words to "paper" and say them to someone, even if it's the great void called the Internet. Maybe someone can give me ideas of what to do.

Closing out, I am in a size 38x32 or 30, or in women's sizes, a size 18.

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13 REPLIES 13

Congratulations with your weight loss! That is already 9 months of walking. Sounds like you hit a plateau, but don't let it discourage you. Review what you are eating versus what you are burning again and it might be time to increase the intensity of your activities. Your body got used to what you are doing, so it does it more efficiently which results in less calories burned.

Karolien | The Netherlands

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That's what I've been told that I'm plateauing. It's just a matter of overcoming it.

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@CRSunrise: Congrats on your weight loss! Keep stepping!

 

Just my 2 cents: When I hit plateau like this, I try to do things differently. Because when my body is getting used to the same routine, I change my way of either eating food or exercise, it's a kind of shock to the body. So spice up your food. if you are eating 4 meals a day, change it to 5 small meals.  Also if you have been walking for 30 mins everyday, try to jog for 15 or 20 mins once in 2 days or do some cross training. Do something differently. And see what happens. 

 

Good luck

Bhuvana

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Also wanted to congratulate you!  

 

I've jumped back on the bandwagon of attempting to lose weight and will share what I always do when I hit a plateau - I cut another 100 calories from my diet and see how it works for a week.  As you lose weight your body needs less calories based on your new smaller size.  If you don't cut calories, you will go into "maintenance" mode and not lose because you are not in a calorie deficit anymore due to the pounds lost.  Hope that makes sense.  Make sure not to starve yourself though.  Too often women we cut our calories too severely and that can also cause a plateau.  If you've cut calories too much, eat more foods, especially veggies, lean protein, and fruit until you are eating a regular amount for your body.  Not sure if you are using FitBit or another app to track your calories or not, but if you're not, that would be a good thing to do.  I would use a different calorie tracking app other than FitBit as I think it is confusing as it doesn't give you a definite calorie goal to meet (they also can be paired with FitBit so that your food/calorie info will be shown on your FitBit dashboard).  My Fitness Pal or LoseIt are good apps to keep track of calories and they'll tell you how much you need to eat to lose weight in a healthy way.  

 

 

Another thing to is to increase output, say throwing in a 1 minute jog for every 4 minutes of walking to burn some extra calories.  If you don't already, do some calisthenics  - squats, push-ups and situps along with your walking a couple times per week.  Start at a low number and work your way up.  

 

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I was just thinking about something. Maybe I need to change my calorie deficit? I've been on the 1000 calorie deficit. Do I need to have a bigger deficit or a smaller one?

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@CRSunrise

Why would you want to change it?

 

1000 calories deficit is large, so if you want to change it then I advice to not go bigger on the deficit. If you feel it is hard to maintain, then a smaller deficit might be better for you. It will slow the weight loss down, but it will be easier to maintain and it is a marathon in the end and not a sprint. Also when you eat too little (around or below your BMR), it will be very hard to lose weight as your body will hang on to it as a survival instinct.

Karolien | The Netherlands

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Congratulations on 9 months of progress!  My suggestion is pretty simple, did you keep a food log of successful loss weeks? Try eating from that week, remember when people start to lose, they are pretty strict about measuring too. Going back to that time can be helpful.  I had 10 days of the same pound coming and going. It was so frustrating.  I tried eating a little more.  One of the days I had a veggie omelet and then scale moved in the right direction. The next day is moved again.  I realized on my most successful weeks, I had a vegetable with breakfast.  Somewhere along my journey, I stopped.  I didn't even notice.  Now daily the scale is moving the right way again.  So find what worked in the past and try it again.  Good luck!

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Watch your calorie. Don't eat whenever you want. Do some kind of exercise that you don't hate too much. Don't over do it also. A little something is better than nothing. This is what I do. 2 meals a day around 800 calories each. I eat w/e tf i want. I then fast for over 16 hours before I eat again. This is called intermittent fasting.  My body is burning fat during those 16 hours. I'm losing weight and not even thinking about it. My exercise is just a bonus to my weight loss. I usually run a mile or 2 before I eat my first meal like 3x a week plus weight training.

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I had a lot of success with Weight Watchers.  A steady weight loss of 1-2 lbs per week that is sustainable, and no foods are "off limits."   As much fruit and vegetables as you want (this part has changed my eating habits considerably), and lean proteins are very low in "points" so you naturally move in that direction.  But if you really need that cheeseburger, you can have it - you'll just use some "weekly points," or adjust your eating for the rest of the day to fit it in.

 

I do the program entirely online because I hate meetings of any kind and will avoid them at all costs. They have a good, handy app for this.

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I hear you! I started out at 278 last September. I have only lost 28 pounds. The thing that is helping me is that I am trying not to focus on the scale so much this time. I am incorporating healthy lifestyle changes little by little.......but I am still having a hard time not focusing on the slow weight loss. I want to be healthy.....I guess that is my mantra!! Keep on keeping on!!!

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@kat7cia wrote:

I started out at 278 last September. I have only lost 28 pounds.


28 pounds in six months (24 weeks) is not bad at all: it’s more than a pound a week. At that pace you’ll have lost 50+ pounds by next September. There are benefits in losing at a moderate pace, although it can be harder on motivation. Keep it going!

Dominique | Finland

Ionic, Aria, Flyer, TrendWeight | Windows 7, OS X 10.13.5 | Motorola Moto G6 (Android 9), iPad Air (iOS 12.4.4)

Take a look at the Fitbit help site for further assistance and information.

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Thank you, Dominique for your encouragement!! 

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Congrats on the weight loss! I was 380 lbs back in Dec. 2015 and I am approaching the 100 lbs weight loss mark, currently weighing at 292. It's not easy. Over the past few weeks, especially those where I feel that I was really good, I have shown no progress on the scale or I have even gone up a couple of pounds.

 

I recently got a scale that measures body fat, water, muscle, etc.. on Amazon. It was less than  $40. The reason I got this was because even though I wasn't seeing results on the scale, I felt the results. I didn't want to get discouraged so, I know I am still making progress, but I'm not letting the pounds determine that.

 

I'm not sure what your diet is like. The Paleo diet has worked for me. Do a search on "the whole 30" to get an idea of what a jump start looks like.

 

Good Luck!

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