Really Stumped over failure to lose more than 1 lb / week

[CassandraRN]

Hi everyone, quick background: I do understand the calorie deficit principle, metabolic rates, etc. I am 5'1" and 139 pounds and feeling awful. I have been pretty sedentary over the winter, and had a few too many cocktails! So, I got it together, got my new fit bit and restarted my 'diet.' I'm drinking more water and averaging just over 1,000 calories a day. I have cut out all alcohol and processed foods, and am down to one diet coke in the morning. That will be the next to go. I'm averaging about 9400 steps a day, including about 30 mins a day on the treadmill. Fitbit tells me i should be down 2.1 pounds per week or 4.2 pounds. But i've actually only lost 1 pound per week! 

While I year you all saying "1 pound is safe weight loss" and I agree, something just doesn't seem right. This is a drastic diet change (for the better) and I'm logging every bite I take. My activity is greatly increased as well.

In deperation I even ran the stats past an MD i work with, who really couldn't offer any suggestions - though in fairness this is not their specialty at all. So....sigh.... thanks for any tips you have!

I'm hoping someone can give me a hint that will boost my weight loss. 1 pound per week after this much work is frustrating!

[JohnRi]

First of all, if all you are eating is 1000 calories, that's too low.  You should eat at least 1200-1300 calories.  I'm actually suprised you are not gaining weight.  Chances are you are burning a lot of muscle, and keeping your fat. 

My wife was doing 20,000 steps a day, but only eating once a day around 800 calories, and she gained weight.  She now eats 1500-1800 a day, and has lost 30 lbs.

So that's issue #1. 

It sounds like you are trying to lose 2 lbs a week, so you must be trying to do a 1000 calorie deficit, and burning around 2000 calories.  Your BMI is 26.2, that at the bottom of the overweight range, so you do not have much to lose.  In fact all you need to lose is 8 lbs to get into the normal weight range.  So at most you can lose 20-30 lbs.  A 1000 calorie deficit is for someone who needs to lose 40+ lbs.  A 750 deficit is for those that want to lose 20-40 lbs.  500 is for 10-20 lbs.  250 is for less than 10 lbs.

So right away your deficit is too high.  This is bad because having a too high deficit when you are close to goal will cause muscle loss, and not fat loss.  This is why you have to go with a smaller deficit as you lose weight.

So you need to burn around 2100 calories a day, and eat at least 1200-1300 calories.  This should give you around 1.5 lbs weight loss. 

But everyone is different.  Some people have to burn even more to lose.  So if 1200-1300 calorie diet, and burning 2000 calories doesn't give you the weight loss you want, then you need to exercise more.

I'm exercise 60-90, sometimes 120 minutes a day....  Sometimes even longer, to get my 1.5 lbs loss per week.  And I'm 30 lbs from my goal of 183. 

So get your diet under control, and exercise as much as you need to drive your weight loss.  And yes you will have to exercise harder, and more and more to keep the weight loss going.  

Good luck!!!

[emili]

Its good you are logging, but are you measuring and weighing what you are logging. I imagine yes if you know how many calories you are consuming, but double checking. based on your stats- you are tiny. which means you burn fewer calories than most under the same conditions. I wouldn't recommend decreasing your calories, but I would try increasing activity slightly. Your in has to be less than your out in order to lose weight. The fact is you are losing and as long as you aren't feeling awful physically, then your body is tolerating what you are doing and responding. I am sure you are wanting to see huge loses- but be patient. It will happen and it will be magic.  

[magusa]

Hello Cassandra, 

I have very similar stats to you, I am also 5'1", I began my weight loss journey at the end of February at 148lb. I also eat around 1000 - 1100 calories a day. Generally I lose slightly over 1 pound per week consistently. I'm now down to 123lb and am approaching my halfway point in my weight loss goal. 

First of all, if you haven't already, I would highly reccomend switching your fitbit Food Plan Daily Calorie Estimate Setting to sedentiary. You can find the settings options on your dashboard, in the log under the food section, there's a blue cog with an arrow icon which brings up the settings. I had mine set to personalised when I began, and found that my Surge drastically overestimated calories burned, which led me to be very confused, I should have been losing 2lb a week at the burn it was telling me, but I was in fact burning less than I thought.

Now, I know this isn't something you'll really want to hear, and I also didn't want to hear it when I realised it either, but here goes.

Since we're shorter than average and also female, we have a lower TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure), we also burn less while exercising as less energy is needed to move a smaller body. For example, my TDEE is around 1400. Meaning that eating at 1000kcal still only creates a small deficit of 400. I also exercise, but a run of about 30 minutes will only burn me around 200kcal (according to my fitbit). Also, even when very meticulously measuring calories using a scale in grams, there's is probably still a margin of error between 5 - 10% as the data on the food packets is not fully accurate, so that will affect your kcal in data.

It is possible to lose weight no matter what your stats are, even if you are shorter. But you have to be realistic in your goals. Unless you are willing to exercise 1 - 2 hours a day (I am not, maybe you are?) I think a goal of 2lb a week for someone with your height and weight is not realistic and not sustainable if you want remain healthy.

I was upset when I realised it would take much longer than I wanted to reach my goal weight, I was annoyed that I was unable to lose 2lb a week when I saw many people posting how they lost 4lb this week or 5lb that week. But I realised that they were ALWAYS taller, and at a higher weight than I was, that is why they could lose that much that fast. When they begin reaching heathly BMI they will also slow down their loss rate. 

What I am now focusing on is keeping steadily chipping away at it, I see consistant losses every week and that is satisfactory for me, I have accepted it will take longer, but I WILL get there in the end. You WILL also get to your goal weight in the end too if you stay strong, keep up the discipline every week. It will take longer than a taller person, or a a man but you'll be able to do it.

I hope my words will help in some way, I went through a similar frustrating time recently, and don't often see others with similar stats to myself. Just keep up what you're doing and you'll get there eventually.

[TBlueMax]

Hi Cassandra,  I have a sister named Cassandra. And  we both do fitbit. Anyway, came here to give a few tips. I have things that have work for me in the past, but right now, (after a family death) I lack motivation in getting back on track. But last year before the death, I had lost 38 pounds and was on my way to getting back to being thinner. So here are tips for you, but a little background first. At the age of 36 I weighed 125 pounds. My husband moved into my house in September and 1 month later I weighed 150 and the weight kept going up. NO CHANGE IN MY DIET OR MY EXERCISE...I have a german shepherd I walked daily.  I am a teacher, now retired. As teachers we stand mostly, but sit a fair amount after school hours to grade papers, write plans and curriculumn. I  was once on LA Weight loss (until they closed). The first plan they put me on, ( I am 5'9 and weighed 250 then) caused me to loose weight really well. On it I ate 3.5 protiens, 3-5 vegetables, 3 fruit, 3-4 starches, 3 dairy and 1-2 fats a day. I didn't count calories. Just would record what I ate in a little booklet I (that I now make copies of). Sounds like a lot of food right, that is why you see  flexibility in the vegetables, starches and fats. Water was a minimum of 8-8oz. glasses a day. After two weeks, I was dong so well they changed my plan, which showed me down, and it seemed like they did that every two weeks. Found out a year ago, that is part of the plan, slow you down so that you have to keep coming to them.  Anyway during the time I was focused on them, I lost 50 pounds before they closed. After they closed I just stopped, because I needed the weekly support to keep me motivated and not set me up for failure.

Fast forward to last year. I had gone past my top weight and knew it was time to get back on a PLAN  that worked, ( I love to cook and am really good at it...I cook for family and friends) so at 262, I started again on Janaury 1st. By May12th the date of the death, I went from 262 to 224. I was only using my 1st. LA food plan and aside from recording it in the little booklets I also record it in MyNetDiary App on my phone and my iPad. because in it, I also keep my medications and exercies that I do. Other than exercise I record from daily activities of house work, walking the dogs, dishes, laundry. etc, I do a mini stair stepper in my living room for up to 30 Min. (I started with 2 min, a day for a week and then would add one more minute  a week until I reached 30) and I will go walk on a tread mill (I have to limit my outside walking until the weight is off since I have a herniated disc in my back.) for 30 minutes. After the death of my God Son/nephew, I have stalled, up until January, I had kept the weight off without getting back to exercise or recording my foods. I guess I am still depressed and morning his loss.  I beat myself up all the time for not getting refocused, since I do have the tools that work for me. But here are my tips for you they really work when I do them, I promise they do.

1. Get on an eating plan and stay on it. It is not about elimination or low calories. It is about eating the right foods and exercise. Get on one that has you looking at the foods required  not calories. According to my booklet, with your weight and height, you should eat 2.5 proteins, 3 vegetables, 2 fruits, 3-4 starches, 2 dairy, 1-1.5 fats and 8 glasses of water minimum.  ( Friend me on Facebook or email me TBlueMax@aol. com and I can share more). 

2.Measure you portions until you can eye ball them. (I actully have an LA plate that can still be orded and it makes portion control easy.)

3.  Stay on a schedule to the best you can, recording right after you eat (that is why I use the app, it is with me when away from the house)

4. Find a partner that you can talk to about your plan or efforts that will not sabotage you. 

5. Find an exercise you are willing to do daily and stick to it. (my stair stepper was $49. at WalMart)

6. If you get derailed, start over, and don't beat yourself up.

7. STAYING positive and having good affirmations to say daily is good also. Put a note of the bathroom mirror, "You are looking good,  keep the focus or Stay the course"  or want more religion in there, "Through Christ I can do all things, even my eating plan" .

Basic information: Example if you are eating 2.5 proteins a day you might have peanutbutter on toast in the morning =.5 protein if using 1 TBSP and then have 3 ounces of cheese with my lunch= 1 protein, and 4 ounces of chicken breast with dinner= 1 protein giving you a total of 2.5 see?

Proteins: fish and poultry 4 oz. beef, pork, lamb, veal  3 oz. Vegetarian proteins are all different depends on the actual food. (this is where email will help you), nut butters 1 oz, or 2TBSP, or nuts/seeds 1 oz, 2 eggs, cheeses, 3 oz. (yes cheese are proteins and dairys you decide what they are for each meal depending on what you need).

Vegetables: 1 cup raw or 1/2 cup cooked is a serving for most. But lettuce 3 cups is a servings, 6 cherry tomaotes or 6 baby carrots (1/2 cup raw or cooked) is a serving. 

Fruits: all vary.  you need a copy of my booklet maybe. 

Starches: Also vary depending on amount of fiber in them.

Fats: Nuts, and Nut butters can also be a fat, so you can see how you have choice in what you count it as.

My booklet also gives tips of quick meals and how ot count them, frozen meals, condiments and dairy and restaurant guides. I can email you stuff from that also.

Before I go, here is a smaple of  a breakfast chice  with  a feel full meal in it vs. a regular meal vs. my needs (since I know I need to have protein in all meals because I have become carb junky...and carbs makes you want more carbs). If I eat protein in all meals including snacks, I will actually snack less and or feel more satisfied when eating.

FF Breakfast:  1 starch, 1 fruit, 1 dairy, 1 condiment 

2 slices of whole wheat toast, 1 Tbsp of jelly. 1 cup of raspberries, 8 oz of skim milk

Reg Breakfast: 1 starch, 1 fruit, 1 dairy

1/2 cup cream of wheat, 1/2 c apple juice, 8 oz of skim milk. (now I need the vit, d so I do whole milk and can still loose the weight)

Good Breakfast for me: 1 protein, 1 starch,  1 fat, 1 fruit

2 eggs, 2 slices of whole wheat toast, 1 TBSP butter, 12 cherries  or 8 oz. of 100% simple orange juice. No concerntrate, but pure fruit juice.

I hope that this gives you something to think about and that you are going to consider trying it, can't hurt. The walking alone, helps to get 1 pound off a week. when I do not stay on this plan, I end up eating 1 to 2 meals only which average about 1000, calories, clearly not enough to kick the metabloism in gear. As we age our metbolism slows.  We need to force it to work. I do know a lot about nutrition, I took classes in college as my electives and passed them 100% and then on my guest for weight loss I learned even more. Good Luck, and after I typed all that to help you, I think I will get refocused on my own quest. Baby steps for me, so as to not go back wards.  Sherry Maxwell 

[divedragon]

@CassandraRN

@ChubbyButCute

Look into Intermittent fasting to include a couple of multi-day fasts to kick your metabolism in gear.  I'll give you a couple of websites to get you started on the research.  Fasting is not only good for weight loss, but many, myself included, report that symptoms of depression go away with IF.  It's also considered by the neuroscience to be a way to ward off age related cognitive diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.  There are a ton of different fasting protocols you can use.  The really cool thing about it is you can loose 1-2 lbs per DAY doing multiple day fasts without creating the metabolic syndrome associated with calorie restriction.  In fact, your metabolism will actually increase.

I've done a ton of research on this subject and have adopted IF as a lifestyle change for all the benefits it offers.  I've tried to look at the science behind and, if you're interested, I can provide you with a stack of clinical trial papers that studied IF for both animals and humans.  In the meantime, check out these websites and online studies:

https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/author/jfung/

https://news.uic.edu/krista-varady-weighs-in-on-how-to-drop-pounds-fast

http://www.pnas.org/content/100/10/6216.full

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24215592

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3946160/

Good luck!  feel free to hit me up with any questions you may have. 

[CassandraRN]

@ChubbyButCute Thank you for the info about IF. I've not known anyone using this technique so it is very interesting to me. I will definitely be doing some reading on this over the weekend!

[CassandraRN]

Thank you JohnR Because I'm only 5'1" and work at a desk, so in between sedentary and slightly active, both my MD and dietician thought 1000 calories was adequate. But i had questioned the same thing. I increased this week and alternated 3 days at 1000 and 4 days at 1200 and low and behold lost some more after a week of no loss. So - I think the reality is there's no magic number but I do think 1000 calories PLUS daily treadmill was too much. (I also laid off the treadmill this week, so a lower total deficit.)

And in reality, while 8 pounds puts me in the normal range, that's really nor my personal normal, I'm usually around 125 - and before turning 40 i was usually around 110. So smaller boned people really do face different weight loss issues. None the less, i think your suggestion worked 🙂

[CassandraRN]

Wow! Hi Powerwalker! You're right, i rarely stats similar to mine and being this short really does make a difference in weight loss. My normal weight was around 110 until i turned 40, then around 118-125. I felt pretty good there. This gain i'm at right now is making me very unfomfortable!

I think i was frustrated as last year after winter hibernation I did the same weight gain....but when i did this same diet i lost 4 lbs week one, 3 week 2, then consistently 2 lbs a week until i was back in "my" normal range. And i felt great...wasn't hungry, weak, tired etc. This time around the lack of results was really frustrating me. The only difference is i started on the treadmill day 1 this year, thinking a bigger deficiet = bigger/faster loss. Wrong. 😞 

And agree, i have estimated my basal metabolic burn at around 1460 which is what i'm using. But you're right about the calories burned estimate....so i've gone back to the set calories, and moved up to 1100 though it's never exact on any given day. We'll see what the next few weeks bring, but thank you so much for your feedback. It's nice to hear from another shorty like me! 🙂

[Livewire]

I'm going to post a link to an MFP thread on a similar thing. A lot of people post on their forums along the lines of "I'm following the diet to the letter but I'm not losing weight / I'm only eating x and I'm not losing weight". This flow chart may help:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10179969/weight-loss-flow-chart-2-0/p1

[thequilteddove]

To loose weight, you must eat. 1000 calories a day is not enough!  I can only speak for myself and what I've experienced...

• ONE:  Not all calories are created equal. If I eat a TON of veggies and a whole lot less breads, pasta, sweets, etc, I can eat 1500-1800 calories a day and loose weight.  With that said, knowing and doing are two different things *smiles*. 
• TWO;  Calories sort'a, kind'a, DO know what time of day it is.  I use to believe it didn't matter what time of day I ate the bulk of my calories. Maybe when I was younger that was true, but not any more!  Normally eat most of my calories in the evenings...   as my activity increases, I find that my energy abandons me by 3pm.  I've recently changed the hours I'm eating the bulk of my calories to earlier in the day and my energy is much better (plus I'm trying to add more protein to my diet).

Keep in mind, that I am a work in progress and I'm trying to figure out what works best for me.  I will be happy to loose a pound a week *grins* I know that my bad habits have developed over a life time, so I often revert back to them.  I also know that eventually, I WILL GET THERE!  I have the rest of my life to get it right lol

[OCDOC]

---

@divedragon wrote:

@CassandraRN

@ChubbyButCute

Look into Intermittent fasting to include a couple of multi-day fasts to kick your metabolism in gear.  I'll give you a couple of websites to get you started on the research.  Fasting is not only good for weight loss, but many, myself included, report that symptoms of depression go away with IF.  It's also considered by the neuroscience to be a way to ward off age related cognitive diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.  There are a ton of different fasting protocols you can use.  The really cool thing about it is you can loose 1-2 lbs per DAY doing multiple day fasts without creating the metabolic syndrome associated with calorie restriction.  In fact, your metabolism will actually increase.

I've done a ton of research on this subject and have adopted IF as a lifestyle change for all the benefits it offers.  I've tried to look at the science behind and, if you're interested, I can provide you with a stack of clinical trial papers that studied IF for both animals and humans.  In the meantime, check out these websites and online studies:

https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/author/jfung/

https://news.uic.edu/krista-varady-weighs-in-on-how-to-drop-pounds-fast

http://www.pnas.org/content/100/10/6216.full

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24215592

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3946160/

Good luck!  feel free to hit me up with any questions you may have. 

Yup to all the above; LCHF makes Int Fasting even easier and more powerful.

Bonus article NY Times:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/03/07/intermittent-fasting-diets-are-gaining-acceptance/?_r=3