Stalled at my halfway point , advice?

[MissKai]

So today I basically hit my halfway point on my first major weightloss goal! I started at 288 back on 12/21/13 and today I was 244.4. The last two weeks has been a bit of a struggle going up six pounds and now getting back down to where I was 2/28.

Has anyone else stalled midway through a goal? I'm struggling as the weather has put a damper on being able to walk and things are too tight to go to the gym or get a sitter. When I can I walk aleast 3 miles a day, but when I walk 6 it seems like I gain weight so booting up my distance seems to be counter productive?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[KristenAnne · Accepted solution]

Are you drinking more water when you walk 6 miles? It could just be extra water weight or are you eating more on the days you walk 6 miles? Excercise and control food intake will not make you gain weight in the long run. Some extra lbs here and there are just the annoying parts of being a woman! It could be hormones, that "time of the month", stress, etc.

I'd just keep it up and watch what you drink and eat when you walk. If you walk more, try not to eat more. Some foods make you hold on to weight (ie. salty foods). If your stuck I suggest for 3 days be maticulous about what you eat and do... track everything and then take a look and see. If there's nothing you can tell and this keeps up, go see a doctor as a preventative mesure. But give it time.... I've hit a bit of a plateu myself right now.

[msteacher34]

Try to change up how you exercise, too.  You can find routines on youtube for free.  Try some pilates, aerobics, lift cans of food, see how fast you can clean your house, run up and down the stairs, etc.  Walking is awesome, and I'm an addict, but try some other things too to keep your body confused.  You burn more calories that way!

[Heybales]

Do you have your daily eating goal based on a deficit to what Fitbit says you burn daily?

1000 cal deficit to that would still be reasonable with amount to lose - with a healthy body anyway. 2 lbs weekly should be maintainable.

But the 3.6 lbs avg loss amount so far - no that's not sustainable. As you might be proving out. Since you are doing no strength training to retain muscle mass - you are losing some, probably the normal 20%, so about 8 lbs - that's not good at all since it slows your metabolism and daily burn down below what Fitbit is estimating.

Since you are taking a much bigger deficit, or did for a while, or have a disease or sickness or such - then it isn't reasonable.

With that method, increased walking shouldn't matter, you'll still be eating less than you burn, though you get to eat more. Make it pretzels, and as other comment says, sodium retained water.

Also, would suggest you go by only valid weigh-in days, even with just walking.

Morning after rest day eating normal sodium levels, not sore from last workout.

Might confirm the 2 weights you are comparing both came from valid weigh-in days.

Since I'm pretty sure you are taking a bigger than 1000 cal daily deficit, you might play out your end game to see if really sustainable to reach goal and then maintain afterwards.

Your TDEE and eating level will drop about 75 calories per 10 lbs lost. But if you really are eating at maintenance right now because of no weight change, take another 500 calories off what you eat to start losing 1 lb weekly.

So that new eating level near goal weight to keep losing another 100 lbs will end up being 750 calories less than you eat now, also less the 500 to start losing again.

Will you really be able to sustain that low of an eating level to keep losing near goal weight? And then consider whatever that final number is to have lost the weight, you only get to eat 500 more as maintenance.

Is that sustainable too?

I'm betting not desirable.