Stalled weight loss - what am I doing wrong?

[Anonymous]

I started trying to lose weight in late January and lost a good amount pretty fast - about ten pounds in a month. However, I have been stuck in the same 3-ish pound window for the last six weeks.

I’m 5’3, 170-173. I workout (HIIT or strength) 3-4 hours a week, otherwise work a sedentary job but am “active” (gardening, chores, walks take up a good portion of my afternoons and weekends). Since I started losing weight I have tracked my calories ruthlessly: last week I averaged 1312 a day, the week before that, 1530, then 1489, 1066, 1600. If I didn’t post it, I didn’t eat it.

I don’t track macros but generally have coffee (with cream and sugar, which I log), broth, maybe eggs for breakfast , soup or leftovers for lunch, and dinners which might look like lamb stew, chicken wings, rice, and salad, shrimp cocktail, sweet potatoes, greens, and steak.

I eat whole food forward, only drink water after my morning coffees, don’t drink alcohol.

So what am I doing wrong?

[Anonymous]

Age? Gender? Taking any meds?

[Anonymous]

You’re not taking a GLP— that’s what’s wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You’re not taking a GLP— that’s what’s wrong.

I am taking one (zepbound).

In any case isn’t a calorie deficit supposed to lead to weight loss?

To answer PP I’m 40, no other meds.

[Anonymous]

^and I’m a woman

[Anonymous]

How often do you weigh yourself? I recommend daily and tracking the trend over time as weigh fluctuations can hide fat loss.

Other than that i would stay the course. Make sure you are accurately weighting and measuring everything. Also track consistency. If your goal is say 1400 cal/day are you hitting that at LEASE 6 days a week. Sounds like you are as the average over a week really matters, but worth tracking.

[Anonymous]

What's your zepbound dose? How long have you been on zep?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's your zepbound dose? How long have you been on zep?

Oh and is it real zep or compounded?

[Anonymous]

OP, use a standing desk at work. I find standing a lot during the day helps me burn calories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How often do you weigh yourself? I recommend daily and tracking the trend over time as weigh fluctuations can hide fat loss.

Other than that i would stay the course. Make sure you are accurately weighting and measuring everything. Also track consistency. If your goal is say 1400 cal/day are you hitting that at LEASE 6 days a week. Sounds like you are as the average over a week really matters, but worth tracking.

I weigh myself daily. And thank you for the advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, use a standing desk at work. I find standing a lot during the day helps me burn calories.

I am hybrid and this is an option for my WFH days (have an adjustable desk). I am thinking about getting a walking pad as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's your zepbound dose? How long have you been on zep?

7.5 and I’ve been on (again) for six weeks. I didn’t titrate back up, which was a mistake, but I’m okay now. I had been taking it but stopped for six months.

[Anonymous]

^and it’s the real deal, which is incredibly expensive

[Anonymous]

I'd say give the zepbound time to work again. Jumping back right onto 7.5mg is a hell of a shock to the system. Be patient, titrate up to 10mg in a few months if you need to. Honestly, you might also need to eat more. An average of 1300 calories with heavy workouts might have put your body into more of a starvation mode.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I started trying to lose weight in late January and lost a good amount pretty fast - about ten pounds in a month. However, I have been stuck in the same 3-ish pound window for the last six weeks.

I’m 5’3, 170-173. I workout (HIIT or strength) 3-4 hours a week, otherwise work a sedentary job but am “active” (gardening, chores, walks take up a good portion of my afternoons and weekends). Since I started losing weight I have tracked my calories ruthlessly: last week I averaged 1312 a day, the week before that, 1530, then 1489, 1066, 1600. If I didn’t post it, I didn’t eat it.

I don’t track macros but generally have coffee (with cream and sugar, which I log), broth, maybe eggs for breakfast , soup or leftovers for lunch, and dinners which might look like lamb stew, chicken wings, rice, and salad, shrimp cocktail, sweet potatoes, greens, and steak.

I eat whole food forward, only drink water after my morning coffees, don’t drink alcohol.

So what am I doing wrong?

Extremely common to hit a weight loss plateau. It can be incredibly difficult to break.
Perhaps try mixing up your activity and workout routines. Try doing a sport like tennis or swimming or running instead of typical gym workouts. And stop obsessing about calorie counts. You likely know by now what to eat and what amounts. And maybe insert some different foods once in a while. I think our bodies can get used to the same things all the time and switching it up makes it say "whoa! wait a minute! what was that?!" and can wake it up a bit.