Weight won't budge after 6-7 weeks of cutting calories

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the advice.
I am weighing/measuring my food.

I hear about women my age (49) just getting stuck and weight not coming off. I thought the weight was coming off fast the first month. Would have been happy with 1-2 lbs a week at this point.
I did walk more yesterday and lift my 8 lb weights.
Ate very little yesterday and scale is still stuck. Would be fine if it was muscle - the weight is just a mark of my progress right now.
It’s so discouraging. I will add more exercise but I feel like I’m never going to get that weight off.
I might try a day with more calories but feel like I’ll be so sad if weight goes up and I have to fight to get it back down!

Weight does not change in any real way based on what you did “yesterday.” Fluctuations are normal, especially based on sodium intake/water retention, but eating very little one day and exercising a bit more will not make a difference the next morning.
What you see today was set mostly by what you did probably a week ago.
Results are not instantaneous.
You know this, yes?

[Anonymous]

You're doing great. Not what you want to hear, but the truth.

[Anonymous]

9 lbs in 6 weeks is fine. Are you drinking enough water? Maybe focus on that for the next couple weeks and see if that helps.

[Anonymous]

Try an elimination diet.

Eliminate all seed oils and ultra processed foods and sugar to start. This will leave you with meat, veggies and fruit. Leave out dairy for now.

Eat as much meat, veggies and fruit as you like but eat in this order, veggies, then meat and fat (butter, tallow, ghee), then a small amount of fruit. Never consume fruit without protein and when in doubt eat protein and fat. No grains, legumes, nuts.

You will lose weight, gain muscle and feel great.

[Anonymous]

Stop weighing yourself every day. It’s going to go up and down-that’s normal. Weigh yourself once a week MAX.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the advice.
I am weighing/measuring my food.

I hear about women my age (49) just getting stuck and weight not coming off. I thought the weight was coming off fast the first month. Would have been happy with 1-2 lbs a week at this point.
I did walk more yesterday and lift my 8 lb weights.
Ate very little yesterday and scale is still stuck. Would be fine if it was muscle - the weight is just a mark of my progress right now.
It’s so discouraging. I will add more exercise but I feel like I’m never going to get that weight off.
I might try a day with more calories but feel like I’ll be so sad if weight goes up and I have to fight to get it back down!

You’re 49, which means you’re likely perimenopausal. 8 lbs weights isn't going to cut it, neither is a leisurely stroll. If you want to lose weight and build muscle you need to lift heavy weights, regularly, and up your pace and steps on those walks. Increase protein to ensure you’re getting at least 120g daily. Log calories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stop weighing yourself every day. It’s going to go up and down-that’s normal. Weigh yourself once a week MAX.

This advice never makes sense to me, from a mathematical perspective. If something is variable then you want more data points, not fewer. With fewer data points, you run the risk of getting a statistical outlier. My weight varies between 148 and 152 on a regular basis. If I onlyvweigh once a week, I may get 152 one week and 148 the next, making me think I’ve lost 4 pounds when in fact I really haven’t lost any weight. If I’m weighing every day, I can smooth out the natural hills and valleys in the data.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[/b]Allergy meds and Flonase can cause weight gain. [b]

I found layering in intermittent fasting really helpful and effective. Beginners Guide to Intermittent Fasting | Jason Fung https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqZsS03dlPk

I lose better with little to no fruit. Can you add more whole food protein (collagen does not count toward protein goals)? Eggs, chicken, fish, beef, greek yogurt, hard cheese? This book also helped me a great deal https://www.amazon.com/End-Your-Carb-Confusion-Customize/dp/1628604298

No they don’t. You’re eating more calories than you’re burning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop weighing yourself every day. It’s going to go up and down-that’s normal. Weigh yourself once a week MAX.

This advice never makes sense to me, from a mathematical perspective. If something is variable then you want more data points, not fewer. With fewer data points, you run the risk of getting a statistical outlier. My weight varies between 148 and 152 on a regular basis. If I onlyvweigh once a week, I may get 152 one week and 148 the next, making me think I’ve lost 4 pounds when in fact I really haven’t lost any weight. If I’m weighing every day, I can smooth out the natural hills and valleys in the data.

Agree!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My endocrinologist prescribed Zepbound which I had to get from a compounding pharmacy because my insurance won't cover it.
I have very little appetite.

I am 5"4" and was 163lbs in mid March.
After 6-7 weeks I am 154 lbs. Losing 9 pounds in 6 weeks ins't bad of course but I lost all of that the first 3-4 weeks and now it has just stopped.
One day I gained a pound but I lost it a day later and the scale hasn't budged in over 2 weeks.

I expected a plateau after a few months but not after one month!
I am definitely in a calorie deficit. My exercise has not been great. I walk a little and have done some work with bands but not enough to say I'm gaining muscle and that's why the scale isn't moving. I'm going to walk more and add weights. 7,000-10,000 steps a day.

Some days I worried I wasn't eating enough.
Breakfast is one slice of Sourdough with 1/2 avocado or 2 eggs.
Lunch is salad with chick peas, OR low fat greek yogurt with flax seed, chia seeds and berries OR overnight oats with flax seed, chia seeds, 1/3 banana and one teaspoon of peanut butter.
Dinner is usually what we have for family dinner but a smaller portion. Salmon with broccoli and rice or chicken stir fry. Easily about 1/2 to 1/3 of my previous portion and I'm full enough.
I drink a cup of tea with collagen powder for added protein and to help with some arthritis. Usually fruit like an apple or blueberries while I make dinner.

I wonder if maybe I'm eating too little and metabolism is slowing so that this small amount of food is what my body sees as normal.
Is that possible in a month? I'm not starving myself.

No I do not sleep well and I don't know how to fix that.
I take allergy meds and nasal spray which can cause weight gain but if I haven't eaten much I thought that wouldn't be an issue.

All of this is normal.
People have unrealistic expectations of how much they will lose and how quickly it will come off. They also fail to understand the difference between losing fat and losing weight/ water. No one is losing or gaining 1 lb of fat overnight. That is just water fluctuation and totally normal.

I recommend weighting daily and tracking the overall trend as sometime loses and gains can be masked in the normal noise. Fluctuations.

I often don't lose for a week or more then drop 2 lbs, then go up a lb and so forth.

2 weeks at the same weight is not the endo of the world, keep pushing on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop weighing yourself every day. It’s going to go up and down-that’s normal. Weigh yourself once a week MAX.

This advice never makes sense to me, from a mathematical perspective. If something is variable then you want more data points, not fewer. With fewer data points, you run the risk of getting a statistical outlier. My weight varies between 148 and 152 on a regular basis. If I only weigh once a week, I may get 152 one week and 148 the next, making me think I’ve lost 4 pounds when in fact I really haven’t lost any weight. If I’m weighing every day, I can smooth out the natural hills and valleys in the data.

This!

weighing daily, if you are tracking the overall trend. give a better perspective of if you are really losing. You can do this is an excel file. If you are losing the trend line will be a downward slope, but the daily weights will always show a bumpy line.

Also helps you realize that weight fluctuations are normal and the trend over a long period of time (1 month) are what really matter.

[Anonymous]

I think if you keep doing what you’re doing, the weight will eventually start to come off more. 9 lbs in 6 weeks is good. I would keep going the way you’re going and reassess in a month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the advice.
I am weighing/measuring my food.

I hear about women my age (49) just getting stuck and weight not coming off. I thought the weight was coming off fast the first month. Would have been happy with 1-2 lbs a week at this point.
I did walk more yesterday and lift my 8 lb weights.
Ate very little yesterday and scale is still stuck. Would be fine if it was muscle - the weight is just a mark of my progress right now.
It’s so discouraging. I will add more exercise but I feel like I’m never going to get that weight off.
I might try a day with more calories but feel like I’ll be so sad if weight goes up and I have to fight to get it back down!

You’re 49, which means you’re likely perimenopausal. 8 lbs weights isn't going to cut it, neither is a leisurely stroll. If you want to lose weight and build muscle you need to lift heavy weights, regularly, and up your pace and steps on those walks. Increase protein to ensure you’re getting at least 120g daily. Log calories.

Eh, I’ve lost 20 lbs in the last year and kept it off for 5 months so far and I’m 52. I decreased calories in a very healthy and sustainable way and added more cardio. That’s it. I know I need to incorporate weights for other reasons but I didn’t need it to lose.

[Anonymous]

Cut out the bread, rice. No simple carbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cabbage soup diet for 7 days. You will lose 5-7 pounds if you don't cheat. It's a kick-start, not a way of life. I make really yummy soups and I do it 4x per year -- at the start of each season. Sometimes 2x in winter as that is when i gain. No meat or carby veggies in the soup.

DP here — can you share your cabbage soup recipe? Thanks!