My weightloss just stopped

B

BrilliantCircle

New member
I've been losing weight since January and I was 267lbs and now I'm 205lbs but in October my weight was 200lbs but since November my weight for some reason jumped back up to (in one day) 205lbs and I can't make it seem to go down again. I have not been major dieting, just eating less (no more snacking) and walking an hour a day. Is this normal? Will all that weight go away suddenly? Also, it's getting much colder where I live and probably won't be able to go walking outside much and I'm wondering if I should look into getting a treadmill or something. I don't have much money so what would be good to get?
 
Unfortunately your situation is pretty common. The human body can adapt to stress put on it (exercise). You will obviously get better at what you have been doing and your body will learn to burn less calories for the same amount of work. So in the beginning you cut back on the calories and started burning more by walking. Now you don't burn as much when you walk and you are probably eating around the same so your weight will stay put. A treadmill is not a bad investment if you really think you will use it. I would recommend performing an exercise routine to change things up. You can still walk but you probably have to add more exercise to increase the weight loss. Strength training is the best way to build lean muscle mass and increase your metabolism. You can start very basic with body weight exercises in your home. Things like push ups, squats, lunges, and plank holds are great strength exercises. It is more important to increase your activity level than decreasing your calories especially if you have already done this.
 
Before looking at your exercise routine, I'd look at your nutrition. It sounds like you aren't going crazy with tracking things, which is fine. But you should be mindful of the fact that you're 50 lbs lighter now than you once were.

Caloric needs are based a lot on body weight.

If you lose a lot of weight and don't adjust your food intake downward, you're eventually going to plateau. What was once a calorie deficit will slowly turn into maintenance as you lose more weight.

So I ask; have you adjusted your food intake dowward as you lost weight?

Also, do you know how many calories you are consuming?
 
I have not been watching my food much, I mostly eat fibre one cereal for breakfast and sometimes I don't eat lunch then dinner is usually rice with some meat. What I've been trying to do was watch what my older brother eats and do less of that because he's much more active than I am.
 
You can't watch what your younger brother eats and follow him unless he's got the same build and is the same weight as you. There's more that goes into caloric needs than simply activity.

It sounds like you're under eating.

Are you being honest with yourself when you say most every single day the only calories you eat is a bowl of cereal and one meal?

Nothing else?

How long have you been eating like that if it's true?
 
Gained 5 lbs in one day? You are just standing on the scale wrong. The more I stand on the edge of my scale, I can make myself gain 3 lbs. if I stand perfectly in the middle of the scale, I will lose 3 lbs.

If I drink a large amount of water before bed, I will wake up 1 lb heavier.
 
Just a suggestion- if you're looking for a treadmill without much $$ to spend, buy a used one from craigslist(or a similar classifieds site). You can buy good working treadmills for as cheap as $50, from, for instance, people moving and trying to get rid of it fast.

ETA: Also if your weight suddenly shot up to 5 lbs in one day, it could very well be that you're retaining water (as from perhaps taking in too much sodium or something) so you could try to cut down the salt and drink lots of water (being well hydrated diminishes your body's need to hold on to it; doesn't seem to make sense but it's true) and see if that helps with the extra 5 lbs showing up on the scale. Last time I checked it was impossible to gain 5 lbs of FAT in just one day..
 
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I drink about 3 liters of water a day (forgot to mention that) because I heard it would be helpful in the weight loss. Also my cities local web page has someone selling a bowflex series 5 treadmill for $1000 (can't post the link because I don't have enough posts). This is something I can afford if I save up for a couple more months but I was thinking maybe it's a little over the top. I'm pretty much looking for ones that have the exercise programs and would not be too big.
 
BrilliantCircle said:
That is what I've been eating within the last month, and dinner I usually have whats there until I'm full. Could this be my problem?
Click to expand...

Sure.

Right now you're literally shooting in the dark.

And from the inside looking in (my perspective), it's even darker.
 
Wow, lots of scale obsession going on in this thread... before bed/in the morning/after a dump/during a dump...

scale = worst indicator EVER. Not so much in the physical sense (because that is partially one of the reasons) but more so mentally. People who understand this statement have been where I've been.
 
I agree... my scale is an A-hole... focusing on it only depressed me and made me want to give up every time it goes up a pound or 2 or doesn't move at all...
 
SDBT,

Have a looksie at this thread if you're interested in buiding upon your knowledge of adaptation to stress:
Click to expand...
(It won't let me put the address since I do not have enough posts.)

I looked over this thread and it looks like pretty exactly the same thing I recommended. If you are noticing a stall in your exercise program it probably means that your body is becoming more efficient and you will not burn the same amount of calories that you use to on the same exercise routine and it needs to be changed alittle.

Also, skipping meals and then eating dinner until you are full is a huge problem. You body cannot process more than approx 700 calories at a time(this number will depend on the person.) so anything more than that will be stored as fat even if you have not had eaten a lot the rest of the day.
 
SDPT said:
(It won't let me put the address since I do not have enough posts.)
You body cannot process more than approx 700 calories at a time(this number will depend on the person.) so anything more than that will be stored as fat even if you have not had eaten a lot the rest of the day.
Click to expand...

I've never heard that before but if it's true that would be a good thing to know...
 
SDPT said:
(It won't let me put the address since I do not have enough posts.)
Click to expand...

Interesting, you can't click on the link I provided?

I was unaware of that.

I looked over this thread and it looks like pretty exactly the same thing I recommended. If you are noticing a stall in your exercise program it probably means that your body is becoming more efficient and you will not burn the same amount of calories that you use to on the same exercise routine and it needs to be changed alittle.
Click to expand...

The article I posted explained why this is false.

Also, skipping meals and then eating dinner until you are full is a huge problem. You body cannot process more than approx 700 calories at a time(this number will depend on the person.) so anything more than that will be stored as fat even if you have not had eaten a lot the rest of the day.
Click to expand...

This, too, is false.
 
that a relief since i have a hard time fitting most of my calories outside of dinner time and a 800-900 calorie dinner is sometimes the only thing keeping my calories over 1400 :S
 
Steve,


I'd be interested in your source to say that the statements I've made are false. I have a Master's Degree in Exercise Science and I am a licensed nutritionist and I am only stating things that have been shown with clear research. If you know of research that says otherwise from a credible source I would be interested to see this.

Motherof2,

If you are eating 900 calories at dinner and only 500 for the rest of the day you might have some problems. If you are not over weight and are happy with where you are then you might be on the high end with your metabolism and you might be about to get away with this. If you are trying to lose weight and this isn't working it would be the first thing I would recommend you change. You body works much better with a constant supply of energy to keep your metabolism elevated. When you get all or most of your calories in one meal your body will store most of the calories as fat.
 
The last one cracks me up... even though almost all the levels were the same after the diet, they still conclude!?!?!?! that it might play a part? I swear, no wonder people are so confused out there, scientists and researchers just end up saying what they want to say anyways.
 
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