Weight loss: Help! I'm stuck!

Jump to Last Post 1-18 of 18 discussions (31 posts)
  1. habee profile image93
    habeeposted 11 years ago

    Since January, I've lost 50 pounds, but for the past few weeks, I'm stuck! No matter what I do, I can't get the scales to budge. I've tried low carb, no carb, low fat, no fat, high fat, vegan, pescatarian, and high fiber. I've tried 1,200 calories a day, 1,000 calories a day, 800 calories a day, and ZERO calories a day. I've added walking, aerobics, and weight lifting - all to no avail! This just boggles my mind - it's biologically and mathematically impossible! It's like I'm living on air and water.

    My primary care physician is following my progress, and she knows I've been eating a lot less and exercising because of how my bloodwork has been beneficially impacted. She thinks there's something wrong, and she's sending me to an endocrinologist. Anyone else ever had this happen? How did you get off the plateau?? Thanks!

    1. tmbridgeland profile image80
      tmbridgelandposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      First, don't panic! Happens to everyone who tried to lose weight. Keep eating high quality food, avoid poor food and give your body a rest. Losing weight is actually hard on your body. Take a break from extreme dieting for a week and get plenty of rest and only light exercise.
      You will get a hundred different answers from different people, so go with which one makes sense to you. My advice, remember humans are omnivores. Keep eating plenty of veggies, but don't forget to include some meat, fish, eggs. Your body is working hard losing weight and needs plenty of nutrients. Don't go too low on calories. Good luck!

    2. Diane Woodson profile image60
      Diane Woodsonposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Arre you drinking lots of water? Are you hypothyroid? Those are two great big issues with losing weight. I am and just gained back 4 pounds of the 5 I lost in the last month. I cannot eat anything I want, unless I walk 30+ minutes a day and make sure I do each day. I wish you luck and will follow you. I may have a few more tips but must get busy doing things here at home!!

  2. Duchessoflilac1 profile image63
    Duchessoflilac1posted 11 years ago

    Don't panic. Your body has to adjust to the weight loss. It's frustrating but right now you are most likely losing inches. My body does that. I will get frustrated because I'm not losing weight and then I will discover that my clothes are falling off.

    It takes a few weeks to adjust. Find the right balance of food for you. Take a deep breath and know that this is just temporary.

    Congrats on the 50 pounds. It took me 4 years to lose 100 pounds and I've kept it off. I still have 50 to go.

  3. rmcrayne profile image90
    rmcrayneposted 11 years ago

    Don't go under 1200 calories a day.  And don't go fat free.  Keep animal protein to a minimum, except cold water fish.  Don't eat starch and animal protein together.  Try Standard Process Prolamine Iodine, Thytrophin, and Adrenal PMG.

    1. habee profile image93
      habeeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I eat a lot of spinach salads, tomatoes, tuna, shrimp, chicken, broccoli, and cauliflower. I eat beef or pork once or twice a week. Are the supplements you mentioned for metabolism/thyroid function?

      1. Uninvited Writer profile image80
        Uninvited Writerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

        I have thyroid disease and have trouble losing weight. I have heard that you should not eat too much broccoli if you have thyroid problems. And I just read that potatoes are also on that lists...akk, I love potatoes. I also learned why I have a sensitivity to soy, it can work against the medication.

        Anyway, hopefully you don't have thyroid disease. It's easy to treat but can be a pain.

        I'm in a similar position. I have been going to the gym 3 days a week for 3 months and my stomach was not going down. I do notice it is finally firming up and starting to disappear, I guess sometimes it just takes a bit of time for your body to smarten up smile And, the exercise alone without changing my diet too much caused my bad cholesterol to go down.

        1. habee profile image93
          habeeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          Thanks for the tip about broccoli. As for taters, I haven't consumed an entire potato since last December. lol. I've had about 2 bites of baked potato and 5 fries - in all.

          1. Uninvited Writer profile image80
            Uninvited Writerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Good for you. I thought I was doing good giving up chips, looks like I have to give up potatoes completely smile

      2. rmcrayne profile image90
        rmcrayneposted 11 years agoin reply to this

        Yes.  I get them thru my chiropractor or naturopath, but you can get them on Amazon now.  Not sure how.  They are intended to be dispensed by a licensed provider. 

        You can read about Standard Process on their website or my hub.  They've been around a long time. MDs tend to underdiagnose and under treat thyroid disease.  drrind.com is a really helpful website.  He's A-okay for an MD smile

  4. gramarye profile image60
    gramaryeposted 11 years ago

    Good for you! 50 pounds is great. However, you might be stuck because of the famine effect. When you don't eat, your body stores what it has in case there is no more food. This means it will even store fat supplies for energy. Why not try eating just vegetables so your body is reassured that there is not a famine.

  5. habee profile image93
    habeeposted 11 years ago

    Thanks for the feedback! It IS very frustrating, especially when you live with a man who consumes about 3,000 calories a day, including a lot of sugar. And he's not overweight! The other benefits of my new lifestyle are nice, though - lower LDL, higher HDL, lower triglycerides, and lower blood pressure. Last fall, my doc diagnosed me with diabetes and wanted to put me on meds. I refused, telling her I wanted to see if I could control it with diet and exercise, and I have. Now I have normal blood glucose, and my A1C is 5, which is normal. Yeah!

    1. Duchessoflilac1 profile image63
      Duchessoflilac1posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      YEAH!!!! You stick to your guns on the no meds.

  6. profile image0
    idratherbeposted 11 years ago

    Congrats on you weight loss. Do you eat three meals a day? Many don't, and that is also important for successful weight loss. Biggest loser tape #1 is also a great way to lose. Geared towards everyones physical ability to do exercises at their own pace. My daughter losted over a 100 lbs using the tape.

    1. habee profile image93
      habeeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Great! I'll check that out. Kudos to your daughter!

  7. livelonger profile image85
    livelongerposted 11 years ago

    Wow, habee, congratulations! I've been losing weight since January but I'm only down 20. (10 more and I'm at my goal weight) If you're eating so little, exercising, and still not losing weight, maybe you're carrying water weight from salty meals? I know that as you lose weight, your basal metabolism rate drops - it's more or less proportional to your weight - so it does get harder. I feel like I'm on an asymptotic pattern myself; each month I lose less!

    1. habee profile image93
      habeeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      lol  Congrats on your success! I forgot to mention that I've also reduced my sodium intake. I started using light salt instead of regular. I'm not ready to throw in the towel - I'm hoping that I'm just on a plateau.

  8. TahoeDoc profile image78
    TahoeDocposted 11 years ago

    This sounds crazy, but I hit a big plateau once. I was eating 1400 cal/day and exercising like crazy. It seems I wasn't eating enough. A dietitian tried to tell me that, but I didn't believe her. Then I had my resting metabolic rate tested and it showed I needed more calories at baseline.

    I had to increase my calories- just a bit- by about 250-300 per day of high quality food (especially protein, so I added one Muscle Milk shake per day to my diet). I also added more high-intensity intervals to my exercise (walk/run/walk, for example).
    Within 2 weeks, I started losing weight again. That was a welcome and pleasant surprise.

    I'm still not sure I believe in the whole "starvation mode" thing with too few calories, but at least that one time, it worked for me. Once you get checked out by the endocrinologist, ask for a referral to a qualified dietitian. Also, online sites like Sparkpeople.com and Myfooddiary.com have a lot of great resources and forums for this.

  9. rebekahELLE profile image85
    rebekahELLEposted 11 years ago

    No, I've never had it happen but I read a lot about health related topics.
    Plateaus are pretty common, and perhaps because you've put yourself through so many changes, your body may be giving a signal to take a break and evaluate what your current needs are. I think it's good that you're seeing an endocrinologist just to be on the safe side.

    Do you do strength training? Muscle is more metabolically active than fat and the more muscle you can build, the higher your metabolism.

    Do you know your current caloric intake?

    Congrats on the weight loss and stay positive!

  10. donotfear profile image83
    donotfearposted 11 years ago

    Wow, 50 lbs is a huge success!!!

    I wish I had your will power. I'm back up again just because I'm out of control.

    I found that Weight Watchers is the best thing around. But then again, it could be something physically wrong. You didn't mention thyroid.  Is your thyroid slow? Rats, I know it's frustrating.

  11. Rosie2010 profile image67
    Rosie2010posted 11 years ago

    Wow, habee, congratulations on losing 50 lbs on your own.  That's wonderful.  I'm so happy for you.  I love watching The Biggest Loser on tv and sometimes even with lots of exercise and healthy diet, the contestants are still not losing the weight they wanted.  But I'm rooting for everyone of them.  Now, I'm rooting for you too.

    Go, habee!

    My daughter had also lost 38 lbs on her own, by walking to and from work (1 hr each way) and counting calories.  I'm so proud of her.  She still eats what she wants but in portions, and continues to exercise. 

    Losing 50 lbs in 4 months on your own is an amazing feat!  Again, congrats.

  12. habee profile image93
    habeeposted 11 years ago

    I really appreciate all the support and the great ideas!

  13. sofs profile image76
    sofsposted 11 years ago

    Wow Habee you are an inspiration... You just hit a plateau and once your body adjusts to it you will lose more weight I guess... Go Habee go... smile

    1. Pearldiver profile image67
      Pearldiverposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Yep... I agree. 
      Well Done and don't stress to much over this..
      You'll lose too much weight if you stress too much! smile

  14. profile image0
    PrettyPantherposted 11 years ago

    About 8 years ago, I lost 50 pounds and the same thing happened to me.  I was consuming about 1200 calories a day and exercising for 90 minutes 5 days per week.  My martial arts instructor advised me to increase my calories up to 1500-1600 per day.  Even though it scared me to do it (I was afraid I would start gaining weight), I tried it, and it worked!  Apparently, because of the amount of exercising I was doing, I was starving my body. 

    Anyway, that is what worked for me.  I went on to lose another 30 pounds.

    1. profile image0
      PrettyPantherposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Forgot to say, congrats on what you've done!  It isn't easy.

  15. Don Simkovich profile image62
    Don Simkovichposted 11 years ago

    50 lbs since January is like 12 pounds per month. That's a lot. I don't know what % that is but think of weight loss like a stair step pattern. A plateau for a few weeks isn't bad.

    But remember what was working. I know for a fact, that at dinner I really can't eat anything more different than a vegetable smoothie and a small amount of lean meat.

    My favorite "diet" is really a lifestyle. It's the Zone Diet by Barry Sears. Also, a supplement like Omega 3s can help and drink several 8 ounce glasses of water daily.

  16. Express10 profile image86
    Express10posted 11 years ago

    Most likely you have not stepped up the intensity of your exercise regimen, are eating too few calories, or are doing both. You will plateau if either or both are the issue. Be sure to eat a minimum of 1100 - 1200 calories per day, step up the intensity, and lift some (light) weights to build muscle. Just 20 - 50 minutes 3 times a week on alternate days will be good for you. Muscle will help burn calories whether you're exercising or not and NO you will not bulk up unless you're doing it for hours daily.

  17. livelonger profile image85
    livelongerposted 11 years ago

    Another possibility is that you don't have any more weight to lose.

    1. habee profile image93
      habeeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      lol  I wish!!

  18. gracenotes profile image90
    gracenotesposted 11 years ago

    Wow, Habee, this is very impressive that you lost so many pounds.  I think going to an endocrinologist is a wise idea.

    I am eating to be healthier, and I AM healthier in so many respects, since January (I dropped the wheat from my diet!).  I will be completely clueless, though, if I drop much more below my present weight.  It's a weight I haven't been at in many years.

    Frankly, if I lose 3 more pounds, I'm afraid I will look older than my 60 years. (I really feel like this is why Mitt Romney looks so much older in person.)

    Many of us assume a certain experience will be the case, if we just follow the formula that has been laid out.  Such as?  That where we eventually settle on the scale will turn out to be exactly where we want it.  Reality may prove to be quite unsettling, however.  Often, reality upsets our pet notions about how our body works.

    The whole issue of losing and maintaining body weight couldn't be more complex, or individual.

    Best of luck on your continuing efforts, Habee.

 
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)