I am stalled already..is this normal?

[fistula]

Well I started 5/18 at 254 and was down to 243 within a week. Now in the past week I cant get below 242 and Im not losing inches either.

Im not cheating.. i drink water only typical meals day-

2eggs 1/2 slice cheese and some ham or sausage for breakfast

chicken or chef salad for lunch - no dressing or tomato/carrot

4-6 oz portion of beef/chicken + some veggies (green beans or caulfilower) for dinner

occasional snack of a dill pickle or oz of cheese

any ideas or is this normal? Im starting to get concerned that maybe all my lost weight was water and im not getting anywhere

thanks

[LucyLucy]

track your progress in www.fitday.com, but according to your menu I don't see much fats. You lost 11lbs in less than 3 weeks, that's awesome! You probably won't lose consistently, it will come in spurts because your body has to get used to losing the weight. Also take measurements, measure once a month, you will see that they don't always happen together.

If you're exercising, you are building muscle, and you may need more carbs & calories to make up for that.

LL :)

[ccarter25]

You might want to beef up the calories so your body doesn't think it's starving. And for goodness sakes, pour the Ranch (or other fatty) dressing to that salad!

[bcbeauty]

They are right about the fats and the calories. Also... remember that 1st huge loss is mostly water and it comes off incredibly fast....unfortunately our weight doesn't keep going at that rate. We have good weeks and not so good weeks. Aways remember...at least its not going up.:D Be patient. This plan is truly wonderful if you give it the time and effort it deserves.

[fistula]

Its weird cause I would eat more but I dont get hungry much. I dont like salad dressing either :)

So do you guys think I need more fats? Like eat more ground beef and hot dogs and cheese OR should i just keep doing what i am doing and hope for the best?

Thanks

[jagbender]

http://www.ecybex.com/education/calculators/bmr_calc.html
Calculate your BMR and adjust for activity level. take that amount and go 10 - 15% less. If you go below 15% of adjusted BMR you won't lose fat. You will ose muscle and fat. I have several posts on the Newbie forum about BMR.
Check it out.

Jag

[fistula]

hey thanks man for the BMR info..

this says i should have 2,943 calories a day. OMG even with the 10-15% off thats still a ton more than I eat now. Heres my fitday journal (only 2 days)

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=fistula1974

so do i really need to upgrade my calorie count this much? It seems like so much to eat!

[I mean it!]

Hi, if this is all you are eating, your body is in starvation mode! 900 to 1200 calories is not nearly enough. I would recommend adding fats to your foods, in the form of butter, oil or cream. Put some cream in your eggs, and fry them in butter or oil. Use ground flax seed on your salad. It gives it a nutty taste and provides good omega oils and fat, as well as fiber. Experiment with different salad dressings. I am kinda picky about salad dressings, and I found a new one that is SO delicious, it is worth the extra carbs. It is called Brianna's Home Style Poppy seed Dressing. It has 6 grams carbohydrate for every 2 tablespoons. I love it on fresh spinach. From what I have observed, some people cannot lose unless they are eating enough fat. I think the recommended ratio is something like 65% fat, 8%carbs, and 27% protein. Keep up the good work! Carlene

[erinleigh]

Don't worry your body has to catch up with you!!! It'll be fine! You'll be losing before you know it!! :) Good job so far by the way! You are doing great!

[blue4lemon]

Sometimes your body wants to stop losing weight for a short period. It will pick up again, and a TRUE stall lasts months with no real reason, as it means you have assessed your diet completely along with your exercise, medications and lifestyle habits and found nothing that would stop you from losing.

[fistula]

Thanks all for your help.. Ive eaten more calories and fat over the past 3 days (about 1800 compared to 1200) and it seems im back on track again.

awesoem
thx

[jagbender]

Fistula, Glad to hear its working.
Its funny about the BMR isn't it.
You should be up to about 2475 calories a day though.
Jag

[VanWinkle]

Fistula, I was like you. I started out with too few calories, lost a lot (but not nearly as much as you), then slowed. I've since pretty much figured out that I need 2500 calories to stay even. I want to lose 2 pounds a week (so I'm at my goal in a year) so I'm keeping it around 1500 calories. I intend to boost it as my exercise program gets me in better shape. The more muscle you have the more calories you can eat and not gain fat.

I did use fitday for a week to get an idea of what my percentages were and how I was doing on nutrition. I found that I need to up the good vegetables quite a bit. I now have 6 to 10 servings of green beans (4 net carbs per cup), broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, spinach, kale, brussel sprouts, mixed salads a day and I feel great and my net carbs are around 40. I also try not to overdo the protein and since I'm doing South Beach I'm watching the saturated fats, but not very closely (I do have sausage for breakfast about every other day).

I've only been doing this for just over a month and a half, but I feel really good. I'm at a good calorie level, I'm eating regularly and no junk. I am drinking plenty of water and gave up the diet sodas.

So, start using fitday and get into an eating plan that you can sustain for life. I'm hoping that I have. We will see in a few years.

[jagbender]

I have a simple Excel spread sheet that will calculate
macro nutrients Fat, Protein and carbs percentages.
You have to add item, calories, fat g, protein g and carbs g and the spreadsheet totals everything.

If interested PM me with your Email address.

Jag

[Chas]

Oh! I think I understand the BMR stuff now.

The quotient was how much calories your body needs in a day. Right?

So, the first week I lost 10 pounds, the last week (this one) I haven't lost anything.

Example of daily food intake:

Breakfast: 2 fried eggs in olive oil / 3 slices bacon / 16 oz water

Lunch: About 12 chicken wings baked in olive oil w/ 0 carb hot wing sauce / a couple celery stalks / 16 oz water

Snack: 2 slices unprocessed cheese / 16 oz water

Dinner: Baked chicken breast / steamed brocolli w/ cheddar cheese / 16 oz water

Snack: (while I'm at work for 12 hours)

3 stalk celery
1/2 cuke slices
pork rinds
48 oz water


When I get home in the morning I usually do 30 minutes of Power Yoga / Pilates. Then try to rest.

[idontno]

your body has to readjust every now and then. 1 1/2 to two pounds loss per week is about perfect. atkins works throw the scales away measure. good luck drink tons of water!

[blue4lemon]

we would need to know when you started, your activity level, etc....you are going to stall most likely at least once. it can happen as soon as you lose that first big amount of weight.

[em200460]

I am so glad that you asked that question. I am not losing hardly anything and I was about to give up. I need to get back on track now. Thank you,thank you thank you. EM :D :D :D