Hi everyone!

My sister wanted me to ask you all a question for her. She doesn't have a computer so she asked me to do this.

Before the question I'll give some backround. She has gone from 350 pounds to 220 pounds in the last 2 years or so. Her problem is this, she has stayed at 220 for 6 months. She has changed everything she can think of and added more exercise and still no loss. As you can imagine she has gotten very frustrated. Her question - After a significant weight loss is it normal for the weight loss to slow as it has? Is there anyone who has experienced this and what did you do to get out of your rut?

I'd appreciate any responses.

Thanks, Dee:lift:

Stalls are common in a long term weight loss program, but 6 months seems a bit extreme. Does she keep a log of what she has been eating? Sometimes if the calorie count goes too low, weight loss will stop.

What kind of exercise is she doing? What kind of diet program is she following? Has she tweaked it too much so that it is no longer working for her?

Sorry I seem to have more questions than answers.

Hi,

You said she's tried everything, so I don't know if this applies, but maybe the amount of calories she was consuming when she started her diet was enough to make her lose weight, but now that she's lost so much, she might need to go a little lower to keep losing. Perhaps she's consuming just enough to maintain her weight, but not to lose. Just a thought. Hope she gets it worked out!

Maybe you could post a typical day's menu for us. I lost 201 pounds and while weight loss slowed down, I never had a stall for more than a few weeks. What we eat can very much affect how we lose. A visit to a nutritionist could be of great benefit. Also, if she was eating too little while losing, she could have screwed up her thyroid. That is a simple blood test to check.

Hi, as you lose weight, it takes less calories to maintain that lighter weight. So if you eat the same as when you started, you will lose slower. A way to counteract that some is to build some lean muscle through resistance training. If you want to eat the same amount of calories, (you can, you know) try increasing your intense exercise minutes.

To your continued success!

Thanks for all the responses.

She is on the Jenny Craig program. She started out with 2500 calories a day and has been lowerd to 2000. Perhaps she should be lowered again. What do you think?

She goes to the gym 3 or more times a week and spend 1 1/2 hours doing various weight training and cardio exercises. She has added a day and nothing changed.

Dee :rose:

She goes to the gym 3 or more times a week and spend 1 1/2 hours doing various weight training and cardio exercises. She has added a day and nothing changed.

I would ask "How intense are her exercise minutes" and how much of that time is really exercising, as in chatting, locker room, bathroom, etc.

If she is uncomfortable lowering her calories, I would up the exercise, but 2000 calories sounds like a lot for weight loss in general to me. Even more then I could have for maintenance.

How about adding some cardio she could do at home? How about simple things like parking far away, etc.?

What is the quality of the foods she is eating, and does she have variety? Lots of fruits and veggies and whole grains? Low fat proteins? Some good fats?

A lot to think about.

There is something halting her progress, she just needs to figure out what it is. But she is not losing at 2000 calories, soooo.......

Yep, I agree. It may be time to lower the calorie count again. Increasing the amount of exercise won't hurt either (but sometimes I know the extra time can be difficult if you have a tight schedule).

I just did a simple calculation, and even if she was sedentary, which she isn't, she should still be losing nearly 2lbs/week by eating 2000 calories. This is because she'd need around 2900 calories to maintain (she probably needs even more than that since she isn't sedentary.) SO, I change my mind, I don't think this is a calorie deficit problem. It could be, if other factors are coming into play, but on the surface, it doesn't seem that way. I wonder what it could be.....

Alright, my two cents. I am currently eating 1200 calories a day, exercising 40-50 mins of cardio every day and doing weights three times a week and I am only losing about two pounds a week. So, it just might be that she has a slower metabolism. Reducing calories for a week or so can't hurt.

Does she measure? It is also possible that some of her weight has bcome muscle (likely with the weight training).