Platuea City- IIFYM Dieter- Lifter

Just looking for tips/advice on ways people have broken through their plateau. I've been sitting at 145 for a few weeks now.. no change.

I work out 5 days a week.. hit my macros pretty religiously.. (I'm not ALWAYS perfect.. there have been a couple of birthday parties in there).

Macros are as follows:
-Calories- 1537
-Carbs- 107
-Fat- 59
-Protein- 145.

I lift four to five times a week with the OCCASIONAL (very occasional) cardio session.

I just want to lean out a little bit more.. 8-10 pounds would be AMAZING.

So... how have some of you broken through that plateau?

Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    With very little to lose, it's going to be incredibly slow...you should be looking at about 0.5 Lbs per week tops...due to natural fluctuations, that's difficult to see on the scale. I pretty much take things in about 6 week increments when I'm cutting like that.
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
    Eating a bit more can help. I hit a big plateau after I lost a bunch of weight. I upped my calories and carbs and the weight loss started up again. As you get leaner, you need to eat more, since your spare energy reserve (body fat) is getting low.

    Allan
  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
    There is no such thing as a plateau. If you were losing weight before, then you were eating at a deficit. That same guideline still applies now. There isnt a wall holding things up for you.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    With very little to lose, it's going to be incredibly slow...you should be looking at about 0.5 Lbs per week tops...due to natural fluctuations, that's difficult to see on the scale. I pretty much take things in about 6 week increments when I'm cutting like that.

    this. taking progress pics is useful too.
  • KylaDenay
    KylaDenay Posts: 1,585 Member
    A plateau simply means you are eating at maintenance. Reassess your goals. Make sure that your calorie counting is on point, weighing and measuring everything.

    Also a plateau is having no weight loss for 6 weeks or more when being consistent.
  • sljohnson1207
    sljohnson1207 Posts: 818 Member
    When you say you work out 5 times per week, is that all lifting? How long are your workouts? How much cardio? Any other exercise like yoga, pilates, sports? Do you have an active job, or are you mostly sedentary other than your workouts?

    Maybe you just need to shake things up a bit if you've been doing the same thing over and over Adaptation may have set in, and like another poster said, maybe you are eating at maintenance, but at 5'6" and 145 working out 5 days per week, that still seems like it would be deficit intake. I could be wrong.

    You could try switching up your macros a bit. You are kind of lower carb right now at 28% carbs/34% fat/38% protein. If your goal was to be lower carb, upping fats would be better than upping proteins. So maybe do an experiment for at least 4-6 weeks, and lower the protein slightly, up the fats a little. Or, if all your exercise is lifting, I'd up the carbs to maybe 40%, then fat at 30%, and protein at 30%...roughly. Doesn't have to be exact. The point is to shake things up for a long enough time to see if it makes a difference. One or two weeks isn't going to show a trend, just a couple data points.

    Or keep your macros the same and shake up your exercise routine. Pick a different weight routine, try plyometrics, spinning, running, mountain biking, walking, yoga, a sport or two, and some cardio in addition to 1-2 days of lifting. Maybe try some HIIT in there, or some classes at a gym. Maybe Crossfit or P90X? Do something different every day. So many options to choose from.

    No matter what you try, you look great in your pictures, so maybe going lower than 145 on the scale isn't the goal you need to focus on. Maybe it's gaining more lean mass and shredding more fat to look more ripped.