Advice for plateauing?

Rinny73

I know plateaus have been talked to death, but I am hoping for some specific answers.

Since working out I've been really, really hungry and just craving food all the time. When I first started MFP I wasn't working out as much (just doing some light yoga and dance for 1hr), but logging religiously, and losing close to 2lbs a week. About three months later I revved up my exercise routine...I do dance practice for about two hours every other day. I do HIIT for about 20-30min and some weight training (push-ups, pull-ups, squats with 15lb weights) on my non-dance days.

When I wasn't working out as much it was easier to gauge my hunger and eat responsibly. But now that I'm working out so much I feel I can't get a handle on my appetite. I feel like I did before I decided to lose weight, either constantly hungry or just craving food (especially carbs!). Because of this I've been maintaining the same weight for about 5 weeks.

I think I should probably do less cardio and more lifting--and I would LOVE to do more lifting!--and eating more protein, but going to the gym is not an option for me, unfortunately. Also, I don't want to stop doing my dance practice just to stop the carbohydrate cravings. My dance skills have been improving a lot lately, and I would hate to give it up and sacrifice all my gains.

So my problem is I don't know how to manage the calories along with my activity. I've tried eating back my calories, but I'm very skeptical of the amount calories MFP says I burn during exercise. I've tried changing my activity level from 'light' to 'moderate' to see if I get enough calories that way. Seems like even that is too much.

ARRRGGhhh!! I'm begging for your help, MFP comm. Thanks in advance for your help.

fearlessleader104

How much water are you drinking?

Rinny73

You got me there...I'm not really sure. But I would guess about half a gallon since I drink my water out of a medium size mason jar pretty much all day long.

fearlessleader104

Drink more water and you will be fine

Christine_72

How does water help with weight loss?

fearlessleader104

No idea.

MissJay75

Have you been taking measurements and pictures? Are your clothes fitting any better? With that much dancing, you may be getting some body recomp, and losing inches instead of pounds. Hard to say.

I took a look at the last few weeks of your diary and I noticed a few things:
1) pretty inconsistent logging
2) calories are way too low for the amount of activity you said you are doing
3) no record of calories burned
4) on average way too little protein.

I have found eating 80-100 grams of protein a day helps me stay fuller longer and cuts out my carb cravings. But if you really want to get off your plateau, you need to log everything you eat, and your workouts. (Get a heart rate monitor if you don't like MFP's numbers). Then eat the number of calories MFP tells you to eat. Every. Day. After you do that for a month, if the scale and the measurements don't change, you know you are at a plateau and you can drop a couple hundred calories a day.

Rinny73

MissJay75 wrote: »

Have you been taking measurements and pictures? Are your clothes fitting any better? With that much dancing, you may be getting some body recomp, and losing inches instead of pounds. Hard to say.

I took a look at the last few weeks of your diary and I noticed a few things:
1) pretty inconsistent logging
2) calories are way too low for the amount of activity you said you are doing
3) no record of calories burned
4) on average way too little protein.

I have found eating 80-100 grams of protein a day helps me stay fuller longer and cuts out my carb cravings. But if you really want to get off your plateau, you need to log everything you eat, and your workouts. (Get a heart rate monitor if you don't like MFP's numbers). Then eat the number of calories MFP tells you to eat. Every. Day. After you do that for a month, if the scale and the measurements don't change, you know you are at a plateau and you can drop a couple hundred calories a day.

You're right. I've been getting really lazy about my logging lately because it just feels like I'm going back to my old carb munching habits and I'm being coward about facing my choices. I feel like I've been eating lots though.

I've lost an additional inch in my arms, but my bust and hips have remained the same.

I usually don't keep a record of my burned calories because I didn't think MFP was very accurate about calories burned from exercise. Every time I log my activity the calories burned always seemed way too high. Maybe I should just trust it.

I've been trying to figure out how to get more protein into my diet that's convenient and fast. As it is now, I always have to cook my protein (eggs, chicken, fish) and sometimes I just don't have the time to do all that. It never occurred to me to try protein powder. I think I'll pick up a batch.

MissJay75

If you are worried that the number is too high, you could eat back half, of 3/4. But be consistent and log it. It's like money in the bank, you have to keep track of it to know how much you have to spend!

I like greek yogurt, hard boiled eggs, & peanut butter on apples for quick protein. I also cook up a bunch of chicken at the beginning of the week, and keep it on hand to throw on a salad or whatever. That way I don't need to cook one every single time I need to eat. I keep protein powder on hand as a back up too.

You can do this!!

Rinny73

I'm feeling a bit more motivated now. I think the harder workouts have been throwing me off a bit psychologically. I need to go back to what was working: logging and eating more protein and veggies.

Thanks, MissJay!

ninerbuff

It's not a plateau if there's been no consistency for at least 6 weeks or more. The resolve would be to log all your calories burned and consumed and make sure you're in a moderate deficit.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition