How can I get past my plateau?

chelseag2h

I am 5'5", started an 1100 calorie diet on February 12, 2015. My beginning weight was 201 and now I'm at 184.4 but I have hit a plateau. Anything that goes in my mouth I add to MFP religiously! I also have a FitBit synced to MFP and average between 7k to 10k steps a day. I mostly eat All-Bran cereal with Non-Fat vanilla yogurt, tuna fish, cantaloupe, cucumbers, carrots, Smart Ones Thin Crust Pizza (310 cal), Popped Wheat Thins, Laughing Cow Light Swiss Cheese, things like that. I get most of my steps by using my gazelle for 30-45 minutes twice a day. I am a stay at home mom so most of my exercise is from the gazelle.
I take a multi-vitamin and 600mg Potassium daily. And since I eat the All-Bran I make sure I eat at least 100% of my daily fiber. I'm not 'regular', never have been. Which is why I make sure to eat enough fiber.
But I stopped losing weight. Help!!

earlnabby

Can't really tell you anything until you open your diary.

Likely things:

1. You are eating more than you think
2. You are in a temporary self-regulating period because you lost a lot of water weight at the beginning and now your body is trying to add it back on

jamie_lee80

are you weighing your food? I have a food scale at home and at my office and its eye opening to see how much food you are really eating. If you don't have one it doesn't have to be anything fancy. I got both of mine from Amazon and each was only $14. I weigh my fruit, vegatbles, meat....everything. I measure all my liquids with cups/spoons. If you are already weighing/measuring everything then maybe you just need to change up your routine a bit. Try a new exercise?

strong_curves

I'm by no means an expert but:

You probably are eating way more than you think
Invest in a food scale
You could be over-estimating calories burned
1100 calories could be stunting your loss.

Before I even started my weight loss journey, I read & re-read these stickies, so much good information in them all:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10012907/logging-accuracy-consistency-and-youre-probably-eating-more-than-you-think/p1

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

chelseag2h

I just made my diary public. I also drink 60oz of water a day but I don't log them. I do weigh my food. I only eat 1100 calories because most people eat 10% more calories than they think they do. Which is why mine goal is 1100 and not 1200, as my doctor recommended.
Keep the comments coming!!!

faithsimmons526

Or ... it could be just a plateau. Hang in there, if you're eating at a deficit, the weight will come off in it's own good time. I'm going through a plateau at the moment too, but I have before, and it HAS ended ... so I'm waiting patiently.

vmsolko

I agree with everything @strong_curves wrote. If you aren't measuring with a food scale, you're probably eating much larger portions than you are entering. Even using measuring cups is NOT the same as measuring by weight. You could be eating almost 50% more than you think.

In addition, it is probably beneficial to switch up your exercise routine. Once your body gets used to an activity, it begins to get more efficient at it- meaning you burn less calories for the same activity. I'm a SAHM too. I found a free website I love (www.hasfit.com) that has 500+ videos for all fitness levels. A year ago I started doing 10 min videos once a day and progressed from there. They can all be done in your living room with zero equipment. Might be worth checking out to switch up your routine. I find switching it up helps me stick with it because then I'm not getting bored. Best of luck!

chelseag2h

I also don't cook. I prefer to eat food that I can record exact calories for. I use the barcode scanner every chance I get. I'm very OCD about my entire Weight Loss experiment!

kindrabbit

Op, where did you get 1100? I am 5ft 4" and I eat 1350 to loose 1lb a week. I am 153lbs.

chelseag2h

For example, my tuna fish. I use 4 cans and they have 50 calories per serving and 5 servings per can. Then I use 1 1/2 cups (24 tablespoons) of Hellmann's Low Fat Mayo which has 15 calories per tablespoon. Then I add a bunch of dill relish which has zero calories. Adding all that together equals 1360 calories. THEN... I divide the mixture into 6 equal weight portions leaving me with 226.6 calories per portion.
Did I mention I have OCD???

strong_curves

Even those aren't 100% accurate. You really should look into a food scale, you'd be surprised what a really serving is. One of those links I put up earlier should have more info on it if you're interested.

chelseag2h wrote: »

I also don't cook. I prefer to eat food that I can record exact calories for. I use the barcode scanner every chance I get. I'm very OCD about my entire Weight Loss experiment!

chelseag2h

I was reading one of the links you sent and it talks about peanut butter. I have eaten peanut butter and used a tablespoon instead of weighing it. That may be one of my problem areas... I don't know why I crave peanut butter when I diet but I crave it BAD!!

strong_curves wrote: »

Even those aren't 100% accurate. You really should look into a food scale, you'd be surprised what a really serving is. One of those links I put up earlier should have more info on it if you're interested.

chelseag2h wrote: »

I also don't cook. I prefer to eat food that I can record exact calories for. I use the barcode scanner every chance I get. I'm very OCD about my entire Weight Loss experiment!

Lounmoun

How long has it been since you have lost any weight?

I would say be patient for a few weeks, check your logging of food and exercise. Make sure you weigh at the same time of day, same scale under the same conditions. Be aware that some things can cause you to retain water weight like a lot of sodium, your period, if you have done a lot of exercise.

Your calorie goal is probably unnecessarily low to start with. I don't know what your goal is but 1100 is below the recommended minimum and is probably going to be hard to keep up long term. I'm 5'4" and started at 179 lbs and my calorie goal was 1330 to begin to lose 1 lb a week and has lowered a bit as I lost weight.

jkal1979

chelseag2h wrote: »

I also don't cook. I prefer to eat food that I can record exact calories for. I use the barcode scanner every chance I get. I'm very OCD about my entire Weight Loss experiment!

I hate to burst your bubble, but even foods in packages are not 100% correct. Calorie counts on labels can be up to 20% off. You can be more accurate with your calories by using a food scale. Using measuring cups for things like your cereal can cause you to be way off.

You could do a little bit of tightening up on your logging. Avoid using generic entries. Don't use entries that just say "x servings" as the size. For example the tuna that you eat daily. There is no telling how big a serving that actually is. Weigh it out and log it by weight.

Why you should use a food scale:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

Nice2BFitAgain

It sounds like you have a food scale - I would consider weighing that mayo instead of using the measuring spoon, the spoon is NOT accurate and mayo is calorie dense.

How long has you 'plateau' lasted? if you say anything less than a month, then it isn't considered a plateau. You just need to make absolutely sure you are weighing/measuring accurately and keep on keeping on....

ETA - I have to agree, if you are eating 1100 and not losing, you have to be doing it wrong (logging). I also think you could get away with eating a bit more, but not until your logging is accurate. Keep in mind you need to cut down on calories as you progress in weight loss, the lighter you are the less calories you will need.

I am 5'5" and eat 1550 a day with working out 3-5x a week for 35 minutes and lose 1/2 - 1 pound a week.

Good Luck!

chelseag2h

I started on 1100 calories a day because I want to lose 25 pounds as fast as I can due to upcoming surgery. Losing the weight puts my BMI at overweight as opposed to obese. Can't have the surgery if I'm technically 'obese'. I also quit smoking on Feb 3. Most people gain weight when they quit smoking but I have been determined to quit smoking and lose weight at the same time.

jkal1979

If you are having surgery you need to be careful about going too low. You need to make sure that your body is getting enough nutrients from food to make sure that you have a smooth recovery.

chelseag2h

I just watched the video and my bubble just BURST! I need to rethink a lot of things now...

jkal1979 wrote: »

chelseag2h wrote: »

I also don't cook. I prefer to eat food that I can record exact calories for. I use the barcode scanner every chance I get. I'm very OCD about my entire Weight Loss experiment!

urloved33

Do something that shocks your system.

chelseag2h

What do I do if the label reads "1 serving is 1 Tablespoon"?

chelseag2h

Like what? Jumping rope?

urloved33 wrote: »

Do something that shocks your system.

macgurlnet

chelseag2h wrote: »

What do I do if the label reads "1 serving is 1 Tablespoon"?

Is it a solid/semi-solid or a liquid? Liquids are fine to be measured in tablespoons or measuring cups.

For a solid, what I would do is measure out less than that full tablespoon - leave some room at the top of the spoon. Then log it as a tablespoon anyway. That should help make up for any inaccuracy.

~Lyssa

chelseag2h

Like peanut butter reads 1 serving is 2 tablespoons. So I measure 2 FLAT tablespoons, then lick the spoon clean. (I know... gross) Now I'm beginning to wonder if I've been eating 1.5 servings instead of 1.

macgurlnet

It doesn't list grams on the packaging? You're buying the wrong peanut butter

Here's an example of what should be on the package: http://www.jif.com/products/creamy-peanut-butter

I would bet money that your 2 flat tablespoons is easily 1.5 servings or even 2. Plus you've got a few extra from licking the spoon clean...

Measure out 32g and see how much it is. Use that instead of just 2 Tablespoons from this point on; I think the 32g is about average for a serving of peanut butter...

~Lyssa

chelseag2h

Oops. Missed a few questions. My plateau has lasted 2 weeks. My doctor recommended 1200 calories a day and I opted for 1100 calories since most people eat 10% more calories than they think they do. I read that somewhere. And I would like to lose 2 pounds a week instead of just 1.

KourtneyChristine

A change in ur diet might help and trying a difference exercise if you do. And a change in ur diet I mean eat something different for a week and it might push u past your plateau. That's always helped me. So instead of eating my salad I try a veggie soup instead.

chelseag2h

I need to buy a new scale. My sucks.

jrline

change up your workout routine

segacs

2 weeks isn't a plateau. Just keep at it.

Nice2BFitAgain

labels always list grams after the serving size - for instance Skippy peanut butter says Serving Size 2 Tbsp (32g) <--- that is your weight per serving, use that.

StaciMarie1974

The label on peanut butter probably says 1 serving = 2 tablespoons (32 grams). Use the weight. Today I put 28 grams of peanut butter on my sandwich for lunch. 28/32 = .875 so I logged .875 serving. Or I could have scraped some off to be .75 serving (24 grams) or added more to be an even 32 grams. And I logged 2.2 slices of bread because 1 serving = 2 slices (45 grams) but when I weighed my 2 slices, it was 50 grams. 50/45 = 1.11 servings.

Solid food will have nutrition info on the labels in grams in addition to the spoons/cups. It would make live less confusing for a lot of people if they only had the grams and NOT the spoons/cups.