Tips and encouragement during my weight loss stall?

missjazminenicole

I'm 18 lbs down and i just finished my third month. I'm at a stall now that's last at least three weeks and I have been exercising every day and tracking every day as well. I'm frustrated and I really could use advice and tips on how to break the stall, and also how you emotionally cope or wait out stalls like this. Can you share your experience? I'm having trouble feeling like this will pass.

lsaller5

Hi there. Have there been any changes in your life besides your food and exercise routines? Sometimes other factors can impact weight loss.
When I hit a wall with weight loss, I find it really helpful to switch up what exercises I'm doing and eat lower carbs. Hope this helps! I've hit a wall at the moment too. It's frustrating, but possible to get through!

bellabonbons

Increasing calories slightly then decreasing calories will kick start your metabolism again. The body gets comfortable with calories always being the same. With calorie fluctuations it stimulates your metabolism. I learned this from a nutrition professor several years ago in college.

hlofit25

I'm at the early stages of tracking my meals and exercises but I have almost completed my first month. I have actually taken a break from the gym and decided to go running outside in the fresh air and that feeling of being outside motivates me more than anything. With your exercise routines, I think it's important to mix it up so try different activities such as maybe working out with a friend and definitely refreshing your music playlist. I think what really helps is if you have something to look forward to that you really love and enjoy versus something you feel like you have to do.

missjazminenicole

Thanks guys!!!

diannethegeek

These are the things I wish someone had told me during my 8-week stall:

1. If it's been less than 3 weeks or so, don't sweat it! Normal fluctuations happen and unfortunately sometimes we stall for a week or two even when we're doing everything right. Give your body some time to catch up with the changes you're making.

2. If you aren't already, be sure that you're logging everything. Sometimes people forget about things like veggies, drinks, cooking oils, and condiments. For some people these can add up to enough to halt your weight loss progress.

3. Consider buying a food scale if you don't already have one. They're about $10-$20 dollars in the US and easily found at places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Measuring cups and spoons are great, but they do come with some degree of inaccuracy. A food scale will be more accurate, and for some people it makes a big difference.

4. Logging accurately also means choosing accurate entries in the database. There are a lot of user-entered entries that are off. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries.

5. Recalculate your goals if you haven't lately. As you lose weight your body requires fewer calories to run. Be sure you update your goals every ten pounds or so.

6. If you're eating back your exercise calories and you're relying on gym machine readouts or MFP's estimates, it might be best to eat back just 50-75% of those. Certain activities tend to be overestimated. If you're using an HRM or activity tracker, it might be a good idea to look into their accuracy and be sure that yours is calibrated properly.

7. If you're taking any cheat days that go over your calorie limits, it might be best to cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens. Some people go way over their calorie needs without realizing it when they don't track.

8. If you weigh yourself frequently, consider using a program like trendweight to even out the fluctuations. You could be losing weight but just don't see it because of the daily ups and downs.

9. Some people just burn fewer calories than the calculators predict. If you continue to have problems after 4-6 weeks, then it might be worth a trip to the doctor or a registered dietitian who can give you more specific advice.

zcb94

My dietician tells me that momentary plateaus are perfectly normal, because my body is getting used to my lowered set point. In the meantime, be as good as you can, and get ready to be amazed when the scale shows a significant loss soon.

quickster147

Remember! The people that succeed in doing something are the people that keep trying.

You could try lowing the percentage of carbs you eat. Insulin plays a major role in weight loss and lowering the amount carbs you eat should lower the amount of insulin your body produces. Another thing you could try is increasing the amount of fiber you get in your diet. One last thing you could try is to switch up your exercise maybe some interval training.

! have been in your shoes many times so i completely understand.