Weight Loss Plateau

rarebird1977

Hello All,

I'm new here!

Been trying to lose 50lbs for a while but can't seem to get below 200 lbs.

I'm currently eating 1500 calories a day. I don't feel like I'm starving at this calorie level and I also feel like I have enough energy to work out.

I do feel like I'm eating too many carbs even though I'm keeping my fat lower.

I tried low carb dieting and I hated it and didn't lose a pound. I will never go on a low carb diet again in my life but I do believe I need to up the protein but I feel like it's too hard to get into my diet for some reason.

I exercise, namely walking. I'm not as consistent as I should be.

I'm restarting my journey and want to really do things better and more consistent this time.

Has anyone else out there ever faced a weight loss plateau. I find that it makes me really apathetic and saps my resolve which is why I work at weight loss halfheartedly at times.

Would love any advice on how to bust this plateau.

chimpy123

I got off my weight loss stall using cardio, weight training, and changing my macros - with my intake I shoot for 30% fat, 35% protein, 35% carbs (b/c I hate low carb and it makes me feel like garbage). Also weighing and measuring my food made a huge difference - food scale was a must for me. Just make sure your fat intake is mostly healthy fats (like avocado and nuts)

rarebird1977

Thanks for that advice Chimpy!

What calorie level do you shoot for? I'm currently at 1500 but think I'll reduce to around 1300.

Also, how often do you exercise? I was killing myself with cardio but honestly not seeing results has made me kind of bitter, lol.

diannethegeek

1. If it's been less than 3 weeks or so since you last saw a drop on the scale, 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.