What to do if you get stuck in the same weight...

I have been stuck in the same weight for a while after losing 30lbs it been hard for me to lose more my weight fluctuates up and down by a pound or 2 i want to lose another 15lbs to reach my goal but it been hard idk if im just gaining muscle i work out 4x a week mix cardio and do treadmill and eleptical also some weights im 5'1 weight 150 now 29 yrs old any suggestions

Replies

  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
    In general, when you're at a sticking point, tighten everything down. Ramp up the intensity in your workouts. Keep the cardio in high intensity intervals. Lift hard and keep the pacing fast. Really dial in your nutrition...weigh and measure the foods you're eating. It's easy to eat more than you think if you're not actually measuring out your portions.

    If you're doing that and still not losing weight or inches from your body measurements, then you'll need to adjust something. You can cut ~200 calories from your diet (if you're eating more than 1300-1400 cal/day) or increase your exercise. People make the best progress when they're working out hard ~5-6 days/week and doing a mix of hard resistance training (as the base of your exercise regime) with high intensity cardio intervals. Really push yourself.

    If you're stuck and eating ~1200 cal/day, then you should not eat less than that. You should start a reverse diet to get your calorie intake up and boost your metabolism (put weight loss on pause), so you can do an effective body fat cut later.
  • ritzbits190
    ritzbits190 Posts: 36 Member
    Cut a 100-200 calories from your diet for a few days and you should see a movement. I've had this happen a few times where I was stuck at a weight and was convinced I would stay there. Eventually i gathered enough willpower to be very good and cut some more calories and I saw the shift.
  • JeepHair77
    JeepHair77 Posts: 1,291 Member
    How long have you been stuck? Have you re-evaluated your TDEE since losing the initial 30 pounds? you may just be eating close to maintenance, since you're burning fewer calories now, at a lower body mass.

    But also - I know the "set point" theory isn't really popular around here, but I do think there's a certain adjustment your body goes through after losing some weight, and during that adjustment, you seem to stall. If you just stick with it, you may start losing again. I was stuck at the same weight for over a month - so frustrating, and I was doing everything right. But I was patient and kept at it, and the weight did start coming off again.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    As @SezxyStef says, you aren't gaining muscle with some weights.

    As we get close to goal we have to be more vigilent with our calorie tracking, be as accurate as you can, use a food scale etc, tighten the logging and you'll be back on a losing streak.
  • btodd304
    btodd304 Posts: 106 Member
    Sounds weird and Idk if it works but i heard if you plateau to try your workouts in reverse. Your body gets used to what it does sometimes and this can kickstart you back to losing.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    btodd304 wrote: »
    Sounds weird and Idk if it works but i heard if you plateau to try your workouts in reverse. Your body gets used to what it does sometimes and this can kickstart you back to losing.

    Exercise isn't needed for weight loss so ....
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    JeepHair77 wrote: »
    How long have you been stuck? Have you re-evaluated your TDEE since losing the initial 30 pounds? you may just be eating close to maintenance, since you're burning fewer calories now, at a lower body mass.

    But also - I know the "set point" theory isn't really popular around here, but I do think there's a certain adjustment your body goes through after losing some weight, and during that adjustment, you seem to stall. If you just stick with it, you may start losing again. I was stuck at the same weight for over a month - so frustrating, and I was doing everything right. But I was patient and kept at it, and the weight did start coming off again.
    mainly because it hasn't been proven through studies yet...

    a stall/plateau that lasts more than 4-6 weeks means you are eating at maintenance...our bodies don't choose to stay as a certain weight because it "likes it there"

    But after losing weight your body does need less food to fuel it...
  • btodd304
    btodd304 Posts: 106 Member
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    btodd304 wrote: »
    Sounds weird and Idk if it works but i heard if you plateau to try your workouts in reverse. Your body gets used to what it does sometimes and this can kickstart you back to losing.

    Exercise isn't needed for weight loss so ....

    Never said it was, she stated she was working out that was what my response was in reference to so...
  • JeepHair77
    JeepHair77 Posts: 1,291 Member
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    JeepHair77 wrote: »
    How long have you been stuck? Have you re-evaluated your TDEE since losing the initial 30 pounds? you may just be eating close to maintenance, since you're burning fewer calories now, at a lower body mass.

    But also - I know the "set point" theory isn't really popular around here, but I do think there's a certain adjustment your body goes through after losing some weight, and during that adjustment, you seem to stall. If you just stick with it, you may start losing again. I was stuck at the same weight for over a month - so frustrating, and I was doing everything right. But I was patient and kept at it, and the weight did start coming off again.
    mainly because it hasn't been proven through studies yet...

    a stall/plateau that lasts more than 4-6 weeks means you are eating at maintenance...our bodies don't choose to stay as a certain weight because it "likes it there"

    But after losing weight your body does need less food to fuel it...

    Sure, but a 4-6 week plateau is kind of what I'm talking about. I don't necessarily buy into the thing where your body is fighting you and "likes it" at whatever weight, but sometimes there's a plateau, with no particular explanation, other than the fact that a 30-pound weight loss is significant enough to cause your body to operate a little differently, and it adjusts. That's why I asked her how long she'd been stuck.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    btodd304 wrote: »
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    btodd304 wrote: »
    Sounds weird and Idk if it works but i heard if you plateau to try your workouts in reverse. Your body gets used to what it does sometimes and this can kickstart you back to losing.

    Exercise isn't needed for weight loss so ....

    Never said it was, she stated she was working out that was what my response was in reference to so...

    then how is reversing workouts going to help her lose weight????
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    JeepHair77 wrote: »
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    JeepHair77 wrote: »
    How long have you been stuck? Have you re-evaluated your TDEE since losing the initial 30 pounds? you may just be eating close to maintenance, since you're burning fewer calories now, at a lower body mass.

    But also - I know the "set point" theory isn't really popular around here, but I do think there's a certain adjustment your body goes through after losing some weight, and during that adjustment, you seem to stall. If you just stick with it, you may start losing again. I was stuck at the same weight for over a month - so frustrating, and I was doing everything right. But I was patient and kept at it, and the weight did start coming off again.
    mainly because it hasn't been proven through studies yet...

    a stall/plateau that lasts more than 4-6 weeks means you are eating at maintenance...our bodies don't choose to stay as a certain weight because it "likes it there"

    But after losing weight your body does need less food to fuel it...

    Sure, but a 4-6 week plateau is kind of what I'm talking about. I don't necessarily buy into the thing where your body is fighting you and "likes it" at whatever weight, but sometimes there's a plateau, with no particular explanation, other than the fact that a 30-pound weight loss is significant enough to cause your body to operate a little differently, and it adjusts. That's why I asked her how long she'd been stuck.

    But see there is always a reason for not losing weight.

    Typically it's because people are eating too much. If 30lbs is lost and you are still eating the same amount of calories...bingo..eating too much food.

    Sometimes it can be masked by water weight from too much sodium or new exercise or time of the month or even cortisol (stress hormone) which we women are famous for....

    new exercise can take up to 4-6 weeks for our bodies to let go of the "water retention/glycogen stores" from the new exercise.

    But again unless it's an undiagnosed medical condition and there is a stall there is always a reason...
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    also the less weight you have to lose the slower it is at coming off.as for eating less for a few days.a few days is usually not enough time to see a difference. weight loss takes time and a few days isnt going to be the plateau breaker. you may lose some water weight but it wont be fat
  • btodd304
    btodd304 Posts: 106 Member
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    btodd304 wrote: »
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    btodd304 wrote: »
    Sounds weird and Idk if it works but i heard if you plateau to try your workouts in reverse. Your body gets used to what it does sometimes and this can kickstart you back to losing.

    Exercise isn't needed for weight loss so ....

    Never said it was, she stated she was working out that was what my response was in reference to so...

    then how is reversing workouts going to help her lose weight????

    Since you seem to have all the answers, why wouldn't it??????
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    btodd304 wrote: »
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    btodd304 wrote: »
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    btodd304 wrote: »
    Sounds weird and Idk if it works but i heard if you plateau to try your workouts in reverse. Your body gets used to what it does sometimes and this can kickstart you back to losing.

    Exercise isn't needed for weight loss so ....

    Never said it was, she stated she was working out that was what my response was in reference to so...

    then how is reversing workouts going to help her lose weight????

    Since you seem to have all the answers, why wouldn't it??????

    because you don't need exercise to lose weight...and if you are following MFP method you are eating back exercise calories so it wouldn't matter what order you did the exercise in.....

    plus you asserted it...you need to prove why it would help the OP lose weight....so please enlighten me on how reversing the order in which you do your workouts going to help you lose weight????
  • an0nemus
    an0nemus Posts: 149 Member
    zuly886 wrote: »
    I have been stuck in the same weight for a while after losing 30lbs it been hard for me to lose more my weight fluctuates up and down by a pound or 2 i want to lose another 15lbs to reach my goal but it been hard idk if im just gaining muscle i work out 4x a week mix cardio and do treadmill and eleptical also some weights im 5'1 weight 150 now 29 yrs old any suggestions

    Eating at a deficit you won't build muscle.

    I have found the last 10 lbs to be the most difficult part of the journey (I've gotten there 2x, and ballooned up 2x).

    The closer you are to your goal, the less of a fudge factor (poor word choosing there...) you have. Typically I would restrict my diet to just protein and veggies...I hated it, but it would restart the weight loss.
  • AndrewD315
    AndrewD315 Posts: 57 Member
    Put new weight into MFP to get proper cal totals 30 lbs at your height may chance allowance alot.
  • zuly886
    zuly886 Posts: 30 Member
    Thank You all i will try weighting my food better i usually eat 1300 calories a day