Pick me apart. Plateaued and in need of modifications.

freespirit427

Hello,

So Ive been at a plateau for about 8 weeks now. I need someone to pick my regimen apart to bust through.

Okay, started off in August 2015 at nearly 230 lbs. I am 5'3 and was lightly active. Spent most of my time at work on feet etc.

I am down to 181 and have been stuck since thr beginning of May 2016.

I lost most of the weight at 1400 to 1500 calories. Also using mfp and my friend the food scale. I drink loads of water an have my daily amouts bottled out each day.

Before I go any further I want to mention that I have hypothyroidism and am on Levothyroxin 75 mcg every other day and 50 mcg alternate.

Anyway, I was just gifted a fitbit about a month ago and it does help me move even more. I work out four times weekly. Monday thru Thursday because the weekends are usually terribly busy.

My workout regimen is usually 30 minutes on treadmill 4mph and 4% incline. And 2 days I lift weights at 30 lbs, 20 reps of legs lifts, chest press, chest fly, lateral pull downs both front and back. And the other two days are 8 lbs bands and dumb bells, arm lifts, hindu squats, abdominal leg lifts and lunges.

Ive hit plateaus before and as I've read in the community after about 2 weeks it pushes through the wall. But after nearly 2 months I am worried.

I also hit my 10k + steps per day.

I am currentlt eating between 1400 and 1500 daily. I just moved my calories up because when I dropped them to 1400 after my weight drop from 190 to the 180s I figured I didnt need all of those calories.

I moved the calories back up a few days ago.

What the heck can I change or do different?

Thank you in advance.

StaciMarie1974

How meticulous are you with logging accuracy? Weigh every solid item, or do you estimate based on feeling confident that you know the portion sizes? By every, I also mean prepackaged items like buns, slices of bread and such.

Other question: when was the last time your thyroid/hormone levels were checked?

Francl27

Do you eat exercise calories back? If not, my only guess is that you're eating more than you think. Maybe you're not using the right entries. Are you weighing everything, even packaged food?

Muscleflex79

this isn't the answer to why you aren't losing (see above replies for that), but you may want to look into a progressive lifting program - the 'program' you listed above looks odd...

vixtris

I suggest to not lower your calorie intake below 1,400 if you do not feel comfortable doing so. Either do a more intense cardio workout (jog instead of walk on the treadmill, or put the incline higher) and for longer. Try that for 2 weeks and see what happens. You could also switch out some of your lifting workouts for cardio instead (you didn't mention how many days/week you use the treadmill)

dr_soda

When was the last time you updated your current weight vs goal weight? If you were to re-enter your goal, with today as your starting point and your current weight as your starting weight, you may find MFP gives you a different (and likely lower) daily calorie goal.

Bearbo27

In the past when I would hit a plateau, I would eat at maintenance for a day or two, then jump back into my deficit. I don't know why but it seemed to work and I would start to lose again. Of course I would first make sure your logging is perfect first. Also, like the previous poster mentioned, are you logging and eating back the exercise calories? If so, how are you measuring calories burned?

Asher_Ethan

How do you calculate your exercise calorie burn?

johnnylakis

freespirit427 wrote: »

Before I go any further I want to mention that I have hypothyroidism and am on Levothyroxin 75 mcg every other day and 50 mcg alternate.

I think this may be the reason

kshama2001

@freespirit427 few suggestions:

1. Try changing your Sugar nutrient to Fiber and make sure you hit your goal daily.
2. I don't track Sodium myself, but I noticed you go over a lot and eat a lot of packaged foods. It's possible these foods do not satiate you well and so you eat more than you would with other food choices.
3. I shifted my macros around and found when I eat closer to 40% carbs, 30% fat, and 30% protein, I feel fuller with less calories.

bathmatt12345

With your medical condition, I would ask your doctor to check your medication/hormone levels as a start.

freespirit427

bathmatt12345 wrote: »

With your medical condition, I would ask your doctor to check your medication/hormone levels as a start.

I am checked every 3 months. So far Doc is happy with my levels.

freespirit427

I do not eat back my exercise calories at all.

cbelc2

Try cooking at home and eating more of a Mediterranean style and less food that comes out of a factory.

WickedPineapple

StaciMarie1974 wrote: »

How meticulous are you with logging accuracy? Weigh every solid item, or do you estimate based on feeling confident that you know the portion sizes? By every, I also mean prepackaged items like buns, slices of bread and such.

Agreed, weigh everything solid. I looked through your food diary and it appears as though you're not weighing everything, so I would suggest tightening that up. (I saw a 1 oz pancake. I mean, maybe you ate a really small pancake or a piece of someone else's. That's cool, but stuff like that is a red flag.) Don't use cups. It's also tempting to use # of something (1 slice of bread or cheese, 1 bagel, 1 cookie, 12 chips). Weight it! You'll be surprised how much some foods vary from what they say they should weigh. Specifically, weigh your salad, protein powder, blueberries, popcorn, cheesecake, cheese, bagels, watermelon, nutrition bars, cookies, english muffins, burger/veggie pattys, etc.

Also, eat out less while actively trying to lose weight. Even if the restaurant provides nutritional information, the amount they actually give you is going vary from that value. When you do eat out, avoid high calories things they don't weigh/measure as part of preparation like mayo based dressings, bread, pasta, fries, chips, etc. Restaurants will tend to weigh steak and other meat because of it's higher value.

Verify that the entry you are using in your log matches what's on the product. (I also use USDA entries for produce.)

AliceDark

When did you start the exercise program? Have you changed your exercise program at all in the last two months?