How to overcome a plateau

vivianvirachith

Hi everyone,
A little over a year ago I gave birth to my son. I gained 50 pounds during my pregnancy, lost 20 immediately, and 10 more while nursing. When I stopped nursing, I gained those 10 back and have hovered at 160-164 ever since. I've cut my calories back (taking in about 1500 a day) in hopes to overcome this plateau. I've also taken up biking and ashtanga yoga. I've also just recently recovered from 13 years of battling bulimia- a month of abstinence, my longest bout in my life- as recommended by my therapist I don't weigh myself more than once a month.. but after working so hard for a month, sometimes two workouts a day, working on strength and endurance, it hasn't budged. It's very discouraging and I'll admit I cried for a good hour after stepping on the scale.

I need tips on how to overcome this.. it's so discouraging as I am trying to better myself but nothing is happening I've tried cutting back to 1300 a day but it's very difficult.

DonM46

Some have 'jostled' their systems by increasing the calorie intake for a couple of days, then cut back. Might work. I'm on maintenance now, and have been since 2011. However, while I was losing weight, I hit a plateau the endured for 6 weeks. I was following my calorie budget, getting close on macros, etc, NOTHING had changed, but my loss stopped.
Not knowing what to do, I just stubbornly stayed with what I was doing, and my losses began to happen again.
So, I overcame my plateau by doing nothing different -- just staying with the program.
I know ... patience.
I don't have much!

JeromeBarry1

Tip #1: Don't give up.
Tip #2: Re-evaluate your food weighing and logging. Re-evaluate the honesty and accuracy of your food logging.
Re-evaluate the food database entries you are using in your logging.
Tip #3: Be skeptical of the calorie burn attributed to your yoga, especially if you have been eating back most or all of your exercise calories.
Repeat Tip #1.
Keep trying. If you feel tired, weak, grumpy, or any of the other symptoms of being calorie- or macro-deprived, re-evaluate your macros and calories again.

Reducing calories isn't always the answer. Neither is raising them. Sometimes something as simple as drinking 12 cups of water every day for a week will convince your body to release long-stored water. Perhaps something as simple as a few days off from exercising, or even a few days of increased intensity in exercising, or even a higher intake of insoluble fiber. Just repeat Tip #1 as needed.

Your baby is adorable and that recent picture of you indicates that you are as well.

psuLemon

vivianvirachith wrote: »

Hi everyone,
A little over a year ago I gave birth to my son. I gained 50 pounds during my pregnancy, lost 20 immediately, and 10 more while nursing. When I stopped nursing, I gained those 10 back and have hovered at 160-164 ever since. I've cut my calories back (taking in about 1500 a day) in hopes to overcome this plateau. I've also taken up biking and ashtanga yoga. I've also just recently recovered from 13 years of battling bulimia- a month of abstinence, my longest bout in my life- as recommended by my therapist I don't weigh myself more than once a month.. but after working so hard for a month, sometimes two workouts a day, working on strength and endurance, it hasn't budged. It's very discouraging and I'll admit I cried for a good hour after stepping on the scale.

I need tips on how to overcome this.. it's so discouraging as I am trying to better myself but nothing is happening I've tried cutting back to 1300 a day but it's very difficult.

Do you use a food scale? And do you log daily?


Also, weight loss and more so fat loss, isnt about exercising like crazy. Its about finding a solid balance between exercise and nutrition. Personally, too much exercise can increase stress in your body which can have an affect on water retention which will mask fat loss.

joans1976

Don't give up! Try to be patient. Read some of the stickies at the top of the forum sections....they have great tips!

Congratulation on your loss (remember you said you gained 50 pounds!) and congratulations on making steps to overcome bulimia. That must be hard.

Please hang in there! Be kind to yourself.

SusanMFindlay

How are you measuring the 1500 calories?

I gained 60 pounds with my first pregnancy, lost 50, gained them back with my second pregnancy. So, I know where you're coming from. After the first pregnancy, I worked out and returned to normal eating habits. The first 30 pounds was superfast (i.e. the "give birth and stop being a giant balloon of water retention" weight that only takes a week or two). The other 20 pounds was really really slow. After my second pregnancy, I was only able to lose 30 pounds from the birth followed by working out and "eating healthy".

Then I started logging everything I ate (and drank if it had calories), weighing as much as possible using a food scale. Lost 30 pound in 4 months.

It's amazing how bad the human brain is at estimating food (and drink) intake. It's amazing how easy it is to "forget" some of the snacks you had. Weighing and logging is by far the most effective way for me to lose weight.