Weight loss plateau for 5 months, desperately need help :(

mochicakes92

Oh I forgot to mention I also usually drink around 64 oz of water a day lol, I just don't always log it. So yes, lots of water. But thank you all so much for the advice, I already feel a LOT more hopeful about this whole situation and more informed on what I need to do and change. Thanks so much on that!

shadus

My height is 5'7" ^.^

So you're Female, 20 years old, 5'7" tall, and weigh around 183 lbs? That gives us...

BMI: 28.7 (Healthy BMI Range: 118-159lbs)
Basal Metabolic Rate: 1637.72
Sedentary Rate: 1959.26
Light Activity Rate: 2236.82
Moderate Activity Rate: 2530.71
Very Active Rate: 2808.27
Extremely Active Rate: 3102.16

Based on what you've said your activity level looks like "Light" most likely (at least from what is logged plus what you've said.) I find these to be the most likely scenarios:

1) You're eating back to many of your exercise calories or counting them when you shouldn't (double dipping.)
2) You're failing to log extremely bad days (you've got... a ~lot~ of missing logs.)
3) You're not accurately logging (likely unintentionally) what you do log.
4) You've got a metabolic issue and you're burning ~far~ less calories than you should be (unlikely if you were cycling your intake and not gaining weight at 2000 calories a day.)

All that said, my guess is #1 and #3 specifically. At the weight you have to lose you should likely be in the 1lb/week range for weight loss at the moment, so assuming your tdee is light, then you would need 2236 calories a day to maintain your weight, anything less than that will cause you to lose weight (depending on how much less, it could vary greatly), so that would put your calorie intake around 1700 to lose 1lb a week. Your current diet is not nearly low enough to put you in starvation mode^1 based on your logged entries and caloric consumption.

So... what can you do about it?

1) Change your goal to 1700/1650 (or tell mfp, 1lb/week, light activity in your settings) calories and quit eating back your exercise calories, you're not doing enough exercise to rate up at moderate and your tdee number is already taking into account your normal exercise. So don't eat them back unless you do something *exceptional* exercise wise. If you go for 6 hour hike, sure log that, eat back say 50% of the calories and move along (I say 50% because mfp's calorie numbers for exercise (like most sites that use generic formula to estimate) are completely absurd.)
2) Start logging accurately. Get a food scale. Measure everything you put in your mouth by the gram and oz. If you can't measure it, don't eat it. Seriously, this isn't something I'm suggesting for a long term time... say 2 weeks. The scale costs^2 less than your average fast food meal for 2. Looking at the food you log I can guess you're going "omg, I just use the number on the package or website" What if I told you they had found those to be off by as much as 50% in some cases? Yeah... seriously.
3) Log everything that passes through your mouth no matter how ****ty the day is or how great it is food wise. Even if it has -0- calories log it. Seriously, this will make it 1000% easier for people to help you find issues if they continue. This includes all strength training and cardio you do period.
4) Food is not a hobby, it can be enjoyed with family and friends, but you shouldn't find yourself eating when you're bored to remedy boredom. Instead of a suggestion of going to eat, find a new hobby, go on a hike, go walk around a park, go play some mini-golf, go bowling, go do some kinky stuff with your bf or something, ANYTHING to break that cycle. Boredom eating is the #1 dietary suicide item out there. Find something to replace it.
5) If you do all these items and you are STILL failing to lose weight after two weeks of doing them... get to a doctor. Something is wrong. Get a full blood panel including thyroid and liver function.

^1 Starvation Mode - See http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/761810-the-starvation-mode-myth-again for real science on how adaptive thermogenesis works... and also read: http://www.burnthefatblog.com/archives/2012/12/starvation-mode-revisited.php most people have -0- understanding on how this works and misunderstand it completely and misrepresent it's effects. Regain is a far bigger issue than slowing/stopping actual weight loss. That is almost always a miscalculation on food, exercise, etc.

^2 A digital scale that works well for weighing food - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002SVNEWA

Lastly-- Good luck! The fact that you've not fallen completely off the horse after 5 months of plateau speaks volumes on your willpower and dedication! You CAN do this and get past this. Hang in there and you'll be losing weigh soon again... and don't ever let it go 5 months again. Plateau's don't last longer than a couple weeks at worst, if they do something else is knocking your progress back somewhere. Go get help after a month without loss

PS- Yes, fast food is bad for you... high cholesterol & triglycerides, high bp, etc... are the issues, not weight gain so long as you're paying attention to the calories. There have been more than a few people who have lost 60+ lbs in a couple months eating NOTHING but fast food to prove a point, myself included. It's not healthy but from a strictly weightless perspective it can easily be done.

Liliansamata

Have you thought of doing zip zag calories? I have just come through my second plateau. I am 5'7 and doing the following:
Monday-1396
Tuesday-1117
Wednesday-1676
Thursday-1396
Friday:1257
Saturday:1536
Sunday:1396
Good luck for the rest of your weight loss journey

nurse_ratty

Are you from UK? If u are it will be easy to get a copy but if not try amazon.com invest (its worth it) in hairy dieters cook book it's amaizing or Jamie 15min meals. Dont let your low in come scare you, you can eat on a low budget but you have to plan and be organised. Find out when your supermarkets reduce and shop then buy meat etc cheap and freeze for use later, also bulk cook meals and freeze portions that's what I did with hairy bikers, it will be cheaper than your take always! And better. You can even buy cheap veg blanch and freeze, but bags of frozen veg are good too and actually some taste better. You can freeze reduced berries etc too! You need to be organised, and plan your meals that way no waste and no impulsive buys. You can do this you just need to change the way you think about healthy food being more expensive. I can cook a healthy Indian meal for 6 for the prize if a take away for 2!

phoenixgirl81

Hey there.

I looked back a couple of weeks and I have to agree that you need fruit and veggies in your day. Make a list of all the fruits and vegetables that you like and start putting them in your day. e.g. I love bananas, mandarins, strawberries, pineapples, pears and dates. I'm not a huge fan of other fruits, but if they're cheap I might just buy them and give them a try. I also love lychees and rambutans, but they're more expensive so they are only my "sometimes foods". I love pretty much every vegetable now, but I used to be a vegetarian who hated vegetables! Try introducing them one at a time in smaller amounts until you get used to the newer tastes and textures. You can do so much with vegetables; I love to bake them (maybe use a pastry brush to brush on some olive oil or use the spray stuff - experiment with different flavours - I love cumin and garlic, or even rosemary!), stirfry them in different spices, or steam or boil (as a last resort because they can easily go mushy if you cook them too long). Another GREAT way to have your veggies is to cook them in a soup and then just blitz it so you can't see the individual vegetables (if this is something that makes it hard for you) and then you can sneak in heaps of veggies to your day that way!

Another way to make a little money go a long way while still eating healthy and not using too much time to prep/cook food is to invest in a slow cooker (crock pot?). I got my 3 litre one for $26 and I can make enough meals in one go WHILE I'M AT WORK to last for days. Just throw the ingredients in the cooker and come back a few hours later and VOILA, instant meals with hardly any sodium (if you use fresh foods), that can be really hearty and certainly filling. You can make chilis, casseroles, soups, etc all while you're out of the house. Then just divide it into different portions and reheat as needed.

I can also second the advice not to drink your calories. Juices are not a good use of your daily calorie goal. You're better off eating the fruits themselves. They give you more fibre that way and keep you feeling fuller for longer.

I also noticed you have a lot of pre-packaged snacks. You can make a lot of them yourself for less calories and less sodium.

I hope this helps.

Alta2000

I looked at your diary since February. Your food is full of processed items and lacks fruits and vegetables. Cut down on cold cuts/hot dogs/salad dressing, etc. No slim fast. Eat a green salad and top it with beans and corn, or tuna in olive oil, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes and olives, etc. Baked potato with plain Greek yogurt instead of ranch dressing. Chicken with fresh vegetables.
More ideas
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/158675-jillian-michaels-s-fat-burning-meal-plan-from-self-com?hl=recipes+michaels

Drink a lot of plain water. Cut out any soda.

Also, include more exercise like those from blogilates.com, or go on Befit channel on youtube and find different videos to incorporate. Do the 30ds shred by JM, it is free on youtube, and use bottles filled with water.