The endless plateau
Replies
-
I forgot to add, there was no change in weight the time between July 31st and August 7th when I left. Thanks. :-)0
-
I'm back! I started one day late as September 10th was my birthday, and I eat whatever the heck I like that day. Haha!
Sept 11th 160 (highest I have seen in well over a year. Sodium/carb/alcohol/TOM all at once)
9/12 155.6
9/13 153.4
9/14 152.2
9/15 150.4
9/16 151.4
9/17 150.4
I have been under 1600 most days and a lot lower than the 125 recommended carbs as I panicked hitting a 10 pound gain. My body really hates carbs and alcohol, so I kept it under 100g a day to lose the weight I had gained with drinks, cupcakes, cereal, chicken and waffles that were had before/after the Electric Run/Girls Weekend and my birthday. Two events and menus that are NOT common for me in any way shape or form. The only time I ever go under the 150's is if my carbs are under 100. Calories can be the same...if the carbs are higher...the scale goes up. Not sure what to do about that, or whether to just accept that I have found my body's trigger?0 -
48 hour bump. Feeling trapped in a cycle! Pushed calories back up to 1600 yesterday. Tiny gain. Back to 150. Don't know why I don't lose any unless carbs are lower. SS and Sara is it ok to be lower on carbs if body reacts this way? Or should I still try and keep the 125g going? Thanks so much for your wisdom and help!0
-
Hi! Sorry for the delay in getting back to you - we have both been a bit busy this week and last weekend. We are hoping to get as caught up as possible over the weekend.0
-
No worries!! You have lives! :-))))0
-
:blushing:0
-
Moving this to the top.
EDIT:
Can you please list your weigh ins between the 20th and today?
Thanks.0 -
Sure! . I didn't weight in on Sunday/Monday as to not depress myself. We went to a food festival on Saturday, and had sodium filled Thai Sunday night.
9/20 150
9/21 152
9/22 no weigh in
9/23 no weigh in
9/24 155.6
9/25 153.6
9/26 153.4
9/27 153.2
This happens FREQUENTLY. I will get super serious with my diet and lose and lose and lose. Every day I will drop weight like magic. Then if I have a day or two that are not on point, I will go back and do EXACTLY what I was doing before that made me lose...and I won't. Not at all. I'll stay in the low 150's. I can't say how many times this has happened. It's like my body decides when it's going to be on a roll, and when it's going to just stop. No idea if it's hormonal or WHAT...but it's a constant cycle.0 -
one last try. Thanks!0
-
You mentioned difficulty adhering to the targets we previously set for you. Is this difficulty related to hunger primarily, or is performance related?
Have you taken measurements (via tape measure) over the past months and has there been any improvement?
Regarding short term gains when increasing carbs -- it's very very likely to be fluid intake. This is one reason why you'll want to do your best to disregard day to day weight fluctuations.
I've also noticed that your intake is all over the place. There are days where your carb intake goes as low as 60g and as high as 147g. Calories range between 1000 and 2000 for the most part. I'm not suggesting that there's anything inherently wrong with it but I'm curious as to the reason behind it.0 -
First, let me preface this by saying that I'm not a medical or fitness expert by any stretch of the imagination; just another woman who's been frustrated by a similar situation to yours!
I've read and re-read your original post, maybe missed it, but how is your sleep? Irregular, not enough, or too much sleep can affect weight. Ditto for stress levels, including long periods of intense exercise, which can raise cortisol levels.
Also, have you consulted your doctor about the possibility that you could be entering perimenopause? Hormonal changes can definitely affect your cycle, metabolism, overall weight, and body composition...0 -
You mentioned difficulty adhering to the targets we previously set for you. Is this difficulty related to hunger primarily, or is performance related?
Have you taken measurements (via tape measure) over the past months and has there been any improvement?
Regarding short term gains when increasing carbs -- it's very very likely to be fluid intake. This is one reason why you'll want to do your best to disregard day to day weight fluctuations.
I've also noticed that your intake is all over the place. There are days where your carb intake goes as low as 60g and as high as 147g. Calories range between 1000 and 2000 for the most part. I'm not suggesting that there's anything inherently wrong with it but I'm curious as to the reason behind it.
My measurements are as drastic as the weight in my waist. The rest stay exactly the same except for my hips will go up and down about half an inch. My waist will change up to 3 inches difference depending on what I've been eating. My calories are all over the place because I will over eat/eat way more carbs than usual and then shoot up a few pounds. I will then cut back down to try and undo that...so my calories end up being lower and my carbs lower. It's a cycle. But until I drop the carbs....I can be on the same calorie count for weeks and I won't drop anything, so it seems more stubborn than just some water/glycogen. I just won't lose. Period.
Other than the carbs, I haven't had any trouble hitting what you gave me. They have been totally reasonable. :-) The weekends are harder as my husband and I are both foodies, but I'm trying not to go totally off the rails and undo my week. My deficit is such during the week though, that I should still be losing even if I do have an "off" day on the weekend. My average TDEE according to Fitbit (which considering my workout intensity is low balling me big time) is 2500. My Bodymedia I had before was 3000 a day (I usually teach two classes a day). I eat around 1500 most days...and that is with the food scale (thanks for that!!) So something just isn't quite right....0 -
First, let me preface this by saying that I'm not a medical or fitness expert by any stretch of the imagination; just another woman who's been frustrated by a similar situation to yours!
I've read and re-read your original post, maybe missed it, but how is your sleep? Irregular, not enough, or too much sleep can affect weight. Ditto for stress levels, including long periods of intense exercise, which can raise cortisol levels.
Also, have you consulted your doctor about the possibility that you could be entering perimenopause? Hormonal changes can definitely affect your cycle, metabolism, overall weight, and body composition...
I have insomnia, but I also have an Ambien RX so if it ever looks like I'm not getting to sleep, that helps me. So I get a good number of hours each night. Easily 8 a night.
My cycles are all screwed up from the exercise. They aren't regular at ALL. I can sometimes go a couple months without one. I JUST turned 34 and have no other symptoms...so I don't think it's menopause??
I have talked to my dr about cortisol etc etc and my periods being weird and she just blows it off and says I'm healthy as a horse...so it hasn't been helpful! LOL!0 -
Hi! We chatted about your situation and have a quick question before we make a few suggestions. Regarding body composition, do you have fat loss goals solely or would you want to build a little extra muscle?0
-
Hey Sara! Fat loss goals. I'm as muscular as I'd like to be right now. Any more and I'd start looking bulky (I'm that special snowflake who really can get bulky if not careful). So I'd just like to lose the remaining/extra fat off and be as slim/lean as I can while not losing the strength I have now.0
-
moving this up0
-
Thanks! I ate an idiotic amount this weekend, so I'm back to the losing of the same four pounds routine...but it was my fault. Oktoberfest, a baby shower, and then just saying to Hell with it killed me. So I'm back up again, and slowly climbing back down.0
-
Bumping for giggles.0
-
Hi!
So taking a step back., your intake over the last 4 weeks was 1,830 on average. Actual intake is probably a little higher due to the inaccuracies that we all experience.
We see a couple of options:
1) comply with the 1,600 calories we initially suggested, and/or
2) increase activity, including adding resistance training, or
3) reverse up slowly to maintenance. This will be a long process but ideally it would allow you stop focusing on the scale so much (you seem to pay a lot of attention to minor changes in the scale). The plan would be to stay at maintenance for a while and start resistance training and then eventually cut to get the last remaining 'vanity' pounds off.0 -
Thanks Sara! I feel like such an idiot as for the past two weeks, I have been really careful on the weekends not to go into full binge mode. Usually Halloween is a binge candy fest and when my husband and I go out for a date it's a free for all....well I had a FEW pieces of candy...logged of course...and still had some wine/went out to eat but didn't go totally nuts...and I'm down to a weight I haven't seen in a number of months. My deficit is so high during the week teaching 11 classes and rushing around as a mom...but I must have been undoing it every weekend thinking I had more wiggle than I thought.0
-
Update.
So I was feeling REALLY good about my new weekend routine. I realized I had been probably undoing a lot of my work on the weekends with a couple of really decedent meals, so for the past month I really backed off. I haven't had our favorite routine of Thai food on Friday or Sunday (bummer as we love doing this). We were out for date nights a few times, and I worked super hard to eat just what I needed, skipped dessert etc. Doing this I wasn't going up 4-5 pounds by monday and then spending the whole week losing them again, so I felt a huge relief! I even got down to 148 which was HUGE for me.
Well, I have been doing this and for 2 weeks now I have had no losses and even gained two pounds. My Fitbit/Scooby/Bodymedia/many other calculators have my TDEE at around 2700+ since I workout hard 2 hours a day most days (Les Mills instructor) so even if my measurements are SLIGHTLY OFF (and I weigh it ALL) I should still have a massive deficit and should continue to slowly lose.
My TOM has been wacky for a couple of years and I'm rolling into day 40+ without my period this month so maybe hormones are adding to this (no pregnancy!)
My diary is full on. I'm writing it all down. So with a full diary, and a pretty good grasp of my TDEE, am I missing something? I should at least be stagnant. Not inching up a bit.
Thanks guys.0 -
Update.
So I was feeling REALLY good about my new weekend routine. I realized I had been probably undoing a lot of my work on the weekends with a couple of really decedent meals, so for the past month I really backed off. I haven't had our favorite routine of Thai food on Friday or Sunday (bummer as we love doing this). We were out for date nights a few times, and I worked super hard to eat just what I needed, skipped dessert etc. Doing this I wasn't going up 4-5 pounds by monday and then spending the whole week losing them again, so I felt a huge relief! I even got down to 148 which was HUGE for me.
Well, I have been doing this and for 2 weeks now I have had no losses and even gained two pounds. My Fitbit/Scooby/Bodymedia/many other calculators have my TDEE at around 2700+ since I workout hard 2 hours a day most days (Les Mills instructor) so even if my measurements are SLIGHTLY OFF (and I weigh it ALL) I should still have a massive deficit and should continue to slowly lose.
My TOM has been wacky for a couple of years and I'm rolling into day 40+ without my period this month so maybe hormones are adding to this (no pregnancy!)
My diary is full on. I'm writing it all down. So with a full diary, and a pretty good grasp of my TDEE, am I missing something? I should at least be stagnant. Not inching up a bit.
Thanks guys.
5 day bump. Still maintaining. On day 47 of cycle with no TOM so maybe hormones are causing this? It should be SLLLOWWW, but with my measuring and no cheat meals there should be some progress?0 -
Ultimately the issue is that if you're not losing at the current intake you can either reduce intake slightly, increase activity, or you could attempt to diet break as I indicated in a previous reply.
To make something clear though, what you think "should" happen isn't really relevant unless perhaps we are talking about extreme abnormalities (none of which I've ever encountered). So for example just because you believe your current intake and activity should result in weight loss, if it doesn't give you those results you need to adjust your strategy accordingly.
In your case, if we reduce intake I'm not certain you can adhere to it given that your adherence has suffered leading up to this.
There's an off chance that you may perform better at a different mix of macronutrients and that could positively effect mood and maybe activity thermogenesis but that's something I would like to chat with Sara about.
We will chat about this when I'm back in town this week.0 -
Ultimately the issue is that if you're not losing at the current intake you can either reduce intake slightly, increase activity, or you could attempt to diet break as I indicated in a previous reply.
To make something clear though, what you think "should" happen isn't really relevant unless perhaps we are talking about extreme abnormalities (none of which I've ever encountered). So for example just because you believe your current intake and activity should result in weight loss, if it doesn't give you those results you need to adjust your strategy accordingly.
In your case, if we reduce intake I'm not certain you can adhere to it given that your adherence has suffered leading up to this.
There's an off chance that you may perform better at a different mix of macronutrients and that could positively effect mood and maybe activity thermogenesis but that's something I would like to chat with Sara about.
We will chat about this when I'm back in town this week.
Sure thing. I'm not sure what you mean about me not adhering to the 1600. It's never SPOT on, but I try and hit it as close as I can, hoping it averages to around 1600. The past 5 weeks or so I stopped going over on the weekends and that stopped the yo-yo and I lost a bit....but now I'm bouncing around the same slightly lower number. Anything you and Sara come up with, I will listen. Thanks!0 -
Set your calorie intake as follows while maintaining your current activity levels:
Calories 1500
Carbs 125
Fat 55
Protein 125
Follow up with us in 1 week please (12/9/13).0 -
Hi!
Just as a quick additional comment to SideSteel's, can you double check your entries from the database when you select them. There are a few entries/days that have macros that do not make sense based on the food choices. For example, today, you had what looked like a breakfast out (I may be making incorrect assumptions here) - but there was no oils assumed for cooking the sausage, the pork skewer had no macros and the Thai pork and veggies had no carbs noted. There are a few examples last month of this - better than it was before, but with the challenges you are finding losing these last few pounds, accuracy is even more important.0 -
Hi Sara! I actually just microwave those sausages, so they aren't cooked in anything. Haha. Keeping it quick! :-) Good point about the Thai food. I've been avoiding it like the plague lately, as the calorie count is an absolute guess. (as are most things from a restaurant). Hoping to keep eating in the rest of the week, and my husband is out of town all weekend, which usually makes it easier to keep things under wraps. Thanks for the tip!0
