What can I do? Plateau and legs won't change.

siansian91

I have lost 85lbs and gained about 10lbs back and trying to get to my goal weight of 160 but havent really dipped in a long time. I eat pretty well, drink lots of water and exercise every day however nothing changes.

My main problem is my legs, I know you cannot spot reduce but there needs to be something I can do before I resort to surgery. Even at my lowest my legs haven't changed and I seem to hold my weight in my legs and bum. Is there anything I can do to change this? Due to covid I don't have access to my gym but do have a recumbent bike, fit cube and resistance bands.

[edited by mods]

nanastaci2020

Congrats on what you have accomplished so far!

To continue losing, re-evaluate your calorie goal as your body uses less now than it did 75 pounds ago. Set your weight loss goal to .5-1 pounds a week since you are closer to goal. From there, be accurate & honest about your intake. Use a food scale for solid/semi-solid foods. Track this process over the next 4-8-12 weeks.

I'm not an expert and this is an area I seriously need to improve: but are you doing any strength training? I understand that can help the muscle layer to firm up and make things 'look' better.

siansian91

nanamerriman2020 wrote: »

Congrats on what you have accomplished so far!

To continue losing, re-evaluate your calorie goal as your body uses less now than it did 75 pounds ago. Set your weight loss goal to .5-1 pounds a week since you are closer to goal. From there, be accurate & honest about your intake. Use a food scale for solid/semi-solid foods. Track this process over the next 4-8-12 weeks.

I'm not an expert and this is an area I seriously need to improve: but are you doing any strength training? I understand that can help the muscle layer to firm up and make things 'look' better.

Tha k you for the above, I actually lost my 85lbs purely by strength training but since lockdown have only been biking or doing bodyweight exercises. My calories are roughly around 1500 a day, but I'm stuck at 180-185!!

janejellyroll

siansian91 wrote: »

nanamerriman2020 wrote: »

Congrats on what you have accomplished so far!

To continue losing, re-evaluate your calorie goal as your body uses less now than it did 75 pounds ago. Set your weight loss goal to .5-1 pounds a week since you are closer to goal. From there, be accurate & honest about your intake. Use a food scale for solid/semi-solid foods. Track this process over the next 4-8-12 weeks.

I'm not an expert and this is an area I seriously need to improve: but are you doing any strength training? I understand that can help the muscle layer to firm up and make things 'look' better.

Tha k you for the above, I actually lost my 85lbs purely by strength training but since lockdown have only been biking or doing bodyweight exercises. My calories are roughly around 1500 a day, but I'm stuck at 180-185!!

I took a quick look at your diary and it looks like you're not weighing some foods (like the banana) and there are multiple days where you're not logging at all. Before concluding you're at a plateau, you might want to get a few solid weeks of consistent, accurate logging and see if that makes a difference. Many people find this solves the issue.

Strudders67

Go back in to the Goals - Guided Setup screen in MFP. Does it have your current weight? Is your activity level correct for your day-to-day, excluding exercise? What is your Goal set to with regards to weight loss per week? Are you eating your exercise calories? If so, how do you track /calculate them?

I'll echo what was said above - you should be aiming for 1lb a week at this stage, but it should drop to0.5lb a week when you lose about another 5lb. Your logging needs to be accurate and you need to be sure you're not over-estimating your exercise calories.

The change in exercise regime may be causing your body to temporarily hang on to water weight, so stick with it.