Help getting past the plateau

karrielaw

Hi I’m Karrie. I have been religiously watching the calories, carbs, fat, etc. with my app. I workout with weights for 30 minutes every day, walk a couple miles every day or so, and add a Peloton a couple times a week. Lost 10 pounds the first six weeks. For the last four weeks I have not lost anything. And if anything I have increased my intensity, weights, cardio, I’ve tried to shake it up by taking a cheat day, adding more protein, walking more in addition, cannot seem to break passed it. Help. Still have about 15 to go.

H1There

Maybe try intermittent fasting or calorie cycling? I’ve read that those help but I haven’t tried those myself.

Lietchi

karrielaw wrote: »

Hi I’m Karrie. I have been religiously watching the calories, carbs, fat, etc. with my app. I workout with weights for 30 minutes every day, walk a couple miles every day or so, and add a Peloton a couple times a week. Lost 10 pounds the first six weeks. For the last four weeks I have not lost anything. And if anything I have increased my intensity, weights, cardio, I’ve tried to shake it up by taking a cheat day, adding more protein, walking more in addition, cannot seem to break passed it. Help. Still have about 15 to go.

Increasing exercise can increase water retention, masking fat loss on the scale. It seems the most likely situation, since you lost 10lbs in the 6 preceding weeks, which would be a deficit of more than 800 kcal a day. Going from that to no loss would require either water weight or a significant change in how (much) you're eating, which is something you would notice.

Weight loss is a strange beast, it isn't always linear.
Are you measuring yourself or have you noticed any further changes in how your clothes fit?

AnnPT77

I'm with @Lietchi's advice.

I'd add this: Losing 10 pounds in 6 weeks (1.6+ pounds per week) is somewhat aggressively fast loss, if 25 total pounds is all you had to lose. Fast loss is a physical stress, and stress is another thing that has the potential to add water weight, masking fat loss.

On top of that, fast loss can lead to subtle fatigue that bleeds calorie burn out of daily life (and perhaps out of exercise intensity, too), leading a person to lose slower than expected on a given calorie level. IME, 4-6 weeks out is where some of those kind of effects can start showing up. You might notice some fatigue or weakness, but maybe not.

Even down-regulated spontaneous movement can make a surprising difference. (Some research suggests that fidgety people can burn a few hundred calories more daily than otherwise similar very placid people. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't notice if I got less fidgety.)

I think the article I'm about to link is a more extreme case than anything you're reporting, but since it sounds like your first reaction to a slowdown was to go harder, I wonder if some of what it describes might affect you to a lesser extent.

https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels

Am I sure any of the above applies to you? Nope. But it may be another set of things to consider. If there's any hint that's possible, maybe a maintenance break? Good thread here:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1

Hang in there. With patience and persistence, I'm sure you can find a successful route. Best wishes!

H1There wrote: »

Maybe try intermittent fasting or calorie cycling? I’ve read that those help but I haven’t tried those myself.

At equivalent calories, those are going to lead to approximately equivalent results.

ninerbuff

Just keep consistent and it will start coming off again. As has been stated, weight loss is linear and I've had instances where I would eat way more than usual and drop 2lbs the next day. Doesn't make sense but the body likes to screw with us like that.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition