Taking a break from counting

mermaidluhv

I'm 20 female 5'2" and weigh 145, but want to weigh 120. I recently lost 13 pounds counting calories and have hit a plateu. I cut my caloriesore and hasn't worked. So I'm planning on taking a break from counting for about a week, then get back to it ready to work hard. I want to know if any one has ever done this and has worked for them.

ktrauzzi

When I hit my first plateau I actually stopped counting exercise calories. That seemed to help me a lot. When I hit my second plateau, then I added more exercise cuz I basically just cut my calories - I didn't really move very much. When I took a break from counting - I found it hard to get back into it. Good luck!

PinkNinjaLaura

I just decided today to take a week off from counting, not because I'm on a plateau but because I've been writing down my food for 200+ days and I want to see if I've learned in the process how to eat more intuitively. Hoping it doesn't backfire horribly.

NonnyMary

I think maybe you need to be better at counting. it could be you are guessing. Before you give up, please give it one more try and be super perfect at weighing and measuring... and then see what happens.. try for one week. then come back ok?

mermaidluhv

I have been religously counting calories to the gram, so it must not be that

mermaidluhv

Maybe I'll try that out, cause all of a sudden for about a month I have been stuck & I don't want to give just really frustrating.

NonnyMary

Yes i know, we can count as perfectly as we can, however, if our measuing is off, that screws up all our counting. Like if you pour a glass of milk you might estimate its a cup. but when you pour that into a measuring cup, you will be surprised.

do you weigh and use measuring cups and measuring spoons, or do you guess approximate weights and sizes of your food portions? THAT is what i mean you should do.. but maybe you are doing that.

mermaidluhv

That's what I have been doing from the beginning so that is what is frustrating me the most. I've done that and now it has stopped. I'm still working out, just ran 3 miles right now, but gonna stop with the calories for a week then get back to being strict. Haha I hope it works cause I'm at loss right now

vermillionlove

Hey, I'm 5'2 as well. My goal weight is 5 pounds above your starting weight. when I get there i'll see if I want to keep going. :P anyway, I have read that when you hit a plateau you may need to restrict more. have you tried eating 200 (or some) less calories than you have been?

PippiNe

I had success in breaking a plateau by completely changing up my fitness routine. I had been doing 25 minute Jillian Michaels dvds which were working great for the first 2 1/2 months, but then weight loss just stalled. I started doing workouts that were twice as long, one Jillian Michaels and 2 that were P90X. Within a week I lost 4 lbs. I can't be certain that the changeup caused the sudden weight loss or if it was a coincidence (I do eat back my calories, so it wasn't just from extra calorie burn). Maybe give your workout routine an overhaul if your break from counting doesn't prove successful. Good luck!

JesterMFP

While I was actively losing, I took a couple of diet breaks where I continued counting, but ate at maintenance. There can definitely be psychological advantages to taking a break from counting, but just be careful of undoing your progress so far. A lot of people can (and do) gain a significant amount even in a short space of time. Depends where your head is with ti all.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html

Vailara

I'm doing it now and have done it before. I stick to three meals a day mostly and watch my portion sizes. Weight loss is very slow but it's a lot easier to live with! I'll go back to calorie counting when/if needed.