Plateau from Hell !!!! Ready to pull my hair out.

ajfc1971
ajfc1971 Posts: 258 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
HELP HELP HELP I have been around the same weight since March 2013.... I am eating 1200 cals a day and going to cardio classess most days.
I have lost 46lbs but still have 42 lbs to go. I am only 5ft 3 and this would bring me to 10stone. Which is the highest for my height.
I have been this weight before in a younger previous life.
This maintaining is driving me mad. I am really thinking of going on a shake programme for a few weeks to move things on but last time I did that before MFP I lost 13lbs in 1 week but then gained 20 the following 2 wks. My head is battered with this.
Makes me want to reach out for the chocolate and chinese. For the last 4wks I have been really strict and even stopped drinking alcohol, but have only managed to lose 5lb. I feel like pulling my hair out.
Rant over but really need help....:explode: :explode: :sad: :sad:

Replies

  • silmarilliane
    silmarilliane Posts: 133 Member
    are you logging the exercise and eating back those calories? 5lb in 4 weeks is still losing over a pound a week, the more weight i lose the slower it is to come off. also take measurements as you may find that your weight is staying the same but you're still getting smaller.
  • Booda101
    Booda101 Posts: 161 Member
    I'm there with you. My plateau has been since June. I haven't gained anything, so I count that as a victory. I too was trying to consume around 1200 calories. However, after reading numerous forum posts, I decided I may in fact be consuming too few calories.

    So, I went out and got a fitness tracker and have been even more diligent in logging my foods. I calculated my TDEE and BMR and have upped my calories by about 400. It's only been a couple of weeks, but I do believe I finally saw some movement on the scale. I do try to eat healthy meals and snacks, do cardio and weights 3-5x a week and have cut back on craft beer (the hard part :) ).

    Hang in there! Patience and persistence will pay off.
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
    For the last 4wks I have been really strict and even stopped drinking alcohol, but have only managed to lose 5lb. I feel like pulling my hair out.
    Rant over but really need help....:explode: :explode: :sad: :sad:

    You have lost 1 1/4 lbs per week.. This is not a plateau. You ARE losing at a good rate. I am not sure what your expectations are but if you are expecting to lose 80 lbs in 4 months you are in the wrong place.

    A few things I did notice from your diary though.. you don't weigh things and you have a lot of incomplete days, a lot of "Quick Added Calories" and "Generic" items. These things are very likely pushing your intake up much higher than you think. You need to get more serious about your logging because you are eating more then you think.
  • tihi18
    tihi18 Posts: 102 Member
    If you lost 5lbs then you aren't in a plateau. I am luckly to lose 4lbs in a month and I am the same height and around the same weight as you.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    What's the problem again?
  • nikkiclaire123
    nikkiclaire123 Posts: 119
    maybe try a different cardio class? when you do the same thing over then the body gets used to it and adjusts. try something new
  • rjmudlax13
    rjmudlax13 Posts: 900 Member
    STOP! Do not go on a "shake program!" They are mostly scams.

    Your first step is to get a good food scale. Make sure you weigh everything. Log everything in MFP honestly and accurately. You need to get as accurate as you can. Do this for about a week and let us know the average amount of calories you are actually eating.
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,654 Member
    HELP HELP HELP I have been around the same weight since March 2013.... I am eating 1200 cals a day and going to cardio classess most days.
    I have lost 46lbs but still have 42 lbs to go. I am only 5ft 3 and this would bring me to 10stone. Which is the highest for my height.
    I have been this weight before in a younger previous life.
    This maintaining is driving me mad. I am really thinking of going on a shake programme for a few weeks to move things on but last time I did that before MFP I lost 13lbs in 1 week but then gained 20 the following 2 wks. My head is battered with this.
    Makes me want to reach out for the chocolate and chinese. For the last 4wks I have been really strict and even stopped drinking alcohol, but have only managed to lose 5lb. I feel like pulling my hair out.
    Rant over but really need help....:explode: :explode: :sad: :sad:

    You started being strict with your calories and cut out alcohol, and lost 5 lbs in 4 weeks? You, my dear, are not on a plateau. You are just finally doing it right again. Keep that up and you will continue to lose.
  • lauren3101
    lauren3101 Posts: 1,853 Member
    Ok, firstly, your food diary is a mess. You need to weigh, measure and log everything. Cut out the quick added calories and generic foods.

    Secondly, you said you do exercise but there is nothing logged in your diary, and you are not eating the exercise calories back. Why not, if MFP tells you to do that?

    Thirdly, 5 lbs in 4 weeks is NOT a plateau.


    Seriously, up your calories to something reasonable, or you WILL plateau. Your BMR is 1555 alone, and you are netting probably below 1000 calories when you take off your exercise. It won't do you any good.
  • FrenchMob
    FrenchMob Posts: 1,167 Member
    So I assumed you weight 180, at 5'3". If you workout 4-5 times a week, your TDEE is approx. 2400 calories. With a 25% calories deficit you should be eating closer to 1800 calories, not 1200. That would give you a weekly loss of approx. 1.2 lbs. Doing it this way, you DON'T eat back your calories as they're already factored in your TDEE.

    Also, be more diligent in logging your food, and start eating more.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    HELP HELP HELP I have been around the same weight since March 2013.... I am eating 1200 cals a day and going to cardio classess most days.
    I have lost 46lbs but still have 42 lbs to go. I am only 5ft 3 and this would bring me to 10stone. Which is the highest for my height.
    I have been this weight before in a younger previous life.
    This maintaining is driving me mad. I am really thinking of going on a shake programme for a few weeks to move things on but last time I did that before MFP I lost 13lbs in 1 week but then gained 20 the following 2 wks. My head is battered with this.
    Makes me want to reach out for the chocolate and chinese. For the last 4wks I have been really strict and even stopped drinking alcohol, but have only managed to lose 5lb. I feel like pulling my hair out.
    Rant over but really need help....:explode: :explode: :sad: :sad:

    You're eating too much.

    Start logging your food every day, using a food scale to weigh everything. Log absolutely everything.

    Right now you're obviously not logging consistently. You're eating way more calories than you think you are.

    edit: Lost 5 lbs in 4 weeks? Um.

    Derp.

    5 lbs per month is right about the rate you're supposed to lose weight.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    HELP HELP HELP I have been around the same weight since March 2013.... I am eating 1200 cals a day and going to cardio classess most days.
    I have lost 46lbs but still have 42 lbs to go. I am only 5ft 3 and this would bring me to 10stone. Which is the highest for my height.
    I have been this weight before in a younger previous life.
    This maintaining is driving me mad. I am really thinking of going on a shake programme for a few weeks to move things on but last time I did that before MFP I lost 13lbs in 1 week but then gained 20 the following 2 wks. My head is battered with this.
    Makes me want to reach out for the chocolate and chinese. For the last 4wks I have been really strict and even stopped drinking alcohol, but have only managed to lose 5lb. I feel like pulling my hair out.
    Rant over but really need help....:explode: :explode: :sad: :sad:

    You're eating too much.

    Start logging your food every day, using a food scale to weigh everything. Log absolutely everything.

    Right now you're obviously not logging consistently. You're eating way more calories than you think you are.

    ^ All of this.

    Read this:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think
  • LuLuChick78
    LuLuChick78 Posts: 439 Member
    HELP HELP HELP I have been around the same weight since March 2013.... I am eating 1200 cals a day and going to cardio classess most days.
    I have lost 46lbs but still have 42 lbs to go. I am only 5ft 3 and this would bring me to 10stone. Which is the highest for my height.
    I have been this weight before in a younger previous life.
    This maintaining is driving me mad. I am really thinking of going on a shake programme for a few weeks to move things on but last time I did that before MFP I lost 13lbs in 1 week but then gained 20 the following 2 wks. My head is battered with this.
    Makes me want to reach out for the chocolate and chinese. For the last 4wks I have been really strict and even stopped drinking alcohol, but have only managed to lose 5lb. I feel like pulling my hair out.
    Rant over but really need help....:explode: :explode: :sad: :sad:

    You started being strict with your calories and cut out alcohol, and lost 5 lbs in 4 weeks? You, my dear, are not on a plateau. You are just finally doing it right again. Keep that up and you will continue to lose.

    Exactly what she said.
  • CarmenSRT
    CarmenSRT Posts: 843 Member
    For the last 4wks I have been really strict and even stopped drinking alcohol, but have only managed to lose 5lb. I feel like pulling my hair out.
    Rant over but really need help....:explode: :explode: :sad: :sad:

    You have lost 1 1/4 lbs per week.. This is not a plateau. You ARE losing at a good rate. I am not sure what your expectations are but if you are expecting to lose 80 lbs in 4 months you are in the wrong place.

    A few things I did notice from your diary though.. you don't weigh things and you have a lot of incomplete days, a lot of "Quick Added Calories" and "Generic" items. These things are very likely pushing your intake up much higher than you think. You need to get more serious about your logging because you are eating more then you think.

    QFT That's the first thing I noticed as well. Your logging needs work. Going back less than a week showed a day you stopped logging (usually a sign of a way-off-plan-so-I-give-up-logging) and lots of "quick adds" (usually a sign of guesstimation). Get a food scale and start weighing things. Generic entries from MFP (as in "homemade tuna sandwich) tend to be crummy. I also noticed you chose bad entries for some foods. For example, two medium eggs are NOT 100 calories totals. Medium eggs average 75 calories each. Picking the lowest calorie count you can find for a food entry is self sabotage unless you know it to be from a reliable source. Tighten up your logging. That will help.

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