plateauing and frustrated

iamthesweenmachine

So far, I have lost 44 pounds in about 9 months. Ever since I hit the 40 mark, I've been consistently dropping small numbers and Friday I had my first gain since August. I'm following everything to the T and have upped the intensity of my workouts but am still not getting the results I want to see. I'm a little concerned that maybe I can't lose anymore? Is that possible? I still want to lose 18 more pounds to reach my goal weight, but that is going to be extremely difficult, especially with Thanksgiving coming up. I am in marching band, and since I've been back in school with band rehearsals 6 days a week, I was consistently dropping 3's each week until about a month ago when I started dropping 1's and 1.5's. Idk, does your body reach a point where it just slows naturally? I'm a little concerned. I wanted to get to my goal by February, or the year's end, but I don't know if that's really doable now. Any thoughts?

tSmashups

I thought I was experiencing a plateau a couple of months ago because I couldn't change my weight. I realized two things:
1) I wasn't being honest with myself, and 2) I was only measuring my weight...
For the first point, I really took the time to realize that I was lying to myself about how much I was eating. I needed to re-evaluate portion sizes and really focus on changing the base of my meals from grains to veggies. As for only measuring my weight, I thought I'd give body measurements a try, since I had a tape measure handy anyway, and realized that I was actually losing inches, just not weight. I do a lot of strength training, so I found it rejuvenating to find a new way to measure progress for myself.
Plateaus can be frustrating, remember to keep your workouts fresh, your body will adapt over time if you always do the same stuff. I find that BodyRock.tv is a great resource for HIIT training, they have new workouts all the time!
Good luck:)

Klem4

Yes, I think most people find the last 10-20 lbs to come off much slower, which it should, at a rate of .5-1lb a week. That's roughly what I've experienced, my loss is also much less linear now. If you upped the intensity of workouts, but are not eating more to compensate, maybe that is part of it, really there are so many reasons why we run into these plateaus. Maybe not enough rest, sleep, body just burnt out. Honestly, that would be amazing if you reached 18 more pounds lost by the end of the year, but I don't think it is realistic at all. I'd plan out for 1lb a week loss to reach your goal, maybe, if everything is perfect. lol. Good luck!

iamthesweenmachine

...really there are so many reasons why we run into these plateaus. Maybe not enough rest, sleep, body just burnt out.

That's a good factor. I'm a full-time college student with a super busy schedule and haven't gotten much sleep the last few weeks.

lynn_glenmont

If you're losing 1 to 1.5 lbs a week, you're not plateauing. A one-week gain is not a plateau. As you lose weight, you need fewer calories to sustain your smaller self, which means your deficit decreases if you don't adjust your daily intake, so generally weight loss slows as you approach your goal. 1 to 1.5 lbs is pretty fast with only 18 left to lose. At that rate, though, things like water retention due to a high-sodium day, increased exercise, or your menstrual cycle can mast your weight loss in a given week. Just stick with what you've been doing; there's nothing to be frustrated about.

SLLRunner

You have 18 pounds left to lose, which puts you fairly close to maintenance. It's best if you lose weight slow, preferably .5 pounds per week. The slower the better because when you reach maintenance you won't have such a big jump in calories.

As for the holidays, don't let them scare you. Just log in everything you eat and try to stay in your calorie allotment, but don't beat yourself up if you don't.

popsicklestar

I plateaued for around 3 months. I had previously been going over my calories here and there by 100 or 200 and was still losing, but now, since I'm so close to my goal, every little bit over can keep me from losing. Once I stopped the overages and really made a conscious effort to weigh everything and make sure my calorie log was really accurate, the weight started to slowly come off again. Basically, if you're not losing, you're not eating at enough of a deficit. When you weigh less, your body needs less calories than it did before. Also, when you lose really small amounts, the losses can often be masked by water retention, so you need to be patient. Losing weight when you're really close to your goal requires a lot of consistency and patience.