You reared your ugly face

Sarie_Bronish

Dear month-long plateau - I wish you would take your ugly face elsewhere. I have business to get down to, and your killing my success!

I need ideas to kick this plateau. I have been about 197 for the last month (a little longer.) I tried increasing my calories because my BMR was calculated at 1710 (meaning before, I wasnt eating enough). I have eaten above my BMR for a few weeks now and simply maintained.

I burn 300-400 calories a day on cardio and circuit training. my body fat percentage went from 36.6% to 36.5%. That is frustrating as heck... HELP ME! I cant cut calories and drop below my BMR right? Because that will put my body into starvation mode?

I just need a few ideas... Because im going crazy trying to figure it out.

rosemary98

I am no expert in the fitness realm...but maybe not eat your exercise calories back. I heard they can be really inaccurate. be true to your diet...measure everything...all that stuff. above all, don't get discouraged. sorry, that is all I have.

tibby531

I hit a plateau, took a three day vacation during which I ate everything in sight, came home, got back on the bandwagon, and switched from circuit training to jogging, and started losing again.

my advice: switch it up! give your body something new to adjust to.

HollisGrant

You're probably eating more calories than you think or overestimating your burn.

Weigh and measure everything.

Where are you getting the info for your exercise? Some of the entries in the MFP database are too high. Don't eat them all back, only if you are hungry.

Change your exercise. My body adapts to whatever I do over time.

Change your food. Try a protein shake if you don't usually eat them. Do something different.

Drink water!!

westendcurls

Try switching up your routine. Tabadas doing amazing things for your body!! add some weight training.

FancyPantsFran

I hit a plateau then wound up gaining.... adding insult to injury. What I did was switch up my exercise routine. I was going heavy on the weights 4x a week. I am now going cardio heavy and still doing weights on 3x a week. I dropped two pounds. I also played around with my calories. I found that when I really started exercising a lot I was starving. For me its all about paying attention to my body. I also started taking measurements so I can also use that as a gauge of my success,, not just the scale. Good Luck keep at it and you will ride out this plateau!

WalkingAlong

Eating below your BMR does not cause starvation mode or anything else. It's a myth based on misunderstanding the concepts. Yes, losing 2 lbs/week does show greater lean body mass reduction in % than losing 1 lb/week, in the lab. If you're not losing anything and it's not due to water issues, I think you can rule out that you're eating at an unhealthily large deficit.

Cindyinpg

Give this a read, it's about logging accuracy and weighing your food.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

socajam

Dear month-long plateau - I wish you would take your ugly face elsewhere. I have business to get down to, and your killing my success!

I need ideas to kick this plateau. I have been about 197 for the last month (a little longer.) I tried increasing my calories because my BMR was calculated at 1710 (meaning before, I wasnt eating enough). I have eaten above my BMR for a few weeks now and simply maintained.

I burn 300-400 calories a day on cardio and circuit training. my body fat percentage went from 36.6% to 36.5%. That is frustrating as heck... HELP ME! I cant cut calories and drop below my BMR right? Because that will put my body into starvation mode?

I just need a few ideas... Because im going crazy trying to figure it out.

From looking at your diary, I would say your sodium intake on some days is between 3000 and and over 4000 mg. I would aim to decrease sodium to 1500 - 2000 mg per day.

Siansonea

So basically, eating more calories didn't work. Hmmm. Gosh, I wonder what it is then? :huh:

AmyZ46

I was in a month long plateau last month also . I just made sure to drink more water,added exercises while at work , small stuff like squats and wall pushups modified jumping jacks ...anything I can do to move while at work every few hours . but it still took a month for my weight to start moving ..oh yea, and I made sure my calories were up to 1200 net at least .. I had been getting below that by not paying attention to the net value .

Good luck and congrats on being below 200 !

Siansonea

Eating below your BMR does not cause starvation mode or anything else. It's a myth based on misunderstanding the concepts. Yes, losing 2 lbs/week does show greater lean body mass reduction in % than losing 1 lb/week, in the lab. If you're not losing anything and it's not due to water issues, I think you can rule out that you're eating at an unhealthily large deficit.

It's really getting tiresome, isn't it? All of the people who have been sent down the primrose path by the people giving out damaging advice to eat MORE calories when they're not losing weight. "Don't eat below your BMR!" "You'll go into Starvation Mode!" "You'll lose LEAN BODY MASS!!!1111!!!!" I honestly think that people want to see others fail, otherwise they would be urging them to get their math in order, eat at a deficit, and enjoy steady weight loss. But people are so worried about all of these spurious anecdotal problems that they'll sacrifice their GOAL to avoid them. :huh:

dakotababy

Bodymedia - best thing ever that FINALLY broke me out of my plateau. Considering what I have changed since getting, I guess you would calculate your TDEE and minus 500 calories, eat that.

somerisagirlsname

Don't worry about starvation mode. If you're eating at LEAST 1200, you're probably fine. Some people aren't fine on 1200 though, so it all depends on your body.

ndj1979

you are either not estimating calories correctly or you are overestimating your burns...

Siansonea

Don't worry about starvation mode. If you're eating at LEAST 1200, you're probably fine. Some people aren't fine on 1200 though, so it all depends on your body.

Plus "starvation mode" isn't a thing that overweight people experience. There's that. :huh:

somerisagirlsname

Don't worry about starvation mode. If you're eating at LEAST 1200, you're probably fine. Some people aren't fine on 1200 though, so it all depends on your body.

Plus "starvation mode" isn't a thing that overweight people experience. There's that. :huh:

Yeah, I try not to say that it isn't a thing to avoid the flamers, but I'm aware :flowerforyou:

SLLRunner

you are either not estimating calories correctly or you are overestimating your burns...

Yep.

OP, congratulations on the weight loss thus far.

From what you put in your diary, your exercise burns are very high. Both MFP and the machines over estimate. I know this because I recently bought a heart rate monitor and found out this truth. You either need to (1) take around 150 calories off of the MFP estimate or (2) take about 100 calories off the machine estimate or (3) don't eat ALL your exercise calories back or (4) purchase a heart rate monitor.

Also, make sure you measure are liquid foods and weight all solid foods.

I also advise you cut down on some of that sodium.

SLLRunner

Don't worry about starvation mode. If you're eating at LEAST 1200, you're probably fine. Some people aren't fine on 1200 though, so it all depends on your body.

Plus "starvation mode" isn't a thing that overweight people experience. There's that. :huh:

This is true.

amcsouth

You're probably eating more calories than you think or overestimating your burn.

Weigh and measure everything.

Where are you getting the info for your exercise? Some of the entries in the MFP database are too high. Don't eat them all back, only if you are hungry.

Change your exercise. My body adapts to whatever I do over time.

Change your food. Try a protein shake if you don't usually eat them. Do something different.

Drink water!!

^^^ Agree! You are either underestimating your calories consumed or over estimating your calories burned. Rather halve calories burned when recording it, MFP is notorious in being inaccurate. Maybe swap in some HIIT style cardio instead of steady state cardio. Also are you taking your measurements?? I've experienced no change in weight but had a decrease in measurements. Definitely weigh everything for a week, its eye opening!!

Good luck!

SLLRunner

I am no expert in the fitness realm...but maybe not eat your exercise calories back. I heard they can be really inaccurate. be true to your diet...measure everything...all that stuff. above all, don't get discouraged. sorry, that is all I have.

No and Yes. No to NOT eating your exercise calories back and yes to MFP and machines overestimating calories. Eat a portion of your exercise calories back too account for error or get a heart rate monitor if you want accuracy.

Sarie_Bronish

So basically, eating more calories didn't work. Hmmm. Gosh, I wonder what it is then? :huh:

I plateaued when I was eating 1600 calories per day. So - eating less didnt work either. thanks for the condescending attitude though

Cindyinpg

Aside from what has been mentioned, (weighing and measuring your food and possible burn overestimations) there is this thread that discusses false plateaus where weight is actually trending downwards. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1098806-newbie-loss-plateaus-and-weight-loss-math-with-graphs

TheSlorax

Are you sure your BMR is 1710? That seems extremely high to me. Is it possible that 1710 is your TDEE (total daily energy expedenture)? In that case, eating at or above your TDEE will cause you to plateau or gain weight respectively.

Given that you also plateaued at the lower calorie intake it seems something may be off with either the estimation of you burns or your logging. Are you weighing and measuring everything? I noticed when I took a peek at your diary that you tend to eat calorie dense foods such as juice and peanut butter. Eyeballing those, at least for me, can cause my calorie intake to be higher than expected by up to a couple hundred calories. When your deficit is smaller there is less room for margin of error. That being said, also take measurements as it is possible there is a change in those that you are not seeing on the scale.

Sarie_Bronish

I should add - I always round my calories burned DOWN by about 50-100, from what the HRM says so as to NOT overestimate burn. I work a LOT harder than you think.

Also - I measure everything that goes into my body with a food scale.

I do cardio 6 days a week, and circuit training 4 days a week (meaning 4 days of cardio +circuits, and 2 days of just cardio and 1 day rest.)

When I plateaued, I was only eating 1400-1600 calories a day, still burning around 300-400, leaving my net calories between 1000-1200. I dont think I can cut it lower than that. The only advice I got was to stop eating so low and to feed my body. So I upped my calories

BeachIron

you are either not estimating calories correctly or you are overestimating your burns...

^ This

Sarie_Bronish

Are you sure your BMR is 1710? That seems extremely high to me. Is it possible that 1710 is your TDEE (total daily energy expedenture)? In that case, eating at or above your TDEE will cause you to plateau or gain weight respectively.

Given that you also plateaued at the lower calorie intake it seems something may be off with either the estimation of you burns or your logging. Are you weighing and measuring everything? I noticed when I took a peek at your diary that you tend to eat calorie dense foods such as juice and peanut butter. Eyeballing those, at least for me, can cause my calorie intake to be higher than expected by up to a couple hundred calories. When your deficit is smaller there is less room for margin of error. That being said, also take measurements as it is possible there is a change in those that you are not seeing on the scale.

My TDEE is about 2380. I measure everything out exactly in grams before I log it so that I know the estimation is correct. Juice? are you talking about the veggie crap that the trainer suggested I drink? lol I dont drink fruit juice. I know better, but the veggie juice is because I cant stand the texture of vegetables to eat them. I know it is high in sodium , but that should only affect my water weight, not my body fat percentage, right?

Sarie_Bronish

you are either not estimating calories correctly or you are overestimating your burns...

^ This

Then I dont understand what to do. I have a HRM to estimate my burns, and I log them LOWER than what it says to prevent that. I weigh everything I eat. If that is not the correct approach, what am I supposed to be doing?

Daniloveshockey94

Try this group! Sara and SideSteel moderate this group!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/10067-eat-train-progress-

BeachIron

you are either not estimating calories correctly or you are overestimating your burns...

^ This

Then I dont understand what to do. I have a HRM to estimate my burns, and I log them LOWER than what it says to prevent that. I weigh everything I eat. If that is not the correct approach, what am I supposed to be doing?

Are you weighing all of your food? The sad reality is that we are all horrible at estimating portions. Weigh 55 -56 grams of cereal, sometime and you will be shocked to see what a real portion looks like.

Also, HRMs are not that accurate. Cut them all by half.

TheSlorax

Are you sure your BMR is 1710? That seems extremely high to me. Is it possible that 1710 is your TDEE (total daily energy expedenture)? In that case, eating at or above your TDEE will cause you to plateau or gain weight respectively.

Given that you also plateaued at the lower calorie intake it seems something may be off with either the estimation of you burns or your logging. Are you weighing and measuring everything? I noticed when I took a peek at your diary that you tend to eat calorie dense foods such as juice and peanut butter. Eyeballing those, at least for me, can cause my calorie intake to be higher than expected by up to a couple hundred calories. When your deficit is smaller there is less room for margin of error. That being said, also take measurements as it is possible there is a change in those that you are not seeing on the scale.

My TDEE is about 2380. I measure everything out exactly in grams before I log it so that I know the estimation is correct. Juice? are you talking about the veggie crap that the trainer suggested I drink? lol I dont drink fruit juice. I know better, but the veggie juice is because I cant stand the texture of vegetables to eat them. I know it is high in sodium , but that should only affect my water weight, not my body fat percentage, right?

Ok, got it. I meant the V8 juice, but it sounds like you are accurate with your logging. It's not so much calorie dense as it is easy to misjudge intake. Has it been a full month since you upped your calories?

Eta: and yes, sodium may affect water retention but has nothing to do with body fat. I don't even track sodium on my diary as I do not have health concerns that require me to do so.