My weight won't go below 146 lbs

Phaedra2014

Running is lovely (I do it a lot!) but if you do too much of it, or use it in hopes of maintaining a formerly obese body, it is definitely NOT ideal by itself. You need to focus on rebuilding your lean body mass, and that comes about by lifting heavy things. You might want to look into body recomposition: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain
Rebuilding your LBM will increase your BMR, whereas too much long distance running tends to burn it off. While this is fine for an elite racer, it's not ideal for someone who is trying to maintain a large weight loss.

This a very good tip and will work for me too.

SLLRunner

I have to tell you, guys, this is one excellent conversation.

Quietbloom, thanks so much for the additional information. I thought BMR and RMR were both estimations based on gender, weight, height, and age, but it seems that they can be improved through gaining muscle. I am pretty much at my ideal weight now, but my entire life I was overweight, and did a lot of yo-yo crap dieting. Now, after several months here, I am at my goal weight and working on building muscle with weight lifting. I also run, three times a week. I learned from the trainer that weight lifting and cardio is the best package for me, so I've been following the weight lifting plan he gave me. It's nice to know that perhaps all my hard work will produce more benefits than weight loss and feeling great.

Diva, this is just a suggestion, but could the Jenny Craig food be stalling your progress? It's all prepackaged food, so what is the sodium content? Are you sure about your exercise calories estimations? In any event, I'm sure you've done amazing so far.

Phaedra, you have done so amazing. I would be frustrated too if I were in your shoes. Someone upstream mentioned Sidesteel and Sara's forum on here. i went and joined last night and I have to tell you, it's AMAZING. I encourage you to go over there and check it out. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/10067-eat-train-progress-
You have to join before you can post anything, but joining is instant and the place is pure organization and sanity. If I was you, I'd follow their directions to posting your question and see if they come up with some different solutions for you.

servilia

This past week I haven't really logged but I know there were a few days I went over and a few days I was under. I just ate to my hunger. I dropped 3lbs. Maybe try to cycle your calories for a week or two?

eldamiano

What are you missing? That burger that you ate this morning which you forgot to record by the sounds of things...

Pandora_King

What's wrong with that?

Sabine_Stroehm

What are you missing? That burger that you ate this morning which you forgot to record by the sounds of things...

I bet you're loads of fun in real life.
:noway:

Sabine_Stroehm

You're likely down to the last 10-15LBS. The margin of error there is much much smaller. If you're using logging as your means of weight loss, then you probably need to be meticulous with your counting.

Another thought: have you tried tweaking your macros? Maybe drop your fast burning carbs down for a few weeks, up the fat... Worth a shot.

Phaedra2014

I have to tell you, guys, this is one excellent conversation.

Quietbloom, thanks so much for the additional information. I thought BMR and RMR were both estimations based on gender, weight, height, and age, but it seems that they can be improved through gaining muscle. I am pretty much at my ideal weight now, but my entire life I was overweight, and did a lot of yo-yo crap dieting. Now, after several months here, I am at my goal weight and working on building muscle with weight lifting. I also run, three times a week. I learned from the trainer that weight lifting and cardio is the best package for me, so I've been following the weight lifting plan he gave me. It's nice to know that perhaps all my hard work will produce more benefits than weight loss and feeling great.

Diva, this is just a suggestion, but could the Jenny Craig food be stalling your progress? It's all prepackaged food, so what is the sodium content? Are you sure about your exercise calories estimations? In any event, I'm sure you've done amazing so far.

Phaedra, you have done so amazing. I would be frustrated too if I were in your shoes. Someone upstream mentioned Sidesteel and Sara's forum on here. i went and joined last night and I have to tell you, it's AMAZING. I encourage you to go over there and check it out. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/10067-eat-train-progress-
You have to join before you can post anything, but joining is instant and the place is pure organization and sanity. If I was you, I'd follow their directions to posting your question and see if they come up with some different solutions for you.

I did! I took QuietBloom's suggestion and joined. Waiting for them to get back to me. Good to know you are there too

PinkNinjaLaura

Sorry to hear you're still stuck! Did you ever do the 7 (or 9) point caliper test?

Phaedra2014

Sorry to hear you're still stuck! Did you ever do the 7 (or 9) point caliper test?

I did. The trainer did it twice to make sure the numbers matched up. It put me at a 22% BF.

ab_1203

I havent read through the thread but youre body probably too used to it. Try and eat more cals for a week then go back to it, I read this somewhere before but dont know if it will work.

Phaedra2014

I havent read through the thread but youre body probably too used to it. Try and eat more cals for a week then go back to it, I read this somewhere before but dont know if it will work.

Yes, re-tweaking is probably what's needed now. I'm 25 lbs from my goal so I understand it's not going to be as easy as it was before.

QuietBloom

Hey Quietbloom -- I truly am not underestimating intake. I have and continue to eat Jenny Craig food -- which is prepackaged, pre-weighed, and set at a calorie level. I add veggies each day to this (lots of raw spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, lettuce). So, the calories I am taking in are fairly prescribed. Are there days I go over? Heck yeah. But to the tune of thwarting weight loss and even causing a gain? Doesn't seem scientifically possible.

I do like your idea about the lean body mass. True, I tend to go overboard on cardio. However, for the past 5 years, I have been doing strength training with a personal trainer twice a week for an hour each session. I'm wondering if I need to start taking one of my cardio days and just doing pure strength on my own. Maybe I should. Shake things up. But even , for argument's sake, if I added enough lean muscle to burn 100 more calories per day, or even 200, that's only 1400 per week more burned. I'm really at a loss as to how to get this weight back off. If eating an average of 1300-1500 calories a day and burning an average of 300 per day through exercise isn't producing a loss, I dont know what else I can really do.

Hi there - sorry it took me so long to get back to you. That's great that you are already doing strength training. The problem is, you cannot build muscle unless you eat a surplus of calories. So while you are strengthening what you have, you are not increasing your actual muscle mass. Check into 'reverse dieting'. You may have to resign yourself to the fact that you will put on some fat with muscle while in a surplus, but once it's on, you know how to lose the fat already. I believe the advice I have seen given is to drop cardio altogether and focus on lifting while eating at a slight surplus of calories, making sure you are getting ~ 1g protein/lb of lean body mass. You might want to re-post this to get some more ideas - I have been reading and learning right long with everyone else, so I'd fee better if you got some more input from others who are doing this, or have done it. I know Sara has a lot of experience with this (mod of Eat, Train, Progress) as she has been doing it VERY successfully.

Best!

brown46545

Sorry to hear you're still stuck! Did you ever do the 7 (or 9) point caliper test?

I did. The trainer did it twice to make sure the numbers matched up. It put me at a 22% BF.

Isn't that an excellent number? If so, maybe you are just really gaining a lot of muscle? It sounds like you are doing EVERYTHING right.

michellekicks

22% bf is excellent for in your 40s. You can maybe get lower but it won't be for increased health.

riskybizness02

I agree. it sounds like you may be very strong at 5'3" with more lean muscle mass than most. I would talk to a fitness trainer and have them evaluate your body fat and body lean mass. A trainer who has the ability to evaluate those things is worth their weight in gold. I 'm 5'2" and have more lean muscle than most, but the scale is at 166 right now. My goal weight would be 155. For me that will be tons of weights, and aerobics to get there.

Phaedra2014

22% bf is excellent for in your 40s. You can maybe get lower but it won't be for increased health.

YOU look awesome!! I have to know how you did it.

I'd like to get to 18% BF. I don't know that I will but it's what my goal is.

QuietBloom

22% bf is excellent for in your 40s. You can maybe get lower but it won't be for increased health.

YOU look awesome!! I have to know how you did it.

I'd like to get to 18% BF. I don't know that I will but it's what my goal is.

22% is very good. Nothing wrong with wanting to get to 18% though. It just may take quite a bit of time. I'm kind of in that boat too.

Ang108

How tall are you? Have you had your thyroid levels checked?

I'm 5.3" and my thyroid levels (as well as everything else) gets checked a couple of times a year. All within normal. I'm totally puzzled over this stalling aspect.

Just a little side note: Why would you check a healthy thyroid a " couple of times " a year ? I have no funtioning thyroid at all due to radiation from cancer and only got it checked twice a year during the last five years and of 2014 only once a year..

agthorn

Woah, woah, woah. If you are 22% body fat at 146, you do NOT have another 20 pounds left on you to lose (at least not without sacrificing a lot of lean body mass in the process).

113.88 lbs lean body mass and 32.12lbs fat, about 19 of those essential (13% for women). Your goal of 18% is only a loss of 9-10 lbs.

Phaedra2014

How tall are you? Have you had your thyroid levels checked?

I'm 5.3" and my thyroid levels (as well as everything else) gets checked a couple of times a year. All within normal. I'm totally puzzled over this stalling aspect.

Just a little side note: Why would you check a healthy thyroid a " couple of times " a year ? I have no funtioning thyroid at all due to radiation from cancer and only got it checked twice a year during the last five years and of 2014 only once a year..

I had a high CK level last year and my thyroid was checked twice to make sure it wasn't a contributing factor.

Phaedra2014

Woah, woah, woah. If you are 22% body fat at 146, you do NOT have another 20 pounds left on you to lose (at least not without sacrificing a lot of lean body mass in the process).

113.88 lbs lean body mass and 32.12lbs fat, about 19 of those essential (13% for women). Your goal of 18% is only a loss of 9-10 lbs.

I thought I was 5'2". Turns out I am 5'1" so 146 lbs is heavy on my frame. 120 lbs would be good for my joints and mobility and where I have always felt most comfortable.

The 22% was measured with calipers by the PT. I understand it is not the most accurate way of testing BF so I give the 22% some wiggle room. I will get tested again for BF in a couple of months. We'll see how that goes.

I've kept up strength training to preserve muscle mass and work on adding more weights as I progress. I really am not thin! I have no eating disorders nor do I have a distorted body image. I'm very realistic about my weight and my goal is health and fitness, not vanity. I'm way past the age where you believe the only way to get a man is with a thin body!

michellekicks

22% bf is excellent for in your 40s. You can maybe get lower but it won't be for increased health.

YOU look awesome!! I have to know how you did it.

I'd like to get to 18% BF. I don't know that I will but it's what my goal is.

Um, are you talking to me?! My BF% tested by DEXA is about 27%. You are much leaner than I am.

Mischievous_Rascal

Have you tried IF? That has kept me at a steady weight for the past few months. (I'm 45, 5'5, 132 lbs and 18.6% BF.) I gained the "Christmas 5" and it was gone within three days of being back to daily fasting. Check out www.leangains.com.

SheFitWalks

I would like to just follow this thread since it's difficult when I get stuck. I got stuck for over a month. Weight just like yours and bouncing up and down. (between 140 and 142.5...went to 144 one day.)

Funny thing that happened to me with the weight loss kicking back in. During the holidays I kept to my calorie count; then my daughter just got married this past weekend and I just could not track like I've been doing. One day I went 600 calories over my normal. (I was pretty concerned...thinking I was going to have work for a few weeks to drop the 1 or 3 extra pounds I was probably gaining.) I have only not tracked my calories for 2 or 3 days over the rehearsal day and the wedding day.

I stepped on the scales this morning. I'm down to 138! (I even moved the scales to a different area of the floor thinking there was a mistake.) I really don't know how, unless it's like another poster said...sometimes you just have to trick your body.

Oh, and I did not do any of my normal exercises for 3 days. (4 if you include Christmas Day.) I was very busy for 2 days though.

I hope you can figure out how to get over this stall.

Phaedra2014

mrsbigmack: If you are at 27% there is no way I'm at 22%. Like I said, calipers are not the most accurate way to estimate BF.

SheFitWalks: Congratulations! You mowed right through your plateau. A few other people also made the same suggestion i.e. stop counting for a little bit and cut out a day of exercise in order to change things up. Sounds like it worked in your case.

Phaedra2014

Have you tried IF? That has kept me at a steady weight for the past few months. (I'm 45, 5'5, 132 lbs and 18.6% BF.) I gained the "Christmas 5" and it was gone within three days of being back to daily fasting. Check out www.leangains.com.

I don't know anything about IF. I will take a look at the website.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Sorry to hear you're still stalled. Did you end up taking a maintenance break?


At this point I'll turn you over to Sara/Sidesteel-- they're more likely to get to the bottom of your problem than I am. I hope you find a solution soon!

Kim55555

Hi please keep the faith & the number will take care of itself and will change when it's good and ready.

I will post when I get home later a 12 month progression photo. I lost a mere 2.5 kg on the scale but my body made a huuuuuuge transformation!!

I lost 33 kg all up in 2.5 years

1. I would throw away that scale, it's too frustrating & what's the point.
2. Take monthly photos !! Side on, front on. This is where you'll see your progression (while the scale is not moving)
3. Take monthly measurements
4. Take skin folds
5. Listen to comments about your weight from people you haven't seen in a few months (my boss went away for an 8 week holiday and was amazed at how much weight I had lost. Scale had not moved but I lost fat & recomposed - i got thinner) he couldn't believe my loss didn't show up on the scale!!!!!
6. If you are exercising and introduced weights your lbm will slowly be increasing, your bones, ligaments, tendons all getting stronger to cope with the new demands. Your body is redistributing.
7. How are your clothes fitting. Buy a top a size too small with the aim to fit into it in 6-8 weeks time.
8. Focus on performance goals for the athlete you have become
9, Continue to log & weigh food

I will post the transformation photo up later. Hang in their and have patience. The scale number isn't everything.

One lady at work was a chubby 55 kg same height as me. I was 60 kg at the time and I looked lean and athletic but weighed 5 kg more than her. I lost another 3 kg after that day but it took a long long time.

Be prepared for that scale to move slowly over the next12 months if you continue with your exercise regime!

And

Well done on your 100 + pounds loss, that is freaking amazing!!!! Keep it up mate, have faith

Oh also download venutos burn the fat feed the muscle. Very good ebook!! See ya

Kim55555

Perfect! Thank you. I will read it now.


I just want to get past this stuckness. I know it is mostly a mental game because I have lost a few inches but overall, I want to move past this number.

Hi,  I didn't see this post of yours until just now. I was in a hurry, had to get to work & failed to see it. 


You are not stuck, you have not platued !  You mention you have lost inches, & in your next reply you mention you had to buy a size smaller clothes size. You definitely have not stalled. Like I was saying in my other post your body is recomposing!  Fat is melting off of you but because of the demands of a new type of exercise your progress won't always show up on the scale. You also commented that you have noticed you have firmed & your body is starting to tighten! There you go!!! Everything is going to plan!

That's all the proof you need you are progressing!

Seriously... Please look into throwing that scale in the bin. I'm dead serious! It's actually getting you down because and  im trying not to sound mean but the scale and the scale number is all you seem to be concerned about/& focussed on. It will get too discouraging for you if you continue to weigh yourself all the time.

If you want that scale number to go down ASAP then just quit all exercise eat vlcd & end up skinny fat and a low scale number.

If you had a choice would you choose to end up at 125 pounds & 30% body fat or end up at 135 pounds & 18% body fat ?
You would pick the 135 because you would look nicely toned as you have a good amount of lbm. I know what I'd pick!

I ended up getting to 57 kg in August 2012, then I fluctuated up and down between 57 - 59.5 kg until January 2013 & thats where I stayed. When I got to 61 kg in December 2011 I realised I was in for a marathon session to lose the last few kg's & I stopped worrying about what the scale said & noticed my progress using other methods, taking frontal & side shot photos, measurements, how your clothes fit, what friends & acquaintances say when they haven't seen you in a few months (see if they comment that they reckon you've lost weight!!)

Is there someone that you haven't seen in a few months?? Meet up with the friend & notice their reaction when they first see you after a while. Also dont mention anything about how you are so happy that you have lost more weight. Hear it from the horses mouth. You want the comment to come from them with ought you putting the idea in their mind. I can remember I felt like I was flying blind some of the time because I wasn't sure I was progressing & photos are a gradual thing same as measurements, so the best confirmation that I received to know I was progressing was to see someone I hadn't seen in a few months. Also measurements wouldn't always change for me but I new I was losing fat when I would try on the 1 size too small fitted top each month. That's how you know you are succeeding.

Oh another thing.  When was the last time you weighed 120 pounds? Because if it was a long time ago then it may not be realistic to get back to that same weight. You may find the number you get to is 130. But I can understand how you want to feel lighter because it will help your joint. For me after I did my latest bulk and I'm 41 years old I got to 66.2 kg & felt pretty much the same as I did weighing the lowest I got to which was 57 kg. I put on 9kg in 9 months during my unintentional bulk I did. I think I would have put on at least 2 kg of muscle. I'll be really interested to see what scale number I end up as. I've lost 3.5 kg in 8 weeks which is an ideal loss for me. I wouldn't be surprised if my scale weight settles at 59, as I have increased my lbm. I'm really quite excited to see what kind of definition I'll have in around 7 more months. 

I'll find a couple of links for you tommorow that will explain some things further. Just remember you are progressing, youve done a great job these past 4 months & throw that dam scale out, it's doing more harm than good! Believe me when you are in your last stages of weight loss it seriously takes forever. Just keep persevering & show that determination & grit you've shown over the months years you've lost you 100 + pounds. You should be so proud of yourself for how far you have come.

I got your message. I'm glad I have encouraged you! You can do it. Just keep plugging away