Plateu for 4 months. What am I doing wrong?

dark_n_lovlee
dark_n_lovlee Posts: 4 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have been struggling to lose 20lbs since joining a gym in the beginning of the year. I have lost a little over 40 lbs under the direction of a nutritionist but I am getting frustrated to lose this next 20. My goal is to lose 130lbsin total but I want to take it bit by bit. I lost the first 35lbs or so by eating healthier and walking. My food plan for breakfast is eggs, Greek yogurt, fruit; Lunch is chicken with vegetables and same for dinner. Snacks are nuts, fruits, low fat mozzarella cheese sticks. This was the diet plan my nutritionist wrote out for me. So at first all I had to do was walk and eat these foods then I dropped the weight. I now hit a plateau and have since then joined a gym and I worked out 4-5x a week. I first started with elliptical (I do the interval training option) for 45 mins. I did this for 2 months but so very little results; like 3 pounds in 2 months. Then as of 1 month ago I started the 45 min Zumba fitness classes at the gym and still haven't seen much results. Again the results are minimal like 3 pounds. I am sweating my behind off and nothing :(

What do you think I should do in terms of exercise? How many mins of cardio? And so far I enjoy Zumba so do you think I should stick to it. Also I am confused by strength training? How many repetitions of which exercises should I do? I am currently 218 lbs and getting sick of being around this 218-221 lbs range (depending on the time of month). What does strength training do for my body in terms of fat burning and calorie burning? I really need help. I don't want to give up but I am really discouraged. Any advice will be helpful. Please and Thank you.

(oh and I just noticed in the title I misspelled Plateau lol)

Replies

  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    The usual reasons for a plateau are underestimating calorie intake, and overestimating activity level. For example, let's say you burn 500 calories in Zumba and you do 3 classes per week - that's 6000 calories in a month, which is a bit under 2 pounds of fat. Fat loss is a slow process after that initial fast phase (which is largely water weight).

    As far as your diet, measure everything you eat & drink and track it. If you make your food log visible, we can offer tips.

    Strength training helps keep your metabolism up, so it's a good idea to add it. There's a lot more you need to know than just how many repetitions, so it's best to follow a good program (NROL, Stronglifts, etc), or work with a good personal trainer. You could also try a lifting class, like Body Pump.
  • mulecanter
    mulecanter Posts: 1,792 Member
    The usual reasons for a plateau are underestimating calorie intake, and overestimating activity level. For example, let's say you burn 500 calories in Zumba and you do 3 classes per week - that's 6000 calories in a month, which is a bit under 2 pounds of fat. Fat loss is a slow process after that initial fast phase (which is largely water weight).

    As far as your diet, measure everything you eat & drink and track it. If you make your food log visible, we can offer tips.

    Strength training helps keep your metabolism up, so it's a good idea to add it. There's a lot more you need to know than just how many repetitions, so it's best to follow a good program (NROL, Stronglifts, etc), or work with a good personal trainer. You could also try a lifting class, like Body Pump.

    Yep

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