Weight Loss Plateau

Sternjohn662200

Has anyone got any tips for when you hit a weight loss plateau. I have been exercising regularly using beachbody programs (Insanity / Asylum 1&2 / T25) and currently am 3/4 way through second attempt at insanity but this time out hardly lost anything and lost 11kg on previous go. I know i weighed more then so easier to shift but still need to lose another stone but hardly losing anything. Have tried mixing up diet by increasing calories to 1900 from 1600 a day and have this week attempted to have a high protein diet as was but still nothing on scales after a week and cant seem to get past 76kg.

OllyJ_79

A plateau usually means you are eating at maintenance, either intentionality or unintentionally. How are you measuring your food? Are you using a digital scale and measuring any liquids? How tall are you for your weight?

Sternjohn662200

Based on the Harris Benedict equation i should be eating 2461 calories so 1900 calories gives me a deficit. I changed to 1900 from 1600 as i felt i would be under eating. Yes i measure portions using a digital scale and i am measuring my liquids. Im 170cm tall.

SezxyStef

How long has this pleateau been? if under 4-6 weeks you are not in a plateau.

Sternjohn662200

Probably for the last 6 weeks. I say weight loss plateua but have lost 0.3kg over that period (though this depends on what day i weigh myself as some days its the same)

Levibrayk

Plateaus are always hard to get through. You body has gotten used to your routine. I asked a fitness trainer in Hollywood about it when I went to visit California. This is what he said to me. Muscle memory is a huge part of a plateau. Your muscles know the routine and it takes less effort for them to do the moves, whatever you've been doing for this long to lose weight, switch it up. Time of day, type of workout, etc. Also, he said when you hit your plateau, start strength training along side your cardio. Breaking down and building up that muscle will help pull that fat that your body just doesn't want to let go of. Last time I went through my weight loss, that is what i did and I dropped to my pre-child weight and was much more toned, than when I just lost weight with cardio. I hope this helps.

Levibrayk

Also, proteins convert to sugar if your body doesn't use all of it. So if you up your protein, you have to up your strength training. Too much protein will store in your muscles as sugar, not muscle mass.

SezxyStef

Probably for the last 6 weeks. I say weight loss plateua but have lost 0.3kg over that period (though this depends on what day i weigh myself as some days its the same)

You are a couple of pounds from goal which means you have to be very accurate and weight loss will slow.

Typical 1/2lb a week is good when you are this close to goal.

Double check your logging and make sure it's accurate weighing solids, measuring liquids and check how you are measuring your exercise burns.

You have lost 0.66lbs in the last 6 weeks so it sounds like you are underestimating intake and/or over estimating burns.

karenj_m

A few things:

Start with the Beachbody calculator for calorie needs:
http://www.teambeachbody.com/eat-smart/nutrition-tools/caloric-needs

T25 is under "Focus T25".

Choose "lose a little weight" --- the others numbers are too low.

This will show you to "hit your goal" or maintain.

Round that number to the lowest. Keep steady on those calories everyday for 2 weeks. Track sodium as its in almost everything we eat....some people get pretty bloated from it. Log all food...toppings, coffee creamer, alcohol, etc. Be honest -- so you can see what's going on.

Only weigh yourself first thing in the morning - no clothes, and after you hit the restroom. Ensure your scale is calibrated correctly by putting a dumb bell on it.

Once you are very consistent in your training / tracking your food, you will be able to determine if you need to drop around 60-100 calories because your bmr might have lowered (from any weight you lost). If you make changes ....hold steady on that for at least 2 weeks to see if its working.

Karen

OllyJ_79

Also, proteins convert to sugar if your body doesn't use all of it. So if you up your protein, you have to up your strength training. Too much protein will store in your muscles as sugar, not muscle mass.

That only occurs if your body is experiencing low glucose levels, Gluconeogenesis, as it is more difficult to transform protein to glucose. The preference is either protein is used immediately, or else it transformed and stored as fat.

Which leads back to the importance of a calorie deficit over everything else, with regard to weight loss.

Sternjohn662200

Thanks for everyones help so far. I will definitely add some weights to my workout to see if that helps. 1/2lb a week weight loss i would be happy with so will aim for that and make sure my logging is accurate at all times. The only issue i have is what my calorific needs should be. Beachbody Calculator says i need to eat 2200 calories to reach my goal based on my BMR being 1800. Where as Myfitness pal has my BMR being 1,689. Would i be better eating 1600 calories again??

OllyJ_79

You're confusing BMR and TDEE. Your BMR is around 1680 for your stats, your TDEE is around 2400. As there are around 3500 calories in a pound of weight loss, to loose half a pound a week you need to be in a deficit of around 250 calories a day. Personally I'd probably try and stick to 2000\2100, and keep the exercise regime constant, otherwise you'll need to re-calculate

Sternjohn662200

Thanks Olly - just had a look and understand it now. BMR is similar with both then really. Seems i was under eating then so Ill push my calorie intake up then to 2000/2100 then and track this meticulously. I was tired during workouts so makes sense. Will have to go back to the 40% Carbs / 40% protein / 20% fat then as was on 50% Protein but there is only so much protein you can eat and carbs should give me the energy. Thanks everyone

OllyJ_79

You'll need your carbs to give you the energy to work out, so cutting them back too far is a catch 22 situation mostly, from a normal diet perspective, 50% is the recommended amount usually.

For protein most research shows that anything over around 1.4g per kg of body weight doesn't help from a muscle building capacity, although it keeps you feeling fuller for longer, as does fat. At very high levels of protein, you can impare your kidney function, so 50% would be quite high..Plus you should be getting at least 20% of calories from fat, else your body cannot achieve proper absorption of various vitamins. Personally I follow 55c/25f/20p and I lost 7kg in around 8 weeks on it with no issues.

cdavison2018

Muscle weighs more than fat. Are you losing inches?

Sternjohn662200

I have lost a little in terms of inches but only a 1/4". Always wondered about the muscle weighing more than fat, is it a that much that you would notice it a lot. I always thought it applied to people who are doing a lot of strength training which home workouts dont really have.

Muscle weighs more than fat. Are you losing inches?

Sternjohn662200

You'll need your carbs to give you the energy to work out, so cutting them back too far is a catch 22 situation mostly, from a normal diet perspective, 50% is the recommended amount usually.

For protein most research shows that anything over around 1.4g per kg of body weight doesn't help from a muscle building capacity, although it keeps you feeling fuller for longer, as does fat. At very high levels of protein, you can impare your kidney function, so 50% would be quite high..Plus you should be getting at least 20% of calories from fat, else your body cannot achieve proper absorption of various vitamins. Personally I follow 55c/25f/20p and I lost 7kg in around 8 weeks on it with no issues.

To be honest i probably had a diet too high in carbs which was what made me swing the other way. They were healthy carbs such as fruits / sweet potato / brown bread etc but some days they were 60% of my intake. Its the beachbody information which has thrown me as i looked at the p90x meal plan and fat shredder stage had protein being 50% so when i started to struggle i thought was this the issue. Will up the carb intake and will play about with it and see what works for me. Funnily enough my fitness pal goals recommends 50% carbs also.

Wiow

I have lost my weight via drinking pure chimp super tea.
It boosted my metabolism well.

leggup

You're so close to your goal that .3 lost in a few weeks is about right. The very last bit is always the slowest. Keep your logging tight. Changing around your macros really won't make too much of a difference in terms of weight lost.

Unknown

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Laurenloveswaffles

I have lost my weight via drinking pure chimp super tea.
It boosted my metabolism well.

No.
You lost weight by creating a calorie deficit.
The tea was not responsible for that.
Eating chips also boosts your metabolism. Actually, any food will do that.

funfang

I am currently experiencing the same thing. Sorry I don't have any tip for you but I got a lot of information from this forum. Thank you for posting it and thanks everyone answering it. My weight loss stopped when I started taking more protein and I notice that I am loosing my abs definition.... maybe I need to cut back on my protein..... and switch up my work out...