Weight Loss Plateau

throwaway231

So I got serious about fitness and nutrition and manged to lose ~9 lbs in 1.5 months by eating roughly 1,200-1,400 cals per day and exercising for 45mins-1hr 5 days a week.
I have now hit a plateau for the past 3 weeks or so. I see my body getting leaner but the scale doesn't seem to move.
I am aware that I may be gaining muscle mass, but shouldn't I also be loosing fat and seeing a change in my weight?
My workouts consist of some weight lifting (low weight x high reps) and cardio at the end of the workout.
I have recently added cardio every morning on an empty stomach and I still have not seen much change in my weight.

Is there anything I can do to get out of this plateau? Ideally I want to loose body fat and see a change in the scale.

Some background info: F, 22, 178lb, 5,3ft

CharlieBeansmomTracey

someone correct me if I am wrong, but I would go with heavier weights and less reps for the weight lifting because low weights and a lot of reps wont accomplish much at all(learned this the hard way,. and I would eat more calories since you are weight lifting and doing cardio on the same day. your body needs food to fuel it . I would suggest eating before doing any exercise 30 min to a hr before. If you are getting leaner you havent really hit a plateau in my opinion. you are still losing fat. sometimes the weight will come off later on.for me I lost the fat and got leaner before the scale budged. judge by how your clothes fit and not the scale because everyone is different. You most likely are not eating enough calories for the activities you are doing.Its all trial and error for a lot of us. I honestly dont think its smart to workout on an empty stomach but thats my opinion.

TravelsWithHuckleberry

I agree with a lot of what CharlieBeansm said. That's a lot of activity and not that many calories.

Depending on your body fat percentage, your BMR (what you need to keep your body functioning if you stayed in bed, not moving, all day) is between 1400-1775 calories per day. (You can calculate your own here: http://iifym.com/bmr-calculator/. I'd also recommend you check out their TDEE calculator.)

And yes to (much) heavier weights. Two good beginner programs are StrongLifts 5x5 (stronglifts.com) and New Rules of Lifting for Women (outlined in the book by the same name).

But be aware that heavier lifting can affect what shows up on the scale, so I'd also suggest you take pictures and a set of measurements -- that will tell you where you are when the scale isn't moving.

Good luck!
Courtney

Perksy80

I had almost exactly the same pattern of weight loss with a lot of loss then a plateau. If you have gone from not much exercise and dieting to what you describe then you will lose a lot quickly to start of with purely because your net calories have reduced. But over time you reach a point where your body starts changing and gets used to the new you so the loss is less dramatic. Also the lighter you get the less your body needs to work to move you around so the calories burnt over time reduces

I console myself with the fact that although I am now losing weight at a much slower rate, I am continuing to get leaner and overall I am much fitter and healthier than when I was doing nothing.

Personally I would look at the whole picture and not just the weight loss as the plateau can make you feel like it is not worth the effort or lead you to try too hard and get injured or ill. My main exercise is running. Because I have to wait longer to achieve any weight loss goals, I set goals for running so I am still motivated and get a sense of achievement when I hit them. I think the main thing is to enjoy the new you as well as looking ahead to the new, new you!

Good luck

olgasgarden

so i am trying to break out of a 3 week long plateau. here are the two things that i am trying this week to see if i can break out of this plateau.
1) trying a lower my salt intake. i think my plateau might be related to water retention.
2) trying new exercise routine. i think my muscles have gotten to be efficient at my usual/favorite activity.
lets see it works. fingers crossed.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

yes,changing your routine/exercise can sometimes help. it's worth a shot