First time post..need advice.

Eyvette1

This is the first time I am really reaching out for some advice. I have been eating right and working out for 2 months now. I lost 43 lbs really fast when I first started. I know that is allot for such a short period of time but it fell off so easily. Now...here is the problem. The last 3 weeks I have only lost 1 lb! I have hit that dreaded plateau and don't know how to fix it. I have 15 more pounds to go to my healthy goal weight. This is what I have done so far.

When I started I hit the treadmill fast and furious. I was walking at 4.5MPH for 1 hour at a time. I stayed at my 1,200 calories. The weight fell right off.

Then it stopped....I kept at it and didn't give up, decided to change it up and got an elliptical.....still nothing. Still staying at my 1,200 cal mark.

Added weight training...still doing the elliptical....still staying on the 1,200 cal mark...still nothing.

I am not drinking soda, watching my sodium, not eating processed foods, eating almost all whole grains, fruit, veggies and lean protein.

I know everyone says not to focus on the scale but isn't that part of loosing weight?

I am soooo frustrated...PLEASE HELP!

HealthyHereICome

Are you eating your exercise calories or just staying at 1200? If you aren't eating your exercise calories, perhaps you've slowed your metabolism. I understand it's pretty important to add on those extra calories that MFP says you earned from exercise.

xlacijeanx

First and foremost congrats on the weight loss. I do have to say that's a LOT of weight to lose in only 2 months- you should be proud. But I do think expecting it to keep falling off is not realistic. Just stick to your diet and exercise and eventually it will come off.

drosenbauer

First, don't forget that your body now needs fewer calories than it did when you started. Even fat tissue requires calories to maintain, and losing 43 lbs of it likely cut down your calorie allotment dramatically. (HOWEVER, it isn't healthy to eat fewer calories than you're eating right now for long periods of time, so please don't try that. Your body will start eating your muscles. Try something else first.)

The second thing is that you've probably gained a lot of muscle. As your body needed less protein (from your 1200 calories) to maintain the integrity of your fat tissue, you've started converting more into muscle. Muscle is heavy, so while you may still be losing a smaller fat, you're not losing weight. This is especially true if you're now lifting weights.

Third, your body is probably taxed. You've been stripping it of its energy reserves (fat), eating fewer calories than you would to maintain a healthy body at your weight (diet), and now you're pushing it to its limits with cardio and weights. Our bodies were designed to survive in the wilderness, with little or no food for days at a time, all while running from tigers. They're very good at adapting to anything you can throw at them after a couple of months, and yours may simply have adapted to your current diet and exercise regimen. Walking for an hour at 4.5 MPH or using an elliptical simply may not challenge your muscles anymore.

And finally, as lifetimes go, three weeks is a very short period of time. Adapting to the plateau by adding weights and buying the elliptical machine couldn't have happened more than a few weeks ago. Given that, losing 1 lb in three weeks is still fantastic. Now you just need to keep it up for another 15 3-weeks (that's only ten more months!). Don't lose hope!

alanmonks

HI Eyvette,

Sounds like your doing all the right things. The reason your body lost the weight could be that you shocked your body and it wasnt used to it, so thats why it lost all the weight. To keep that up, you need to chnage it up a bit more, doing interval training. This will shake up ypour body as it is probably used to what your doing right now.

Also, dont be obsessed by teh scales. Take your measurements tomorrow morning, then measure once a month, you will start to see a difference. fat takes up 18% more room on your body so as you lose the fat, you will shrink.

Good luck with your weight lose in future.

LynnBirchfield

I went to Jenny Craig many, many years ago. While going there I hit a plateau. They told me to increase my calories (including add a little more fat) for a few days, then back it back down. It worked! Good luck.

Thomasm198

Are you eating your exercise calories or just staying at 1200? If you aren't eating your exercise calories, perhaps you've slowed your metabolism. I understand it's pretty important to add on those extra calories that MFP says you earned from exercise.

There are lots of posts on that. From what I understand of reading the posts, basically what happens is if you're losing weight and not eating back calories lost due to exercise your body thinks it's in the middle of a famine and slows down your metabolism and hoards fat instead of burning it.

So if you are not eating extra calories to compensate for exercise that could be one of the reasons.

Eyvette1

I am varying my calories day to day but not eating the full amount of extra exercise calories. I really don't know if I could eat 1,700 cals a day anymore. I would feel ill. I appreciate all of the words of support. I will stick with it as I am determined to reach my goal. My family is eating better than ever before and I am proud of that. I just want to get a little bit of reward on that dreaded scale. ARGH!

Eyvette1

maybe I will try increasing my cals and fat for a few days and then back down. Maybe some interval training as well. Wish me luck.

drosenbauer

There are lots of posts on that. From what I understand of reading the posts, basically what happens is if you're losing weight and not eating back calories lost due to exercise your body thinks it's in the middle of a famine and slows down your metabolism and hoards fat instead of burning it.

Exactly. This is the "running from a tiger in the wilderness having not eaten for three days" effect. Humans are survivors. Our bodies were designed to stay alive, not to stay sexy. Your fat cells don't have brains and don't know what you're trying to get them to do. Fortunately, we can coerce them in the "sexy" direction with a bit of effort!

Paige1108

maybe I will try increasing my cals and fat for a few days and then back down. Maybe some interval training as well. Wish me luck.

I found that I really had to eat all my calories, base calories and exercise calories, to continue to lose weight consistently. It was really hard for me to accept this at first, but once I did I never hit another plateau. And the weight I had to lose was all in the healthy range and that is suppose to be super hard. But as long as I ate my calories and my exercise calories I continued to lose weight. I also upped my base calories because 1200 was just to few calories for me to lose weight. I know this all sounds wrong, but it's what worked for me.

I hope you find a system that works for you and good luck on your journey.