Help me re-assess my dietery/workout needs after 4 months

SolidGoaled

So, what do you do when you lose consistently for 3 months, then in month 4, you lose nothing? I am glad that I maintained my 36 lb loss this month, however, I do have 50+ lbs to go - so I'd like to get back into weight loss mode! Any thoughts on that? Is this common, to suddenly stop losing for a month?

littlemili

My experience is that when I lost the same % of my weight that you have, I had to drop my calorie intake and allow myself fewer "bad" foods to get over a plateau. My reasoning, which might be right or wrong, is that my body shrunk so it needs less now to keep itself going. Also that it had got used to my new diet and exercise plan, so I have switched that up to include more weights and high resistance stuff. I don't know why but alcohol now screws my loss up a TON and so does eating general rubbish at any point. Maybe my body is becoming more fussy about how it loses. So I would recommend you try:

All at once drop your calories to 1200, completely change your exercise regime, and eat clean.

If that isn't enough to jump-start the scale then I don't know what is! The beauty is that once the scale is on the move I found I could start letting alcohol and occasional "bad" food back in, but I needed that short sharp shock to kick things off. Just like when I started here and suddenly everything changed, and my body dropped a ton of weight.

Glucocorticoid

Your weight loss will stall eventually, it is not linear. I would guess you are probably in need of a Full Diet Break (this probably does not mean what you think). You need to provide more information.

Tree72

Do you take measurements? I tend to go through cycles. I'll lose pounds consistently for two or three months, then it will slow down a lot. During that slow down time I lose inches. That usually last about a month or so for me, then I go back to losing pounds.

Also, have you changed how you are eating at all? You body may be telling you it's time to switch things up. I found that I had to increase my protein as my fitness level and the intensity of my workouts increased.

Good luck on figuring out the next steps on your journey.

SolidGoaled

Your weight loss will stall eventually, it is not linear. I would guess you are probably in need of a Full Diet Break (this probably does not mean what you think). You need to provide more information.

I have had quite a few "breaks" this month, which I do take responsibility for. We had a death in the family which threw me off quite a bit, and there were a few too many weekend "splurges" too. I don't know for sure if it all accounts for my lack of weight loss this month, but, I think in part it affected it. As far as more info - what would you like to know?

Glucocorticoid

Yes, that is not the type of break I was referring to. The type I mean will actually help you lose weight FASTER.
But that's getting ahead of ourselves.

Let's start with:

-Goal (and when you started toward this goal)
-Weight/Height/Age/Gender (also mention weight at start of diet)
-Caloric and macronutrient targets (also open up your diary)
-Your weekly training (frequency, volume, intensity)
-Any medical conditions
-Anything else that is relevant

SolidGoaled

Yes, that is not the type of break I was referring to. The type I mean will actually help you lose weight FASTER.
But that's getting ahead of ourselves.

Let's start with:

-Goal (and when you started toward this goal)
-Weight/Height/Age/Gender (also mention weight at start of diet)
-Caloric and macronutrient targets (also open up your diary)
-Your weekly training (frequency, volume, intensity)
-Any medical conditions
-Anything else that is relevant

-Goal (and when you started toward this goal)
Goal weight: 165 Starting weight: 249


-Weight/Height/Age/Gender (also mention weight at start of diet)
Currently 215 -- 5' 9" -- 38 -- Female (starting weight 249)

-Caloric and macronutrient targets (also open up your diary)
According to MFP, I need 1200 a day to lose 2 lbs a week. I usually end up around 1400-1500 per day. 1200 seems too few, but I am willing to go there to get the weight to start moving again

-Your weekly training (frequency, volume, intensity)
I run 3 miles 2 or 3 times per week, and do 2 or 3 kickboxing classes, I end up about 5 or 6 cardio workouts per week

-Any medical conditions
none, no medications either

-Anything else that is relevant
I like beer. Its a challenge for me to give it up on the weekends. I usually drink 6 or so each weekend.

One more thing: I do not have a diary to open up because I log on paper at home. Its easier for me. I can tell you a typical day for me is I eat 4 times per day and have between 300-400 cals per meal. I shoot for 20-25 grams of protein per meal, but dont always make it. I keep my carbs around 20-35 per meal also.

natskedat

I wrote a post on this topic today:

http://fitnesswithnatalie.blogspot.com/2011/05/most-dreaded-word-in-weight-loss.html

Hope it helps!

Glucocorticoid

Yes, that is not the type of break I was referring to. The type I mean will actually help you lose weight FASTER.
But that's getting ahead of ourselves.

Let's start with:

-Goal (and when you started toward this goal)
-Weight/Height/Age/Gender (also mention weight at start of diet)
-Caloric and macronutrient targets (also open up your diary)
-Your weekly training (frequency, volume, intensity)
-Any medical conditions
-Anything else that is relevant

-Goal (and when you started toward this goal)
Goal weight: 165 Starting weight: 249


-Weight/Height/Age/Gender (also mention weight at start of diet)
Currently 215 -- 5' 9" -- 38 -- Female (starting weight 249)

-Caloric and macronutrient targets (also open up your diary)
According to MFP, I need 1200 a day to lose 2 lbs a week. I usually end up around 1400-1500 per day. 1200 seems too few, but I am willing to go there to get the weight to start moving again

-Your weekly training (frequency, volume, intensity)
I run 3 miles 2 or 3 times per week, and do 2 or 3 kickboxing classes, I end up about 5 or 6 cardio workouts per week

-Any medical conditions
none, no medications either

-Anything else that is relevant
I like beer. Its a challenge for me to give it up on the weekends. I usually drink 6 or so each weekend.

One more thing: I do not have a diary to open up because I log on paper at home. Its easier for me. I can tell you a typical day for me is I eat 4 times per day and have between 300-400 cals per meal. I shoot for 20-25 grams of protein per meal, but dont always make it. I keep my carbs around 20-35 per meal also.

Good job on losing 34 lbs!

You need to incorporate resistance training into your training - solely doing cardio will not do much in terms of retaining muscle mass while losing fat.

Since you are overfat, pretty much anything you do will cause you to lose weight, as long as you are in a caloric deficit (this is how you lost the 34 lbs). It's hard not to mess this up. But I am thinking long-term, and you should understand these things now.

From now on, forget about what MFP says.
In order to calculate your maintenance diet: read this: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/how-to-estimate-maintenance-caloric-intake.html
After this, set the deficit:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/setting-the-deficit-small-moderate-or-large.html
After you figured out your target caloric goal, set protein, then fat. Get plenty of fibrous veggies daily. Get 10g daily of fish oil as well.

Why don't you track your calories through MFP?

As per your question on why you stalled - read this:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html