I've hit a plateau

PhilipHall

I've changed the way I eat and am exercising (cycling 12-14 mph 75-90 min) 3 days a week. My caloric intake is down to 1500 to 1900 cal/day with a cheat day Friday afternoon through Sat night. I've lost weight. Down from a high of 287 to currently 250. But I've not been able to budge past this 250 barrier. I've added weight training to my schedule 3 days a week, as of last Wednesday, and am keeping everything else the same. I'm checking my % body fat and weight everyday and for the past 3 weeks I've not lost anything! Anyone have any suggestions?!?

Driagnor

How many calories are you eating on your cheat day? If you go all out that can easily undo all the work that you do for the rest of the week. Also, maybe do a recalculation of your BMR and calorie goals - due to the decreased weight, your BMR will have decreased, and you may not have a very big deficit if your calorie intake has remained the same from your initial daily goal.

SHBoss1673

adding weight training is a common reason for a temporary stall, in fact any significant exercise change can cause a stall for weeks and even a month while the body adjusts.

Also, while I'm fine with someone having a "cheat meal" every couple of weeks, I'm not usually fine (when asked by clients) with a full cheat day, never mind a cheat day and a half that you are suggesting. If you want my honest opinion, I'd say nix that "cheat day" and instead implement a single meal once every other week, where you allow yourself (if you want to) go over your normal calorie consumption by maybe 200 or 300 calories, and allow more calories than usual to come from what main stream dietary experts consider "bad foods" (I.E. white flour, sugar, trans fats...etc.) but don't make the whole meal junk.

Oh, lastly, as a trainer, if I had a client tell me they were checking their body fat percent every week, I'd highly discourage that. Body fat % isn't going to change dramatically week to week, and it could become a source of frustration and an invalid focus point. Plan on once a month and I think you'll feel much better about it. This is a marathon, not a sprint, give your body time to adjust. This stuff takes a while to work.
-Banks

lil_pulp

If you track your food and open your diary, we can check that out and give you suggestions about how you could alter your diet--some foods/calories will be more helpful toward weight loss than others. I also suggest that you take photographs and measurements because sometimes body composition changes when weight doesn't. But mostly just keep on keepin' on because it sounds like you're making great, healthy changes that will benefit you in the long run regardless of weight........Oh, and be careful with that cheat day! They work for some people, but others go too crazy and are better off planning in treats during the week instead of having a free-for-all every seven days. Good luck!
-LP

TaylorsGranddad

Hiya pal.... I was just in the same place as you two weeks ago, I just changed things around stopped doing the exercises and eating the same foods, and now I'm walking instead of swimming and eating more of the nice foods again, but just watching my calories to make sure I stay under target.

It's just like starting again, I'm all intrested in what's for lunch and I'm walking around my local area and seeing parts i've never seen before, AND more importantly lost 3lbs this week.

I can't guarantee it'll work but as they say 'a change is as good as a rest'.


GOOD LUCK...

YOU CAN DO IT

katnz17

I've been experimenting with calorie zig zagging. It's early days but I've seen my first real weight loss in months. I'd recommend trying that. Apart from anything it's fun. It means somedays you can have a little more and not worry so much and then somedays you have a little less.

waster196

adding weight training is a common reason for a temporary stall, in fact any significant exercise change can cause a stall for weeks and even a month while the body adjusts.

Also, while I'm fine with someone having a "cheat meal" every couple of weeks, I'm not usually fine (when asked by clients) with a full cheat day, never mind a cheat day and a half that you are suggesting. If you want my honest opinion, I'd say nix that "cheat day" and instead implement a single meal once every other week, where you allow yourself (if you want to) go over your normal calorie consumption by maybe 200 or 300 calories, and allow more calories than usual to come from what main stream dietary experts consider "bad foods" (I.E. white flour, sugar, trans fats...etc.) but don't make the whole meal junk.

Oh, lastly, as a trainer, if I had a client tell me they were checking their body fat percent every week, I'd highly discourage that. Body fat % isn't going to change dramatically week to week, and it could become a source of frustration and an invalid focus point. Plan on once a month and I think you'll feel much better about it. This is a marathon, not a sprint, give your body time to adjust. This stuff takes a while to work.
-Banks

What he said.

PhilipHall

I've changed my profile settings so that it is now public. Thanks for help!!

End6ame

I weight myself daily out of nothing more than curiosity, however I have a strong understanding that my day-to-day weight is irrelevant and only track my weekly weight changes. If you notice yourself getting frustrated by day-to-day fluctuations in weight, you should stop weighing yourself daily and only do it weekly.

For body fat percentage, I measure and track it monthly. In most case I see a 1-2% decrease over the course of a month, sometimes less. So even in the best case, if I were to track it weekly I would only see around a 0.5% change and if you consider margin of error, weekly changes in body fat become pointless.

So try and focus on weekly weight checks and monthly body fat checks.

PhilipHall

I weight myself daily out of nothing more than curiosity, however I have a strong understanding that my day-to-day weight is irrelevant and only track my weekly weight changes. If you notice yourself getting frustrated by day-to-day fluctuations in weight, you should stop weighing yourself daily and only do it weekly.

For body fat percentage, I measure and track it monthly. In most case I see a 1-2% decrease over the course of a month, sometimes less. So even in the best case, if I were to track it weekly I would only see around a 0.5% change and if you consider margin of error, weekly changes in body fat become pointless.

So try and focus on weekly weight checks and monthly body fat checks.

Thanks for the input! I check my % body fat and log it in weekly but I am not focused on the numbers that much. I wanted to make sure that I was not loosing a lot of weight and my % body fat was staying the same or going up. With the exercises and eating habits that I have taken on, I should not have a problem. Just another marker to watch. My goal is to have 12 - 15% Body fat (currently @ 28%) so I bought a Omron fat loss monitor and figured I should be using it since I had it.

PhilipHall

Also, while I'm fine with someone having a "cheat meal" every couple of weeks, I'm not usually fine (when asked by clients) with a full cheat day, never mind a cheat day and a half that you are suggesting. If you want my honest opinion, I'd say nix that "cheat day" and instead implement a single meal once every other week, where you allow yourself (if you want to) go over your normal calorie consumption by maybe 200 or 300 calories, and allow more calories than usual to come from what main stream dietary experts consider "bad foods" (I.E. white flour, sugar, trans fats...etc.) but don't make the whole meal junk.

Banks,
Thanks for the input!! My cheat meals have been Friday afternoon after work having a few (4 or 5) beers and then the same thing Sat night. My other meals on Sat have varied from very high in calories to not much different than the rest of the week. It has been very inconsistent and your comment has helped bring that reality into focus. Thanks! I really didn't think that those days could be wrecking all of the other hard work but I'll make some changes and I'll see what happens.

Thanks for the help,

Philip