Been at this weight for too long

jmw1958

I have lost over 40 lbs. so far and I can't seem to get past this point. I am always right at or just below my calorie goal per day, I drink at least 10 cups of water a day, I walk 3-4 miles at 3 mph at least 6 days a week. I don't know what else to do or what I need to change. Any suggestions?

Brownski860

are you eating back your workout calories?

innerfashionista

Think about changing how often you eat and the intensity of your workouts. Our bodies figure out patterns, so if you're always doing the same thing, your body won't lose weight. Maybe think about zigzagging calories, changing your workout, or eating smaller meals more often. The last two, changing how I ate and what I did for exercise has helped me with my plateaus.

jhendrick1

They say everyone plateus, but just sticking with it will help. It will eventually break and the weight will start to come off again. This is what I gather from everything I read about "getting stuck" and not being able to get past a certain point. Keep going and eventually it will start to fall off again. Congrats on the weight you have already lost....way to go!!

bella8282

if you eat alot of the same foods everyday, change them up a bit, and also try a different exercise this always helped me in the past. Good luck

wbond

Here is a short clip that talks about plateaus...

http://beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/AngryBear007?bctid=28237124001

tlwatson

I agree with last post. Change things up. Im sure you heard all the ads about P90x Your body gets use to patterns change every couple of days. Just dont settle in for weeks at the same work out.

sincerehope

Have you adjusted your caloric intake as you lost the first 40 lbs or are you still eating the same amount of calories? I know that when I started out several months ago, I was able to consume around 1500-1600 calories but now I'm down to about 1200 daily.

It sounds to me like your body has somehow adjusted itself to your routine. If I were you, I'd try calorie cycling. I've not had to do this myself yet, but I read that this is how people overcome plateaus like you describe.

ttrotter1960

All you probably need to do is change up your workout or your diet. Your body has become accustomed to your new life-style, is making it the status quo and establishing a new baseline. I would suggest increasing the intensity of your work out. Add some time on a stationary bike or try to add some jogging if you can do that. It is important to always "push" yourself. Exercise should NEVER be comfortable. Your heart rate should increase significantly, you should sweat and be out of breath.

If you'll do this, I think you'll begin to see the weight begin to fall again.

lindak71

I'd say your body is very used to your walking workout. If you can, increase the speed or intensity of your walks. Try jogging (if you can) for little 30 second spurts every 5 minutes or just walk faster. Do you workout outside or on a treadmill? I love www.mapmywalk.com for finding out how far I've walked and figuring out how fast I'm walking. You can also add a little weight to your walk- a pair of wrist weights at a pound each will help burn calories. I love Leslie Sansone walk DVDs and she adds weights and strength-training exercises to her workouts. I bought 1 DVD that included a 2 pound weight belt. It's only 2 pounds but it makes a difference!

elizamc

Firstly you've done a fab job on your weight loss and life style changes so far! Well done!

If you haven't changed your exercise routine I would suggest you start with that if possible? Or maybe work harder at it, again if possible?

I have found that it's easy to get stuck at a level and wait patiently for it to get easier before cranking up the routine - but for me this doesn't work! To progress I have to push myself beyond the 'hard' stage to work at the 'harder' stage - if this makes any sense?
For example recently with my running I was stuck at running for 3minutes and walking a minute and was waiting for it to be easy, I spoke with my Pilates teacher who said "why don't you just go for as long as you can"? Common sense but it hadn't occured to me and I realised that the only thing limiting my progress was me! So next time I ran for as long as I could - and did 40minutes!

Above all - keep going....

elizamc

It is important to always "push" yourself. Exercise should NEVER be comfortable. Your heart rate should increase significantly, you should sweat and be out of breath.

This was what i was trying to say lol!

gargoyle999

I've been stuck a few lbs over 200 for awhile. Seemed like my body didn't want to cross that threshold. lol

I started using an elliptical/cross-trainer instead of just the treadmill to mix things up. I've also been drinking a lot of green tea since I keep reading good things about it and weight loss.

Today I weighed in at 199 for the first time!! So I would agree with the changing exercise. Do you belong to a gym where you can get on an elliptical machine? I can tell it works muscles differently then just walking/jogging because I could only do 5 minutes on the thing when I first started using it even though I was jogging on the treadmill. But now I'm up to an hour. It's less impact then the treadmill as well!

avonchik

Confuse your body and chage the way you exercise for a couple of weeks. Get a tape and work out with it!! Or just dance around .Anything to burn calories Have fun!!:bigsmile:

jmw1958

Thank you everyone for all of your suggestions!! I am going to do what you all have suggested and see if that will make a change! I have increased my walking distance and my speed over the past months. I try to walk outside but if the weather isn't cooperative, I walk on a treadmill. I use an app called cardiotrainer to track my walks. I don't eat the calories that I have burned and I have adjusted my caloric goal as I have have lost weight. Again,...Thank you all! :flowerforyou: