Stuck at the same weight for a month

pinkita

I tried not eating my exercise calories, went back to eating them, last week I drank more water per day than I thought I could ever stand, and consumed less than 1600mg of sodium. Yet I've been going up and down from 199.8 to 200 lbs for 4 weeks in a row now.

I wear a Polar heart rate monitor when I exercise--I've tried not exercising every single day to exercising religiously every single day (as I did this week). I do a 30-min kettlebell workout on Sun, Tues, and Thursdays, and walk on Sat, Sun, Mon, Wed, and Fridays.

This week I made an extra effort to not to keep any tempting foods around because this was my PMS week, and I was successful. I felt good all week, I felt lighter, yet here I am, stuck again at the same weight.

I'm scared of going into a long plateau... not sure what to try different this week

smcassaro

I don't have any answers for you, but wanted to let you know that I understand your frustration! I just starting exercising one month ago & have been faithful to 4x/week & eating well & I have not lost an ounce! I'm not giving up though, my body has to respond eventualy. Hang in there!

juliapurpletoes

I hear your frustration and i completely empathize! Although I only had 20 pounds to lose, I did plateau for what seemed in my mind as forever, somewhere in the middle of it.

I retweaked everything, calories, goals, etc. made sure I reset my HRM to my current weight every 5 pounds, etc. Ate back at least 90% of my exercise calories......

The one thing that seemed to break it for me was over a few weeks I changed up my cardio workouts. About every 3rd day I would double my calories burned ( and I always ate them back as well). So for 2 days in a row I would burn around 300, then on day 3.... I would burn 500-600. I guess it worked like a shock to my system because I broke the plateau and kept losing.

Everyone will find their own trick, this was just an Example and what worked for me.

Best of Luck, be persistant and it will work out .

cmsu64113

Sometimes with me I don't lose for a month then all of a sudden I am down 2lbs. Also maybe do more intense workouts(30day shred) I find I lose more this way then if I run for 30 min. and zig zaging calories or eating 200 above for a week then dropping back down always works too. And always measure in inches and less by scale.

pinkita

Thanks for the encouragement and tips. I've only been doing the kettlebell workout for a month--before that I was doing Xtreme Personal Training by Jackie Warner. I liked it a lot but was getting bored with it. Someone gave me 30DS and I looked at it, but I really can't take Jillian Michaels for more than two mins at a time. Maybe I should go back to Jackie Warner

namrettik

I've been at the same weight for over two months now, and you know what? I'm okay with it. I'm in those dreaded 10 lbs away from smack dab in the middle of the healthy BMI range, but that's not why I'm okay with it. It's because I'm still losing inches. Are you?

NotGoddess

One thing to think about-even when you use a HRM to get your calorie burn it's giving you the total burn. That includes calories in your TDEE that you would have burned just sitting around. My TDEE (not BMR) divided into the minutes of the day works out to about 1.1 calories, so I always subtract that amount before I log, e.g. if I worked out for 30 minutes and my HRM says I burned 254 calories, I'll record 221 calories (254-33). The way MFP is set up you'll usually still have a deficit even if you don't do this and record the total burn unless you are exercising for hours each day, but it's something to think about.

Another idea is to pick one option regarding diet (eating more/less, zig-zagging, whatever) and sticking to it for at least a couple weeks. Especially if you've been eating too little it takes a while for your body to adjust. Changing every week may not be giving it enough time to see if it works.

Hang in there- it will happen.

SallieBeige

Pinkita, I have the same problem. Six weeks of eating properly, exercising fairly well, and not one ounce off
And I REALLY have been doing it properly
I went to see my doctor who took some blood tests. Lack of weight loss together with chronic tiredness - she said it might be a few things that are contributing.

If you have any other symptoms, perhaps a doctor's visit?

achampionsheart

ive been in a plateau for 3 weeks at 208....i have gotten discouraged too and am getting out of the mindset, slowly, that it is not always about the scale....i have lost 6 in. from each thigh (12 in all) since july....i am increasing my intensity in my cardio and burning about 200-300 more calories than i normally do....i normally burn between 600-800 cals on weight training/cardio days, cardio days i burn about 700 and something....now i am striving for 1000-1100....i do jillian michaels' 30 ds and i am on my fifth day....im hoping this helps me too.....it was time to incorporate something different inmy workout.....all i can tell you is dont give up....we are all going to hit our down times when the scale doesnt move....but if you are feeling healthy, good, and noticing a difference elsewhere than you know you are on the right track......you will hit your groove again, good luck=)

danibee79

I've been the same weight for 3/4 weeks now and it is SOOOO frustrating!!! Totally sympathise with you. Ive started to lose motivation to be honest, I've not been logging food (maybe because I wouldst have time to log EVERYTHING I've been eating!lol) but this morning I forced myself out of bed and out for a short run. I keep telling myself 'dont undo all of that hard work' and try to remember the times I've got angry/upset via I had nothing to wear.

I was rotating jillian michaels every morning, but got lazy. Also I stopped being organised for work ie making lunches and preparing healthy snacks. This has all added to my problem.

So I guess the solution for us both is to step up the workouts, trying new things that take us out or our comfort zones, be prepared foodwise, drink lots of water and finally keep logging on MFP! We'll get thru this I'll add you so we can keep eachother motivated!

ljbhill

I know how you feel! I made my goal and have reset it. Now I am only a few pounds away from my re-adjusted goal. I've been lacking motivation and eating way over my calorie limit and am no way as strict as I used to be. All I can say is, now my focus is on toning up and exercising. I'm beginning to be less and less concerned about the food and more and more into the exercise. I hit many plateau's on my way down. Each time I just kept sticking to it... and eventually it came off.

soozy84

I'm in kinda the same position. I'm eating 1300 calories a day (plus most of my exercise cals) and I'm exercising 5 days a week (1 x zumba, 3 x body combat and 1 x body pump) and the scales just aren't reflecting it. It's so frustrating and I'm having to use all my willpower to keep going and not give up. I'm feeling a lot better though since I started exercising and I'm thinking about just ditching the scales for a while.

dancingj2

I hate it when this happens. I think you have tried some good things to encourage your body to let go of the weight. Maybe mix up the type of diet you are on for a few weeks? If you are just counting calories, try the Atkins Diet too. The different food types may help jump start things.

runlorirun

Sleep can really affect your weight loss. I have insomnia and just had a two week battle with it. In those two weeks I lost nothing, didn't gain either though. As soon as I was able to get 2 good nights in, I dropped 1.2 lbs.

All the other posters gave you some great advise, just don't forget to get a good night of sleep in too.

Good luck!

jenttifer

I don't know how many calories you're eating per day, but I've learned that every time I hit a big long plateau like this I've increased my calories. (Scary, I know!) But every time I do it the pounds start dropping off again. I'd say try that for a few days and see how it works out for you, if it doesn't you could always go back to what you were doing before. Good luck!

ahavoc

I think you're looking at the scale too much. How many inches have you lost? You may be trading fat for muscle since you changed your work out. If you haven't yet, grab that measuring tape! See where you are now, vs where you were before, or at least give yourself a starting point.

And see if you can add 5 minutes on your cardio, or go up a level. Just a little push.

Good luck and don't give up!

kent4j

Thanks I needed all this advice since I've been at the same weight most of the summer after losing every week since February. Definitely not giving up because I feel so healthy.

Rae6503

How much are you eating? What is your weekly goal? Is your activity level correct (not as many people are truly sedentary as think they are)?

I've seen a lot of plateaus broken by upping daily calorie levels. Aim for 0.5lbs - 1lb per week instead of 2 or more. I've been trying to start saving such posts actually but only have a couple so far.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/319124-finally-broke-my-plateau

Awkward30

I'm in kinda the same position. I'm eating 1300 calories a day (plus most of my exercise cals) and I'm exercising 5 days a week (1 x zumba, 3 x body combat and 1 x body pump) and the scales just aren't reflecting it. It's so frustrating and I'm having to use all my willpower to keep going and not give up. I'm feeling a lot better though since I started exercising and I'm thinking about just ditching the scales for a while.

I know it makes a long day, but body pump isn't a great burn because it isn't pure cardio... I normally try o do at least half an hour of cardio after. My gym does have body combat, but at inconvenient times for me, so not sure what s typical burn from that is.

foremant86

I would try changing up your exercise and probably eating a little more....always sounds silly to eat more to lose more but that's just the way it works

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

and as others have said make sure you measure yourself, just 'cause the scale isn't going down doesn't mean the inches aren't!

pinkita

Thanks everyone! Today I ate a bigger breakfast than I normally do... I have tended to eat a small breakfast because A) I'm not that hungry in the morning and I lean towards "saving up" calories for the traditionally larger meals (especially dinner).

As for measuring, yes, I do measure... and I'm going to take my next set of measurements at the end of this week, so we'll see. I'm going to try having this similar kind of breakfast (i.e., more food) and see how that works. I'll keep you all posted after I take my measurements!

I will NOT give up!