Plateaus and what to do

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chuisle
chuisle Posts: 1,052 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Okay, I lied. I don't know what to do. But I do have something to tell you about them.

I'll start with a little about me. On April 19th I weighed in at 142. I was super happy and well on my way to achieving my goal of 134 by July. But then something happened, I stopped losing. My body fat percentage stopped going down, I wasn't losing more inches. It was frustrating. I changed my work out and my diet several times. Played with calorie levels. The list is long. I've above 142 by a few lbs, below it by a few and everywhere in between. But I have kept working out and trying to make improvements in my eating.

Today is 19 weeks later and I just weighed in at 139.5. That's .131 lbs a week, averaged out. I know my body has gotten better since April. I know I am stronger, more toned, etc.

The point is to just keep going.

If I go at the same rate I have then I will reach my goal weight and body fat in July of 2012. That's a really long way away. An ENTIRE YEAR after what I thought I would get to last January. But that's okay, that might be how long it takes for someone is relatively lean to move forward while still doing things I want (like eating pizza and drinking alcohol).

I've changed my mindset. I will continue to track my progress and challenge myself. But the success is not in the result, its in the doing.

PS Started 155 28% body fat (guess, first measured at 26.6 4 weeks after start), Currently 139.5 lbs 21.9% body fat, Goal 134 or 19% body fat

Replies

  • bry_all01
    bry_all01 Posts: 3,100 Member
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    Not sure if there was a question in there or not, but here goes my .02 cents...

    If you are eating your exercise calories, consider increasing your calories by 200 calories and see if adjusting helps you get the weight to come off.

    Plateaus happen, unfortunately, and when they do, that only means that it is time for a change, because your body has grown accustomed to what it was used to doing. Once it is adjusted, you will get stuck on a plateau and start to feel discouraged.
  • fuhrmeister
    fuhrmeister Posts: 1,796 Member
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    Thanks for this post. I have been plateaued for weeks as well. But I keep going. I know the scale will eventually change. keep up the good work!
  • Artemis_Acorn
    Artemis_Acorn Posts: 836 Member
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    I don't know if you're taking body measurements, but in your case (I rarely think this) it might be due to putting on lean muscle. You've changed your body composition quite a bit, and you really don't have a lot of FAT to lose.

    I agree with the advice on changing up what you're doing. You look fabulous by the way, and your stick-to-it attitude is right on target!
  • chuisle
    chuisle Posts: 1,052 Member
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    Not sure if there was a question in there or not, but here goes my .02 cents...

    If you are eating your exercise calories, consider increasing your calories by 200 calories and see if adjusting helps you get the weight to come off.

    Plateaus happen, unfortunately, and when they do, that only means that it is time for a change, because your body has grown accustomed to what it was used to doing. Once it is adjusted, you will get stuck on a plateau and start to feel discouraged.

    No questions but thanks for the advice. I agree that adjusting cals can help. I've eaten at a lot of different levels and eating more didn't help or hurt. I've been on a low kick for a while so I might up it a few hundred.
    I don't know if you're taking body measurements, but in your case (I rarely think this) it might be due to putting on lean muscle. You've changed your body composition quite a bit, and you really don't have a lot of FAT to lose.

    I agree with the advice on changing up what you're doing. You look fabulous by the way, and your stick-to-it attitude is right on target!

    Thank you! I agree...it is crucial to measure everything. I do body weight, body fat, and inches. I have moved a little in all categories but much less than I originally thought and very, very, slowly. The changes have almost been imperceptible in the day to day, even week to week.
  • kblue2007
    kblue2007 Posts: 2,564 Member
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    Great topic!!!! I have been kicking around the same weight for quite a while. I'd been to my goal weight for several weeks, then summer hit and now I can't seem to get back down??? Just gonna keep doing what I'm doing and hope I can eventually get back down!
    Thanks for posting!
  • jazzy020106
    jazzy020106 Posts: 485 Member
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    Up your calorie intake for a few days =] That always seems to help me when I plateau
  • Better_Balance_2011
    Better_Balance_2011 Posts: 3,711 Member
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    Great determination! And great attitude. It can be frustrating. Before I got preggo and was still trying to lose, it was happeneing very very slowly. I lost 6.5 pounds over 5 months but was the same as you - I wasn't willing to give up some splurges or drinking. Maybe living this type of lifestyle, your body has gotten to a point it has stabilized and if you want to see more major changes, you need to do major things like completely cut out carbs, alcohol, sugar, work out more, eat more protein, etc. on a regular basis....all those really hard things that I personally never could justify over the 5 extra pounds I wanted to get rid of. As a person who has weighed 106 to 140, I know I can weigh 106 but I have to go to extremem measures to get there. Just my two cents. I think you look great! And at some point I think we as women need to say, I am okay with me and I am now just living a lifestyle instead of the mindset of losing and dieting. Not to say you shouldn't work towards your BF% goals....and I know you know that you can get there. It's just going to take forever. :wink: Woo hoo!! Yay for you!!

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