Plateau?

caitylynn62

So almost half a year ago I lost 10 pounds when I first started my fitness pal. I was doing great with exercising and eating right until softball started. We didn't do much exercise at practice and I had no extra time to work out so I stopped and I still ate moderately well, but i stopped losing weight. Luckily, I kept it off. Now I am exercising and eating healthy again but I'm still not losing weight! I don't know if its a plateau or anything but I feel like I should be losing weight since I kind of drastically changed my eating habits. I am now a vegetarian, I don't drink anything with calories (for the most part) and I stay away from junk food a lot more. Will I start losing weight once track starts? We do intense workouts so it might help...how have you all broken your plateau????

Helloitsdan

How many calories per day?
How old are you
Height
Weight
Body Fat %

You need to trick those little fat cells to go away and if you dont then you will stall out.
I'm guessing you are eating anywhere from 1200-1400 and it isnt enough.

Keep in mind that if you are hungry during the day you arent dieting correctly.
=D

caitylynn62

Alright! I get hungry sometimes.. i'll try eating when I'm hungry. I'm 16, 5'6, 143, and I usually eat 1200 calories a day. How many should I have?

AdrienneinTO

You're not eating enough. You should not go below 1200 NET calories (meaning food minus exercise). For example, if you burn 500 calories from exercise, you should be eating 1700 calories. If you under-eat regularly, you will feel hungry, have trouble sticking to your weight-loss program, and probably stall your progress.

I personally think that you should not, in fact, eat less than your BMR (which is probably around 1350-1400). You are not far from your ideal weight, so don't try to create too much of a deficit. I am 5'5", 137 lb, similar to you. In my typical days, I eat 1700-2000 calories, and exercise off 450-550 calories. I've been losing weight steadily while doing that, no plateaus.

caitylynn62

Okay I'll try but I feel like when I do that I gain weight.. hm..

Helloitsdan

Alright! I get hungry sometimes.. i'll try eating when I'm hungry. I'm 16, 5'6, 143, and I usually eat 1200 calories a day. How many should I have?

At 16???
Hmmmm.....
I suggest using these tools....
http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/

Click on the BMR calories tool and follow the instructions.

Use the 2nd BMR reading because its more accurate.
The Activity listing at the bottom will have several different caloric needs.
Use the proper one that fits you!

Dont let your BF% get so low that you look like a skeleton though.
At some point you will want to do a clean bulk.
Dont worry...I hate the word "bulk" too!
Youll get fantastic results if you drop BF% down to about 20% then clean bulk for about 3 months to build up a little muscle.
Then when march rolls around you cut a little to drop the rest of the fat.
So in the spring you can 2 piece it to the pool!
And have ABS!!!!
=D
Let me know if you need any help!

ninerbuff

So almost half a year ago I lost 10 pounds when I first started my fitness pal. I was doing great with exercising and eating right until softball started. We didn't do much exercise at practice and I had no extra time to work out so I stopped and I still ate moderately well, but i stopped losing weight. Luckily, I kept it off. Now I am exercising and eating healthy again but I'm still not losing weight! I don't know if its a plateau or anything but I feel like I should be losing weight since I kind of drastically changed my eating habits. I am now a vegetarian, I don't drink anything with calories (for the most part) and I stay away from junk food a lot more. Will I start losing weight once track starts? We do intense workouts so it might help...how have you all broken your plateau????

It's not a plateau. You would have to be in CONSISTENT calorie deficit for 6 weeks or more with no weight loss for it to be a plateau.
So it's a new regimen, but have you been tracking your calories or winging it?


A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

caitylynn62

well then I'm glad its not a plateau.. I don't want it to be! I dont know what I'm going to do.. I am trying to eat more today.. I'll see how that goes.

AdrienneinTO

Also, be careful about reading too much into day-to-day fluctuations. It could easily take a couple of weeks for you to see much of a difference on the scale, especially since you are already within a healthy BMI range.