My weight will NOT go down- HELP

beckysiz

I lost a bunch of weight, put a tad back on, got back on track, and now I am stuck. I work out HARD about 4 times per week (mostly cardio, but I do weights as well) and according to my heart rate monitor I burn about 1000 cals per workout. I do eat most of my work out cals, as my daily limit is 1200 without them. I am still under my daily/weekly goal by quite a bit, but I can't seem to lose! When I originally started this weight loss journey I would easily lose at least 1 pound a week. I have been the same weight for like 3 weeks....I am getting seriously frustrated!

My partner says it's because I don't eat enough during the day and I skip breakfast. I was never a breakfast eater as I feel ill when I eat super early. I am going to make it a point to eat throughout the day more because I know it's not good to starve until dinner, but I am horrible at making time to eat while I am at work; I get caught up in the work and before I know it it's time to go home.

Any pointers or advice?

lauren45

take delicious snacks like carrot sticks and grapes and cheeze its and string cheeses and maybe some almonds or peanuts or other healthy treats to work with you. stuff you don't have to heat up!

dendra7

Plateaus are normal but sucky. I looked at your diary. You might try breaking out your meals into several, smaller meals throughout the day and see how your body responds. I would also up the protein and downgrade the carb levels (if it feels good to you anyway). That ought to shake it up for you. Mini-protein/carb/fat meals are pretty easy to pack if you plan ahead a bit. Think Hardboiled Egg & Veggies, Bean dip & Veggies, Chips & Salsa (w/beans or tofu in it)...4-5 little meals (300-350 calories each). Best of luck in breaking through.

psuLemon

Do me a favor and use the bmr tool and post your results. also do you have a desk job or active job?

katcod1522

maybe cut out the alcohol for a week or 2? And eat more

psuLemon

A few notes while we await for more information. You are rather high with your carbs (yes, i know it's the default setting) but reduce them to 40% of your calories, put protein at 40% and fats at 20%. Next, drinking calories = dead calories. The 200 calorie coffee is just plain crap. Now, I know coffee does have some nutritional benefit (well metabolism benefit from some studies I have seen in the past) but the creamer/fake sugar is just plain bad for you. I also see a lot of processed foods in your diary. I would suggest looking at your sodium. Essentially a good rule of thumb is 1mg of sodium per calorie.

Ssocrrbabe

I recommend looking up the "Olivia Method" in the search on MFP. After switching over to this new way of setting up MFP I have dropped 3 pounds and broke my plateau. Just an idea.

caramelcat

When I'm stuck upping my calorie intake helps.
I only do it temporarily then go back to my lower set amount.
Not by a ton of course, but slightly higher. :indifferent:

rosied915

I second looking up the "Olivia Method"~ it's where you NEVER eat below your BMR~ but look it up for full story.

moondust7

Sometimes I forget to eat lunch until mid-afternoon too... I know how easy it is to loose track of time. I use a lot of reminders (in Outlook or my phone) to remind myself to do things for a few weeks when I'm starting something new and that seems to help. Even if you don't like eating breakfast, make yourself do it for a month - it makes a big difference in your metabolism. I didn't use to eat it either, but now I have something small that I can carry with me and then I eat it at my desk, like a string cheese stick, a thing of yogurt, or a hard-boiled egg. After a while I noticed that I actually woke up hungry and I think that's good. I plateaued with my weight for a while and I think it was because I wasn't eating enough, or regularly enough. I lost 2 lbs after Thanksgiving, which was crazy b/c I had as much as I wanted that whole long weekend!!! I really think it was b/c my body needed more calories and a change in diet. I know what it's like to work out hard and not lose weight, but keep pushing! It could also be that you're building muscle and losing fat, but you aren't seeing a change in numbers on the scale yet. If your clothes fit differently or you think you look firmer, I bet you have lost more than you think! I don't measure myself, but I can tell that I'm tighter since I've been working out regularly. Good luck!!!

karenhs2

Here is a link to the Olivia method. I have it marked for when I reach a plateau!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/408674-the-olivia-method-the-cool-new-way-to-set-up-your-mfp-go

beckysiz

BMR is 1448. I am at a desk most of the day

beckysiz

A few notes while we await for more information. You are rather high with your carbs (yes, i know it's the default setting) but reduce them to 40% of your calories, put protein at 40% and fats at 20%. Next, drinking calories = dead calories. The 200 calorie coffee is just plain crap. Now, I know coffee does have some nutritional benefit (well metabolism benefit from some studies I have seen in the past) but the creamer/fake sugar is just plain bad for you. I also see a lot of processed foods in your diary. I would suggest looking at your sodium. Essentially a good rule of thumb is 1mg of sodium per calorie.

So my BMR I posted above... as far as diet- I really don't eat a lot of processed foods. I might have a week where I do every now and then, but we don't buy a lot of that stuff. Sometimes I pick stuff that would be similar to what I've homemade because I know the calorie content of what im eating, but that's about it. I have never watched anything except my calories and maybe that's part of the problem? I have adjusted my goals and will try this Olivia method. Im nervous to eat more than 1200 calories on days I don't work out. I burn a lot when I work out, but then I wonder how true my heart rate monitor is because my resting heartrate fluxuates between 68-88; it always seems high! When I work out it goes to 179... makes me wonder how accurate the monitor is and makes me think I should eat less. Im just so afraid of being 250 pounds ever again that im afraid to eat!