"stuck" on same weight... any suggestions?

salxtai

Hey there,
I only started using the 'myfitnesspal' app about 1.5 Weeks ago, but have been trying to lose weight for a while, and downloaded the app in an effort to find an explanation for my lack of progress.

For about the past 5 months I've been hovering between 62 - 63 kg (~136-138 lbs ?) , despite regular exercise (gym 1-3x wk + martial arts training 2x wk - cardio and resistance), and healthy eating (fruit for breakfast, lean dinner etc). I haven't lost any real cms off my waist/hips either and the numbers are abit above ideal.

I'm ~162cm /5"4 in height so BMI-wise I'm technically within healthy range already but I still have areas in my thighs and waist where I still have flab that I want to get rid off. I know spot reduction is a myth so my only option for getting a lean belly and thighs is to keep losing weight.

My question is: is there any factor of weight loss that I might not have considered that may make a difference in knocking off those last few kgs? (aiming for a <60 kg weight)

Any tips would be great - I've been lurking on there's forums for a while but this is my first post, so apologies if it sounds silly

salxtai

Forgot to add that with the app I've found that my eating habits sit somewhere between 1230 - 1400 calories, which according to the app is still within the amount that can be eaten in a day for weight loss, so assuming I'm not underestimating massively, I've definitely been within that range.

The only other thing that I found this week is that I have low iron, but I don't think this would be contributing to the stalemate...?

Lozze

My question is: is there any factor of weight loss that I might not have considered that may make a difference in knocking off those last few kgs? (aiming for a <60 kg weight)

Lifting and lifting heavy. You won't want to lose weight, you want to change your body shape. By lifting and lifting heavy you will do this as it will help you strip fat.

Lozze

Why does it keep doing this?

/double post

kattydid65

Have you thought about increasing your water intake? That might help flush some of those bad toxins out. At least more than the normal 8 glasses a day.
Hope you find a solution! :happy:

kjannan

Give it time, it was 3 weeks before I noticed any weight loss after I joined up here.

I'm the same height as you, I've lost 9kg in 4 months & am 3kgs from my goal weight. I've been stuck on 61kg for the last 3 weeks & I'm going to have a go at zig zagging my calories after xmas.

Be patient & keep doing what you're doing, it works!

salxtai

My question is: is there any factor of weight loss that I might not have considered that may make a difference in knocking off those last few kgs? (aiming for a <60 kg weight)

Lifting and lifting heavy. You won't want to lose weight, you want to change your body shape. By lifting and lifting heavy you will do this as it will help you strip fat.

Awesome, thanks for the idea. Should I aim for the 3 x 10-12 type of weight lifting? And lift the max amt of weight I can in those reps?

salxtai

Have you thought about increasing your water intake? That might help flush some of those bad toxins out. At least more than the normal 8 glasses a day.
Hope you find a solution! :happy:

Yeah, I do try to drink at least 2 x 750 ml water bottles a day, often more.. I'll admit I've gotten slack in the last week and stopped my water intake but paid for it with a dehydration headache the other day

salxtai

Give it time, it was 3 weeks before I noticed any weight loss after I joined up here.

I'm the same height as you, I've lost 9kg in 4 months & am 3kgs from my goal weight. I've been stuck on 61kg for the last 3 weeks & I'm going to have a go at zig zagging my calories after xmas.

Be patient & keep doing what you're doing, it works!

I know its a patience game but I would have thought that I would see something more concrete than yoyo--ing between the 1 kg for the past few months. I was losing weight slowly but consistently until I got to 62-63kg range, then... Nothing.

Ugh, frustrating!

capriciousmoon

Are you getting enough sleep? Not sleeping enough makes weight loss harder, it's a good idea to sleep 8 hours if you can.

salxtai

Are you getting enough sleep? Not sleeping enough makes weight loss harder, it's a good idea to sleep 8 hours if you can.

Yeah, that might be a factor - I'm a uni student, so routine good nights aren't plausible sometimes.. But that's a factor that I can't control.

salxtai

because you're not in a caloric deficit. here's what i posted not to long ago.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/425644-if-you-re-not-losing-and-you-re-in-a-caloric-deficit

I can't really see how I can go into caloric deficit again though - i obviously can't work out my body's metabolic rate scientifically for me to calculate what I need to eat, but I don't see that there's much more i can strip out of my diet.
I train twice a week and sweat like crazy and am sore afterwards, so i think I'm doing *something* exercise-wise then, and I sweat like crazy at the gym too...

Sounding like a dead end, if its really coming down to not being in caloric deficit

capriciousmoon

Maybe you could try to work some naps in when you have time, I remember something about it being more effective in 90 minute increments. Something about how long it takes your body to get into REM sleep?

I've had the same problem as you and went 2 years without losing anything, but I'm actually doing really well this month and have lost 4kg. Right now I have my calories set at my BMR and have been eating back most of my exercise calories (seems to help me stay on track, rather than 1 good week then binge). It may also have to do with your exercise. I've noticed that things like walking and biking work better for me than exercise videos or the elliptical (even though I love the elliptical because it feels like a great workout and a sweat).

I wonder if another option may be burning too much compared to what you eat...

lin7604

i was having the same problem, i was trying to lose a good 10 lbs and tried for 2 months eating healthy and 5 days of cardio a week and not 1 lb came off.. then i found this site. I have been on it for 1 month now and i only lost 2 lbs tracking my calories..... the thing that has really helped me the last 2 week was doing jillian michaels 30 day shred.... i have done it for 2 weeks now and lost 2 lbs and 1 inch of my hips and waist and 1.5 off my belly..... i think the combination of strength and cardio at the same work out session is what is helping me. not one day this and then the next that.....

gashinshotan

Cheat days! I ate 2500 calls over three days ago and now I weigh 2.2 lbs less than the morning of that cheat day..... and I gained about 2.5 lbs by the end off the cheat day so your body really burns through the food!

shakybabe

I'm hovering around 10st 5 (145lbs) been around 10st 7 the last few weeks.. I've been dieting and exercising since June so decided to give my body a break for week for xmas and start doing a new routine Boxing Day (when I have my new Wii games I hope!) , hopefully after a lazy week an extra hard workout will wake my body up with a bit of a shock!

Use xmas day as your treat or cheat day.. I know I am doing!.. then drop down to stricter calories after and loads of water, hopefully by end of week I will have dropped another few pounds!

salxtai

..... the thing that has really helped me the last 2 week was doing jillian michaels 30 day shred.... i have done it for 2 weeks now and lost 2 lbs and 1 inch of my hips and waist and 1.5 off my belly..... i think the combination of strength and cardio at the same work out session is what is helping me. not one day this and then the next that.....

Can i ask What's the central concept of that program? I always do strength and cardio together in each gym session, but recently I asked a personal trainer and he said I should alternate cardio and strength sessions and keep them separate... So many different opinions

salxtai

Cheat days! I ate 2500 calls over three days ago and now I weigh 2.2 lbs less than the morning of that cheat day..... and I gained about 2.5 lbs by the end off the cheat day so your body really burns through the food!

Well with the Christmas and new year period coming up, I'll probably get unintentional cheat days... But I feel so guilty!
And I never trust myself to not keep it up once I start

rileysowner

It is very difficult to answer this question for various reasons. Since you are at a healthy BMI you should not have a deficit over 250 calories a day. Here is a good guide http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

Without seeing your food diary we are simply guessing, but you shouldn't be trying to lose more than a half pound a week. For that matter, you really don't need to lose weight as much are resculpt your body which takes a lot longer than simply losing weight.

My suggestion would be a small deficit 250 calories, lift heavy weights, and ditch the scale and use body measurements instead. The scale at this point is not helpful because your body may be changing its composition while not having your weight change.

ninerbuff

Hey there,
I only started using the 'myfitnesspal' app about 1.5 Weeks ago, but have been trying to lose weight for a while, and downloaded the app in an effort to find an explanation for my lack of progress.

For about the past 5 months I've been hovering between 62 - 63 kg (~136-138 lbs ?) , despite regular exercise (gym 1-3x wk + martial arts training 2x wk - cardio and resistance), and healthy eating (fruit for breakfast, lean dinner etc). I haven't lost any real cms off my waist/hips either and the numbers are abit above ideal.

I'm ~162cm /5"4 in height so BMI-wise I'm technically within healthy range already but I still have areas in my thighs and waist where I still have flab that I want to get rid off. I know spot reduction is a myth so my only option for getting a lean belly and thighs is to keep losing weight.

My question is: is there any factor of weight loss that I might not have considered that may make a difference in knocking off those last few kgs? (aiming for a <60 kg weight)

Any tips would be great - I've been lurking on there's forums for a while but this is my first post, so apologies if it sounds silly

Heavy weights 8 reps for each exercise. Bumping the intensity of your weight has be proven to increase you BMR and condition you muscle to a higher degree.

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

salxtai

Weight bearing activities burn the most calories, such as running, stair climber. Use your big muscles to burn more calories. Elliptical also use a lot of muscles and so does the rower.

If you are running in your workouts, you can try interval training if you're not doing it already.

I run, but I do interval training on the bike and the elliptical - I recently switched to the bike from the elliptical to give myself a differnt type of exercise, but I switch between them.

It is very difficult to answer this question for various reasons. Since you are at a healthy BMI you should not have a deficit over 250 calories a day. Here is a good guide http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

Without seeing your food diary we are simply guessing, but you shouldn't be trying to lose more than a half pound a week. For that matter, you really don't need to lose weight as much are resculpt your body which takes a lot longer than simply losing weight.

My suggestion would be a small deficit 250 calories, lift heavy weights, and ditch the scale and use body measurements instead. The scale at this point is not helpful because your body may be changing its composition while not having your weight change.

Thanks for that - I for one didn't know that once I hit the healthy BMI range that I should drop my calorie deficits down - I've been trying to match a 1200 limit, which according to the app is equivalent to a 2lbs loss / week... definitely overshooting on that one, by the looks of it!

I'll take your advice on and ditch the scale. I'm away on holidays now anyways so haven't got access to it - unfortunately I also don't have steady access to a gym but I might use my 14kg travel pack for exercise.

Is lifting heavy weights (+cal control) the general consensus for altering body composition?

Should I maybe be looking at taking more consistent protein drinks before/after the weight lifting sessions to help it along?
(have powder that I occasionally drink when i'm not hungry but have reached a fair amoutn of time without food)


Thanks heaps for everyone's advice so far - definitely new ideas I hadn't considered

daniel906

Core workout ....aka ...kettlebell. this is working the big muscles and the more weight you use the more calories you burn and you us multiple body muscles . If you never done this you in for a treat...fit ot not fit if done right and you follow the DVD you will ultimately feel exhausted before you even finish the workout. It will work I promise also make sure you intake is high with 5 small meals a day every 2 hours to increase your metabolist I know it sound silly but you have to eat more frequent to increase calorie burn...good luck

uneviesaine

Another thing to remember is to change up your workouts often. Our bodies adjust to doing a certain level of work if it is routine and that means workouts have to increase in intensity/difficulty as we get stronger and more fit. Also, trying new exercises that challenge muscle groups you are not used to working (like taking a dance class or a yoga class on top of what you already do) can be really helpful in shedding a few extra pounds and increasing muscle strength throughout the body. Hope that helps!

ninerbuff

Hey there,
I only started using the 'myfitnesspal' app about 1.5 Weeks ago, but have been trying to lose weight for a while, and downloaded the app in an effort to find an explanation for my lack of progress.

For about the past 5 months I've been hovering between 62 - 63 kg (~136-138 lbs ?) , despite regular exercise (gym 1-3x wk + martial arts training 2x wk - cardio and resistance), and healthy eating (fruit for breakfast, lean dinner etc). I haven't lost any real cms off my waist/hips either and the numbers are abit above ideal.

I'm ~162cm /5"4 in height so BMI-wise I'm technically within healthy range already but I still have areas in my thighs and waist where I still have flab that I want to get rid off. I know spot reduction is a myth so my only option for getting a lean belly and thighs is to keep losing weight.

My question is: is there any factor of weight loss that I might not have considered that may make a difference in knocking off those last few kgs? (aiming for a <60 kg weight)

Any tips would be great - I've been lurking on there's forums for a while but this is my first post, so apologies if it sounds silly

Lift heavy weights!!!!!!!!!!!!


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