Stuck on a plateau! some advice?

Ceffy

Hi,

I've been training & following a diet plan from my PT since August and have lost 2 stone which I'm really happy with.
However most of this was lost in the first two months and now I'm struggling with drive, motivation and energy! (Doubt the winter months and Christmas have helped!)
Miraculously I managed not to put on over Christmas, but now I want to start the New Year with a renewed "whoomph" and so I'm after a couple of bits of advice.

Diet Whey Protein - I've been using Phd Pharma Whey Diet (sporadically) and having already switched from water to soya milk in the vein hopes of not getting the awful after taste - could someone pleeeeease suggest a way I can improve the taste? or a suitable alternative without the strong after taste?

Secondly, I currently don't take any supplements or anything and can't help but feel I might be missing out on an added boost.

I have a general womans multi vitamin to start taking, just to top up on what is now quite a healthy diet,

I've been reading on here about coconut oil - I like the idea of it speeding up my metabolism but it seems to be more of a beauty thing? is there anything else to have that effect? or is the coconut oil actually good?

Should I be taking some kind of supplement to aid recovery after training? I've been told about a few different ones but don't want anything to bulk me up when I'm after fat loss, toning and not heavy muscle building

I'm so confused with there being so much information out there - I'd be grateful of any help!

melsinct

It's hard to say without seeing your diary. When I hit my first plateau, I wasn't eating enough. I am somewhat tall and 1200 calories was too little for me. As soon as I upped my calories to 1400, the weight started dropping again. However, I ran into a second plateau and wasn't able to snap out of it until I gained 2 pounds at Christmas/New Years (whoops).

Having researched plateaus to death, what I learned is it can happen for many reasons. Sometimes you can snap out of it by doing things differently, other times you have to wait it out. Unfortunately there is no one answer. Most people recommend doing one of the following:

1. Make sure you are eating enough. Your body will not let the pounds go if you aren't fueling it properly. make sure your activity setting is set properly in MFP and make sure your exercise logs are accurate.

2. Zig zag calories. Some people have broken plateaus by spiking calories one day while eating low another, but ending the week with the same amount of calories. For example, if you eat 1600 calories per day (1600 x 7 days/week = 11,200 calories a week. Do 1800 one day, 1400 the next, etc. but have your weeks total be 11,200).

3. Change up your exercise routine. If you do heavy cardio, back down a little and add strength training. Make sure you are not only doing cardio. Building muscles is the great metabolism booster.

4. Make sure your calorie counting is accurate and that you aren't underestimating the amount you are consuming.

Good luck, I know how frustrating this can be having been through it twice!

Ceffy

Thanks - I think I'll try the spiking of the calories, I keep a record of what I eat and try to keep calories to 1400 (I'm 5ft11 have a clue if this is too little but went off MFP as the guide).

I already have quite a varied exercise routine between PT sessions, gym time, dog walking and home fitness

Coltsman4ever

Take a couple days off and eat a lot of calories. I'm not telling you to eat a lot of junk food. Just saying to eat a lot of calories. Take your MFP calculated maintenance calories and maybe add 500 calories to that. Do that for a couple days. That has worked for me twice and I've heard other people say the same thing has worked for them.