early plateau...looking for your Guru-ness

jeffarthur

Okay...I've opened my diary to public and am ready for the pummeling. After what i thought was my "fittest week" (lots 'o clean living, more exercise than I have EVER done)....the scale moved .2 lbs. (yes POINT 2). Not discouraged,,,,feel good. Just know that i am not eating right. One caveat...I am traveling for work four days a week...every week...for work s eat ut every meal. Options on this would be great too. Usually in Manhattan.

Let the pummeling begin!!

buckobuckobucko

Looks like too few calories. You are probably going into starvation mode. I always eat breakfast.

carrie_eggo

Sorry buddy, you need to eat more. Your body's going to hold on to all it can if you don't feed it properly.

LeanMeanFitnessMachine

You are actually eating really well - its encouraging to see so many veggies everyday. However, fruit is also a major food group that is essential for health, make sure you get 1 or 2 peices of fruit in a day (or more!). Also, try to eat more! Might sound weird, but when I started eating more (combined with exercise) I dropped about 5 pounds.

kd_mazur

I agree with the other posters...eat the exercise calories too.

karinaes

Looked at the past few days and you didn't reaach your goal for any of those days??!! TOO FEW CALORIES!! need to eat more!

jeffarthur

running to the kitchen now....stay out of my way...eggs-a-plenty:)

erickirb

I would guess water retention in your muscles due to the volume increase in exercise. That being said you should, as a man, not net below 1500 calories. what does this mean, it means if you burn 400 cals from exercise you should not eat less than 1900 calories (1500+400).

since MFP gives you less than 1500 cals tells me your weekly weight loss goal is too aggressive given your stats and ultimate goal. If you are set a 2lbs/week, change it to 1.5, if you are at 1.5 cahgne it to 1, and eat back the cals you burn from exercise.

Sidesteal

1 week is too small of a time-frame to make any reasonable assumptions about whether or not your weight is plateauing.

cmhenely

Think of your body as a car. We can't drive our cars if we aren't putting gas in them. Your calories are your fuel source and without the adequate amount, your body will not lose the weight you are aiming for. If we go over an extended period of time with no fuel, our body needs to go in to our muscle stores for energy, not our fat stores. So we are being counter productive. Keep working on it, it will click for you soon. You are aware, and working, those are two of the key things!

kayleen_longworth

Looked at the past few days and you didn't reaach your goal for any of those days??!! TOO FEW CALORIES!! need to eat more!

^^^^ That. You need to eat more. I eat more than that. You want to lose slowly. For 1#/week loss, my daily intake goal is 1730 calories. I sometimes eat back my exercise cals if I am hungry. A calorie deficit is already factored into your numbers.

What are your stats? That will help is evaluate a bit more.

mandemonious

Agree with the previous posters. If you do the calculator that MFP provides to set your goals, it automatically calculates the necessary deficit needed in your calories to meet your goals. There is a common debate on MFP regarding starvation mode or eating back exercise calories, and you can find those by doing a search for key words in the forums, or by checking out the group that deals with FAQ's.

In the end, you have to do what works best for you. Noting that I am not in any way a professional, I'd recommend making sure to at least net over 12000, as that is an average base calorie need for most of life's basic functions (breathing, digesting, etc). Otherwise, figure out a realistic goal for yourself, do the little calculator to determine your goal. Exercise as much as you say you will (I could listen to myself here...!!) and you will see results.

Also, drink plenty of water and watch sodium, as water weight can be a real pain..


Hope that is helpful. Best to you!

Emagali74

You are not fuelling your body for the amount of exercise you do-you need to eat more, have breakfast, and cut otu the processed food, concentrate on fresh produce, vegetables, lean meat, fruit and other protein such as yogurt etc or maybe a protein shake or two....

My guess is you are stalling because youre not getting enough calories in. MFP sets the calorie goals for a reason, try and stick to them....

Sweet_Potato

A similar thing happened to me. Shortly after the holidays I got really strict about sticking to my calorie goal, and exercising more, and I ended up gaining a pound that week. But the week after I lost two! So just stick with it. Your diet looks great to me, and I think you're eating enough calories. I see a few processed foods in there that could be high in sodium and thus lead to water retention/weight gain. So I might work on cutting them out.

jeffarthur

this is better than therapy...keep 'em coming. Just had an egg. I will hit my calorie goal today:)

karinaes

this is better than therapy...keep 'em coming. Just had an egg. I will hit my calorie goal today:)

yay! :drinker: make sure to get plenty of fruits and veggies as well!

jeffarthur

thanks everyone...appreciate the input VERY much. gotta eat

carrie_eggo

Here's a pretty good post for you to read. Good luck!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/447397-my-plateau-nutrition-story-learn-from-my-mistakes