I'm stuck! Need help! Getting frustrated :(

autumnh2009

Hello everyone!!!!

I began my weight loss adventure in September I was 175 then and I am down now to 154. I'm currently sitting at about 1400 calories a day. Since the beginning of January I have started back at the gym. I work two jobs so it's extremely tricky art of puzzle work to get it all to fit in. I have been working out 3-4 hours a week mostly just classes like kickboxing and zumba. I have plateaued and I haven't really lost any since December. I'll gain some, lose it, lose some, gain it back. I'm getting so frustrated and there are days I'm like wtf am I sitting here eating this apple when everyone else is eating pizza and I'm not losing anyways. I've increased my water intake lately as well. Of course my fiance is still losing weight like it's nothing and he's not religiously counting calories now!

Also whats the idea on eating your work out calories you get? I feel if I don't eat some I'm STARVING

Any advice, help,motivation?

Thanks.

Autumn

Rilke

If you are hungrier now that you've begun exercising more, then eat more. Your body is asking for fuel -- answer it.

TavistockToad

Hello everyone!!!!

I began my weight loss adventure in September I was 175 then and I am down now to 154. I'm currently sitting at about 1400 calories a day. Since the beginning of January I have started back at the gym. I work two jobs so it's extremely tricky art of puzzle work to get it all to fit in. I have been working out 3-4 hours a week mostly just classes like kickboxing and zumba. I have plateaued and I haven't really lost any since December. I'll gain some, lose it, lose some, gain it back. I'm getting so frustrated and there are days I'm like wtf am I sitting here eating this apple when everyone else is eating pizza and I'm not losing anyways. I've increased my water intake lately as well. Of course my fiance is still losing weight like it's nothing and he's not religiously counting calories now!

Also whats the idea on eating your work out calories you get? I feel if I don't eat some I'm STARVING

Any advice, help,motivation?

Thanks.

Autumn

eat the exericse calories. MFP gives you a deficit WITHOUT exercise, so eat them... try it for at least 4 weeks, then come back if you still arent losing!

marcoworkman

Your body has platued. I ran into the same problem but then i tried P90X and it shocked my system into losing 35 lbs in the 90 days. That may be an option for you. I do mine in the morning before I go to work because after work I am also a full time student with three boys, so It was not feasable to workout in the evenings. It may be just what you need to lose those last few lbs before you hop into that wedding dress.

pspetralia

You could try changing you workouts, too. Your body needs change- it needs to be surprised. I try to do a different workout every day. Good luck and don't give up!

richelle67

Hi, I feel your pain. I am in the same boat, stuck, and frustrated. What I do is take a day, to eat the pizza, cookies or whatever you crave. Than I get back on track the next day. It usually gets me over my hump. I don't go crazy on what I eat, I just eat somethings I normally wouldn't. After a while it is harder to lose weight, it takes more work, and dedication but we have to remember it is a lifestyle change. Good luck!!! Feel free to add me as a friend if you would like more friends.

kir911

I feel your pain! I am stuck at about the same spot as you. I have upped my calories, lowered my calories, ate my exercise calories back, ate only half back, tweaked the things I have been eating, and still stalled! I am losing at an extremely slow rate...very frustrating. I hope you figure out your issue.

garbanzalo

See if your physical measurements are going down. You can also buy an HRM and monitor your heart rate. The calorie loss it gives is much better than the numbers provided by MFP.

If you had simply plateaued, you would have experienced a fixed weight with a small range change. You are most likely in starvation mode and your body is fighting the weight loss. You might want to consider eating more calories and upping the intensity of your workouts.

Nana_Booboo

Pay attention when you hit the "complete this entry" button. What is MFP telling you? There is usually a statement that says "You'll way XXX amount in 5 weeks but you are under eating your calories and you could be sabotaging your weight loss"Are you under your calories due to adding more exercise? Do you need to give your body more fuel? Annnnnnnnnd, make sure you are getting enough rest. Your body needs rest to lose also.

brattt78

Try increasing your water. Most people don't drink enough but it helps metabolize fat. You should be drinking half your weight in ounces. For example, if you weigh 100 lbs, you should drink 50 oz/day or if you weigh 200 lbs, you should drink 100 oz/day.

maryjay51

it looks like you only have 4lbs left to reach your goal.. its going to be hard to get off if its the last 4lbs.. i would make some switch in the diet like have a piece of pizza with your friends and maybe do some different exercises like switch up the weights .. change usually works

vjrose

I have that problem and I am nowhere close to my target goal. I usually have to switch up my calories for awhile then back down and if I don't eat enough of my exercise calories I am stuck big time. Eating more this week than I have in a while and dropped a pound after a pretty slow month of working intense workouts (hour +, 800 calories) with 30 minutes at 300-400. If I don't eat quite a few of my exercise calories I'm stuck.

Kona54

you have hit a plateau..you need to UP your workout and remember to use a variety of foods..sometimes changing your choices can break the pleateau..GOOD LUCK!

MaximalLife

Eat back your exercise calories.
Your lack of progress might be related to not enough food.
Simply stated MFP has already figured out your total calories you need to eat per day to lose 1lb etc. a week.
That's WITHOUT exercise. You'll notice that when you actually add exercise in, the calorie limit goes up.
Why? Because it's telling you to eat your exercise calories.
Large deficits aren't really good to do because while you will lose weight, what kind of weight will it be?
In many cases you'll lose lean muscle tissue which LOWERS your metabolic rate even more.
Then you have to eat even less to compensate for less of a calorie burn to continue to lose the same amount
of weight each week.

Be efficient.
Exercise hard and eat back the calories. The hard exercise will RAISE your metabolic rate and burn more fat at rest.

Kona54

get Plenty of Water when working out 80oz help

tennillewade

in addition to trying different workouts, try changing your calories what i mean by that is maybe one of the days when you dont workout eat a min of 1200 cals and then the next day when you workout have 1400 cals and then change it up like that so that your body has to compensate for less cals one day that may help boost up your metabolism.

cellio70

try changing your workout and at some weights...

tammy510

Remember, when you lose body weight, it takes less calories to fuel your body and your body is going to try and hold on to everything! I was stuck for two months, believe it or not I started doing Jillian's Yoga Meltdown and dropped 3 pounds in one week! That is the change my body needed to kick it in the butt, also went to 1210 calories for a few days with extra protein added.
Whoever said you can't spot reduce, hasn't tried yoga! I have found muscles I didn't even know I owned. And since I have never done it, my body wasn't expecting it so I think that change helped me get unstuck.

nsimportant

So You are doing your workouts for weight loss and eating stuff that You don't like. Hmm change Your workouts and eat stuff that You like but count the calories.

soon2bhotmom

I think we all get there at some point. Looks like you got some great advice.

zumbaabby

I am at a plateau as well! I've lost about 110 pounds, and now I am 100% stuck. Pretty much, I agree with what everyone else says...if you gain an extra calorie amount with exercise, eat it! Doesn't have to be all, but at least half or so! Try changing up your workout. I am a Zumba Instructor and I (until this week) taught 7 Classes a week. Now I teach four, and am going to incorporate other classes and workouts because my body is so used to it, that it continues to maintain me, but not help me lose. Try adding weights. Cardio classes are good because they burn while you are doing them, but the strength training exercises will burn for several days after since you are breaking down some muscle and rebuilding it !

jennahiggins

Plateau's are rough. But like everyone else said changing your routine is crucial. It might help for you to add all of your calories into one week, then add your work out calories in. Eat 1400 calories one day and then the next 1700 calories (depending on your work out calories). Sometimes, it is the smallest change that we make in our eating that helps. I am at the same spot, I'll gain 5 to 6 and lose 5 to 6. I have medical problems that makes me gain up to 12 lbs in water retention, I've just had surgery so working out is a no for the rest of this week. I also find that I've had to change the foods I eat, I have been sticking to fruit, vegetables, yogurt, and jello, and if I have an occasional snack of something super sweet my body doesn't go into what I call the give me mode (give me everything I see).

One more thing to watch, is hidden calories. I didn't realize how many calories just a little here or there will add up (didn't really think about the hidden calories either). Good Luck, it's so hard, but don't give up. I did, and I've had to start back all over again. So if you want to add me as a friend feel free.

Lorie66

First off don't look at the scales..read your measurements.. You may be trading fat for muscle and that is where the true weight loss is. Even during the time your body takes a rest from dropping in numbers you are still technically loosing in inches.. Are you eating the calories you should be eating..when you plateau don't cut your calories back because that will only make things worse...up your calories a little and change your workout to using different muscles and you should start loosing in numbers again..When I was trying to loose weight this never failed. Also make sure you are getting enough sleep..that is as important as nutrition and exercise.

morkiemama

I would recommend checking out 4theking's posts in this thread:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/414631-plateau-advice

Good luck!

butterflimom

I am right there with you. Over the past 18 months, I have lost over 60 pounds and now since December I keep gaining and losing the same 6-7 pounds over and over. I have tried almost everything that I can think of. Now for the past 2 weeks that my family has been sick, I have starting thinking of giving up for awhile just to see if I need a break.

I wish I had answers for you, but I don't even have them for myself.
I hope you get back on track and I wish you lots of Luck!!

lisapr123

If you're doing the same exercises over and over, they're not nearly as hard as they used to be. Try something new. Weight training? A spin class? Intervals? Your body is comfortable with what you're doing so mix it up!

Jacquierose

I've been at a plateau for awhile. I met with a personal trainer and a dietitian to figure it out, and both told me that I was eating too few calories! Last week of December I upped my calories by 100 (they tell you to do it slowly so your body has time to adjust). I gained 1 lb the first week, but then dropped it the next week. The past 2 weeks I've lost 1 lb each week! I have more energy, and I feel more satisfied. I definitely feel like I'm hitting it harder in my classes. It's great!

Other tricks to speed up metabolic rate:

*Drink green tea daily (I love mighty leaf tropical green tea. I make I huge batch of it iced and keep it in the fridge)
*Eat spicy - spices like cayenne have been proven to increase metabolic rate
*Don't skip out on strength training - the more muscle that you have the more calories you burn. This is way men lose weight much faster than women - because they naturally have much more muscle.
*Make sure that the majority of the calories that you are eating are lean, wholesome and full of vitamins and fiber.

Don't let it get you down girl! Swtich things up a little and push through this!

Mightquinn

I can relate! I have not been able to really go below the weight numbers I am at since November 2011. I've done the up and down with calories and tried to keep some sort of excercise going only to stare at the same numbers on the scale. I went as far as buying another scale! lol. I know it's important to hang in there, keep making good habit choices for the most part so that you will endure the life time goals you have. I appreciate you sharing, it helps me to remember I am not along.

autumnh2009

Thank you everyone for the great advice and support, it's nice to have you all here for that! I readjusted some of the setting on my goals and realized that I didn't accurately have in the amount of exercises and length I planned to do each week. I also changed my goal weight because initially I wasn't even sure if I was going to make 20 lbs and my motivation and commitment surprised myself. I would love to make this journey one now of the healthiest person I've ever been and it's more than just losing some weight for my wedding now . By doing this mfp has added in some more calories, so it very well could be that I have been consuming less than what I should be which in turn as brought my metabolism to a screeching snail speed. As my metabolism has a lot of other factors it already fights on a day to day basis, stress, sleep, etc. Once again than you everyone I will read through everyone's posts and take in the knowledge! What a fun adventure we are all on!

Helloitsdan

Pay attention when you hit the "complete this entry" button. What is MFP telling you? There is usually a statement that says "You'll way XXX amount in 5 weeks but you are under eating your calories and you could be sabotaging your weight loss"Are you under your calories due to adding more exercise? Do you need to give your body more fuel? Annnnnnnnnd, make sure you are getting enough rest. Your body needs rest to lose also.

MFP has been saying ill weigh 150 in 5 weeks for 8 months....im at 140 and my maintenance is 2500 calories.
This is incorrect for most people so I would pay MFPs "youll weigh XXX" no mind.

hsk1019

Just to give you some words of encouragement, you are doing awesome!! Your weight loss since September is excellent!