It went...and now it won't go (a tummy story)

DMB14896

So I lost weight at an amazing pace the passed month or so (check my profile to see how much). I'm very happy with the fit of my clothes and am starting to fit into shirts and things I haven't gotten into in months. I have two issues I need advice on.

1. I'm stuck, I keep fluctuating up a pound, back down. I'm not just losing anymore and don't know what to do to re-start my weight loss, I have 20 lbs to go and need to be there by May.

2. I'm having "tire" problems. I have this little tire around my waist that I can't seem to shake. I don't know what to do, as I have increased my work outs and kept my calories around 1,300. I need to get some abs and get rid of the rest of the flab. I want to have a flat stomach even when sitting down.

Any advice, tips or thoughts would be helpful.

Thanks MFP's.

Showgirlbody

I think the loss is often much more rapid at the beginning of a lifestyle change. It is so different than what you were doing before and probably less salt, more water, etc. etc. Your body has lost some water weight and fat but has steadied and needs to be coaxed into a more realistic pace and loss. My weight gets at a standstill every few weeks, it takes a bit before it's ready to let go and then it does all at once--not ounce at a time.
I'm not an expert, but I think for a man especially, 1300 calories is too low. Up the calories and the protein maybe? I would try more interval training with bursts of cardio and strength and probably a lot more strength training from advice that I have read.

LauRoxx

Just use the search function and look-up plateauing in the forums, you'll find PLENTY of results. Good luck and keep that weight loss going!!!

dvisser1

1300 calories, if you're not eating back any of your exercise calories, is definitely going to be too low! Seems counter-intuitive, but you really need calorie intake to burn calories and lose weight. I'm not a doctor, so take what I say with a grain of salt. I recommend recalculating your BMR to your current weight, and targeting your caloric intake for the day 100-200 calories under that. On days you exercise hard, eat back some of your exercise calories.

To many calories and your body stores it as fat. To few calories and your body starts doing some funky things all to not burn fat if at all possible.

Shake up the diet, change up your workouts. As mentioned already, aside from the diet you've probably hit a plateau, which is completely normal. The human body has an incredible ability to adapt to repetitive action, and if you do the same workout over and over again your body will learn to be so efficient at that specific workout that you will stop seeing results. Also, do you record measurements as well as weight? If not, you might want to start. You could be building muscle and getting trimmer without loosing a pound.