Weight Plateau

antihillmoby

Help I need some advice. I am 45 yrs old, 5ft 2" tall weighing 139 pounds. I have been counting calories since Christmas and seem to be stuck around the 140 pound mark what seems like forever. I got down to 134 last summer but have slowly crept back up. I have been doing exercise about 5 times a week for an hour and would have expected to lose a lot more. This plateau seems to be a common problem. I have even tried mixing my exercise routines and different food groups. Does anyone else have this problem or does anyone know how to get those blasted scales moving downwards again!

lin7604

i hear ya!! how many calories are you taking in a day?

i too am 5ft 2. and i started at 142,( 140 when started mfp) i am down to 132-133 ish and i can't get under it. It seems to be taking forever, 2 month stand still already. I started trying to loose back in Nov and the 1st 2 months i lost 5-6 lbs and then that seems to be it... It seems like i just keep bouncing from 132- 135. over and over each week...

antihillmoby

On average I have between 1500-1700 calories but burn about 300 in the gym. Not sure whether my body wants to be at this mark and thats why I can't lose anymore??

nehauck

I've been having the same issue and got some interesting advice yesterday: try setting your calorie goal to 500 more calories/day for a week and then go back down to where it's set now. A MFP friend's personal trainer recommended this, she did it a couple times and says it worked. I just upped my calories today, but only by changing to 1/2 pound/week loss which isn't a huge calorie increases , only 130/day. Keeping my fingers crossed!

antihillmoby

I am supposed to stick to 1290 calories a day but always eat around 1500. I find it almost impossible to only eat 1290 as I feel hungry all the time. I burn about 300 in exercise per day thou. Its not easy hey!

SueInAz

Your situation mirrors mine. Last March on my 45th birthday I hit 140 (138 when I started MFP) at 5' 2.5". By eating 1200 net calories per day, I got down to 130 and then was stuck bouncing between that and 135 for 3 months. I had started running in April and even the gradual increase in distance and duration wasn't enough to keep the scale moving.

Around August I read something here that has stuck with me: "When what you are doing isn't working, it's time to do something different." At that point, I decided to cut back on my carbs. I had followed Atkins back in the early 2000s and it works for me, so I figured I'd give that approach another try. All I did was start watching how much carbohydrates I was eating. I cut out sugar, stopped eating white bread, pasta and potatoes and on most days kept my total carbohydrate intake under 90 grams. The weight started coming off! I hit my goal of 125 in October and I've been maintaining ever since.

sunflowertimes

I think I need to follow this post as well. I have been at 137-140 for several months. I would like to lose 10 more pounds.

mariobrochill

Metabolic slowdown.. Common problem. A good solution is to consume maintenance cals for 2 weeks then proceed to go back to your dieting calories. It helps up regulate certain hormones such neuropeptide YY, leptin, and helps regulate metabolism temporarily before you can go back to dieting.

ninerbuff

Plateaus get busted when your RMR gets increased. A good way to do it is to overload your muscle. Lift heavy as you can with good form for 8 repetitions on just about every every exercise to up your intensity.



A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
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Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

b1791

I've been stuck at 150 since last August. Upped my calories a week ago and I'm exactly the same weight as last week. Come to think of it...I ate like a PIG at Christmas for 2 solid weeks and I never gained weight. Maybe my body is just happy at this weight.

lin7604

Plateaus get busted when your RMR gets increased. A good way to do it is to overload your muscle. Lift heavy as you can with good form for 8 repetitions on just about every every exercise to up your intensity.



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

but when you don't have access to weights what is one to do? i can't afford to get any and i live too far from any gym's plus can't afford to join one anyway.

lin7604

Metabolic slowdown.. Common problem. A good solution is to consume maintenance cals for 2 weeks then proceed to go back to your dieting calories. It helps up regulate certain hormones such neuropeptide YY, leptin, and helps regulate metabolism temporarily before you can go back to dieting.

i did that in feb, and i lost 1 lb within a 2 week span but then just kept going up and down again as usual... i was set at 1200 cals a day when i lost my 1st initial 6 lbs on mfp but then i read that you shouldn't eat under your bmr. i'm is 1252, so i set my cals to that now... not sure what to do?it's all so very confusing.. all i know is i can't get under 132 at all... 1200 cals is hard to not go over some days without exercise, so i love that i get more cals when i exercise. i usually burn anywhere from 160-400 a day doing 30ds, depends if i do just 1 level or 2 in a row. sometimes i will do 1 level and then do 30 min treadmill or elliptical.

SusanBryan1968

its my exact problem, ive lost 4st and now its come to a complete stop, i eat around 1500 calories but burn between 600 and 1000 calories per day (6days a week) i do 1hr circuit training, 45 minutes piloxing plus 45 minutes turbofire per day .. i wont stop my class because they make me feel amazing but i need to know where or what im doing wrong ;'(

lin7604

bump

jbakerak

I've been having the same problem. I have read many posts like this and the comments. I see people recommending lifting weights above all. I am trying this now, and if I don't see any results in a couple of weeks I will keep doing this and cut down on my carbs (mostly, cut out my bread). If you can't afford weights you should look up exercises that you can do using your own body weight. Or possibly finding objects (safe objects of course lol) that you have laying around your house that you can use. You might even be able to find videos on YouTube or something where people are using everyday objects for muscle building.

ninerbuff

Plateaus get busted when your RMR gets increased. A good way to do it is to overload your muscle. Lift heavy as you can with good form for 8 repetitions on just about every every exercise to up your intensity.



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

but when you don't have access to weights what is one to do? i can't afford to get any and i live too far from any gym's plus can't afford to join one anyway.

Then you do HIGH INTENSITY training. If you run, then you run sprints as fast as you can for 20 sec for 10 sets. Or do things that are extremely tough like pullups, push up with your feet elevated off the ground, etc.



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

ninerbuff

I've been having the same problem. I have read many posts like this and the comments. I see people recommending lifting weights above all. I am trying this now, and if I don't see any results in a couple of weeks I will keep doing this and cut down on my carbs (mostly, cut out my bread). If you can't afford weights you should look up exercises that you can do using your own body weight. Or possibly finding objects (safe objects of course lol) that you have laying around your house that you can use. You might even be able to find videos on YouTube or something where people are using everyday objects for muscle building.

Key is to lift heavy though. High reps don't bust plateaus.



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

lin7604

Plateaus get busted when your RMR gets increased. A good way to do it is to overload your muscle. Lift heavy as you can with good form for 8 repetitions on just about every every exercise to up your intensity.



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

but when you don't have access to weights what is one to do? i can't afford to get any and i live too far from any gym's plus can't afford to join one anyway.

Then you do HIGH INTENSITY training. If you run, then you run sprints as fast as you can for 20 sec for 10 sets. Or do things that are extremely tough like pullups, push up with your feet elevated off the ground, etc.



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

thx. i do have a treadmill but can't run due to my knees but i can power walk and then sprint it up to a soft jog... so i will do that over and over to kinda do what you said... hope that works! how long should i do that for a day?

antihillmoby

Plateaus get busted when your RMR gets increased. A good way to do it is to overload your muscle. Lift heavy as you can with good form for 8 repetitions on just about every every exercise to up your intensity.



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

but when you don't have access to weights what is one to do? i can't afford to get any and i live too far from any gym's plus can't afford to join one anyway.

Then you do HIGH INTENSITY training. If you run, then you run sprints as fast as you can for 20 sec for 10 sets. Or do things that are extremely tough like pullups, push up with your feet elevated off the ground, etc.



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

thx. i do have a treadmill but can't run due to my knees but i can power walk and then sprint it up to a soft jog... so i will do that over and over to kinda do what you said... hope that works! how long should i do that for a day?

antihillmoby

Thanks ever so much for the advice will give it a go and let you know how I get on!