I feel a bit stuck, can anyone help?

canary986

Hi Guys,

I've been on MFP for just about 6 months now and have successfully lost 28lbs which I'm so happy about! I have another 19lbs to go and I feel a bit stuck.

I've been cycling around the same weight for the last 5-6 weeks, I weigh in once a week and I'm never far away from 11st 8lbs. I'll either be exactly that weight or maybe a lb up or down from it and I can't seem to break it. I admit that to monitor it throughout the week I have weighed myself daily for the last 2 weeks and the scale just doesn't shift.

I'm on 1400 calories a day and do an hour walk every day to/from work which gives me just over 200 more, so that's always my base calorie intake. I do aerobics 2-3 times a week and go swimming every so often to earn more.

I've tried zig zagging my calorie intake throughout the week but it doesn't seem to make a difference. I've read a lot about possibly upping my calories but I really feel like I eat more than enough at the moment as it is.

I just wondered if anyone had any advice, or whether they experienced something similar around the halfway/two-thirds mark.

Thanks!
Chloe

Pinkmaddycat

Well done on your loss so far :-)

Do you feel any different during the day from when you started? As in you are more or less hungry, you feel more satisfied, want more carbs or sugar. Perhaps there is something subtle that your body can do without or wants and you've not yet noticed.

If you weigh everyday it wouldn't take you long to notice any change, so maybe you could skip your additional exercise for a week and see if that makes a difference, another week reduce your cals if you think you could go with out.

The other thing to consider is, after doing this successfully for so long are there any items which you just don't log any more out of complacency, like sugar in drinks, mayo or spread on bread. That kind of thing can soon add up as i dearly found out a few years ago after some success with slimming, just thought i no longer needed to log these kinds of things and sure enough i soon crept over my daily allowance.

I hope you soon get moving and over this plateau. Good luck

mickipedia

Hey, I've been in your shoes for a while.. you need to experiment with things and see if it helps.

Try each thing consistently for a week to give it chance to help.. Theses are the things you could change which might help.

Water - make sure you're drinking the full 8 cups/2 litres a day
Up you calories - if you're eating 1400 at the moment try 1600
Eat back/don't eat back exercise calories - not sure whether you do or not but try switching what you do
Try changing your workout routine - if you've been doing the same things for a while might be time to give something else a go, maybe jogging? Cycling?
Start doing some strength training - having stronger muscles apparently helps your metabolism
Try cutting out certain things from your diet - for example if i have spare calories I tend to have a biscuit.. if you do something similar then swap it for something healthier.

Thats all I can think of for now, good luck and hopefully some of those suggestions will help

mrford88

Hi Chloe,

Congratulations on your weight loss! I am not a nutrionist or personal trainer, but I understand how the body works! I am sure you know the our body weight is a combination of lean mass (muscle, blood, bones etc.) and fat. With that being said, while your weight stays the same your body composition will change. It sounds like you should introduce some weight lifiting/resistance training to your program. Weight lifting will encourage muscle growth and in no time, you'll start seeing your body change! Bottom line, the numbers on the scale do not matter if your body fat% is dropping!

Need some motivation? Check out the following site:
http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

And if you want a plan check out http://www.bodybuilding.com/guides/
Do be intimidated by the bodybuilders on the front page... The site is free and a one-stop-shop for everything fitness!

Good Luck
Stay Motivated!
Michael

canary986

Thank you very much for the advice and helpful tips!

I think there are definitely a few things I can switch around and do more of to hopefully shift this plateau!

Once again, I am very grateful for the moral support here on the message boards!