Weight Loss Dead End? Need Some Moral Support.

Stodrick

Hi All,

I really need some advice/ perspective because I'm starting to get really frustrated. I started MFP the first week of February, and since then have lost about 12.5 lbs between then and late March, as well as 4 inches on my waist and 2.5 inches on my hips. (WOOO!) It was a slow-and-steady thing, and i know it's not a huge number, but it was a huge deal for me. Unfortunately, for the last three weeks or so, I haven't been seeing ANY progress; in fact, my scale just keeps bouncing around between 163 and 165. (Right around 163 is where I "bottomed out", if you will). It's starting to frustrate me so much, because I've been incredibly diligent about tracking, I've been exercising more, and I honestly am not sure what I'm doing wrong. I even upped my calories a bit from 1270 to 1350, on the advice of several people who suggested that maybe I wasn't eating enough; no dice.

So my question is this: is this normal? How long do these plateaus last, and am I crazy to be freaking out over three weeks or is this a valid concern? Is there any way I can "jumpstart" myself back into action? And really, for those of you who have been here before, how do I keep myself from going crazy? I love MFP; it's the first weight loss program that has worked for me and motivated me to be consistent. I don't plan on giving up-- I just need to know that there's an end in sight to this little dry spell. Thanks all!

EDIT: BTW, I do my best to eat back my exercise calories too! I just know someone was going to suggest that.

BarefootBrendan

I have been through this. First of all you need more friends and open up your diary so your friends can see what you are eating. Everyone suffers from a stall during dieting at some point. The bottom line however is if you eat less than more you consume you will still lose weight. When they put morbidly obese people in hospital and feed them less they lose truck loads of weight without even getting out bed. That says a lot about calorie control. However, when you are losing weight and training you are often building muscle at the same time which can give a false reading which is where measurements come in handy. If you have not lost weight but your measurements are good then you have had a win. Add me as a friend if you like as I know how frustrating and tricky this can be. You just have to stay motivated and keep changing up your exercise routine.

cindylou_21

Hi All,

I really need some advice/ perspective because I'm starting to get really frustrated. I started MFP the first week of February, and since then have lost about 12.5 lbs between then and late March, as well as 4 inches on my waist and 2.5 inches on my hips. (WOOO!) It was a slow-and-steady thing, and i know it's not a huge number, but it was a huge deal for me. Unfortunately, for the last three weeks or so, I haven't been seeing ANY progress; in fact, my scale just keeps bouncing around between 163 and 165. (Right around 163 is where I "bottomed out", if you will). It's starting to frustrate me so much, because I've been incredibly diligent about tracking, I've been exercising more, and I honestly am not sure what I'm doing wrong. I even upped my calories a bit from 1270 to 1350, on the advice of several people who suggested that maybe I wasn't eating enough; no dice.

So my question is this: is this normal? How long do these plateaus last, and am I crazy to be freaking out over three weeks or is this a valid concern? Is there any way I can "jumpstart" myself back into action? And really, for those of you who have been here before, how do I keep myself from going crazy? I love MFP; it's the first weight loss program that has worked for me and motivated me to be consistent. I don't plan on giving up-- I just need to know that there's an end in sight to this little dry spell. Thanks all!

EDIT: BTW, I do my best to eat back my exercise calories too! I just know someone was going to suggest that.

cindylou_21

I'm having exactly the same issue...

cindylou_21

I would like to know what others do in this situation: I get up at 3:30 am. I drive about 40 miles to and from work, about an hour each way. I get home from work around 4:30 pm. I get on the treadmill as quickly as I can. I walk/run for an hour, sometimes a little more. This puts me at around 5:30, 5:45 pm. I then try to eat a light dinner around 6:00 pm. I go to bed around 8:00 pm (to get up at 3:30 am this gives me about 7 1/2 hours of sleep). Is this hurting my weight loss because sometime I will eat a snack before bed time if I have the calories left to do so....btw I have been stuck at 146 pounds for the last three weeks... :ohwell:

JodiHop

bump...

Stodrick

Thanks! I will definitely open up my diary, and add more friends!

As an aside, I've been taking pole fitness classes as my workout, and whoo boy, talk about killer! Tons of variety too. A ridiculous amount of core work and upper body work, and we're always learning new moves/ combos so it's never the same thing twice. I love it.

melhayes1115

Do you change up your workouts? Maybe you need to do that.

kristinkt

I think self-talk is huge in creating new habits. I agree that MFP is awesome in motivating us to make healthy choices! When I go through static scale times I remind myself that my body has not been used to making healthy choices, and it needs some time to get on board. Worrying about it will not help so focusing on those inches you lost is a great idea. Don't sell yourself short! Those inches are a big deal!! Wardrobe changes due to shrinking out of my old clothes is motivating too. Get in for the long haul. That's where it counts.

reka74

Just read more from people who know more and posted it on MFP:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/9433-expectations

jmjatlanta

The body is an amazing machine. And we're all unique!

As we approach the weight we wish to be, it seems the body gets to a weight it thinks we wish to be. There are many options, and that of course is because there are many causes.

At three weeks, the biggest thing I can say is "Don't stress about it." Stress causes frustration and can lead to *gulp!* giving up (heaven forbid!). Stress can also lead to weight gain. Your endocrine system is an amazing thing, and works plenty of overtime when the body is stressed. So relax, this is normal, and the chances of this being a medical problem is very slim.

The solution will probably lie in experimentation. Having a routine is great because we can see how changes in the routine affect (or not affect) our bodies. What about a drastic change of pace in your workouts? Have you tried weight training? Give that a shot for 6 weeks. What about swimming or running or tennis or kickboxing? Switch it up for a while and see what happens.

So what if nothing happens? You can go back to what you were doing before. It is no big deal. I promise you that you will not feel the time was wasted. You explored something, and learned something about your body.

That's just my $0.02. I'll send the bill to your insurance carrier.

ili_s

Perhaps if you have half an hour spare you might want to go here --> http://www.fat2fitradio.com/2012/02/fat-2-fit-139-breaking-those-nasty-weight-loss-plateaus/ and listen to their podcast. They cover how to get over plateaus.

Good luck.

sewslim266

Hi, I have been reading and seeing on TV recently some new research on this and their ideas were about exercising smarter not harder. The idea is you do just a minite of intensive exercise as hard as you can and this changes your metabolic rate for hours afterwards. The presenter went flat out on an exercise bicycle but I presume you could use any type of exercise where you really go flat out for a minute. You can even split this up intp 3 x 20 seconds. I can't put this to the test as I would get a migraine so I just do slow and steady. Good luck and don't give up. It is just a blip.
Angela

57scoutmaster

Friend request sent. Take a minute and read this

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/501511-great-read-on-plateau-ing