I've stopped losing.....help!!!!

dlyeates

I've been on this site since the end of July and am at 295 days logging in. For the first 6 months I did 1200 calories/day while eating back exercise calories and lost around 30 lbs. In those 6 months there was a total of 3 months worth of weeks that I lost nothing. So around Christmas I went from 2 lbs/wk weight loss to 1 lb/week (1430 calories) for the Christmas holiday. I didn't really lose much but I wasn't being totally good. But I didn't gain during that time.

I also started doing research as to what I should be eating and started thinking I should be eating more since I was starting the C25K program and maybe that is why I was having so many plateaus. I stuck with 1430 for a while but only moved about 1 lb in a month. More research and asking advice here had me thinking I should be around 1700-1800 calories but I was giving up my scale for Lent and didn't want to raise that high without the guidance of my scale. I upped it to about 1550 (still eating back my exercise calories).

According to MFP as I entered my food/calories each day is that in 5 weeks I *SHOULD* be around 158-159 in 5 weeks. I was so looking forward to my weigh in on Easter but I was devastated.....I lost a whopping 1.2 lbs in 46 days. I was working out 3 days a week on average, sometimes more.

So I did more research, I started strength training 2 days a week. I upped my calories to 1750, eating back my exercise calories and upped my walking around work.....all stairs 5 or more times a day (I'm on the 3rd floor) and no elevator.

My problem is that I've lost about 5 lbs in 5 months and nothing in the last month. I know sometimes I'm over on sodium and I eat Trader Joe's frozen meals for lunch (not real clean but working in a school it fits into my calories, has less "crap" then other frozen meals and it's easy (which I need)). I eat out a couple times a week but I fit everything into my calories and I have usually 1 cheat meal a month. That's it. I drink 10 or more glasses of water a day to counteract the excess sodium.

But even eating a little less than clean, even with the extra sodium every once in a while, even with eating out.....shouldn't I be losing at least 1 lb a week (or even every other week). I'm pretty strict with my calories and log just about everything. I'm almost always under. I don't know what to do. I've dropped back down to 1350 hoping to shock my body into a little weight loss.

Please please please give me advice. And not just eat less sodium. I don't think that my sodium is so much in excess that it's causing me not to lose any weight. I don't know what to do but I still have 20 lbs to lose to get to the HIGH end of a healthy weight for my height!!!! Help me please!!!! (and if you read all of this.....Thank you!!!)

MCsAngel2

Well, I personally think maybe your carbs are a bit high. I know there's a lot of debate on here about that (that it shouldn't matter as long as you're under your calorie goal), and I do realize that one thing doesn't always work for everyone. However, it does seem to me that low carb is pretty successful for most people I know who've used it, especially women.

It's worked well for me, I'd recommend trying it. I try to shoot for daily net carbs (total carbs minus total fiber) around 50g per day, but really try to make sure to stay under net 75g per day. I pretty much eat the same thing every day, so once you get over the carb craving (by the end of the first or second week), and once you find the foods that fit your needs, you can be pretty well set.

Rocbola

Sounds like you are doing calorie restriction. A healthy body maintains it's ideal weight automatically, and a healthy body is a well nourished body. It sounds counter-intuitive, but it's possible that you need more food.

Fruit and vegetables should be the only things added, and if you eat any oils or sugars, it's best to remove them completely. (Read chapter 5 of Caldwell Esselstyn's book "Prevent and Reverse Hearst Disease" called "Moderation Kills")

crimsontech

I have been in plateau since the middle of April. After reading several threads on here, I went from a 1000-1500 calorie/day deficit to a 0-500 deficit. It is about 10 days in and I've lost around 5-6 pounds. (I'll know for sure in the morning when I weigh-in.) I feel like this might have been the system shock that I needed to get back to losing pounds. I'll keep eating 2100 calories/day (and eat back most/all of my exercise calories) until the weight loss stops again, then I'll try something else.

dlyeates

Can anyone else help me?

I weighed in, finally, lower on Saturday....went to a birthday party, watched my portions but had dessert I haven't had before and weighed in on Sunday 3 lbs heavier (I'm sure I was over a little because you can only figure out calories so close but not that much). So I figured it was food still in my body. Same with Sunday. Under calories but a steak at dinner so I figured Monday being the same was because of food still in my body and not going issues.

Started eating more veggies this week, relieved the "not going" problem and lost 1 lb. Still up 2.6 lbs from Saturday and I'm trying to eat healthy and I'm under calories.

The only time I lost weight (and then I still had a total of 3 months worth of weeks that I didn't lose) was in the first 6 months where I was doing 1200 calories and eating back exercise calories. I don't want to go back to that but I'm over 2 weeks in on 1350 and I got down to 163 and now back up to 165.6.

I drink more than 10 glasses of water, rinse any beans I use so the sodium is lower and watch my calories religiously. I don't know what to do!!!!