Plateau=Brainwave=lower my cals to 1200

wedjul05

I took at 4 month-ish break at the end of last year due to family reasons. Since I started back at the start of this year, I've found it impossible to lose any weight. I actually gained 3 lbs instead! In total I gained about 6lbs.

So the only thing I can think of is that somewhere along the lines, I changed my goals (can't rem when) and my daily cals target went from 1200-1540 or thereabouts. This is the only thing I can think of that hindering me. I am burning more cals now than I was before and I consistently lost weight before.

I was hungry on 1200 cals but I didn't eat back all my exercise cals, I still don't. I don't feel like up'ing my cals is the answer tbh. Not for me anyway. I am willing to try anything at this stage, I fed up X a zillion of it all. It's not like I've stalled for weeks now, it's been months. I feel like I am putting in 110% effort on the exercise front and I know my diet isn't 100% prefect but I'm ok.

So I only had this brainwave like 10mins ago. I'm willing to give it a try for a few weeks. Just took all my inches measurements also so I know where I stand. I really want to break thru this plateau. I'm going to get my gym programme changed also to see if this helps. I'm desperate to shift lbs, it's really really really really getting to me. I just want to be 160lbs (GW), 154 is my UGW.

What do ye think? Worth a shot??????? Right I'm off to bed, 22.32 here in Ireland and it's raining. Perfect weather for bed. Night.

jiv8

Hi there being on plateau really is troublesome, maybe it's time for a diet change?

so instead of your calories consisting of carbs try a low carb, high fat and protein diet?

just my thought really.

good luck with everything!

crudd123

I cut my carbs to 60 a day for a week and I lost 3 pounds breaking my plateau! Good luck to you!

yarwell

Worth a shot.

Perhaps weed out the crisps, chocolate bars and biscuits too ?

Emilit_uk

Have you noticed how its always the people on 1200 cals that are the ones struggling on mfp forums? You should take something from this before making a decision.

Jezebel9

I was hungry on 1200 cals but I didn't eat back all my exercise cals, I still don't. I don't feel like up'ing my cals is the answer tbh. Not for me anyway. I am willing to try anything at this stage,

I'm going to get my gym programme changed also to see if this helps. I'm desperate to shift lbs, it's really really really really getting to me.

Do you do any strength training?
You don't have to go to a gym, just some exercises you can do at home on the floor: squats, crunches, push-ups?
I think eating back the calories is a good idea, if you are willing to try anything- even something you don't think will work for you. BTW, why do you think this is not the answer for you?

Once, when I was very desperate, I said to myself that I would do whatever the next person suggested to me, no matter what it was. A woman out of the blue suggested I stop eating gluten- and it made an incredible difference. But the usual me would have scoffed at her and kept on going. Sometimes, being stubborn has really hurt me.

8)
I wish you the best

yarwell

Have you noticed how its always the people on 1200 cals that are the ones struggling on mfp forums

I noticed how it's always people doing a lot of exercise and low calories.

Emilit_uk

Have you noticed how its always the people on 1200 cals that are the ones struggling on mfp forums

I noticed how it's always people doing a lot of exercise and low calories.

Exercise or not, eating below your bmr = Bad news. Tbh I just had exactly the same conversation on an earlier thread, about 30 minutes ago called 'why am I hungry all the time' or something, gave my two cents,, its up to you take advice from, I just notice a lot of people on here with ongoing weight issues and yoyo dieters eat 1200 cals and wonder why its not sustainable...

yarwell

I just notice a lot of people on here with ongoing weight issues and yoyo dieters eat 1200 cals and wonder why its not sustainable...

I was just reading about a guy who fasted for over a year (that's zero calories) and five years later had kept the weight off.

"During the 382 days of the fast, the patient's
weight decreased from 456 to 180 lb. Five years after
undertaking the fast, Mr A.B.'s weight remains
around 196 lb."

Interesting. He's in the Guinness Book of Records I think, or was. Probably been censored.

scorpiotwinkles

Just got through a 10 week (yes 10 WEEKS) plateau with a 13lb loss in the last weigh in. Finally, I am on the road again. Didn't lose hope because I now look at the numbers on the scale as a guide - not my lifeline. During the plateau I lost 6.5% body fat, that's why I don't care about the scale anymore.

BTW the reason I think I started losing again was because I ate more...... I was working hard, lifting heavy and not really eating enough, I have relaxed it and things are moving again.

fiveohmike

I took at 4 month-ish break at the end of last year due to family reasons. Since I started back at the start of this year, I've found it impossible to lose any weight. I actually gained 3 lbs instead! In total I gained about 6lbs.

So the only thing I can think of is that somewhere along the lines, I changed my goals (can't rem when) and my daily cals target went from 1200-1540 or thereabouts. This is the only thing I can think of that hindering me. I am burning more cals now than I was before and I consistently lost weight before.

I was hungry on 1200 cals but I didn't eat back all my exercise cals, I still don't. I don't feel like up'ing my cals is the answer tbh. Not for me anyway. I am willing to try anything at this stage, I fed up X a zillion of it all. It's not like I've stalled for weeks now, it's been months. I feel like I am putting in 110% effort on the exercise front and I know my diet isn't 100% prefect but I'm ok.

So I only had this brainwave like 10mins ago. I'm willing to give it a try for a few weeks. Just took all my inches measurements also so I know where I stand. I really want to break thru this plateau. I'm going to get my gym programme changed also to see if this helps. I'm desperate to shift lbs, it's really really really really getting to me. I just want to be 160lbs (GW), 154 is my UGW.

What do ye think? Worth a shot??????? Right I'm off to bed, 22.32 here in Ireland and it's raining. Perfect weather for bed. Night.

Sounds like you are not feeding your body well enough. Id up your calories. Set your MFP to active, and 1lb a week weight loss.

You said you would try anything, so try not using a VLCD diet

Emilit_uk

I just notice a lot of people on here with ongoing weight issues and yoyo dieters eat 1200 cals and wonder why its not sustainable...

I was just reading about a guy who fasted for over a year (that's zero calories) and five years later had kept the weight off.

"During the 382 days of the fast, the patient's
weight decreased from 456 to 180 lb. Five years after
undertaking the fast, Mr A.B.'s weight remains
around 196 lb."

Interesting. He's in the Guinness Book of Records I think, or was. Probably been censored.

Perfect. Fasting for a year! That sounds like the perfect way to live a healthy lifestyle.....lets all do that. FFS this is the reason I keep off the main forums...

nadiakim

I'm really feeling your pain. When I first started back on the right track in January I was eating super clean no carbs except fruit and lentils, split peas and chick peas. I lost 10 lbs by the end of the month. Then plateaued for a month. When I started tracking I realized I was eating way below 1000 cal and netting less because of exercise. So I upped mine to 1200 and ate back exercise calories. Still another month went by and no weight loss. So I tried eating more and uppped them to 1400 and ate back all my exercise calories. Another month went by and still no weight loss. So I read all the comments about needing to eat more and did the bmr calculator. So I ended up upping my calories being careful of carb, protein, fat and sugar intake. So here I was at 2000 calories a day with 6 days of exercise. And the end of the month the results? I gained 10 lbs!!!! So extremely frustrated I threw my hands up. I have no idea what I am going to do now. The only thing I can say. Is to try different things, maybe see your dr. to get your blood work done and rule out anything medical and keep trying. Something has to give right? Good luck.

yarwell

Perfect. Fasting for a year! That sounds like the perfect way to live a healthy lifestyle.....lets all do that. FFS this is the reason I keep off the main forums...

Nobody is advocating it as a lifestyle, and few of us are starting out at his initial weight or anywhere near it. He did lose the weight and sustain it. Maybe that doesn't fit your preconception so has to be rejected angrily.

I just happened to be reading it. Made his lifestyle an awful lot healthier FWIW.

yarwell

So here I was at 2000 calories a day with 6 days of exercise. And the end of the month the results? I gained 10 lbs!!!!

Tends to be what the evidence suggests. Take a month off the exercise and drop the calories to 1400, limit the fruit to low carb berries. Good luck.

fiveohmike

I'm really feeling your pain. When I first started back on the right track in January I was eating super clean no carbs except fruit and lentils, split peas and chick peas. I lost 10 lbs by the end of the month. Then plateaued for a month. When I started tracking I realized I was eating way below 1000 cal and netting less because of exercise. So I upped mine to 1200 and ate back exercise calories. Still another month went by and no weight loss. So I tried eating more and uppped them to 1400 and ate back all my exercise calories. Another month went by and still no weight loss. So I read all the comments about needing to eat more and did the bmr calculator. So I ended up upping my calories being careful of carb, protein, fat and sugar intake. So here I was at 2000 calories a day with 6 days of exercise. And the end of the month the results? I gained 10 lbs!!!! So extremely frustrated I threw my hands up. I have no idea what I am going to do now. The only thing I can say. Is to try different things, maybe see your dr. to get your blood work done and rule out anything medical and keep trying. Something has to give right? Good luck.

One thing to consider. When eating for extended periods of times below BMR, VLCD type diet, you may need to reset your metabolism. While I might get flamed by the 1200 calories or less a day crowd, I know what works for me an quite a few other people.

Likely over the course of a month, you probably did not gain fat weight but quite a bit of water weight retention and glycogen storage due to the increased food intake. Your metabolism did not have a chance to catch up.

Think about it...did you eat 35,000 calories, on top of your normal calorie intake in one month? Thast whats needed to gain 10lbs of fat in one month

fiveohmike

So here I was at 2000 calories a day with 6 days of exercise. And the end of the month the results? I gained 10 lbs!!!!

Tends to be what the evidence suggests. Take a month off the exercise and drop the calories to 1400, limit the fruit to low carb berries. Good luck.

Its not evidence of anything other than water retention. I guarantee she did not eat 35,000 calories on top of her normal diet to gain 10lbs of fat. Water and glycogen retention is very much normal part of exercising.

AZKristi

A lot of days you are no where near eating 1200 calories. I would try to consistently eat 1300-1400 for a few weeks and see what happens. Are you calculating exercise calories with a HRM? A lot of the calculations for calories burned by MFP are too high.

littlepinkhearts

bump

devilsangel3

Looking at your diary your protein is set very low and your carbs rather high. I would double your protein and lose some carbs - just my two cents, I'm no expert.

ETA: I'm not a low carber I just mean that your fats seem about right so swap some carb cals for protein ones. Protein will also help you feel fuller.

wftiger

I'm going to second the above and I am a low carber. I have not had a true plateau yet in 7 months (it slowed down and I got cranky but it never stopped completely).

Up your protein (try to keep it lean for one thing you can eat more of it) and lower your carbs. Cut out all breads, grains and just stick to non-starchy veggies and low carb fruits like berries and melons.

Try it for a month it can't hurt.

nadiakim

I'm really feeling your pain. When I first started back on the right track in January I was eating super clean no carbs except fruit and lentils, split peas and chick peas. I lost 10 lbs by the end of the month. Then plateaued for a month. When I started tracking I realized I was eating way below 1000 cal and netting less because of exercise. So I upped mine to 1200 and ate back exercise calories. Still another month went by and no weight loss. So I tried eating more and uppped them to 1400 and ate back all my exercise calories. Another month went by and still no weight loss. So I read all the comments about needing to eat more and did the bmr calculator. So I ended up upping my calories being careful of carb, protein, fat and sugar intake. So here I was at 2000 calories a day with 6 days of exercise. And the end of the month the results? I gained 10 lbs!!!! So extremely frustrated I threw my hands up. I have no idea what I am going to do now. The only thing I can say. Is to try different things, maybe see your dr. to get your blood work done and rule out anything medical and keep trying. Something has to give right? Good luck.

One thing to consider. When eating for extended periods of times below BMR, VLCD type diet, you may need to reset your metabolism. While I might get flamed by the 1200 calories or less a day crowd, I know what works for me an quite a few other people.

Likely over the course of a month, you probably did not gain fat weight but quite a bit of water weight retention and glycogen storage due to the increased food intake. Your metabolism did not have a chance to catch up.

Think about it...did you eat 35,000 calories, on top of your normal calorie intake in one month? Thast whats needed to gain 10lbs of fat in one month

That does make sense. I honestly couldnt figure out what the heck had happend. From what I had read they said no more than a month to reset the metabolism. Perhaps longer for me. I'm going to try eating at BMR for the next month and see what happens. Thanks

Emilit_uk

Perfect. Fasting for a year! That sounds like the perfect way to live a healthy lifestyle.....lets all do that. FFS this is the reason I keep off the main forums...

Nobody is advocating it as a lifestyle, and few of us are starting out at his initial weight or anywhere near it. He did lose the weight and sustain it. Maybe that doesn't fit your preconception so has to be rejected angrily.

I just happened to be reading it. Made his lifestyle an awful lot healthier FWIW.

Then why bring it up at all on a post where someone is asking for advice on how many calories they should be eating? And yes actually it does make me angry the amoun of poor advice people give om nutrition, it's damned unhealthy, and in some cases leads to eating disorders.

In my late teens I did the whole low calorie, lets trick my body imto feeling full by drinking water/chewing gum, blah blah blah. I would never have had the strength back then to do what I can do now. I'm not advocating going out and eating whatever you want to lose weight guys, just
EAT CLEAN cut out the junk, and once in a while, give yourself a break and have a treat! You are not going to gain 10lb over night because you ate one cookie!

I'm not a stand alone case here, there are groups with women who have had success with a lot more weight loss than I have that have not been starving themselves. You may feel fine on 1200 calories, your body may get used to it, but you will screw your metabolism.

Still, do whatever you feel happy doing, I just choose my role models a little more carefully. But then i've never been motivated to look be 'skinny' like some half starved model, which so many people seem to aspire to these days. l much prefer to look healthy and athletic, and feel happy and energetic!

wedjul05

Sorry people, only getting time to read all the replies now and respond.

Well so what I'm going to do/take advise: lower my carbs, increase protein, cut the crap (which isn't huge tbh, I don't see why 99 cals on a small bar won't hurt IF it fits in my daily cals but the again, it is empty cals but then again it keeps me sane!!!), change my gym programme and see how I get on.

I do rem eating alot of plain chicken/turkey with plain veg. I got results but I don't see this as sustainable for me anyway. I like my food wayyyyyyy too much to eat this plain all the time. I will find a happy medium I'm sure.

I ate pasta today so that's prob thrown my carbs out the window. Had a huge brekkie/lunch which I normally dont' do but I am going to the gym tonight so that will be about a 700-800 cals burn.

Thanks for the feedback. Much appreciated.

sgthaggard

I was just reading about a guy who fasted for over a year (that's zero calories) and five years later had kept the weight off.

It's hard to gain weight when you're a corpse.