I have hit and can't break through another plateau

tonyciaravino

I have been working with MFP for almost a year and lost a solid 30 lbs and need to lose another 18 to be at my ideal weight. However I have hit another plate and can't seem to bust through it. I am doing interval training on my treadmill and elliptical. I have even added road biking into my mix. I have my activity level set to sedentary and my caloric intake is 1290 calories without exercise which is very tough. But I am working out 6 days a week for about 60 to 85 minutes and it is wearing me down. the lowest i got to was 188.8 lbs. Now I am about 191.5 daily average. I admit I am not staying below my cleric goal which is probably half of my problem but it is very tough. I eat whatever I burn in exercise and go over by maybe 200 calories. So net calories ends up being between 1300 and 188 calories. My BMR says I burn about 2150 calories per day. I don't eat sugary drinks and my only weaknesses are sweet cereals once in a while, some kettle corn, and I have been drinking light beer. I try to stay heavy on the protein and light on carbs and fat. Any help would be very appreciated.

thuy5

Hi,
My suggestion is take a break and eat at maintenance for a week and then start again. Give your body a rest, it sounds like your working it pretty hard and your also consuming very little calories.

Maybe worth a try?

cathydale1991

Maybe you aren't burning as many calories as you think you are? I think you need to try to eat only half your exercise calories and drink lots of water.

happythermia

Hi,
My suggestion is take a break and eat at maintenance for a week and then start again. Give your body a rest, it sounds like your working it pretty hard and your also consuming very little calories.

Maybe worth a try?

agree!

tonyciaravino

I will give the one week break a try. Thanks will let you know how it works out by mid July

sarahmoo12

do you use a HRM?? might be a good idea to make sure youre burning what you think you are. I found MFP is over judging what I burn when I got my stairmaster. I have to take what MFP gives me for everything else though untill I get a HRM myself!

tonyciaravino

Yes I use the wahoo HRM with my iPhone. I love it and it works great. I use it on mapmyride and wahoo fitness.

tonyciaravino

Still haven't broken through but I am trying

mcarter99

Two things-- You're exercise level or intensity is new so your scale losses will be fubared for a while. Also, you're 'eating back' so you're probably overestimating your burn and we all underestimate our intake, so you could be eating much closer to maintenance than you think.

Personally, I'd skip the week at maintenance calories and I'd lay off the cardio equipment for a week, including 'eating back' anything. Track like a hawk.

Also, add up exactly what you've lost in pounds for the past 30 days and see if your deficits imply that should be your loss.

Kalraii

I accidentally came across this pinned thread in the above section. Have a read it helped me understand plateus once you read further down. It's really interesting

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

good luck!!

rileysowner

First of all you are eating way too little. You are male and the generally accepted minimum for males is 1500 calories. Add to that the fact that you are looking at losing only another 18 pounds, and your goal per week should be no higher that 1 pound. Change you goals to 1 pound per week and eat those calories plus exercise calories for several weeks.

graysmom2005

Wow. You're a male with a 1300 calorie goal? Way, way too low. Congrats...you get to eat more! :-) Check out the Scooby workshop website and find your TDEE and then cut 15-20% should get things moving!!

Sharyn913

I agree that maybe you aren't eating enough. I don't know all your stats but my guess is being a male, your TDEE is probably 3,000-3,500. Try netting 1,600 for a few days and see if that helps!

kiminikimkim

Take a break from working out and eat @ maintenance for a week or two. Then get back in fighting.

debobrien1

First of all you are eating way too little. You are male and the generally accepted minimum for males is 1500 calories. Add to that the fact that you are looking at losing only another 18 pounds, and your goal per week should be no higher that 1 pound. Change you goals to 1 pound per week and eat those calories plus exercise calories for several weeks.

Agreed!

DoOrDoNotThereIsNoTry1

Eat more buddy. To lose a pound a week you should be around 1700-1900 at least. And if you are working out 5/6 days a week for 60-80 minutes...you body needs fuel.
Also, I suggest you incorporate weight or resistance training...more than cardio at this point. That alone can change your metabolism. But regardless of how you exercise...EAT.
Good luck on those final few. Great job so far!

Tom4432

MyfitnessU.com has your solutions watch videos free. High intense interaval Training is The key. Just a suggestion.Good Luck

iWaffle

I am doing interval training on my treadmill and elliptical. I have even added road biking into my mix. I have my activity level set to sedentary and my caloric intake is 1290 calories without exercise which is very tough. But I am working out 6 days a week for about 60 to 85 minutes and it is wearing me down.

Whoa whoa whoa! Take it easy there Tex. Losing weight isn't about how much cardio you do, it's how much of a calorie deficit you have. Are you eating back those calories you burn? My initial thought is that you're overestimating calories burned and you're eating too much. You realize that if you're doing 60-80 minutes a day your body is going to get better and better at the treadmill and elliptical and you'll be able to do the same exercise with fewer calories. That's the nature of aerobic exercise. It's called conditioning and it's great if you're training for a marathon but not good if you're depending on the same exercise to keep burning the same amount of calories no matter how much you do it.

Secondly it's good for you to take an entire week off every now and then on the exercise. Take a break and let your body rest. Just eat the calories MFP has set for you and skip the exercise for a week or two. Get back on after that and take a total fresh look at how many calories you're actually burning with the exercise.

pagella

Hi,
My suggestion is take a break and eat at maintenance for a week and then start again. Give your body a rest, it sounds like your working it pretty hard and your also consuming very little calories.

Maybe worth a try?

agree!

I would also try switching my workout up too once you start back dont do the same things everyday.

Dayna154

I just recently had a doc apt, and I was in your shoes but my time frame was shorter. Your body needs a shakeup. I was told by my doc no more long cardio, my body has adjusted and my metobolism is in the toilet, doc said to go to short HARD bursts of exercise. Intervals try it and you can go for shorter time periods just as intense as you can. Try that for a few weeks and see what it does for you. I just got this feedback couple of days ago. Good luck

Brandicaloriecountess

Eat more