Wife stuck at weight loss plateau for 4 months!!

Mindmovesbody

Exercise more... The end

DEFINITELY NOT!!! She needs to EAT more to fuel her body for all the exercising she is already doing!!! She is NOT eating enough. If her TDEE is 2600 she should be eating at a 15-20% deficit of that!!! Check out the group Eat more 2 weigh less. They also have their own website now because the group on here got so big. Eatmore2weighless.com

Good Luck to your wife! :flowerforyou:

meldaniel

Good for you for being so supportive! Wish my hubby paid as much attention. I think he is sick of hearing me talk about weight and food though..LOL! I am in the same boat, although not as much to lose...I am not losing anymore. My shape is improving and I am pretty sure I have less fat over my muscles...but it is hard to stay excited about it when the scale does not budge or months and months. My trainer says less carbs and less sugar, keep building muscle and give it time. I thought under 100 carbs was low...she said to speed up fat loss I need to go lower, 60 or less. It is hard to do that though! Good luck to your wife.

michellekicks

She is not eating enough.

My TDEE is about 2600/day too and I've been eating NET 1600 (i.e. 1600 plus all my exercise calories for an average daily intake of 2100 calories) and I've been losing steadily... I've lost 15 lbs since I joined MFP in April - that's 5 lbs/mo.

I'm 5'7", 36 years old and now 165.4 lbs as of my last WI on Monday morning.

Jeebs71

When I first started with MFP it told me that I should only be eating 1200 calories a day. About a month after starting MFP I also joined a weight loss/fat burn class at my gym and when the trainer found out I was only eating 1200 cals a day he was not very happy. My BMR is 1563, so he told me to eat 1500 cals a day, and when I exercise I was to eat back most of my exercise calories. To date I have lost 28lbs (basically my halfway point). Also I have been doing various classes at my gym - abs, tone, pilates and a session with a PT once a week. Each week the PT session is different, but always consists of 40-50 mins strength training and 10-20 mins cardio. After each of my exercise classes I do 20 mins on the treadmill (intervals). Although I have only lost half my weight I have noticed a big difference in my shape and muscle tone. Get your wife to try upping her cals and get started on the strength training. Four months ago I never thought I would ever say I loved the TRX, kettlebells, bosu or free weights, but let's just say I am getting there ;o). I think it's fabulous that you are such a supportive husband, at the moment mine is grumping about the amount of time I spend at the gym, but I need to spend the time to get where I need to be.

gtsxybk

I'm no professional, but i was there also. She should actually eat 5-6x daily. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack... I do so every two hours. If you train ur body that its being fed this way it'll boost her metabolism. Also eat breakfast as soon as she wakes. Keep a low carb diet to trick her body. Also research shows that if you intake the same amount of protein as ur weight goal out helps burn fat... Ex... My goal is 130... So i aim to intake 130g protein. Eat good carbs prior to workouts and protein after. Look for raspberry ketones... They've helped me break that plateau also and lable to ose a pound daily. She also needs to burn energy harder. Try hiit exercises. Even cycling is considered hiit. That's what most of my cardio consists of. I'm here if she ever needs to add me or message me. Good luck to the Mrs

reree6898

Your wife is lucky to have someone to work with and be supportive of her goals. It is great that you are taking an interest and being an active part of her journey She is not eating often enough it sounds like. My trainer told me that even if you have just a bite of something your body really needs to take in some food every three hours or your metabolism will slow down and eventually you can start to even gain weight back from healthy foods even with exercise. I try to stick between 1200 & 1500 calories per day and once per week I will allow myself to splurge to about 2200 or so but the key is to alternate lower calorie days with higher calorie days and eat something every three hours or so. It works, I have lost 31 lbs in the last 9 weeks! Best of luck to you!!

Mindmovesbody

well how sweet you are taking such control of your wife's dietary issues --- perhaps she should eat more.
perhaps you could cook for her.

1200 calories isn't enough. end of story. she can eat more clean calories and lose weight. it's an amazing concept.

Perhaps someone crapped in your oats this morning? Why bother answering OP if your going to have an attitude and be rude? :huh:

secretlobster

Timing of meals doesn't matter at all. Macronutrients aren't going to play a huge role either (until you get very close to your goal weight).

If she's eating 1200 calories a day and then 3000 one day a week, she's a) not eating enough regularly and b) overindulging by a LOT one out of seven days. Can she try to be more consistent with her eating habits? The idea of "splurging" once a week may work for a lot of men, but I usually see women struggle with this plan.

Unless there is a thyroid or other medical condition, weight loss does NOT need to involve raspberry ketones, low carbs, magic shakes or wonder diets. It is not true that the less you eat, the more you lose. And after four months of dieting/intense exercise, if she is currently 195lbs. it doesn't matter how much muscle she's built, she should see some loss on the scale. I would love to see your wife's diary for a couple of weeks because I feel like any advice is just too indirect with too little insight.

lillovelylady

My aunt had the same problem (she is on this site). She told me that her secret was to take 2 days out of the week and eat less than 50 carbs in those two days. She suggests eating those carbs in the morning/ afternoon. This is within the calorie allotment and her exercise routine.

Margeinthurmont

Sensa may help

BeckaT79

Congrats on your wife's weight loss first of all. I would think that she may try to switch up her routine every once in a while... Instead of her regular classes maybe she can take zumba, maybe lift some weights and along with a change in her exercise routine maybe she could increase her calories for a couple months just to change everything up a little bit. Good luck to both of you in your weight loss journey. Tell her to hold strong because that plateau has a tendency to suck :-) Keep being supportive :flowerforyou:

drmerc

if she is not losing weight, she is eating too much and needs to eat less*

unless there is some undiagnosed medical condition

KatrinaG2012

OP sounds like a compassionate and caring spouse. Good for both of you. With support like that and the good information you are getting as a result of his request, you will break that plateau in no time.

devil_in_a_blue_dress

if she is not losing weight, she is eating too much and needs to eat less*

unless there is some undiagnosed medical condition

:noway:

Broscience at its finest.

jcoco

I have gone through the same frustrating thing your wife is going through. I also was having a major plateau for months losing and gaining the same 2lbs. I tried the Spike diet which I found on here, there is a group. It basically has you zig zag calories like others have suggested then you have a Spike day. For 3 days you will eat your BMR, 3 days of BMR minus 500 calories (NOT going under 1200) and then on your Spike day you double your BMR & eat whatever you want. There is a book, but if you go to the group page & read all the posts, you will get the idea. Russell B is the author of the book & is on MFP. It helped me break my plateau & I have currently lost 21lbs without feeling deprived.

Lennox497

I concur with the lot; eat more. Also add strength training. Added muscle will burn more calories throughout the day.

The body is a furnace; fuel it up and burn hot!

drmerc

if she is not losing weight, she is eating too much and needs to eat less*

unless there is some undiagnosed medical condition

:noway:

Broscience at its finest.

eating less to lose weight is broscience?

_VoV

In March, after 5 months on MFP and 29 pounds lost, I started to get discouraged. It was harder to keep to my desired calorie deficit. So, upon the advice of a friend here, I took a full diet break. I ate my maintenance calories, mostly, though some days I ate more, and other days I ate less. I gained around 4 pounds initially, but eventually lost it. At this point, I am doing part 2 of the weight loss portion of my program. My goal is to lose the next 23 pounds, and then stay there for at least a couple of months. The nice thing is I'm coming back to this weight loss effort revitalized. BTW, my maintenance calories are 1900, and I am currently eating 1250 calories.

secretlobster

Edit: Double-posted from browser timeout...

secretlobster

eating less to lose weight is broscience?

Maybe not broscience so much as dumb advice that indicates you didn't read the part where she's normally consuming less than half her TDEE