My weight loss is at a stand still after twenty pounds...

christyfurr

I have heard that trying a cleanse or juice detox can also help boost metobolism if you are at a stand still. Also make sure your hydrated - your body will hang on to extra pounds if you you are not hydrating yourself. To know what good hydration is for your body you are supposed to take your weight divide by 2 and that is how many ounces a day of water you should be drinking to keep your body hydrated.

Good Luck !

jgm379

Giving up pepsi is something you just have to do. You will suffer headaches but its worth it in the long run. Try to get your body used to flavored water, vitamin water, or low calorie gatorades.

mtcHavingItAll

Thanks for the question and the great advice from everyone!

Mrsbrandnewmeslimandtrim

Bump

1holegrouper

I obviously don't know what your daily meals are on average but try eating a small meal......(not too small).........5 times a day and throw in a protein shake for a snack..................the more you eat during the day in small portions will keep your metabolic rate moving faster to burn more calories, but at the same time......if you are constantly under your calorie count then your body goes into starvation mode.....its used to what you had been eating say for example before you wanted to lose weight.........and now its going "I'm not getting the usual"....and when your body goes into starvation mode what happens is your insulin levels, which are a huge player in metabolic rate and weigh management, take a dive. When your insulin levels drop your body stops burning carbs for energy and starts storing them as fat...........you then start gaining weight instead of losing it even though you are under your calorie count.........stay under the calorie count a few days a week then try to hit the calorie count the other days............especially on workout days have protein shakes after your workout and before bed.......remember.....cardio is good for heart health and getting some serious pounds off........but what really starts peeling off fat is when you gain a bit of muscle because the body has to feed the muscle with more energy than fat cells.......more muscle means higher BMR (Basil Metabolic Rate) - rate at which your body burns calories when doing nothing. If you can get your BMR up you will see yourself getting smaller. Most people think that going tot the gym and losing weight means cardio first..........no.....this is wrong.........you need to hit the weights for 30mins-1 hour before doing cardio with little breaks in between sets........what this does is makes your body burn off short term energy stores first such as lipids, carbs, and sugars. Then when you hit the bike, treadmill, etc......your body will be tapping into its long term energy stores (a.k.a. Fat cells) for fuel and you will lose more weight. Hope this was helpful......and of course if anyone reads this and finds that I have mispoken somewhere please correct me because I am always looking for more input.

Eating more often doesn't speed up your metabolism.

True. But you should explain what the advantage is. A large clinical study published in the November 2011 issue of the Journal of The Americal Dietetic Association is one of many studies that show that eating 5-6 meals a day helps curb cravings and binges. It also can help keep blood sugar and insulin stable which encourages more fat burning. So, if you eat 2,000 calories in 1 setting vs the same divided by 6 your results are basically the same. The problem comes in real life with hunger pangs that hit in between infrequent meals (then taking your calorie intake over your goal) and multiple smaller meals through the day are one way to combat that.

Kristy_Albritton

Oh, I don't drink Pepsi. Someone else commented on the need for Pepsi. I only drink water. All the time.

Kristy_Albritton

Thanks for all of the great replies. It was the same thing, this morning. No change, at all. But, I have increased my caloric intake. I was eating around 900 a day, mainly because I never eat breakfast. I find it hard to find time for it! Anyway, today, I'm going to try to get to 1200 calories (of healthy foods) and see what that does. I appreciate all of the help!!!

lizziebeth1028

I hit a plateau around 25/30lbs. A lot of folks do.

My way out was RADICALLY changing up my work outs. Also, focussing on protein in my diet makes me lose faster. I would suggest changing and upping your work outs and seeing how that works.

Agree! Change up your workouts if you can. You recently started walking....have you ever tried the Leslie Sansone Walk at Home DVD's? They low impact and easy to follow. And yes!!...make sure you're getting enough protein!

ifeelbetterworkingout

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ifeelbetterworkingout

I obviously don't know what your daily meals are on average but try eating a small meal......(not too small).........5 times a day and throw in a protein shake for a snack..................the more you eat during the day in small portions will keep your metabolic rate moving faster to burn more calories, but at the same time......if you are constantly under your calorie count then your body goes into starvation mode.....its used to what you had been eating say for example before you wanted to lose weight.........and now its going "I'm not getting the usual"....and when your body goes into starvation mode what happens is your insulin levels, which are a huge player in metabolic rate and weigh management, take a dive. When your insulin levels drop your body stops burning carbs for energy and starts storing them as fat...........you then start gaining weight instead of losing it even though you are under your calorie count.........stay under the calorie count a few days a week then try to hit the calorie count the other days............especially on workout days have protein shakes after your workout and before bed.......remember.....cardio is good for heart health and getting some serious pounds off........but what really starts peeling off fat is when you gain a bit of muscle because the body has to feed the muscle with more energy than fat cells.......more muscle means higher BMR (Basil Metabolic Rate) - rate at which your body burns calories when doing nothing. If you can get your BMR up you will see yourself getting smaller. Most people think that going tot the gym and losing weight means cardio first..........no.....this is wrong.........you need to hit the weights for 30mins-1 hour before doing cardio with little breaks in between sets........what this does is makes your body burn off short term energy stores first such as lipids, carbs, and sugars. Then when you hit the bike, treadmill, etc......your body will be tapping into its long term energy stores (a.k.a. Fat cells) for fuel and you will lose more weight. Hope this was helpful......and of course if anyone reads this and finds that I have mispoken somewhere please correct me because I am always looking for more input.

Eating more often doesn't speed up your metabolism.

True. But you should explain what the advantage is. A large clinical study published in the November 2011 issue of the Journal of The Americal Dietetic Association is one of many studies that show that eating 5-6 meals a day helps curb cravings and binges. It also can help keep blood sugar and insulin stable which encourages more fat burning. So, if you eat 2,000 calories in 1 setting vs the same divided by 6 your results are basically the same. The problem comes in real life with hunger pangs that hit in between infrequent meals (then taking your calorie intake over your goal) and multiple smaller meals through the day are one way to combat that.

as long as you don't eat a large quantity of food more often during the day.............research has proven that the best dieting techniques involve eating less more times during the day as opposed to eating more food fewer times during the day.......by eating more often during the day in small quantities you are helping you body keep its metabolism at a raised steady pace, whereas if you eat large meals 3 times during the day for example.......the body's metabolism fluctuates up and down.....in this down time the body's metabolism is slower, therefore by eating smaller portions more throughout the day you "speed up" your metabolism opposed to eating a bunch of food only a couple of times during the day.

taylorblues

I was like you, stopped losing and put on a few pounds (goal was set for 1/2 lb a week)

Last week I got fed up and changed my goal to 'maintenance' - this morning I got weighed and have lost 2 lbs!!!!!! How did that happen???


Edit - Just reset my goal, still at 'maintain current weight' and it took 20 calories off my target. Have you continued to reset your goals after each weight loss? It's not enough to just log your weight, you have to reset your goals for every pound you lose.

dena789

I`m not sure how true it is but, I have heard somewhere that plateaus can happen when you reach a weight that your body recognizes from your past. For example - I weighed 221 for a long time (several years) and when I reached that mark in my weight loss, I plateaued for almost 2 weeks. I`m looking next toward a number of 209 as that was a long-time weight as well. My body - my experiment!

It`s worth noting too that I have not been able to do much exercise at all so far in my weight loss due to some disabilities. While I don`t suggest skipping the exercise, I have been losing simply by controlling portions and calories. Weigh, measure, be honest. My dairy is open, warts and all.

forwesgar13

I found nowloss.com this week it has lots of great tips . One I tried this week was walking with a weight vest to break a plateau and I could tell a difference . Check it out great stuff !

KALMdown

After 22 pounds, I've stalled these past few weeks which made me slack off in exercise and eating. However, I was eating 1200 a day and working out 5 days a week even though I wrote my activity level as sedentary. I upped my caloric intake to 1400 now and will see what happens. I also am changing up my exercise routine. Instead of doing cardio sculpt two days a week and then boot camp & yoga on the the other 2 days, I've cut them down to twice a week, started trainIng for a 5k, swim training and water aerobics for fun. Need to add more intensive weight training soon.

nxd10

I stopped for a little while at 20 pounds and even gained a few pounds from serious brisk walking. But I lost inches during that period as my muscles tightened up in my abdomen and hardened up in my legs and bottom.

I realized I was not eating back my exercise calories. I started eating them back and have dropped a pound a week since.

alpine1994

I've actually been on a 2 week plateau as well, and I love everyone's advice! I'm going to start running on non-ballet days and eat back my exercise calories (I haven't been) and see if it helps. Thanks!

Koldnomore

I was eating around 900 a day..

There's your problem.. Unless you were on a medically supervised diet of some sort you are not eating enough. You need to do your calculations and eat what you need to eat - 1200 does not work for everyone. Read the information in the stickies at the top and follow them. You can also check http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ for a quick check on your BMR / TDEE

sunshinesquared

All these comments are good and they all give excellent reasons as to the scale reflecting something you don't understand. My advise after experiencing these very often in my journey (so often that I almost disregard them now) is that when the body is in flux as it is when you are calorie deficient for a prolonged time and starting/ramping up exercise - it uses fluid to equalize weight lost. I think it does this for short periods of time - in women I think during certain times it retains that fluid longer. When the body clock is back in sync the fluid is released and the scale moves. When you hit certain percentages of your overall body weight lost I think our metabolism resets slightly and our body goes back into flux. During these fluxes you continue to lose but the body holds water and that is why even measurements can be wonky. I find it happens to me for on average 3 weeks about every 25 lbs. Sometimes longer, but when it's longer my weight losses are greater after the plateau. Every time I ramp up my exercise or strength training I even have slight gains - you wanna talk about pain, time along with with a plateau and that spells major depression! Bottom line - having what you wish to see on the scale is only part of the emotional satisfaction of this journey. If you are working the plan correctly, the plateau will end and you will lose consistantly until the next one. What is the alternative? You are not going to throw in the towel on this journey or lifestyle because the scale is not validating your victory are you? No, you just chalk it up to "*hit happens" and "this too will pass" because... it does and it will!

WOW, just WOW!!!!!! 239 lbs!!!!!!!!!!!!! Congrats, that is so awesome!!!

Kristy_Albritton

I was eating around 900 a day..

There's your problem.. Unless you were on a medically supervised diet of some sort you are not eating enough. You need to do your calculations and eat what you need to eat - 1200 does not work for everyone. Read the information in the stickies at the top and follow them. You can also check http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ for a quick check on your BMR / TDEE

I'm doing my best to increase my daily calories. I've never been a breakfast person, so that hurt's me a lot there. I'm going to start drinking protein shakes for breakfast, I believe. We shall see how that goes...

Kristy_Albritton

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