plateau help!!

es2189

I seem to have hit a plateau. I've been steadily losing since July, but neither the scale nor my measurements have budged in the last 2-2.5 weeks. I know this isn't that long, but it's getting frustrating.

I'm opening my diary in case anyone has any suggestions. The one thing you will be sure to notice is how much sugarless gum I chew. I realize it's a lot and it isn't ideal, but this isn't something that has changed over the course of my diet, so I really don't think it's contributing to the plateau. I don't plan to stop or cut down on that anytime, because when I do I just snack more.

Other than the gum thing, does anyone have any suggestions for things I could do differently to try and get out of this plateau? In addition to logging my food and generally staying under my limit, I have been doing ~3 days a week of cardio and 2-3 days of weight training.

Thank you!!

babeinthemoon

I'd try increasing your protein, and eating fewer carbs. But in all honesty, you are probably in body recomposition mode, where you are loosing fat as fast as you are gaining muscle.

Personally I carb-cycle... and my plateaus or gains so far have been 2nd week blips. This month is the first time I really look like I'm having a plateau, but I am sick, so I know I'm retaining water. Things are moving now.. I can't wait for Saturday's weigh-in. Feel free to look at my food logs to see the difference in how I eat.

elisa123gal

shake it up... change what you eat...rest a few days..then work out.. Eat below calories for two days..and eat over for three. do stuff different to wake your body out of the routine it has figured out.

kaervaak

Looking at your diary and reading your program it seems like you're doing all the right things. You calorie cycle, you eat a good amount of protein, you lift weights and do cardio and your calorie goals seems pretty reasonable (though maybe a touch on the low side).

A few things that you might want to consider:
1. Do you do progressive resistance training? i.e. adding weight consistently
2. Have you ever tried HIIT (high intensity interval training) instead of steady state cardio?
3. Have you tried intermittent fasting? That often helps people break through plateaus
4. Have you tried increasing your calories or eating at maintenance for a few weeks?
5. Have you tried a low carb or paleo diet?
6. Do you get enough sleep and water?

m0ll3pprz

I think it looks like you are doing a nice job of eating healthfully and getting exercise! There are only two things that came to mind form personal experience. I would try to include more greens in the way of salad or others healthy veges! I say this because my experience is that the greens balance out the sugars from fruit. I also found out that if you eat your fruit alone it has a much better absorption rate and you are better able to retain the vitamin and mineral content. I like to eat mine on an empty stomach and wait 20 minutes for a carb meal or one hour for a protein/ fat meal. Then I space my snacks (of fruit) to two hours after any meal. It sounds weird but it works great and your insulin doesn't spike as much for your effort. The other thing that I think someone else mentioned is... be sure to drink a substantial amount of water! Water is the best for flushing out your cell bodies and maintaining proper hydration and electrolytes!

Sometimes when we eat a tad bit more or just more often, it kicks our internal furnace up another notch! When I do this, I actually feel warmer and the weight sort of melts away. You may consider adding another vege to your meals! I wish you luck! Keep up your hard work!

es2189

Thanks for all the great suggestions!! These are all really helpful ideas and I will definitely see if I can try cycling through them. A bunch of people have suggested both interval training and intermittent fasting, so I may try one or both of those. I do find that eating regularly is one of the things that keeps me on track, but maybe my body needs a little kick in the pants. Really appreciate all the input!

knightreader

frustrating? yes. plateau? probably not. i stayed the same for the summer. all of it! and that is frustrating too.

my advice to you is the same people gave me.

1. hang in there
2. be patient
3. confuse your body. either eat more or less, exercise more or less. try different exercises. your body is used to doing whatever it is that you've been doing so far. so you need to confuse it to get the ball rolling again.
4. hang in there
5. be patient
6. up your water intake. your body will get used to that too. so increase your water.
7. don't give up. you will break thru and continue to see amazing results.

if you want to ask some questions about how i broke thru, or anything, send me a message. i was the same for over 2 months. drove me CRAZY! tried all types of stuff. when your body is ready, you will lose again.

good luck.

tenshiblue

2-3 weeks doesn't sound too bad. Try the things that everyone suggested. If you plateau for several months, then feel free to message me. I plateaued for an entire 3 month. Supplement was the only thing that saved me!

traumacode3

bump for later...think I am having the same problem...

Lesa_Sass

It looks like to me that you need to eat more. At the very least, try to eat all your calories PLUS your exercise calories if you do not want to raise your calorie goal.

I swear by eating more, I was stalled for months then upped my calories to 1500 plus ate back all or most of my exercise calories and boom, started losing again.

dianefisher47

I defenitley would say you are not eating enough... for awhile you were loosing but you did some harm to your system and now its in starvation mode,,,,,,if the system says to eat so many calories there is a good reason. Your body needs 1200calories just to function your daily needs so you are already eating way below your needs. I would say eat more and if you are scared eat more and do more exercise...good luck :flowerforyou:

californiagirl2012

I seem to have hit a plateau. I've been steadily losing since July, but neither the scale nor my measurements have budged in the last 2-2.5 weeks. I know this isn't that long, but it's getting frustrating.

I'm opening my diary in case anyone has any suggestions. The one thing you will be sure to notice is how much sugarless gum I chew. I realize it's a lot and it isn't ideal, but this isn't something that has changed over the course of my diet, so I really don't think it's contributing to the plateau. I don't plan to stop or cut down on that anytime, because when I do I just snack more.

Other than the gum thing, does anyone have any suggestions for things I could do differently to try and get out of this plateau? In addition to logging my food and generally staying under my limit, I have been doing ~3 days a week of cardio and 2-3 days of weight training.

Thank you!!

Totally awesome that you are hitting the weights as well as cardio. I love that!

Instead of chewing gum so much brush your teeth or sip some herbal tea (find a flavor that you like, I like spicy ginger lemon or Bengal spice, add pure plain stevia or flavored liquid stevia).

You body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.

Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You can not make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.

The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.

If you have a lot of body fat reserves you would be surprised at how little you can eat (unless you have emotional eating issues or disorders). The leaner you get the less your body has to draw from and then you have to taper up your calories. There is no such thing as starvation mode for woman over 12% body fat or men over 6% body fat. I pretty much proved that for myself by staying strong and building muscle and doing what I did. I'm the leanest, most muscular, and most fit that I have ever been in my life at almost 52 years old.

Separating out the the two things worked for me:

1) Eat less to lose fat.

2) Exercise to gain or maintain lean body mass.

Ignore exercise calories because it's insignificant when you don't have to worry about starvation mode anymore and it's highly over rated. Of course you burn energy, but not nearly what any of the devices say you do.

I found the following quote quite helpful when navigating all the various advice about calories.

We’ve been trying to figure out an exact NUMBER of calories that everyone should be eating, without recognizing that everyone is slightly different. In truth, the calories aren’t the end game. Your body is. So the EXACT amount of Calories that are right for you is the EXACT amount that will allow you to maintain your ideal bodyweight no matter what some calculator or chart says.

In other words, an online calculator might tell you that you need to eat 2,500 calories
per day to maintain your ideal bodyweight. But the only way to know for sure if this is
the right amount for you is to test it out. If you gain weight or can’t lose weight eating
that much, then you know you need to eat less to lose weight no matter how many
calculators and text books say otherwise.

This doesn’t mean your metabolism is broken, it just means the estimate of your needs
was just a bit off.

-John Barban (The Body Centric Eating Guide from the Venus Index manuals)

You will have to experiment with the calories to find what is right for you. I can't tell you or anyone else but I can tell you what worked for me http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/740340-i-lost-60-lbs-at-age-51-anyone-can-any-workout

JessicaBR0

Less processed foods and more water. Congrats on your sucess so far!

2hobbit1

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12