Frustration PLATEAU!!!

MzVonda
MzVonda Posts: 87
in Health and Weight Loss
Need some tips, some help....my scale hasnt really moved in 3 months! I haven't gain, but I haven't lost any weight in 3 months after losing 81lbs over the year and I have 40lbs to go!!

Please some one HELP!!!!

Thanks my FITNESS PALS!!!
Vonda

Replies

  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
    Figure out your TDEE with a 20% cut from that number and eat that everyday.. your not eating enough and now your stalled.
  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
    You are barely eating and what you are eating is not the best choice of foods. It doesn't look like you are consuming enough protein, fruits or vegetables.

    Change up what you eat... change the exercise you do. Figure out your TDEE and take a 20% cut from that. Eat based on that. Give it a few weeks before you judge your results of TDEE as you will gain weight at first because your body is not used to eating much.

    You need to properly fuel your body for weight loss. Your deficit is far too high and you do not consume enough protein so I would imagine you have a lost a decent amount of muscle over the course of your journey.
  • MzVonda
    MzVonda Posts: 87
    Thank you for the info :)
  • Schmelvie
    Schmelvie Posts: 233 Member
    Everyone who is eating 1200 calories a day should take note. I believe that what you've done, effectively, is teach your body to survive on very low calories. Yes, you lost weight in the process, and the losing was probably very motivational, which kept you going. But at those calorie levels, your body's metabolism eventually adapted and you plateaued because the body got comfortable with 1200.

    Now what do you do? If you eat more, you're going to gain weight, because the body has been trained that 1200 is "maintenance". You've basically found one of the sources of the "yo-yo" diet... Eat low calories, lose weight, the body lowers metabolism in response, then you raise calories to maintain, and you gain the weight back.

    I've already gone through exactly what you're experiencing. What I did was increase my calories slowly all the way up to TDEE (about 2600), and I ate there for awile. Not only did I stop losing, but I gained some weight back (the yo-yo effect). I knew it was the only way to repair my metabolism. Some would call this a "metabolism reset". Now I've taken a much more conservative approach to how many calories I can cut per day (I cut 300-400 per day). The weight loss started again, albeit slower. More importantly, I'm no longer training my body to become efficient at very low calories. So when it's time to maintain, I won't yo-yo.

    I'm not going to tell you what to do, since there isn't a one-size-fits-all solution. I can only give you the perspective of someone who's been there.

    I would urge you to check out the Eat More to Weigh Less group on MFP. There's a lot more information there discussing what I'm referring to.
  • MzVonda
    MzVonda Posts: 87
    @Schmelvie, this was VERY HELPFUL!!! Thank you soooo very much and I will check out that group! Thanks again :)

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