5 month plateau...

PixieChick24

Hello all, I joined MFP 2 years ago I believe and it has really helped me to lose weight. After having a mild eating disorder during my high school years I gained around 30 pounds. I have lost almost 25 pounds using MFP by exercising and eating 1200 calories. I know that everyone says 1200 calories is not enough but for someone with a fear of gaining weight, that is a lot for me. I generally eat between 800 and 1100 calories which I know is not enough. I also do pilates and try to switch up the exercises. However, for the last 5 months i have been stuck at 120 pounds. I have been reading all about plateaus on here and so I have upped my calorie intake to anywhere between 1500 and 1900 calories. I am hoping this will help me get back on track and lose weight again since I am only 10 pounds away from my goal weight. But as I mentioned before, I am terrified of gaining weight because this seems like so many calories to me.
I was wondering how long I should eat this increased amount of calories and should I continue working out or rest for a week or two? Should I slowly work up from 1500 to 1900 over a couple of weeks or should I just shoot right up to 1900 right away? Also, it feels like eating that many calories when eating clean is extremely difficult. Does anyone have any tips as to how I can reach that many calories without eating junk?
I know you guys are always super helpful on here so please let me know if anyone has any advise. Thanks! =]

starrisonmclennon

do some research on ADF/intermittent fasting, because i find when you hit a plateau what you need is to change up your diet which you've done, i know you said you don't want to eat too much because of your fear of gaining weight but you could take a week or two off, you don't want to do it for too long in case it become a habit, also you could eat nuts to help you reach that many calories, bananas can be 80-100 calories too

vlwimb84

You remind me of myself in that post and from my experience I think eating 1200 a day all week and then have one cheat day really helps out...you cant gain back weight just off of one cheat day especially if you are doing your excerising as well

GamerLady

Maybe you just need to shake up your exercise routine and do something a bit different. Sometimes you hit a plateau when you're doing the same routine and your body gets so use to it you don't burn as many calories from as you once did, you aren't challenged as much so your you're not pushing yourself anymore. That's what happened to me when I was trying to lose and would plateau for a few months. Once I switched up the routine and my body was challenged with a new routine, boom off came those last few pounds I wanted to get rid of. I'm one of those people where upping calories does me no good, just makes me gain.

PixieChick24

You remind me of myself in that post and from my experience I think eating 1200 a day all week and then have one cheat day really helps out...you cant gain back weight just off of one cheat day especially if you are doing your excerising as well

I generally do try to let myself have a cheat day usually on Sundays. But for me a cheat day is still only going a little over 1200 calories. Today I have laid out my food intake and am around 1500 calories. I still have half a days worth of food to go and I already feel so stuffed as if I have been eating Thanksgiving dinner all day. =/

PixieChick24

Maybe you just need to shake up your exercise routine and do something a bit different. Sometimes you hit a plateau when you're doing the same routine and your body gets so use to it you don't burn as many calories from as you once did, you aren't challenged as much so your you're not pushing yourself anymore. That's what happened to me when I was trying to lose and would plateau for a few months. Once I switched up the routine and my body was challenged with a new routine, boom off came those last few pounds I wanted to get rid of. I'm one of those people where upping calories does me no good, just makes me gain.

I have switched up pilates exercises so many times and it seems like it's not doing anything. I probably do need to incorporate more cardio so I can try that. Unfortunately, I tried incorporating cardio into my routine and ended up twisting my ankle so now I've got to rest for a little until it's not throbbing anymore. Haha. But once it's good to go I will give it a try. Thank you! It's just so frustrating being so close to my goal yet feeling so far away.

1ConcreteGirl

Slowly increase calories by 100 per week.

I have a friend here who was stuck at a plateau for 9 months. As soon as she upped her calories, she started losing again. It is scary, but it does work.

wllwsmmr

Does anyone have any tips as to how I can reach that many calories without eating junk?

Avocados on toast/guacamole as dips for your raw veggies!
All natural nut butters!
Nuts and seeds!
Quinoa!
Dried fruits!
Cheese!
Dark chocolate!
bananas!

Good luck