Been stuck at same weight for 6 months

dewsmom78

Hello,

I am 34, 5'2, and am currently at 134. I have been fluctuating between 132 and 135 for about 6 months. Goal weight is around 125. I have been on MFP for 6 weeks now and my weight still has not changed. I was using my elliptical daily, but now instead I am starting to work with a kettlebell to build muscle and hopefully burn some fat. The weight is mostly on my back and tummy area - (had a baby 13 months ago and gained 45lbs with her) So just trying to get into my pre-baby clothes!

Any tips or suggestions would be great!

Tonyswoman

I have been struggling with this, also. I've been at the same weight after I lost only 4 pounds. I have noticed that my clothes fit better, so things are shifting around, but I want to see the number go down! I have been told 45 mintues of hard cardio 6 days a week will help drop it fast... Along with cardio, I'd add in the kettlebell and lunges, squats, abs....

Good luck! I'm only up to 25 minutes of hard cardio at 5 days a week, so far... It's tough!!

katejkelley

I'm in the same boat. I finally reset my ticker today. I had been down to 128, but the past few weeks, hovering at 130. I'm down a total of 20 pounds, so that's good. I just can't seem to lose those last 5! Any advice from those who've been successful would be greatly appreciated.

HappyBayou

This can be frustrating. A couple of thoughts:

--The closer you are to your ideal weight range, the longer it takes. If you are already in range and/or don't have that much to lose in the first place, then it's just going to take some time. Especially if you are petite-- maintenance calories and weight loss calories may not have a very wide gap in between. For someone who is over ideal weight (notice I'm not saying 'goal weight,' which is subjective) by 50 lbs, there may be a difference of thousands of calories a week between maintenance calories and weight loss calories. At ~3500 cal/pound, the person is losing at a higher rate at '50 to lose' compared to when they get to the point of '7to lose.'

--Don't forget to take measurements regularly. If you are losing fat but gaining muscle, it may not show up on the scale. A change in measurements will be a better indication of your progress. Also, periodically, try on the 'ill-fitting' clothes in your closet, and remember how each feels. You may find that you have shrunk a size though the scale is still being impertinent.

--Avoid going below 1200 cals/ day. Severe reduction causes the leptin in your body to trigger wicked hormone levels that lower the rate at which you burn calories. (Stress and lack of sleep can also have the same effect and cause you to produce excess cortisol.) 1200 calories seems like such an arbitrary number, but apparently that's the generally accepted safe zone. Better yet-- listen to your body. After that first week or so of induction fatigue when you first start losing weight, you should feel reasonably healthy and energetic.

--If you really are stuck, and ***your goal weight is healthy and realistic,*** then you'll probably have to switch something up. It really does seem that weight lifting is more effective than cardio. You might do a power walk or light jog for 30 min and burn 150 calories. That's nice, but it 3500 (a pound) divided by 150 (the power walk) = ~24. So it'd take 3-1/2 weeks to lose that pound. PLUS, if you do the same cardio on a regular basis, you become more efficient and burn less from the same work out. Coversely, the more muscle you have (from weight lifting), the higher your basal metabolic rate, which means you require more calories every day to sustain the same weight. And THAT means you are more likely to lose at a higher rate than you would from just diet and cardio. Keep switching exercises so that your body doesn't get too "comfy" (efficient) from doing any one thing. Another thing you can do to switch things up is modify your ratios for carbs / fats / proteins. Most people seem to have success with higher protein levels and by getting their carbs from "color" plant sources (not the beiges-- grains and starches).

ark5229

Oh dear. I hope no one sees this as me advocating unhealthy behavior. Anyway, last year I was in the 130s for a while and got to the 120s by not eating so much. I only ran for 20 minutes maybe twice a week and, instead, did a fair amount of walking. I did a bit of strength training too for my arms and core but not much. Mainly, my activity level was relatively low and I ended up dropping weight.

Now, don't do anything extreme or unhealthy! But focus on exercising less and, subsequently, eating less. Apparently, losing weight (which isn't always the same as becoming more healthy) is waaaaay more about diet than exercise. My cousin's nutritionist says so at least, and I have, personally, also found this to be true. Idk why. I guess it's easier to just not eat the calories than it is to try to estimate how long you need to workout in order to burn them completely.

Keep in mind your caloric needs will obviously be lower, thus so will the threshold at which you create a calorie deficit. Again, it has been my experience that creating a greater caloric deficit than what you have now is more import for losing weight than increasing your amount of exercise. Skipping out on SOME exercise for two months or so shouldn't really affect you in the long run. Once you are at your target weight, simply work back up to whatever level of fitness you desire.


TL;DR: Cut more calories, don't increase exercise. Idk why. Nutritionist says so and I have personally found this to be true.

VirginieBarrette

wow, you two girls are amazing! Thanks for those amazing tips!

jackielou867

I agree, do not under eat. It absolutely will not help. Strength training seems to be the way to go. You may not lose weight (muscle IS heavier than fat) but you will drop a dress size. Well that's what has happened to me in the last 12 weeks. I lost inches everywhere, but only 1kg. I look in the mirror and I am not complaining :-) I was also told to mix it up a bit. if you do same old routine, both eating and gym, your body adapts to it. That's why the gym give me a different programme every 6 weeks. Some days I eat a bit over, some a bit under, as long as by the end of the week I have evened out. Also be really honest, and really accurate with your calculations, portion sizes etc. If you are doing strength, make sure you get plenty of protein. Good Luck :-)

stephaniefiteni

To all girls on this post who are on the same amount of weight for a long period of time, especially using the elliptical trainer - THIS WAS ME ONCE UPON A TIME SO PAY ATTENTION!

1. Your body gets use to same cardio every damn day! Change your exercises! Build muscle, your body will burn a higher calorie rest rate if you do so and will make it much easier for you to ' burn calories '
2. Spending a long time on cardio machines is pointless, spend less time more EFFECTIVELY. I use the term HIIT - if you don't know it, google it.
3. Spend more time targeting specific areas that you have a problem with, with weight training!

4. Educate yourself about metabolism boosters, naturally. No extra supplements, blahblah just natural foods!
5. Search antioxidant foods.
6. Search foods that potentially ' burn fat ' of course your not going to eat 3-4 lemons and drop a size the next day but knowledge of this does help.

7. If weight training or cardio sessions are becoming too easy once again it is because your body is adapting to it, so make sure you turn up on level, run a little faster, pick up some heavy *kitten* weight and ALWAYS TRAIN TO IMPROVE.

Cabrinii

I was also stuck at the same weight-111 lbs. 2 years ago. It has been that way for the past remaining stretch of the year. Today, my weight went down to 3.4 lbs. I plan not to let my weight get stuck at the same number and to shed off the extra pounds.

KANGOOJUMPS

do something different
change things up,
I do different exercise every day
and eat different too