Please help i have reached a plateau :(

Gembo82

Hiya all, i am coming up to week 6 of my diet and for the past 3-4 weeks the scales have stayed the same and it is really getting me down.
I am 5'1 and i weigh 134.2lbs, i usually do 40-50mins on a stationary bike 5-6x a week . And i do strength training 4-5x a week.
I try and stay under my calorie goal of 1200 cals and days i exercise i sometimes eat back some of those calories.
This week for 3 days i under ate at around 900cals a day and for a couple i reached my goal even with exercise to try and shock my body but nothing seems to be working.
Please can any of you help? Any tips to get the scales moving again? Since i started in April i have only lost 4.8lbs
I would ideally like to lose another 10lbs please help me.
xxx

kellygirl5538

I understand your problem because I have the same issue. I cannot break the 150s! Exercise daily and in my calorie range.. I'm just going to keep going and maybe one day the scale will move!!! I'm hiking 18 miles this weekend if that doesn't do it, I don't know what will.

I think that you are not eating enough. 900 calories is low. I haven't been eating my exercise calories back lately, and I think I need to start doing that.

You also might need to change your exercise routine. Not good to do the same thing. The stationary bike does not burn a lot of calories unless u do spin.

DivaMuscle

Are you looking at anything other than weight loss? If you're doing strength training 4-5 times a week, you could actually be building muscle. Are you hip/waist ratio's changing at all?

If you're only consuming 900 calories a day, perhaps you should look at the types of foods you eat.
Again for the strength training, you should be getting your calories from natural protein sources like chicken and fish.

Sounds to me like you've got roughly the right balance, but you just need to make some tweaks to see what will get the scales moving, dont be disheartened! It will happen - just keep up the good work.

lulabellewoowoo

I found this helpful and wanted to share from Jillian Michaels:

There is nothing more discouraging than stepping on the scale after a week of diligent dieting and grueling workouts and not seeing any drop in the numbers. The plateau is a common problem among dieters and can typically be waited out, but there are measures you can take to keep your metabolism fired up even as you reduce your caloric intake.

The best way to approach a plateau is to keep your salt intake below 2,000 mg a day and drink lots of water. Don't eat any processed carbs for a week (that's right -- no chips, sugar, white flour, and so on) and hit the gym hard! The boost in exercise will make your body swell and hold a little water weight for a few days, but after a week you should see the benefits on the scale.

You can also play around with your caloric intake a bit, varying it from day to day throughout the week while keeping the same weekly total. The human body can't slow the metabolism to adjust to a reduced caloric intake if the intake isn't fixed from one day to the next. For instance, to bust my plateau, I might have 1,200 calories on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and then eat 1,500 calories on Tuesday, 1,600 on Thursday, 1,400 on Saturday, and 1,700 on Sunday. Get it?

The plateau effect can also simply be a matter of flagging resolve. If mixing up your caloric intake just isn't working, make sure you're not slipping up on your diet or slacking off in your workouts. It happens to the best of us -- sometimes you just need a little reality check to get yourself back on track.

As with any program, there will be highs and lows, but the most important thing is to stay with it. Your body is trying to adjust to the weight loss. Don't get scared or discouraged. Just be patient and know you're worth it!

Junisahn

I'm right with you. I lost a lb a week for 5 weeks, and for the past 1.5 weeks - nothing. I'm 5'1 too, and very close to my goal. I was telling my husband last night that I'm not sure I can reach my goal - not sure my body wants to go there. I'm eating my exercise calories, and getting quite a bit of exercise in. It's getting me down, but at the same time, I KNOW I'm doing great - I KNOW I'm being honest with my activity and my calorie intake.

And I'm not willing to drop simple carbs or focus on my salt intake. As much as I'd like to break this plateau and reach my goal, I need to set limits on how much I focus on it all or I'll probably end up feeling way too restricted and just quit outright. Perhaps I'll never get to my goal weight, but at least I know I'm in control and responsible for my body. Of course, like I said, it still does frustrate me...

Hope something breaks you out of your rut!!!

Robin1117

thanks for posting the quote above, lulabellewoowoo...that was so helpful to read.

I logged in this morning kind of depressed about this subject too. To make it worse the scale this morning pointed a 1/2 lb in the wrong direction after eating well all week and upping my elliptical workout 5-10 more minutes each day for the last 2 weeks. Even though we all know it's all water, it's still a bummer to see.

I will take the advice, watch the salt, attempt to count water glasses again, and cross my fingers!

rello

It's normal to reach a plateau. Don't drop your calorlie intake to much because your body will go into stravation mode and hold onto fat store's.
Try and change your exercise program add some interval training or circuit. Your body adapts very quickly to exercise.
Also take some measurement's for a few weeks, it could be that you have gained muscle.
Drink plenty of water and just stick at it.
good luck

Holton

As confusing as it sounds, what I have found to work is to INCREASE my caloric intake to maintenance level and bounce it around between that recommendation and the 1200. You are not helping yourself by only taking in 900 calories, so try to avoid that all together. Up your calories, and you will be surprised! (again, I used MFP to calculate my maintenance level as the upper end of my intake and fluctuated between that and the 1200 to lose). You already look spectacular, so don't fret too much over this!

JillieHobbs

I agree you need to increase your caloric intake, ESPECIALLY on days you workout. The body needs you to eat more on days that you work out so it does not mess your metabolism up and go into starvation mode. No one should be eating 1200 calories only a day UNLESS you are laying on a couch all day. 1200 calories a day is what someone who is completely sedentary (laying) will burn - that doesn't include the daily walking to the car, walking at the grocery store, taking the stairs at work nor exercising at the gym. SURPRISINGLY I am running a marathon in June - so my cardio is out of control - I find I drop more weight when I have "bad" weekends eating 3000 calories a day when I am running, if I eat 1500 calories I usually will remain the same in weight. I have recommended this to a few girls at work who were also plateauing to either scale back on working out to only 45 minutes a day if they do not want to eat more than 1200 calories OR if they want to work out for 1.5-2 hours a day EAT more and both girls began to lose weight. The science behind the body is definitely hard to understand but the more you work out the more you need to eat otherwise you will not continue to lose! Good Luck, you are doing great!