Another Plateau, Please Help!

AmyLynch1101

I have been using MFP for almost 9 months and lost 35 lbs! Great, I know! But here is my struggle... I lost my first 15-20 pounds pretty easily and then, at 3-4 months in, I hit a plateau for at least a month where I did not lose any weight and I got very discouraged and almost quit. I reevaluated my diet and gave it one last push and finally began to see progress again. Now, 3-4 months after my last plateau, I have hit another one. It has been almost a month and I haven't lost a single pound (Actually I have gained a little). I am trying to net 1200 calories per day, usually eating 1800-2000 and burning off 600-800 with running and weight-lifting. My diet is reasonably clean, fruit and fresh lean protein every day, no pop and lots of water.

Am I doing something wrong or do I need to adjust something else? Help! I am getting really discouraged again My goal is to lose 50 more pounds to be at a healthy BMI.

bacitracin

Sometimes your body just stalls. Measure by inches because the numbers on the scale lie about your progress. Notice how your jeans fit, how your socks fit, how your bras fit.

Then if you're still not seeing anything in awhile, maybe shock your body with a pint of ice cream or a chinese buffet dinner. Nothing too crazy, but just enough for your metabolism to go "WTF?". You don't want metabolic damage setting in, where your body gets used to a low amount of calories and just has less energy.

You can also look into the 20/4 or 19/5 intermittent fasting where you eat all your daily calories in a four or five hour window, and then fast for the rest of the day. There's also the 5:2 intermittent fasting where 2 days out of the week, you eat <500 calories, and the other 5 days you eat normally. Those might keep your body on it's toes.

taequeen

have you tried eating more? Sounds counter-intuitive, but if you are eating less than your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) your body hoards every calorie, thinking you are starving. Eating more tells your body that there is food available, and interrupts the starvation cycle. You may need more than 1200 net calories!

There are quite a few BMR calculators out there.

bhmathews

Have you looked making sure you are eating enough? Many many people find success with eating (at a minimum) back their BMR. Check out the EM2LW threads.