Plateau help

Darius66

I have been using this program for about a week and a half but had previously been keeping track of my calories and eating under my maintenance level for about the last 3 months. I started at 310lbs and by the time I started using this program I had the following specs.

I am 6'0 270lb - Male, and I work out 5-6 days a week doing Cardio every day with a small amount of weight lifting 2-3 times a week. I have noticed that since starting at 310lbs I now feel like It is moving alot slower and I have read other posts about the plateau.

What methods are best for getting past the plateau and continuing weight loss. I have read people have high calorie intake days and other saying they took 2 weeks off of counting calories and then continued again for multiple weeks. I don't really know which is best and I am worried that if I choose the wrong one I will undo all of my progress.

I am working on my macros and getting them more in line with what they should be at and currently I have 1-2 cheat meals a week. Should I eliminate the cheat meals? should I change it to 1 cheat day and really really cheat that day? What will speed up my metabolism best?

Any help would be appreciated!

Joshyusernametaken

The body is very good at adapting to change, hence your plateu. There are a couple simple things you can do to confuse your body to keep it guessing and jump start the calorie burn again.
You no doubt have a nutritional plan to some extent, I can tell this by the amount of weight you have lost, the problem is that your body gets used to what you are eating and comes to expect certain calorie intake at certain times. What you could try doing is completely shuffling around what you eat and when you eat it. for example if you have a can of tuna every day at 3pm try moving this to a different time in the day, say 10pm to confuse your body.
Something else to consider is ensuring you are eating consistently through out the day as oppose to 3 main meals. Try eating every 3 hours or so (5-6 meals a day) to keep your metabolism firing (This is the best way to keep the metabolism firing)
Similar to mixing up your food, mix up your exercise regime! try incorporating things into your weight training like drop sets, and supersets. and weight/ cardio training together.
Weight training is great for burning calories as oppose to cardio so perhaps place more emphasis on weight training.
Cardio burns a lot of calories whilst you are engaged in running, walking or whatever motions you are undertaking but weight training breaks down your muscle tissue dramatically, which forces your body to continue to burn through calories even after you have finished your session as it needs to use your bodies energy to heal broken down muscle tissue. IMO I'd drop back on the cardio a little and up your resistance training.
Also, I would go as far as having an entire cheat day. More a cheat meal here or there. But don't rule a bad meal out here and there completely. Mentally its great to reward yourself with something you have been craving every now and then. I'd be checking to make sure it falls under your calorie intake for the day to minimise the effect it will have on your goals though.

ahmadfahmy

If your body fat is above 15% you shouldnt use cheat meals at all. Also, you will need to increase the intensity of your workouts as it looks like your body has adapted to your routine.

diannethegeek

Your diary is closed. How much are you eating right now? Are you logging your exercise and adding the extra calories earned?

Has your weight loss just slowed or stopped completely? How long has this plateau been and how little have you lost? Weight loss isn't linear, so a week or two with no change is perfectly normal. Likewise, seeing your loss slow as you get closer to goal is also perfectly normal and healthy.

Darius66

I opened my profile up.

It has slowed greatly, it has been a couple weeks with barely any change. I have kicked it up for the last week with cardio and strength training (though less frequently then cardio). I will be switching it up to 90% strength training this week with 10% cardio to see if that helps.


Feel free to view my profile if you like.

diannethegeek

I opened my profile up.

It has slowed greatly, it has been a couple weeks with barely any change. I have kicked it up for the last week with cardio and strength training (though less frequently then cardio). I will be switching it up to 90% strength training this week with 10% cardio to see if that helps.


Feel free to view my profile if you like.

If you've just added or increased a workout routine it's not at all unusual to see no change or even a gain on the scale. Our bodies flood sore muscles with water to help them heal, masking any actual fat loss happening. Eat at a reasonable deficit, keep working out, and the scale should move in the right direction soon.

Darius66

That is great to hear!

I was really getting depressed about it but knowing this will make it easy to continue.

Thank you