How do I break a plateau?

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  • SuperHero_Girl
    SuperHero_Girl Posts: 72 Member
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    To Sk8rG: I have a heart rate monitor and that's what I'm using to get my calories burned from. You're not the first to point it out, even I'm surprised, but I'm going off what my monitor tells me at the end of the day.

    Everyone else, I'm still working on gradually changing how I eat, but considering that, at the very beginning of this, I had days of near 4000 calories, I'm doing LOTS better.

    I can definitely cut out the coffee and whittle down on the ice cream, but I love the fruit and nut bars as a snack, I don't know that I want to give those up. I wonder if the sodium comes mainly from the frozen meals...but they're so convenient for work lunches.
  • Libb3C
    Libb3C Posts: 56 Member
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    Drink some extra water - maybe 10 glasses when you are eating the frozen meals. I went a little further back and noticed you eat nearly the same thing for breakfast daily - try shaking that up a little too!
  • SuperHero_Girl
    SuperHero_Girl Posts: 72 Member
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    I eat nearly the same thing for breakfast everyday because it's the easiest thing to throw together in the morning before work. Any suggestions on how to switch it up?
  • kellygirl5538
    kellygirl5538 Posts: 597 Member
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    Sorry eating out is not good I dont' care what people say. If you spend 800 calories on one piece of pizza that is not good. I have been known to exercise out my bad diet, and I see that a lot of people on here do that ...you can't excerise out a bad diet.
  • southofpleasant
    southofpleasant Posts: 10 Member
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    I think you should increase protein and decrease carbs a bit
  • kellygirl5538
    kellygirl5538 Posts: 597 Member
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    I think you are right to change your breakfast, I had the same problem eating icream for breakfast. Try to keep you breakfast around 200-300 at the most .
  • Libb3C
    Libb3C Posts: 56 Member
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    If you like eggs, you can make egg muffins - here is what I did for 1 dozen - you can freeze them too. 1.5 cups of egg whites (I do this for higher protein, lower cals but you can do eggs too, about 5-6), 1 cup of shredded cheese, 10 diced slices of lunch meat, onions, peppers, whatever else you want to add in. Mix it all up then laddle it out with an ice cream scoop in to a greased muffin tin (I use cooking spray). Cook for 20-25 mins at 350 and have 2 or so for breakfast! I make them ahead then keep them in the fridge for the week - my kids and husband like them too. You can use any kind of cheese, any meat, etc, I just use MFP recipe dealy to come up with the nutrition info. Have some fruit along with them too.
    I eat nearly the same thing for breakfast everyday because it's the easiest thing to throw together in the morning before work. Any suggestions on how to switch it up?
  • rhoyalenigma
    rhoyalenigma Posts: 6
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    Hey! I looked at your intake for today, I would highly recommend that you decrease your intake to 1,500 or 1,700, also start taking vitamins and increase the amount of fruits and veggies you eat. Also try to cut out a lot of the refined carbohydrates that you're taking in. You want the calories that you do ingest to fill more than 1 role in your body. Juicing is always a good way to get more fruits and veggies into your system and increase your amount of micronutrients!
  • Tedebearduff
    Tedebearduff Posts: 1,155 Member
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    I currently weigh 256 pounds and I'm 5'2". If my diary is open now, are you able to see my food?

    I looked at 2 days I would cut out sugar and ice mocha lattes stuff like that ... Food is 80% of your weight loss (personally I think it's 90%) so I would work on cleaner eating. I saw ice cream sandwiches and stuff ... that would be gone as well.
  • SuperHero_Girl
    SuperHero_Girl Posts: 72 Member
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    Just a note - today was a bit of a fluke day. I didn't actually have ice cream for breakfast - I had it at midnight, so it counted for today, and I just put it in the breakfast section. On days I workout, I always have a banana prior to work out and an 8 oz organic chocolate milk box after.

    A lot of the stuff I try to eat is recommended by the Eat This, Not That series.

    The pizza was also unusual. I panicked the day I got it because, after working out, I had a net calorie intake of 410 and I felt like I needed to get more quickly.
  • jerbear1962
    jerbear1962 Posts: 1,157 Member
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    I haven't seen a pound loss in over 20 days...I have seen my stomach get smaller, my legs are leaner, my hands now show veins, my arms are starting to show definition. I know I'm losing even if the scale doesn't show it. I know I feel better and look thinner even if I look down and that same number shows. I gave up starches per doctors orders, I have a hard time hitting my numbers because the calories aren't there...but I don't care about any of that as long as I still lose inches.
  • Logsv
    Logsv Posts: 36
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    Put in the extra time the day before you go to work the next day to make your own lunch. Not only will it keep your hands busy but you will appreciate you lunch and the way your food tastes so much more if you make it yourself.
  • Logsv
    Logsv Posts: 36
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    Just a note - today was a bit of a fluke day. I didn't actually have ice cream for breakfast - I had it at midnight, so it counted for today, and I just put it in the breakfast section. On days I workout, I always have a banana prior to work out and an 8 oz organic chocolate milk box after.

    A lot of the stuff I try to eat is recommended by the Eat This, Not That series.

    The pizza was also unusual. I panicked the day I got it because, after working out, I had a net calorie intake of 410 and I felt like I needed to get more quickly.

    Every day counts though. Try not to make excuses and just push yourself harder in your workout. When I have a cheat day I use it to motivate me and it makes me work that much harder to burn the calories. Think of the food a fuel not as a reward.
  • Logsv
    Logsv Posts: 36
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    I currently weigh 256 pounds and I'm 5'2". If my diary is open now, are you able to see my food?

    I looked at 2 days I would cut out sugar and ice mocha lattes stuff like that ... Food is 80% of your weight loss (personally I think it's 90%) so I would work on cleaner eating. I saw ice cream sandwiches and stuff ... that would be gone as well.

    That's exactly what I was thinking too. I agree 100% :D
  • stargazer008
    stargazer008 Posts: 531
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    Lower your carbs by 5-10%, it may make a difference.
  • leahalissa
    leahalissa Posts: 88 Member
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    Cook more fresh foods, eat cleaner, take time to prepare things beforehand so your sodium intake isn't out of control.
    Eat less sugar.
    Make less excuses.
    Your hard work at the gym will be for nothing if you don't put the right fuel in.
    Good luck! :)
  • sushiforbrains
    sushiforbrains Posts: 60
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    I make enough oatmeal to last me a few days at a time, and then when it's time to eat it I will put whatever fruit, nuts, cinnamon, etc into it that I want. Most days I have that or a protein shake.
    Cook dinners that reheat well, make extra and take the leftovers for lunch.
    When I do eat out, like yesterday my husband took me to Unos, I got the deep-dish macaroni and cheese. It is going to last me three days. I just had a little for dinner with a chicken and apple sausage.
    I've been sort of plateauing for a bit, and then I added sugar tracking to my food monitoring and wow! So I am working on taking that down a notch or two and we will see if that helps me. I think it will.
  • LovePBandJ
    LovePBandJ Posts: 288 Member
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    First off, I love all of the support, encouragement, and genuine advice all of the MFPs are giving. What a wonderful community!

    Secondly, try to focus on the benefits your efforts have already presented: increased strength, decreased inches, a bit more stamina. Focussing on the scale gets us all in trouble. I sought MFP friends last week because for days my scale wouldn't budge. I wanted to sulk with a bag of chips, but I chose to seek support and inspiration here, on this site. I found it and not two days later my scale dropped three pounds. I would never have enjoyed that reduction had I let those numbers get the best of me. I, too, have to remind myself to appreciate the healthier me I am already enjoying today and not simply focus on the end goal.

    Thirdly, hire a personal trainer. Hiring a personal trainer does not mean that you have to pay that person to work out with you each and every time (costly!) You can hire a trainer once and have him or her evaluate your diet and exercise program and set you up with a new one. I like hiring one once a quarter to get a new set of full body workouts. Do what works for you. But professional advice will always benefit you. Every dollar you spend on better health is a dollar well spent.

    Finally, I read in your profile you are looking to make life changes. Frozen meals and Ice cream for breakfast and those types of food choices, even if it is Lean Cuisine and Skinny Cow, are simply crutches. Learning to like or enjoy whole foods and natural sugars is a positive change you can make for a lifetime. The more you break away from the processed food and highly sweetened things the less you enjoy them and the more you prefer natural flavors. I read on one person's post about how flavored yogurt now is too sweet. So, think about your choices and if they are life choices or crutches. Find substitutes that satisfy you. For example, instead of Skinny Cow ice cream for breakfast, come up with a healthy treat that satisfies that morning sweet tooth. This site offers some suggestions: http://thehealthyapron.com/2011/05/31/is-it-healthy-skinny-cow-ice-cream/.

    And a final finally, baby steps. Doing everything at once sets you up for frustrations and failure. These are wonderful life changes on which you are embarking. Be thoughtful of your needs and desires at each step.

    "Relax. Breathe. Don't hurry. Don't worry. Trust the process. Enjoy the journey."
  • miss_grad
    miss_grad Posts: 102
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    If you have been hitting the gym -- you may also be gaining muscle. Muscle is heavier than fat, and won't show on the scale.

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