Plateau?

Susie_Q12
Susie_Q12 Posts: 40
in Health and Weight Loss
I could use a little help please.
I have about 15 lbs to go to my GW. I work out, mostly some type of outdoor activity wearing a 15lb weighted backpack (hiking, trail running, stair climbing, etc) 5 - 6 times a week. Occasionally I'll do a P90X workout if the weather is bad. My calorie consumption is usually around 1200 or under (is that too little?) I have noticed improvements in my general health and fitness. And I've gained stamina and endurance. So don't get me wrong. I'm completely pleased with all the changes in my body.
I was looking for a way to re-jump start the inch/weightloss. I've been on this little plateau for a while now, 2-3 weeks.

:flowerforyou: Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Replies

  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
    That is eating too low given your excessive exercise. I suppose if you are 3'2" it is alright. Are you 3'2"?

    Up those calories by several hundred with extra protein. Your body will need tons of protein given your exercise.
  • sladamssr
    sladamssr Posts: 36 Member
    That is eating too low given your excessive exercise. I suppose if you are 3'2" it is alright. Are you 3'2"?

    Up those calories by several hundred with extra protein. Your body will need tons of protein given your exercise.

    HA. 3'2"!
  • lwagnitz
    lwagnitz Posts: 1,321 Member
    You should be eating more, for sure. Also, have you tried HIIT (high intensity interval trainning). I've also heard that doing intermittent fasting helps breaking plateaus as well. Not starving yourself. Just eating more calories than you usually would one day of the week, than normal the rest, then one day of the week eat under the calories you need to eat. I haven't tried it but heard from others it's a good way.
  • Susie_Q12
    Susie_Q12 Posts: 40
    Lol. I think I was 3'2" once. Now I'm 5'7", 154lb.

    I don't feel hungry. Do you suggest more calorie dense foods? Instead of more amounts? I'm not intentionally "starving" myself!! I thought making low fat low sugar choices was good.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,416 Member
    Lol. I think I was 3'2" once. Now I'm 5'7", 154lb.

    I don't feel hungry. Do you suggest more calorie dense foods? Instead of more amounts? I'm not intentionally "starving" myself!! I thought making low fat low sugar choices was good.

    Oh, for Pete Sake. At your height and weight, doing the exercise you do, I think you should be at probably 1800-2000 a day. 1700-1800 without exercise. No wonder you plateaued.

    Go to the Groups tab and type "Eat more to lose" in the Search box. You're depleting yourself, and it will catch up to you.

  • ehg87
    ehg87 Posts: 430 Member
    you could easily bump your calories by 500 a day and still lose weight
  • Ver2
    Ver2 Posts: 37
    I plateaued at 138 pounds for 1-2 months eating 1400 cals a day and working out 6 times a week for an hour each session (4 cardio, 2 weights). I did not eat my exercise calories back.

    Then people told me to eat more and rest more (overtraining). I took one week off and ate my full 1940 calories (what I supposedly burn in one day by being alive and going about my normal activities...) without doing ANY workouts. I expected to gain weight during this time...BUT I BROKE MY PLATEAU! Not only did my weight drop, but my waist and hips in inches dropped, too.

    I realized that I was starving my body. I am now eating 1800 cals a day and work out 5 times a week (only 2 cardio for 45 mins and 3 weight sessions for 45 minutes). I am still losing (but slowly because I'm not trying to lose weight super fast). It's only been a week so far but...seriously, after 1-2 months of not losing anything, eating so little and working my *kitten* off, I was ecstatic to finally see it break when started eating more, working out less, and resting more.

    You'll be surprised what your body can do when you give it the fuel it needs. When you don't, your body will hold onto the fat and burn muscle. This is because muscles cost about 6 calories per pound per day to maintain, whereas fat only costs 2. This is important because if your body thinks it's starving, it doesn't want to have to maintain those muscles; it'll just keep the fat for fast energy use when the famine really comes raining down. Don't let your body think that like I did...I seriously slowed my metabolism doing that, and you may have, too. If you want to try to fix it, try eating at your full TDEE for a while without working out like I did.
  • mswn02
    mswn02 Posts: 38
    Your numbers suggest to me that you have no clue what your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is. You can google how to calculate it.

    And just FYI ... I broke through a plateau in a major way when I started kettlebell training. AMAZING! I don't know if it was the kettlebells or the fact that I added something new to my workout, but I love love love kettlebells.
  • Susie_Q12
    Susie_Q12 Posts: 40
    :blushing: I am a weightloss dummy it seems. My science and physics brain has not helped me with this journey it seems.
    Thank you for your input.
    I was afraid that increasing the calories would lead to me regaining that weight I had lost.
  • Ver2
    Ver2 Posts: 37
    Susie, I felt the same way. I have struggled with weight all of my life. I tried not eating very much. I have tried eating not very much and working out a LOT.

    But I have never tried working out a reasonable amount and eating what I should be eating. I was sure I'd gain like 5 pounds during the week I ate 1940 cals per day and did NO workouts. The look on my face when I stepped on my scale and took my measurements...amazing.

    Use this calculator here: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
    And this group will help you like it helped me (Eat more to lose more): http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/680246-tdee-bmr-what-they-are-and-what-to-do-with-them
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    Don't feel bad...there's so much misinformation out there! Good luck with your changes!
  • kiminikimkim
    kiminikimkim Posts: 746 Member
    I would change the workout completely. Your body is used to it now and being efficient with the calories you are eating.

    I would take a break from hiking and try swimming instead. Or something else that is completely different and that will use different muscles.

    I too was on the 1200 cal diet while I was on my weight loss. I did bootcamp, then i trained for the Spartan Race and now I am training for a Sprint Triathlon. After my triathlon, I plan on joining Adult Ballet classes. I find changing disciplines shocks the body!
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
    :blushing: I am a weightloss dummy it seems. My science and physics brain has not helped me with this journey it seems.
    Thank you for your input.
    I was afraid that increasing the calories would lead to me regaining that weight I had lost.

    Weight loss is truly an enigma when it comes to numbers. We all think naturally we gotta work REALLY hard for it, but turns out, the hard part is not working too hard. For years I ate WAY too little and did lots of cardio. And... I slowly gained weight. EVery year, without fail.

    After listening to some people here, I switched to more weight training, and followed MFP's suggestion for calories while upping my protein to 30%. The results are AMAZING. I have NEVER IN MY LIFE lost this much weight. BEST ever was 1.5 pounds before MFP. I exercise less, eat more, and lose weight faster than ever.

    I got my degree in computer science and mathematics, so I thoughts something like weight loss would be easy for me to figure out. Turns out, always more to learn!
  • mswn02
    mswn02 Posts: 38
    Oh gosh no ... I didn't mean to suggest you are a "weightloss dummy" at all! You're clearly successful at it. My apologies ... re-reading my post I see it does come across somewhat abrasive. Keep up the good work!
  • Kikilicious84
    Kikilicious84 Posts: 312
    That is eating too low given your excessive exercise. I suppose if you are 3'2" it is alright. Are you 3'2"?

    Up those calories by several hundred with extra protein. Your body will need tons of protein given your exercise.

    LMAO this made me laugh so hard.

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