My weight loss is at a stand still after twenty pounds...

Don't get discouraged. I've been at a stall for 6 weeks now, but I know my body will get back on track when it's ready. I stall at in 10-pound increments (158, 148, 138, now 128). My most effective "reboot" was when I completely revamped my workout routine. I purchased a Groupon that gave me 10 fitness classes at a local spa, so I tried everything from spinning to yoga to strength training. (Normally I was doing an hour on the elliptical.) I've also heard of success by increasing calories or taking a break from strenuous exercise while focusing on diet. But mostly, be patient--the loss will start again!

No apparently its a fact with everyone - everyone plateaus, Im waiting for my turn

I hit a 2 week plateau after losing 18. Now the weight is melting off again. What helped was changing to a higher intensity workout (running) a few days a week, and still walking or doing 30 day shred the other days. I also started eating more calories- actually I started eating back my exercise calories. Those extra (they're not really extra, because they were necessary all along!) calories just make everything easier... sticking with the healthy eating, having energy to exercise, and (I think) keeping the scale moving down.

I obviously don't know what your daily meals are on average but try eating a small meal......(not too small).........5 times a day and throw in a protein shake for a snack..................the more you eat during the day in small portions will keep your metabolic rate moving faster to burn more calories, but at the same time......if you are constantly under your calorie count then your body goes into starvation mode.....its used to what you had been eating say for example before you wanted to lose weight.........and now its going "I'm not getting the usual"....and when your body goes into starvation mode what happens is your insulin levels, which are a huge player in metabolic rate and weigh management, take a dive. When your insulin levels drop your body stops burning carbs for energy and starts storing them as fat...........you then start gaining weight instead of losing it even though you are under your calorie count.........stay under the calorie count a few days a week then try to hit the calorie count the other days............especially on workout days have protein shakes after your workout and before bed.......remember.....cardio is good for heart health and getting some serious pounds off........but what really starts peeling off fat is when you gain a bit of muscle because the body has to feed the muscle with more energy than fat cells.......more muscle means higher BMR (Basil Metabolic Rate) - rate at which your body burns calories when doing nothing. If you can get your BMR up you will see yourself getting smaller. Most people think that going tot the gym and losing weight means cardio first..........no.....this is wrong.........you need to hit the weights for 30mins-1 hour before doing cardio with little breaks in between sets........what this does is makes your body burn off short term energy stores first such as lipids, carbs, and sugars. Then when you hit the bike, treadmill, etc......your body will be tapping into its long term energy stores (a.k.a. Fat cells) for fuel and you will lose more weight. Hope this was helpful......and of course if anyone reads this and finds that I have mispoken somewhere please correct me because I am always looking for more input.

have you tried taking your measurements? If you are doing all the right things and it is not reflecting on the scale it may be reflecting in other ways! I suggest tracking your measurements as you may be loosing inches even if you arent losing pounds. I have a lot of weight to lose too so I understand how discouraging that is. Just make sure to keep exercise and track, track, track!! as long as you are exercising and eating right - I PROMISE you WILL lose.

You may want to consider upping the calorie intake too. Say you're on 1200 calories, and then you lose weight and are working out. Your body is holding on to all the fat it can because it's almost going into survival mode. My mother got very discouraged when she did this, but when she raised her calorie intake to 1500, she started losing the weight again! keep in mind that this is with exercise and healthy habits.

All these comments are good and they all give excellent reasons as to the scale reflecting something you don't understand. My advise after experiencing these very often in my journey (so often that I almost disregard them now) is that when the body is in flux as it is when you are calorie deficient for a prolonged time and starting/ramping up exercise - it uses fluid to equalize weight lost. I think it does this for short periods of time - in women I think during certain times it retains that fluid longer. When the body clock is back in sync the fluid is released and the scale moves. When you hit certain percentages of your overall body weight lost I think our metabolism resets slightly and our body goes back into flux. During these fluxes you continue to lose but the body holds water and that is why even measurements can be wonky. I find it happens to me for on average 3 weeks about every 25 lbs. Sometimes longer, but when it's longer my weight losses are greater after the plateau. Every time I ramp up my exercise or strength training I even have slight gains - you wanna talk about pain, time along with with a plateau and that spells major depression! Bottom line - having what you wish to see on the scale is only part of the emotional satisfaction of this journey. If you are working the plan correctly, the plateau will end and you will lose consistantly until the next one. What is the alternative? You are not going to throw in the towel on this journey or lifestyle because the scale is not validating your victory are you? No, you just chalk it up to "*hit happens" and "this too will pass" because... it does and it will!

Men lose weight much easier than women do but I lost 70 lbs just dieting, so you should start with your diet before you worry about your exercises IMO. Then, study meal timing on the internet so you can know what foods to eat, when, and how much.

I hit several plateaus. My opinion? Your body is used to your routine. You need to crank up the intensity and do something different. Walking will only get you so far. I know you're not going to transition into jogging all of a sudden, but try this:
- Walk for 1.5 minutes and try jogging for 20 or 30 seconds, repeat.

That will be something your body isn't used to, and will get your weight loss moving down again.

If running isn't your thing, do something else that gets your heart pumping faster.

Also, take a look at your diet and see if you can trim some calories somewhere.

I'm getting very frustrated. I'm dieting and have added exercise (walking) daily to my routine and I haven't lost any weight since the 7th of September. The last two weeks have been at a stand still. I've actually gained a couple of pounds. I'm getting very discouraged, but I don't want to stop!! Any suggestions? I need help!

Increase your calorie intake by 300-500 for a week.

Giving up pepsi is something you just have to do. You will suffer headaches but its worth it in the long run. Try to get your body used to flavored water, vitamin water, or low calorie gatorades.

Bump

I hit a plateau around 25/30lbs. A lot of folks do.

My way out was RADICALLY changing up my work outs. Also, focussing on protein in my diet makes me lose faster. I would suggest changing and upping your work outs and seeing how that works.

Agree! Change up your workouts if you can. You recently started walking....have you ever tried the Leslie Sansone Walk at Home DVD's? They low impact and easy to follow. And yes!!...make sure you're getting enough protein!

I obviously don't know what your daily meals are on average but try eating a small meal......(not too small).........5 times a day and throw in a protein shake for a snack..................the more you eat during the day in small portions will keep your metabolic rate moving faster to burn more calories, but at the same time......if you are constantly under your calorie count then your body goes into starvation mode.....its used to what you had been eating say for example before you wanted to lose weight.........and now its going "I'm not getting the usual"....and when your body goes into starvation mode what happens is your insulin levels, which are a huge player in metabolic rate and weigh management, take a dive. When your insulin levels drop your body stops burning carbs for energy and starts storing them as fat...........you then start gaining weight instead of losing it even though you are under your calorie count.........stay under the calorie count a few days a week then try to hit the calorie count the other days............especially on workout days have protein shakes after your workout and before bed.......remember.....cardio is good for heart health and getting some serious pounds off........but what really starts peeling off fat is when you gain a bit of muscle because the body has to feed the muscle with more energy than fat cells.......more muscle means higher BMR (Basil Metabolic Rate) - rate at which your body burns calories when doing nothing. If you can get your BMR up you will see yourself getting smaller. Most people think that going tot the gym and losing weight means cardio first..........no.....this is wrong.........you need to hit the weights for 30mins-1 hour before doing cardio with little breaks in between sets........what this does is makes your body burn off short term energy stores first such as lipids, carbs, and sugars. Then when you hit the bike, treadmill, etc......your body will be tapping into its long term energy stores (a.k.a. Fat cells) for fuel and you will lose more weight. Hope this was helpful......and of course if anyone reads this and finds that I have mispoken somewhere please correct me because I am always looking for more input.

Eating more often doesn't speed up your metabolism.

True. But you should explain what the advantage is. A large clinical study published in the November 2011 issue of the Journal of The Americal Dietetic Association is one of many studies that show that eating 5-6 meals a day helps curb cravings and binges. It also can help keep blood sugar and insulin stable which encourages more fat burning. So, if you eat 2,000 calories in 1 setting vs the same divided by 6 your results are basically the same. The problem comes in real life with hunger pangs that hit in between infrequent meals (then taking your calorie intake over your goal) and multiple smaller meals through the day are one way to combat that.

as long as you don't eat a large quantity of food more often during the day.............research has proven that the best dieting techniques involve eating less more times during the day as opposed to eating more food fewer times during the day.......by eating more often during the day in small quantities you are helping you body keep its metabolism at a raised steady pace, whereas if you eat large meals 3 times during the day for example.......the body's metabolism fluctuates up and down.....in this down time the body's metabolism is slower, therefore by eating smaller portions more throughout the day you "speed up" your metabolism opposed to eating a bunch of food only a couple of times during the day.