How do I get past a plateau?

I reached a plateau about a month ago and can't seem to get past it. My diet isn't always the best, but most of the time I stay under my calorie goal. I haven't gone to the gym for a while due to having to move my parents out of their house and into an assisted living facility. I live with a lot of stress due to their move and my father having alzheimer's disease.

I am disabled due to a heart attack and open heart surgery. I also have most of the complications due to diabetes.

My name is Kimberlee, 48, and I have been on mfp since December. I do have a lot of friends, but most of them aren't active. Please add me and I will give you encouragement and support, also.

Replies

  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    To break a plateau you usually have to change a habit. You didn't say what type of diabetic you are but I note you eat a lot of carbs in your diary.

    So you could try two days a week with less than 100g of carbs for a month and see how that goes. Drop the fruit juice, for example, and replace it with some low sugar berries like raspberries.
  • Laura8603
    Laura8603 Posts: 590 Member
    I think yarwell gave you good advice. Lower the carbs and increase the protein.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    I reached a plateau about a month ago and can't seem to get past it. My diet isn't always the best, but most of the time I stay under my calorie goal. I haven't gone to the gym for a while due to having to move my parents out of their house and into an assisted living facility. I live with a lot of stress due to their move and my father having alzheimer's disease.

    I am disabled due to a heart attack and open heart surgery. I also have most of the complications due to diabetes.

    My name is Kimberlee, 48, and I have been on mfp since December. I do have a lot of friends, but most of them aren't active. Please add me and I will give you encouragement and support, also.
    My diet isn't always the best, but most of the time I stay under my calorie goal. I haven't gone to the gym for a while due to having to move my parents out of their house and into an assisted living facility. I live with a lot of stress due to their move and my father having alzheimer's disease.

    I am disabled due to a heart attack and open heart surgery. I also have most of the complications due to diabetes.
    My diet isn't always the best, but most of the time I stay under my calorie goal. I haven't gone to the gym for a while due to having to move my parents out of their house and into an assisted living facility.
    My diet isn't always the best. I haven't gone to the gym for a while.
  • eviegreen
    eviegreen Posts: 123 Member
    You really should be getting some exercise. It'll help with the stress, and it will get you past the plateau. Physicians advise low-level walking or cycling, at the minimum, after open heart surgery. Your surgery does not prevent you from exercising.

    And you already answered your question. Eat healthier. It isn't enough to stay under your calorie goal. Quality of food is VERY important, especially if you have diabetes.
  • kepete
    kepete Posts: 268 Member
    I agree that you already know why you are on the plateau. Stress, poor eating & no exercise is the key. Speaking from experience ... Once you start taking care of you, you will have an easier time taking care of your parents. It will get harder for you to be successful the longer you wait!
  • Pandy1962
    Pandy1962 Posts: 105 Member
    When my hubby had his heart attack part of his rehabilitation was to do 2 X 30min walks a day. He still does them now 3 years later. He has managed to loose 3 stone just by that and giving up most of the the booze. He only indulges now on a Saturday eve.

    Wish it was that easy for me to lose it :grumble:
  • Just adding here that very often a plateau can be caused by not eating ENOUGH, but I don't think that applies here if you are not exercising at all.
  • jfrog123
    jfrog123 Posts: 432 Member
    Try going for short walks. You can do something to increase your activity level without engaging in strenuous exercise.
  • Dauntlessness
    Dauntlessness Posts: 1,489 Member
    Tough love. Dont take it too personal.

    First thing. Put a picture on your profile. Its a huge pet peeve of mine. It doesn't have to be your face. It can be anything but to me, Its super important.


    -There are some meals logged in your dairy as things like "Pasta and sauce" for 400 cals with no other nutrition info. It never a good idea to go by an estimation or someone else s entries like that. Log the sauce. Log the pasta. Log the meat or make a "recipe" and let it calculated it for you. There are too many variations depending on the products.

    -A calorie is not just a calorie. Some of the foods your eating are not "clean" Most of them processed, full of sodium and sugar. They are fine to eat sometimes but not ALL the time. Fruit, veggies and lean meat.

    -I know a calorie is not just a calorie BUT the basics tells us that in order to lose a pound of fat you need a deficit of 3500 calories. You can do with food but I highly suggest exercising them off.

    -Get an HRM and get your butt to the gym. MFP estimates are usually inaccurate and a lot higher then the actual numbers yo burned.

    -Carbs in the monring, medium carbs during lunch, low carbs for dinner and snacks.

    -I understand that you have some issues going on in your life BUT everyone does. Your not being singled out. It is a choice how you deal with it and how it impacts your life. You need to take 1-2 hours a day for yourself to go to the gym. If your going to live your life for everyone else then when your their age your going to look back and regret the things you didn't do. Everyone is born alone and dies alone. All you have is your memories. Make it worth it.

    Just do it.Even if you dont want to. Once your get into a routine, it gets easier. People are creatures of habit.

    You CAN do this
  • fit4lifeUcan2
    fit4lifeUcan2 Posts: 1,458 Member
    I'm in a plateau myself but know why. I'm not exercising like I did before this semester started. I still do my walks but not as long as I used to.

    Look back at what you did when you were losing the weight and see what you did different back then compared to now. I know I need to get moving more but have been too sick this past week to do anything more than a short walk.

    First look back at what you did when you were losing weight. 2nd add exercise or switch around what your doing, step it up a notch. 3rd drink a lot of water and cut out soft drinks and fruit drinks. Even diet sodas can ruin your WL.

    Most importantly DON'T GIVE UP!!! YOU CAN DO THIS!!
  • Licienne
    Licienne Posts: 14 Member
    as one WLer to another kick in another 1-2 protein shakes don't do the same exercises if you are working out every day take a day off and if that fails for us do
    the 5daypouchtest sometimes it's the kick start that many of us need at times.
  • Licienne
    Licienne Posts: 14 Member
    OH she is so right about the diet soda's...once I had my surgery soda stopped and it was tough but heck so worth it...people don't realize those diet soda's work against weight loss...your body is never satiated because it didn't get what it wanted so you tent to eat more...at the same time soda is just bad for you...it leaches out the calcium from our bones and all the study have show that the older people that were raised on it are over 80% higher risk for fractures.
  • kiannlouise
    kiannlouise Posts: 310 Member
    Yepp, change a habit. Whether it's food, drink or exercise you need to change something :-) good luck!
  • knwitall
    knwitall Posts: 420 Member
    Yepp, change a habit. Whether it's food, drink or exercise you need to change something :-) good luck!

    I think this ^^ would help. Give your body a shocker. Change something up. Your body is getting used to what's going on. Also, Congrats on the weight loss so far. Amazing job!
  • fit4lifeUcan2
    fit4lifeUcan2 Posts: 1,458 Member
    I just looked at your food and didn't see any fresh fruits and veggies other than an occasional tomato. Try to eat 5 servings of fresh veggies every day. It really helps. I eat at least 1 to 2 large salads a day with protein on top in the form of either chicken or salmon. Try romaine lettuce, mushrooms, tomatoes, cucumbers and then protein on top with a lite salad dressing or a vinegar and oil mixture. Its also very healthy for someone who is diabetic to eat lots of greens.
  • nsblue
    nsblue Posts: 331 Member
    Plateaus and stalls are common in a weight loss journey, something we all go through various times. When I hit mine, I examine everything I eat with a fine tooth comb... "is there something i can change?" sometimes mindless over portioning happens, or do i log correct amounts?...or somethings what i am eating is not helping. Looking at what i eat may be the solution.... being totally honest with myself and stopping the excuses is the start i find that helps breaking a plateau. if after examining that nothing changes...i look at my activity... and switch things up.

    I was super morbidly obese, barely could walk, my knees were bad, had diabetes, on 170 units of insulin a day, on blood pressure meds.... i remember all too well the excuses i used. i lost 170 pounds just on diet alone...no walking/exercise BUT i needed to change it all n did. it was slow starting getting moving, but baby steps got me here and im thankful i stopped makin excuses and put things into action. I am running now, full of energy, healthy, on no bp meds nor insulin...my sugars are great...so is my cholesterol.

    Keep working at it...you will get there...plateaus/stalls break.... weight comes off...it's all up to you.....