FAR from goal and STUCK. Feeling sad..depressed

itstimetoeat
itstimetoeat Posts: 63 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been reading here and there on the forums and about plateaus. So frustrating as to why my body has stopped responding to weight loss. I have a record of never ever lose weight - lbs - anything. I decided that I want to LOSE weight so I started this crazy no carb to minimal carbs diet. Here's what I did...

1) Kept calories under 1200
2) Worked out 6 days a wk 60+ mins (24 hr fitness Group X classes - Sh'bam, Body combat, Turbo Kickboxing, bodypump, boot camp, Yoga, Cardio Mix, I've tried almost every class but the class that gets the most bang for my work out is Body Combat and Boot Camp) - I mix it up each day/week to keep the body confused. Cardio machines are included.
3) 5 - 30 mins in the Sauna at least twice a wk
4) Ate almost no carbs, mainly protein and veggies - low carb veggies since all veggies have some amt of carbs in them
5) Don't eat late.
6) Never stuff myself.
7) Drank at least 64oz of water daily
8) Minimized sodium to avoid bloating and body from retaining water
9) No fruits or anything with sugar in it. Zero sugar. Not even substitutes or natural sugars.

My diet started out like Atkins Diet. I would be super strict with zero carbs 6 days a week then have 1 cheat day where I could eat and consume whatever I wanted.

I've lost 18lbs to date. I consistently lost 2 lbs per week since Sept 8th until beginning of November when I've completely plateau'd. I'm pretty sure I've plateau'd. Reading about it everywhere, this seems to be IT! I've been at the same weight since then. I have 20 more lbs to go but it seems so IMPOSSIBLE to achieve making it more and more discouraging each day. People say the last few lbs are the hardest to shed but I'm hardly there.

I mixed up my eating to see if maybe my body would respond from the plateau but all it does is maintain my current weight. I mix up my workouts by going to the gym different times than my usual after work thinking that may help the body feel "shocked"

Help...What do I need to do? I almost want to resort to starvation to get to my goal. I know it's BAD and not suggested ever but I'm losing so much confidence at a very rapid rate. I'm almost too afraid to eat when I know I should and have to rethink multiple times about eating or not.

Replies

  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,905 Member
    Your metabolism probably slowed. Could be due to actual muscle catabolism if it senses that fat from the body is being compromised too fast. If you expend lots of energy and have little glycogen to spare, the body will respond in kind.
    There's no reason to do very low, no carbs on a weight loss program. Are you going to eat that way the rest of your life? If not, then as soon as you start eating them, glycogen storage will be off the hook and you gain back water/glycogen weight.

    Stop the madness.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • itstimetoeat
    itstimetoeat Posts: 63 Member
    I have introduced carbs back into my diet since. My workouts have continued as before. I've only managed to maintain my weight but unable to lose anything.

    Someone told me that my BMR has increased and my body is supposedly "rebooting" another way for it to readjust to the changes from the weight loss. That this rebooting time will seem like plateauing but it's actually good. The changes are not visible? I dunno...that's just what was told. Could this be true?

    My body is driving me NUTS!!! I don't understand what it is doing if it is not losing weight with correct eating and balanced workouts. What's really going on inside of me?!
  • blues4miles
    blues4miles Posts: 1,481 Member
    Go here:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    Do the calculations, figure out how much you should be eating. 1200 is probably too low for sustainable weight loss. You mention your BMR. If anything your BMR has dropped. Partly from the weight loss, also it's possible that since you were losing weight very quickly you lost a significant amount of muscle mass in the process thereby slowing your BMR even further. Don't be afraid of taking a "diet break" and eating at maintenance for a couple weeks. Maybe add more weight lifting (and less cardio if need be).

    20 lbs might not seem like the last few pounds, but it really can be. You should be aiming for 0.5 lb a week of weight loss at this point, not 1 or 2 lbs. Again, see the above link, do the math, eat that way for a while and see what happens. Good luck.
  • ermahgerdkate
    ermahgerdkate Posts: 14 Member
    Have you been taking measurements? Sometimes the weight on the scale may not go down, but your body could be change. My boyfriend and I both hit plateaus for a few weeks, and even noticed some small weight gains, but we constantly were looking at each other and seeing changes in the face, the hips, and the belly.
  • itstimetoeat
    itstimetoeat Posts: 63 Member
    Thanks for the advice and input. Maybe I've lost some muscles which dropped my BMR. Even if that is the case, wouldn't I need to eat more or work out more? Maybe I am too obsessed with it. I should just starve!!! sigh.

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