Plateau Question

cleanandlean2012
cleanandlean2012 Posts: 71 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi...quick question re plateau's: I joined MFP on 1st August with 113lbs to lose. From August to December I lost 35lbs. However a few weeks prior to Christmas, my weight stuck. I honestly put it down to the odd extra carbs / treat. Over Christmas, I gained 3.8lbs. I restructured by diet and exercise as of 7th Jan. Within a week, I lost the 3.8lbs, however I have since stuck. I am having 2-3litres of water a day, and have a balanced diet I am happy with (welcome suggestions though). As of 7th Jan, my workout consists of 30DS, 1 x Pilates and some rowing. I can feel abs, biceps and leg muscles developing, but surely with 78lbs still to go, the scales should still be going down (I am still within a clinically obese weight). Various sensible sources say a good guideline would be 8-10lbs per month loss.

So for all those who have lost 70-100lbs + your advice would be appreciated.

Replies

  • mabelbabel1
    mabelbabel1 Posts: 391 Member
    It may be that you are not eating enough.....If I were you I would up my calories for a few weeks, make sure I was eating at a 20% deficit of my TDEE but above my BMR.

    This link explains it all.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    I know it's hard when you've been eating low calorie for a long time to think that increasing your calories can help you to lose weight, but it does work for the majority of people.
  • collingmommy
    collingmommy Posts: 456 Member
    So, u said your doing 30 ds, i did that and didn't lose any weight on the scale, i did lose 26 inches over all though.. So it works, right know I'm suck to, I'm supposed to be eating 1800 a day, i usually eat 1400 and am full, so try to up your calories by maybe 100, and get a measuring tape. Measure off your body. That is where alot of ppl seen a diffrence while doing the shred...
  • MightyDomo
    MightyDomo Posts: 1,265 Member
    There are a few things that may be at play here.

    1. You may not be eating enough or maybe not eating balanced enough.
    2. Your workouts may not be challenging your body enough, try doing some strength training and see if your plateau ends
    3. You may be losing inches but not weight, not totally a bad thing and you probably will start losing again if you up your routine a little.
    4. Routines too common, if your not switching it up too much day to day then that might be the problem as well, its another body challenge.

    I finally ended my 4 week plateau as of yesterday! And I tried to look at each point on this list and see what I could do, I ended up having a different routine everyday with two routines that I do everyday regardless. (so 3 workouts) and surely enough it worked!
  • Yolanda4160
    Yolanda4160 Posts: 170 Member
    I hit a plateau myself for awhile. I started zig zagging with my calories and the scale started to move again. Good luck with whatever advice you find to help you :smile:
  • bearwith
    bearwith Posts: 525 Member
    YOu need to get your body out of stagnation mode - it is a natural process that happens to everyone regardless of their weight and it is your body trying to survive.

    You may find that you need to increase the amount of time that you spend exercising and also to up the amount of interval training that you do. This is more effective because it makes your heart go all the way from resting through to aerobic several times in the same workout period, This means that you are actually working smarter rather than simply pounding away continuously at the same rate.


    Try not to eat all of you exercise calories, if you are overweight, you can afford not to eat all of your exercise calories Just make sure you have a sensible amount of protein.
  • sandradev1
    sandradev1 Posts: 786 Member
    It may be that you are not eating enough.....If I were you I would up my calories for a few weeks, make sure I was eating at a 20% deficit of my TDEE but above my BMR.

    This link explains it all.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    I know it's hard when you've been eating low calorie for a long time to think that increasing your calories can help you to lose weight, but it does work for the majority of people.


    ^^^THIS x a zillion^^^^

    If you are by chance, eating at a greater deficit than 20% from your TDEE and especially if you are eating below your BMR you body will slow up its weight loss. You need to give your body enough fuel every day for it to complete its normal daily functions to keep your vital organs going AND THEN you also need to add enough fuel for your body to complete the exercise and activities you are expecting from it. Our bodies are very clever and if it is not consistently receiving enough calories it will hold onto as much energy as it can. Once it is getting consistently enough, it will start to offload excess again.

    At least take the time to check out the link above and pump your figures in to see what numbers you come up with. There is also a group on the forums with many postings of the success that people are having when eating the correct amount.

    Good luck:flowerforyou:
  • stackhsc
    stackhsc Posts: 439 Member
    i agree with above. i have plateaued a few time. first time i had been eating the same basic intake for months with put exception. i started having a "cheat" day once a week and ate reasonably freely that day. i started loosing again the second week.
    More recently i started exercising more and wasnt eating back my calories. as soon as i started eating back my exercise to hit my net intake i started dropping again.
  • sandradev1
    sandradev1 Posts: 786 Member
    YOu need to get your body out of stagnation mode - it is a natural process that happens to everyone regardless of their weight and it is your body trying to survive.

    You may find that you need to increase the amount of time that you spend exercising and also to up the amount of interval training that you do. This is more effective because it makes your heart go all the way from resting through to aerobic several times in the same workout period, This means that you are actually working smarter rather than simply pounding away continuously at the same rate.


    Try not to eat all of you exercise calories, if you are overweight, you can afford not to eat all of your exercise calories Just make sure you have a sensible amount of protein.

    This is not strictly correct.

    Weight loss comes from calorie deficit
    Fitness comes from exercise

    Increasing exercise alone WILL NOT solve the problem and may make it worse, unless yo also increase your calories to compensate.
  • beachlover317
    beachlover317 Posts: 2,848 Member
    It may be that you are not eating enough.....If I were you I would up my calories for a few weeks, make sure I was eating at a 20% deficit of my TDEE but above my BMR.

    This link explains it all.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    I know it's hard when you've been eating low calorie for a long time to think that increasing your calories can help you to lose weight, but it does work for the majority of people.


    ^^^THIS x a zillion^^^^

    If you are by chance, eating at a greater deficit than 20% from your TDEE and especially if you are eating below your BMR you body will slow up its weight loss. You need to give your body enough fuel every day for it to complete its normal daily functions to keep your vital organs going AND THEN you also need to add enough fuel for your body to complete the exercise and activities you are expecting from it. Our bodies are very clever and if it is not consistently receiving enough calories it will hold onto as much energy as it can. Once it is getting consistently enough, it will start to offload excess again.

    At least take the time to check out the link above and pump your figures in to see what numbers you come up with. There is also a group on the forums with many postings of the success that people are having when eating the correct amount.

    Good luck:flowerforyou:

    I agree with this. Please check out the link, run your numbers and see what you should be eating to fuel your body and your workouts. Dieting and exercising in general are both stressors on the body. Too much of both (eating at a great deficit and exercising excessively) can cause you to stall because your body is just too stressed out. I'm sure you've read all about how stress hormones affect us! Good luck and hope you have success!
  • nicosuave2013
    nicosuave2013 Posts: 42 Member
    from a strictly food point try eliminating carbs after 4pm and eat lots of DARK green veggies
  • Dudagarcia
    Dudagarcia Posts: 849 Member
    YOu need to get your body out of stagnation mode - it is a natural process that happens to everyone regardless of their weight and it is your body trying to survive.

    You may find that you need to increase the amount of time that you spend exercising and also to up the amount of interval training that you do. This is more effective because it makes your heart go all the way from resting through to aerobic several times in the same workout period, This means that you are actually working smarter rather than simply pounding away continuously at the same rate.


    Try not to eat all of you exercise calories, if you are overweight, you can afford not to eat all of your exercise calories Just make sure you have a sensible amount of protein.

    This is not strictly correct.

    Weight loss comes from calorie deficit
    Fitness comes from exercise

    Increasing exercise alone WILL NOT solve the problem and may make it worse, unless yo also increase your calories to compensate.

    ^^ agree it will make it worse ????

    You may burn more calories during your 1-hour cardio class than you would lifting weights for an hour, but a study published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that women who did weight training burned an average of 100 more calories during the 24 hours after their training session ended. And the effect is magnified when you increase the weight, as explained in a study in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. Women who lifted more weight for fewer reps (85 percent of their max load for 8 reps) burned nearly twice as many calories during the two hours after their workout than when they did more reps with a lighter weight (45 percent of their max load for 15 reps).

    Boom!

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