Help Me Break This Plateau!!!

Well, you didn't really give us much info to help, but I did take a look at your diary and I have a couple of thoughts.

I think you might have quite a bit of logging error. You use a lot of "generic" entries like

Chicken stir fry, 1 serving 175
Fried rice, 1 serving 250
Random Shawarma Restaurant - Chicken Fattoush Salad With Garlic, 1 Medium Salad 485

250 calories of fried rice is like 0.25 cups. 1 serving of steamed rice is about 250. The chicken stir fry is WAY off too unless you maybe made it at home and were very diligent to limit oil and sugar. Even then, the chicken alone would be in the neighborhood of 175. "random shawarma restaurant"... really?!

Try to avoid those kind of entries. If you can't find what you are looking for, add individual items. For example, for the fried rice might add: rice, cooked steamed; wok oil; egg, whole; pork; and estimate the individual quantities of those.

Secondly, you eat a LOT of restaurant and pre-made/convenience food. While I am not one of those people that think you can't lose weight doing that, I do want to caution that the restaurant nutrition guides are almost never correct - and they are usually underestimated. I have been known to add to the portion size (instead of adding 1 order of fries, maybe I add 1.25) or if that hamburger seems greasy I'll add a little bit of fat along with the burger, etc. I think I only saw 1 item out of the entire week I looked at that didn't come pre-cooked! That means this is a huge source of error for you.

I also saw a skipped day. If this is common, be careful. I DON'T recommend skipping entire days.


Finally, I want to add that you have done GREAT so far. But, you had a huge amount of weight to lose initially, so any change for the better is going to produce good results. So, in the past, all that logging error didn't hinder you that much.

However, as you get closer to your goal, that stuff starts to matter more and more. You can't continue to "lazy-log" and expect to see the same results that you did when you were 330 lbs.

That said, 2 lbs is nothing to sneeze at!

Just speculating, but a quick look at your diary shows you are aiming for about 1200 calories daily. That is likely way to huge of a deficit for you. I am 5'7" had 30 pounds to lose and literally was STARVING at 1200 calories. No energy and felt like crap. It is because I set MFP for a 2 lb/week loss which was way to aggressive. You have lost a load of weight (congrats!) and you are a lot smaller than you used to be. Your body won't act the same as it did 100 pounds heavier.

Set MFP for a 1 pound a week loss...I am guessing you have it set more aggressively than that. Eat what it says for 3 weeks and I bet you will see a change in weight.

I agree about the 1200 calories, but get your logging accurate before you try to increase calories. You are eating well above 1200 per day as it is.

Change up your routine! Go out of your work out comfort zone and do something completely different (aka muscle confusion). It should work wonders. Good luck

side note about restaurant food -

A lot of food that you think is a healthier alternative, really isn't at some restaurants. For example, I was a Chuy's Mexican Restaurant the other day and decided to order steamed rice instead of the mexican rice. I started talking to the chef and found out that at Chuy's, before they steam the rice, they DEEP FRY it!

Yes... they put uncooked rice in a deep fry basket and fry it in oil for a minute or so before they put it in the steamer. So, it has about the same calories and fat as the mexican rice that is much yummier!

Just be careful eating at restaurants, because you have absolutely NO control of what is in your food!

Change up your routine! Go out of your work out comfort zone and do something completely different (aka muscle confusion). It should work wonders. Good luck

THIS! I'm now following calories based on my TDEE, not what MFP suggests. I also changed up my workouts within the last month or so...I was at a plateau for 5 months (literally NO change whatsoever!) and that was how I started losing again.

In addition to upping your calories, shake up your work out, especially if you have been doing the same thing for over a year. If you do lots of cardio, start adding in some weights. If you do lots of weights, switch it out for some cardio. At the very least, take a new class.

The closer you get to your goal weight, the harder it is to lose weight.

No one likes to hear that there is no way to guarantee consistent weight loss, but it is not an exact science.

This is the part where you have to start having faith that you are doing all the right things.

right things =

consistently raising the bar for yourself

consistently raising the level of difficulty in your workouts, responsibly

consistently visiting your NUTRITIONAL INTAKE (not necessarily calories - but what nutrients you are giving your body to fuel those steadily harder workouts instead of just picking a calorie goal and staying with that forever)

consistently taking the time to teach yourself and raise your comprehension level for what you are doing to your body

sticking with your plan to prove your self-discipline and mental strength. (to prove it to yourself)

fully understanding that the number on the scale is the worst sign of progress and the fastest way to derail your motivation.* see footnote

believing in the power of your own hard work.

be actively patient.

*footnote: embrace the other ways of proving that you are changing and making a difference. make a monthly ritual you look forward to, if necessary. take a whole day for yourself, take all of your measurements regularly, take progress pictures (even if they never see the light of day), scan events for walks and 5Ks for charity, track your time for a route - even walking - and try to get a little faster each time. write down all the weights you start with and see what you are able to lift by the end of the month. Can you stay on the elliptical for 30 minutes? try upping the intensity and staying on for the same 30 - or REALLY upping it and going for 20. These are the things that will change your body. And when people say that they want to get down to a certain weight - they also hope to look better and see what they will look like at that weight. Aiming for a lower number on the scale will not change your body into that body. Balancing your workouts equally between cardio, flexibility and weight training (meaning stuff that weighs more than your purse - not something you can easily do 20 reps of) WILL.

I wish you all the very best of luck.

(You can do it)
(but only if you noticed that the magic word here is consistency)