At a plateau...looking for any advice or help please!!

tifspoel
tifspoel Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
This is my first time using mfp, but not a first for weight loss. Every time I go to lose weight I always get stuck at the same plateau, same number on the scale. I lost 20 lbs before trying mfp in Jan. Since then I have only lost 4 lbs. The dreaded number for me is 180. I currently am 181 lbs with a goal weight of 150-160. I am 5'7, and am a new stay at home mom of 2, so I have my activity level as sedentary. Mfp has my calorie goal at 1,240. I also workout for about an hour 6 days a week, burning at least 500 calories each time. I have tried changing up my exercises to include cardio, running, pilates, and weights. At this time I do not eat my exercise calories. I usually leave about 400 or so calories at the end of the day. It always tells me I may be in starvation mode. I have my goal down to lose 1.5 lbs a week. So, do I need to eat those exercise calories burned? And should I change my goal to only losing 1 lb a week? Is there something else I need to maybe change, or do differently? I am very hard on myself, and have a low self esteem about my body image. But I refuse to give up and just stick to where I am at. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated!

Replies

  • fitchick1971
    fitchick1971 Posts: 4
    It doesn't hurt to try. There are alot of opinions on how to tackle a plateau but i found everytime i hit one... if i waited it out a few weeks things would start heading down again. Best thing i did was to start weighing myself monthly... since then i haven't noticed any mor plateaus!
  • CristinaL1983
    CristinaL1983 Posts: 1,119 Member
    I'm also 5'7'' shooting for about 150. I'm at 171 right now which is where I tend to get stuck. To be honest, I don't like this weight but it isn't horrible so I think I get complacent once I'm here and have kind of just tended to stop counting calories or being as careful. When I started on MFP, I was at 185 (Jan 15). I really want to get down past this range and I'm sticking to the 1200 calories MFP gives me but I'm being careful this time to weigh everything I eat instead of guessing or using measuring cups(which can be very inaccurate).

    I don't eat those exercise calories because I got in the habit of not eating them when I did weight watchers to get to this weight. I have been losing weight steadily and don't even log my exercise calories because I don't want the get the message that MFP puts about starvation mode. If I start losing strength at the gym or stop losing weight, I'll reevaluate. Occasionally, I am particularly hungry after I work out so I'll add an extra 100 calories or so but I also think that MFP severely overestimates calories burned on a workout.

    In my opinion, whatever works for you and helps you get to your goal is the best way.
  • RobinV_Seattle
    RobinV_Seattle Posts: 191 Member
    Try playing with your calorie intake - it sounds like you're not eating enough. Maybe change your weight loss goal to .5 pounds a week, or start eating back 50-60% of your exercise calories.

    I know it sound counter-productive, but after six weeks of not losing a single pound - grrrr! - my personal trainer had me raise my caloric intake significantly, and I'm down about three pounds this week - tomorrow's weigh in so fingers crossed nothing goes wonky!
  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
    Figure out your TDEE and BMR.. you can find a lot of calculators online.

    Your daily goal is far too low. Less doesn`t always mean a better weight loss. Looks like you have about 25lbs to lose... set your goal at no more than 1lb per week.

    Better yet, find out your BMR and make sure you net at least that.

    WIth eating less than 1300 cals a day and not consuming your exercise calories you are leaving far too large of a deficit. Too large of a deficit will cause you to lose MUSCLE which in turn hurts your body and lowers your metabolism.

    I would imagine you are not truly sedentary being a stay at home mom. I`m sure you are up and getting things done around the house, spending time with the kids, etc. Unless you are truly sitting down and doing nothing all day than you are not sedentary.
  • Railr0aderTony
    Railr0aderTony Posts: 6,803 Member
    Read this, it will change the way you are looking at weight loss. as others have said you are not eatting enough.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
    Read this, it will change the way you are looking at weight loss. as others have said you are not eatting enough.

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

    TDEE/BMR has been working for me. Maybe try this if the other ways have not been working for you. And I agree with the others, if you are a stay at home mom then you are not sedentary as you are cleaning the house, taking care of the kids, working out, etc... Sedentary means you wake up and go to the couch and sit there all day until time for bed. Doubt you do that lol.
  • Rho_Ro
    Rho_Ro Posts: 201 Member
    I am 5'8.5", 55 yrs old and currently weigh 233lbs. I am currently at a plateau but this one's of my own doing LOL. I'll get going again but I have to work on my head to do it.

    I, too, think ur daily cals are too low and if u have ur setting on sedentary then I wld be inclined to eat back 50% of ur exercise cals at least. If u want to leave ur setting on sedentary then log vacuuming the floor, baking, doing gardening, washing the floor etc as exercise - u need to calculate ur movement in a day somehow. I did this before I started working again and it worked well. One thing u need to remember is that when u start that movement u actually need to fuel ur body. The 1240 is calculated on u sitting at that couch all day and every day so if u don't put any xtra "gas" in the tank, u aren't gonna get too far. Picture ur car running out of fuel and spitting and farting and dying........

    I live in NZ and there has been a fair bit of comment lately about women especially doing too much exercise for the amount of food they consume. They reckon that 1 hr each day of exercise for 5 days a week is maximum. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find the article but the following does sort of explain it. Apparently women are those who are experiencing this the most.

    Energy Deficits
    You need energy to fuel intense exercise; when you cut back drastically on your calorie intake, your body senses trouble. Lacking the carbohydrates your muscles need to continue functioning, your body metabolizes fat tissue. When your body cannot access fat tissue, it actually eats away your muscle tissue to meet the demands you put on it during exercise. Too much exercise combined with too little nutrition puts your body in starvation mode; it shuts down your metabolism to protect itself. You become fatigued and lose endurance. Rather than burning more calories, your body lowers its needs and stores more fat. You stop losing weight and you might cut back calories further in response to the weight-loss stall, continuing the vicious cycle.

    Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/367666-can-too-much-exercise-slow-weight-loss/#ixzz2L6p4EgN2

    I wld take notice of the others writing here and watch ur nutrition. Don't be so hard on urself. I have already been watching my weight for just over 3 years and probably have another 2 to go. After all, wot is the hurry, as long as u get there. Take care.
  • tifspoel
    tifspoel Posts: 9 Member
    Thank you all for the great advice and info. I changed my goal to 1 pound a week loss, and that changed my calories to 1,490. I am still nervous about changing my activity level from sedentary to lightly active, as that will add another 200 some calories. I have this fear that eating almost 1,700 would be alot, plus adding in the exercise calories. Adding more calories terrifies me and feels counter productive to me. But I am going to try it and see what happens. I know a part of it is I am so used to how WW did things, so I am trying to learn a new way of weight loss and maintenance. I'm just afraid that I'm going to make some other mistakes that will hinder my weight loss more. Thanks again, and I will keep you all updated! :smile:
  • Rho_Ro
    Rho_Ro Posts: 201 Member
    I can understand ur fear but try and relax and enjoy the process, after all, at the first sign of ur weight going up u'll quickly review things and instigate a change. That's what stress, and in this case fear, do they cause change and without them, well we just wouldn't do anything or go anywhere.

    I'm a lot heavier than u and on the sedentary level my cals r 1610 and that's doable. I don't eat back my exercise calories (altho I did recommend that u eat back half of them with ur loss level at 1.5 lb per week) and with ur loss level at the same as mine - 1 lb - u cld just leave them alone unless u r hungry and need the extra sustenance.

    I'm struggling at the moment - some of it is circumstance and some is my own doing - and I've got to devise a plan to get thru a bit like u. I'm now working 8am to 4pm and my lunch hour is 1.30pm. The past two days I haven't felt like eating so have had a Magnum icecream and a coffee and the second day I had a piece of cake as well. Yesterday (day off) I pigged out on cake. Not too good. I just looooooove cake. I think the secret may be breakfast, so that's where my thought are heading.

    Anyhow, good luck. Just know that ur not the only one that hits the brick wall, the trick is getting over it. I've been over a few and I know u can too. Take care. Try and relax if u can and hey, if one thing doesn't work, another will. NEVER GIVE UP!

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