On a plateau & finding it hard to lose anymore weight.

I have already lost a significant amount of weight, but I would love to lose just one more pant size and get more fit in the process. I have only lost 4 pounds in 2 months and in the past month I have not lost a pound. I am frustrated and need some advice on things to do.

First off, I am a stay at home mom and I have a treadmill at home and for now would like some ideas of things I could do at home since I am not a member of a gym...yet! I also might need advice on nutrition if I may be doing something wrong? So, here is my week:
I an on the treadmill for an hour at least 4 days a week and at least do a 5K each time I am on. Sometimes I change it up by doing part of my hour on an incline, at different speeds, etc. It is not just one speed everytime I am on. I also incorporate 40 to 50 crunches and 40 to 50 of the butt lifts, and I try to plank for as long as I can.
As far as my diet, I imputted on here to at least lose a pound a week and I am always under my calorie goal. One thing I do know, is that I need to drink more water...so I am trying to do better at that!
I usually have some form of oatmeal, egg whites, apples, etc for my breakfast.
Lunch I do salads (with a yogurt dressing) or hummus on a 100% whole grain wrap with veggies, etc.
Dinner I like to find weight watcher recipes or healthy recipes that are as "clean" as possible that usually involve some form of baked/broiled chicken (no skin or fat of course), 100% whole wheat pasta, or the "extra lean" hamburger.
The only time I do any kind of artificial sweetners, is I might have a cup of coffee in the morning with a little bit of sugar free syrup and some almond milk.
I try the best I can at eating healthy, but it is really hard when you have a certain grocery budget.

I am open to any ideas you can throw at me...I have lost 100 pounds since having my daughter (6) and son (3) and went from a pant size of 22 to a 10! I am now trying to be healthy and fit!

Thanks everyone!!

Replies

  • First off, GREAT JOB on the weight loss. That's an absolutely incredible amount of weight that takes a lot of willpower and dedication, and you are to be congratulated. Not many people can say they have lost that much weight!

    As far as your workouts, now that you're down to a healthy weight, you should consider getting some kind of heart rate monitor. I bought the Polar FT4 on Amazon for $65. You input your weight, height, gender, and age and it will calculate your target heart rate zone. This really helps motivate me! The key things to remember when you're watching your heart rate is: when you're at your target 85% (the monitor will calculate your "max" target heart rate), you're in a comfortable, challenging state for fat burning. Or, you can step it up and go above your 'max' - which burns more calories faster, but also can lead to you burning out faster. So if you're going long-term, like for a run or spin class, I'd try to keep it around that "max" heart rate number.

    The diet sounds good. Clearly you know how to eat, having lost so much weight. The most I would say is, make sure you're getting enough protein in your diet via chicken, turkey, seafood, beans, however you chose. Of course eating clean is always best. Use fresh ingredients, and don't buy food in boxes!!! Have you discovered skinnytaste.com? There are thousands of great recipes on there, we have made several of them. We are on a VERY limited food budget, as my husband is a doctorate student in college and I'm the only one working and we eat almost 100% natural foods on less than $150 a month. So it can be done.

    For exercise, your 5k walk/run is good, but now that you're in good shape you need to change it up. This would be the time you would benefit most from a gym membership. Weight training is essential for fat burning and starting to really notice, physically, changes in your body.

    Bookmark this site: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/5_fat_loss_workouts.htm. Scroll to about halfway down to the Overview (highlighted in a blue strip). That will give you an idea of a weight training routine. Keep scrolling down. Each day of the week has exercises below it. Click on the exercise and a video will pop up showing you how to do that exercise. I have had personal trainers for years and all of these exercises and routines are things we do on a regular basis.

    I would recommend working out six days a week, with one day off. Do not lift weight, or run, just take the day off to let your body rest and recover. You don't need to do anymore than 60 minutes a day (though if you want to, that's great too). Spend 30 minutes each day at or above your max heart rate to really push your body and burn the max amount of calories. Don't pay attention to distance - that's not important. It's the amount of time spent at or above your target heart rate that matters! Work in 30 minutes of calisthenics and weight training. Here's a great video on some calisthenics you can do right in your own home. The video will tell you how long you should do each workout. Once you've rotated through all the exercises, that's one set. Do each exercise for the suggested amount of time, without stopping (if possible, if you do, NO MORE than ten seconds! You want to keep your heart rate up). Once you've rotated through them all, give yourself a two-minute break. Do this five times.

    I hope this helps. You've done an amazing job with your cardio and getting down to a healthy weight, and incorporating the calisthenics and weight training will really help push you to continue your progress. Also, remember that muscle weighs more than fat. At this point you need to stop watching the scale (only weigh yourself once a week, at the same time every week so like Mondays at 8 p.m., or something like that). But, get a measuring tape (the kind seamstresses use) and take your measurements. Though you're not losing numbers on the scale, you WILL be losing inches off your body.

    Good luck!!
  • genkimomof2
    genkimomof2 Posts: 50 Member
    A couple of points/things that popped in my head when reading your post:

    Are you logging in the calorie deficits from exercise according to MFP's rates? I have found MFP to really overdo the amount of calories actually lost from exercise. For example, on the treadmill it says I lost 100 calories, but when I log the time into MFP, it says I lost 150 calories for the same amount of walking time. I have decided not to "eat back" my exercise deficit, or at least most of it, and I am loosing fine now after a period of not loosing.

    Are you SURE your portions are accurate? When you log that you've eaten 3 oz of protein, was it really 3 oz or closer to four?

    Are you eating off your kids plates? I am very guilty of this; my son is picky and I HATE throwing his uneaten food in the garbage! Do you eat the half biscuit your generous toddler offers you at snack time? Are you tasting the food as you prep meals for your family? Those bites here and there add up!

    Finally, and probably most importantly, remember that females are not built to be lean mean hunting machines, like men. We were naturally selected to be able to provide milk for our babies even during times of famine, so if the body has been surviving under what it considers "famine" conditions, it will hold on to every last drop of fat it can to make sure the next potential baby has plenty of high quality fat to draw upon.... a super species protection plan that doesn't work out well for us in these modern days. That last pant size is ALWAYS going to be super hard for women to loose....it goes against everything our body was designed for. Especially considering it obligingly let go of 100 pounds of reserves already. Make sure your calorie deficit is not recognized as a deficit by your body, and it will let go of the final reserves eventually.

    good luck!
  • Your diary is closed so I can't give you feedback on it but generally lowering carbs, upping protein, and varying your exercise (if you're a runner, start lifting and vice versa) works for most people.
  • Thank you so much everyone for your advice and compliments!!
    I always do low carb and if I have anything wheat, I make sure it is 100%. I make sure I don't eat off of my children's plates because I have done that before and learned my lesson LOL. I am going to try to find a heart rate monitor and get a gym membership! I also make sure that it calculates my sodium intake as well.
    As far as calories I burn on the treadmill, I make sure that I don't eat more than I usually do on the days I don't exercise to compensate for those calories I burned.
    I am going to try these things and see what happens.
    If anyone else has anymore suggestions please feel free to comment!
    Thanks!!
  • aynhagenbarth
    aynhagenbarth Posts: 75 Member
    I suggest adding in weight training. That really has helped me. I LOVE the Personal Training with Jackie Videos. They are awesome, and I am seeing some real muscle definition! 30 day fast start i a good one, I got mine on amazon.com. She even says on the video that this is a great one for a plateau.
  • elliev30
    elliev30 Posts: 20 Member
    I too want to say congrats on how well you have done....

    My thought was maybe a different kind of workout to change things up.. like aerobics to work on different areas and start the fat burning process.... but, I am no expert.. so, just throwing that out there as a thought.

    Keep up the good work !
  • I am just reading since I am in the same boat as you!! I lost 80 lbs but this last 2.5 months I have been playing around with 4 lbs up and down. I did get a Polar FT4 HRM last week and noticed quite a difference in the amount of calories burned vs what MFP has listed I have to exercise an extra 20 min to get to the same level of calories burned. Maybe that will help you. I am also a stay at home mom to 4 :) But my size difference has been as drastic as your I went from a super tight 26 pants to a comfortable 20...getting there you are doing great!!!
  • Thanks again everyone and congrats to all of you on your losses!! I am definitely taking your advice to my advantage lol. I am joining a gym and working on strength training, etc. and I am also going to try to change things up!