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A major Spike Plateau!

jcoco
jcoco Posts: 138 Member
edited January 18 in Social Groups
I did the Spike program for 6 months and it was FANTASTIC, I lost 30lbs. Now for the past 3 months I have plateaued! I have lost & gained the same 2 lbs & it is driving my crazy! Here are the things I have tried to break it & if anybody has a different idea please share, I have run out of ideas:

1) I have tried switching my calories to steady state, same calories everyday. I have tried 1400, 1600, & 1800 calorie weeks, nothing.
2) I have then gone back to Spiking when the above did not work, nothing.
3) I exercise 5-6 days per week & burn 600-700 calories per session. I have switched my workouts many, many times. I tried straight cardio for 2 wks, weight lifting only for 2 wks, 3 days of HIIT & 3 days of lifting. ALWAYS in my THR, nothing.
4) I also made sure & changed my BMR calories as I lost weight, lowering as I went.
5) Currently have just started back Spiking this week, eating 1500 6 days & spiking at 3000.

My BMR is 1514, I previously have not factored my TDEE, I just ate at or around BMR, so I do not eat my exercise calories, maybe that is the problem? Thanks for any suggestions!

Replies

  • 4theking
    4theking Posts: 1,196 Member
    I did the Spike program for 6 months and it was FANTASTIC, I lost 30lbs. Now for the past 3 months I have plateaued! I have lost & gained the same 2 lbs & it is driving my crazy! Here are the things I have tried to break it & if anybody has a different idea please share, I have run out of ideas:

    1) I have tried switching my calories to steady state, same calories everyday. I have tried 1400, 1600, & 1800 calorie weeks, nothing.
    2) I have then gone back to Spiking when the above did not work, nothing.
    3) I exercise 5-6 days per week & burn 600-700 calories per session. I have switched my workouts many, many times. I tried straight cardio for 2 wks, weight lifting only for 2 wks, 3 days of HIIT & 3 days of lifting. ALWAYS in my THR, nothing.
    4) I also made sure & changed my BMR calories as I lost weight, lowering as I went.
    5) Currently have just started back Spiking this week, eating 1500 6 days & spiking at 3000.

    My BMR is 1514, I previously have not factored my TDEE, I just ate at or around BMR, so I do not eat my exercise calories, maybe that is the problem? Thanks for any suggestions!

    Jcoco, you have come to the right place. I love a good challenge! :) What is your weight right now, and what is your goal weight? How are your macros? Did you ever take a diet break for a couple weeks at maint. calories?
  • jcoco
    jcoco Posts: 138 Member
    I did the Spike program for 6 months and it was FANTASTIC, I lost 30lbs. Now for the past 3 months I have plateaued! I have lost & gained the same 2 lbs & it is driving my crazy! Here are the things I have tried to break it & if anybody has a different idea please share, I have run out of ideas:

    1) I have tried switching my calories to steady state, same calories everyday. I have tried 1400, 1600, & 1800 calorie weeks, nothing.
    2) I have then gone back to Spiking when the above did not work, nothing.
    3) I exercise 5-6 days per week & burn 600-700 calories per session. I have switched my workouts many, many times. I tried straight cardio for 2 wks, weight lifting only for 2 wks, 3 days of HIIT & 3 days of lifting. ALWAYS in my THR, nothing.
    4) I also made sure & changed my BMR calories as I lost weight, lowering as I went.
    5) Currently have just started back Spiking this week, eating 1500 6 days & spiking at 3000.

    My BMR is 1514, I previously have not factored my TDEE, I just ate at or around BMR, so I do not eat my exercise calories, maybe that is the problem? Thanks for any suggestions!

    Jcoco, you have come to the right place. I love a good challenge! :) What is your weight right now, and what is your goal weight? How are your macros? Did you ever take a diet break for a couple weeks at maint. calories?



    I did take a 12 day "diet & exercise vacation" in December. I did not log so I do not know if I was eating at maintenance but I gained 2lbs during that time so I was pretty close. I currently weigh 177 and I am 5'8". I am trying to keep my macros at 40/40/20, although this past week I tried to get a little more protein. When I was dieting before Spike I had also plateaued, then I started Spike & blasted through to a 30lb loss. I am hoping to get down to 160lbs. I am currently doing 3 days of weight training & 3 days of cardio & I burn 600 to 700 calories every workout. I have learned my body is very good at adapting to change whether it be by diet or exercise & is very stubborn at wanting to keep me at a certain weight. I am really happy you like a challenge, thank you so much for trying to figure this out, I am out of ideas!
  • 4theking
    4theking Posts: 1,196 Member
    What I have found with people in your age group, there can be a pretty large descrepancy, between expected BMR, and reality. Have you recently had your thyroid tested? Even though you are spiking it could have lowered enough to cause issues. If you do get it tested, test for TSH, T3 and reverse T3. A TSH greater than 2.0 should be of concern even though it will read normal on the test.

    Sometimes when dieting, even though we adjust BMR for weight, we fail to realize BMR will also lower from reducing calories. Some call this starvation mode. It is just your body adapting and doing what it does best. It is your bodies way of not 'starving'. It slows everything down including your immune system.

    My recommendation would be to have your thyroid checked. If everything checks out there, I would go to 1300 calories on low days and 2600 on spike day. Lower your burns down on workout days to the 300-400 range. Sometimes too much exercise can cause issues.
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