Help I'm in a three month plateau

leelu137
leelu137 Posts: 46
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi

I need some help sorting out how to best use MFP and fit bit. I am stuck in a weight lass plateau for three months. I weigh and measure all my food and log my exercise. I can't seem to find a point where my body loses weight anymore.

I have been attempting o lose 10 kg for such a long time and I keep,increasing my excerise and no results. I have not lost cm but I can feel my muscles are harder under the fat.
I am getting much fitter and I am very proud/happy with that. However the purpose of my journey is to fit back into my size 10 (Australia) pants and nothing is budging. I'm frustrated , annoyed and starting to get very distressed that all my efforts are for naught.

I have listed all my stats below so I can get your thoughts


Bmr - 1476
TDDE 2288

TDDE-20% 1831

MFP- set to lightly active
1540 calories per day

Fit bit steps per day approx 15000 - 20000
Fit bit calorie estimation around 2400
In one month I have burned 84000 cal and eaten 51800

When I look at my diary in weekly I'm always 3000-5000 calories under weekly goal.

Excercise is combinations of the activities below:
Walk s between 5-10 km at very brisk pace
Gym 3 times a week 60 minutes
My gym workouts include a mix of personal training sessions, weights training, spin class, pump class, body combat class, treadmill, oliptical, bike, running, walking, floor exercises
I like to keep my workouts mixed up and try to do different combos each week

My weight loss and gain history:
In 2004 I lost 26 kg doing Jenny Craig. 1 kg a week approx
2004-2009 I gained 10 kg
2011 I had a baby and gained another 10kg

Food:
Currently I have been trialling eating between bmr and tdde and I have gained weight.
I weigh and measure my food before I eat it.
If I'm an drinking alcohol I factor it into my calories for the day as with any treats as I do not wish to make any food a no go zone.
I make most of my food fresh and love to cook.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Xx leelu

Replies

  • blondepsychobrat
    blondepsychobrat Posts: 55 Member
    You sound just like me! I am also in a plateau for over 3 months, I also lost 9 kgs and can't seem to lose any more. I exercise regularly, I am eating at about 20% below maintenance and no.thing. is happening!!!
    I measure my bodyfat, it's not going down.
    I measure myself as well, not going down.
    weight, staying the same.
    I also don't know what to do anymore except cry! :-(
  • Warchortle
    Warchortle Posts: 2,197 Member
    If you are becoming fitter you could be getting rid of your subcutaneous fat and replacing it with lean body muscle somewhere you're not noticing. I know for a fact that I'm building muscle at maintenance calories even though the scale hasn't moved up or down.
  • jennlfc
    jennlfc Posts: 1
    Hi,

    Just read your post, I am also in a similar situation. Do you follow any specific diet or just healthy eating and exercise?

    We have a diet here in the UK called Slimming world, have you ever heard of this?

    How many calories per day are you allowed? I'm currently on 1200 per day which I find manageable at the moment.

    I think you're doing great! The main this is, don't give up because the weight will come off.

    Jenn
  • KNarrainen
    KNarrainen Posts: 135 Member
    It sounds like you're doing all the right things, I personally would say stick to your food plan, you don't really need anything like Slimming Plan, it's essentially the same as what you're doing, no offence previous poster, different things work for different people.

    The only thing I would suggest is to reassess your the specific elements of your exercise routinese.

    Are you lifting enough weight?
    Are you running with enough intenisity for enough time? etc.

    And maybe throw in a few things you haven't done at all, to give your body an new challenge?
    Cycling? Different sports?

    Hope some of this helps, you're doign great, keep it up.
  • emergencytennis
    emergencytennis Posts: 864 Member
    You could be over-estimating the fuel you burn at the gym. I have read hundreds of posts saying how a heart rate monitor records less calories than the MFP estimates. You have lost weight (yay!) but that means you consequently burn less calories (boo).
  • m4ttcheek
    m4ttcheek Posts: 229 Member
    Try not logging your training. Pick a daily calorie target and stick to it. Judging from your diary i'd recommend about 1500. Also you're protein is a little on the low side for fat loss.
  • KNarrainen
    KNarrainen Posts: 135 Member
    Good point about using a HRM, when i got mine, I discovered that MFP is usually overestimating burn rates.
  • leelu137
    leelu137 Posts: 46
    In regards to MFP calorie burn, I don't eat back all the exercise calories as I suspected that might be the case. I might invest in a HRM as well just to triple check
  • emergencytennis
    emergencytennis Posts: 864 Member
    In regards to MFP calorie burn, I don't eat back all the exercise calories as I suspected that might be the case. I might invest in a HRM as well just to triple check

    Matt's idea above is better, though. Calculate your TDEE, including your exercise, pick a deficit and forget about logging the exercise.
  • leelu137
    leelu137 Posts: 46
    Can I just ask about tdde ect how long should I should it take to start losing? Wll I put on weight?
  • BarbieAS
    BarbieAS Posts: 1,414 Member
    Edit - never mind, I mis-read. Good luck!!
  • MightyDomo
    MightyDomo Posts: 1,265 Member
    I would certainly say that if you are doing so much that it is probably a mixture of miscalculate calories in and out. Also I notice you are consuming a lot more refined sugars than you should, these sugars are big carbs with no nutrition and that can definitely impact your loss, it may not be a big impact though.

    Cut the carbs in have, double your protein, cut the refined sugars and stick to naturally occuring sugars (fruits, veggies, dairy usually have unrefined sugars). Also I couldn't tell without seeing your sodium content but by my 'estimation' you may be consuming too much sodium, a good level for day to day on a 2000 calorie diets is at minimum 500 mg and maximum 2300 mg with 1500 mg being the best level. High soduim can give you water weight.

    Hope you find a solution :)
  • greenfalls107
    greenfalls107 Posts: 87 Member
    I just now broke a 60+day plateau. I was just about to throw my scale out the 2nd floor window and run it over by my car. :bigsmile:
    I noticed my clothes fitting looser and looser but the scale would not budget. I swear I gained and lost the same 2 lbs throughout the 60 days. I am not sure what finally busted the plateau, but I can tell you I had a few days where I felt like I was starving and ended up eating more, once day 1000 calories over my recommended. Some of my friends say I confused my body, others say plateaus will break eventually.

    I am so happy to be able to say, I have lost a total of 25lbs. Took me 6 months, but the changes are amazing. And I still eat like a "normal" person. Chocolate, wine, eating out, just in moderation with a bunch more healthy food than I was eating 6 months ago.

    My suggestion, is keep up on what you are doing. But make sure you are not limiting yourself any food, just eat it in moderation.
    I hope you get progress soon, I know the frustration. It is hard to keep on track when you feel like you are trapped in a hamster wheel going no where.
  • helcart01
    helcart01 Posts: 46 Member
    I too have not changed weight in 2 months and have lost the same 2lbs over & over again. I hope I break through this plateau soon, its hard not to give up
  • amyljl77
    amyljl77 Posts: 43 Member
    Someone's going to "yell" at me for saying this, but I think you need to lower your calorie intake. I was confused as to wether you ate 1800 or 1500 calories a day and is that net or gross? Personally, there is no way I would lose if I was netting 1800 cals a day. 1500, maybe. I usually net 1000 to 1300 (I eat back my exercise calories so my gross cals are usually around 1500 - 1800 ) and I've lost weight steadily.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Do you have a HRM? Do you use a scale? I see a lot of entries in your diary as cups etc. It's not as accurate.

    The only thing I can think of is inaccurate measurement of food and/or exercise. I have a hard time believing that you'd only burn 2400 calories a day (from your fibbit) with 800 or 1600 calories workouts. Something doesn't add up. I hardly work out compared to you (average of 200 calories per workout) and I've been losing just fine at 1500-1700 calories. So if you're really burning that much working out, you need to eat more, but then your fibbit is inaccurate.
  • Mia_RagazzaTosta
    Mia_RagazzaTosta Posts: 4,885 Member
    You're double-dipping your exercise calories. Don't log running or walking because the Fitbit does it for you. So if your FB gives you X number of calories burned for activity and then you log Y number of calories manually for walking or running, it will give you an erroneous number of calories to eat.

    Chances are, you're eating too much because of this.
  • bertburtison
    bertburtison Posts: 6
    Increase protein, increase fibrous veg, minimise sugar intake including fructose if fat loss is your goal. If you've been at a calorie deficit continuously for more than 7-10 days increase calories to at least maintenance for two to three days and then go back to a deficit as it will bring your metabolism back up as it slows down very quickly in deficit. Try also cooking in coconut oil rather than rubbish veg or sunflower oils. I know this is a calorie counting website but fat loss isn't just about calories, not all calories are the same. If you eat 2000cals of chicken the effect on your physiques is very different to 2000cals of skittles! I can guarantee if most people here ate just bellow maintenance but consumed predominately protein, fat and limited their carb intake to low gi at dinner you'd all shift more fat and be happier than eating dust. Just saying........
  • Mtleiker
    Mtleiker Posts: 160
    Someone's going to "yell" at me for saying this, but I think you need to lower your calorie intake. I was confused as to wether you ate 1800 or 1500 calories a day and is that net or gross? Personally, there is no way I would lose if I was netting 1800 cals a day. 1500, maybe. I usually net 1000 to 1300 (I eat back my exercise calories so my gross cals are usually around 1500 - 1800 ) and I've lost weight steadily.
    NOT goin to yell. i dont know how tall you are and that plays a big part but just want to simply say that unless your very tall (taller than 5 "5") thats too high.i was losing at 1200 but plateaued at 10 lbs ,so i upped it to 1400 and when i am very active i can eat 1500 while remaining on a deficit. i would definitly not ever go back to any less calories than 1400 but i know personally at 1800 there is no way i can lose wait. i didnt look at your diary but when my weight stalls , it is because my sugar intake is to high. its my biggest problem but im gnna try to work on it
  • Mtleiker
    Mtleiker Posts: 160
    keep working on it and dont give up. ur doing fine. it takes some time to fully develop a new lifestyle and learn your body. try different things each week to pin point what works for you. one week of higher or lower calories. maybe less sugar and more water and see if you see cvhanges. keep trying different things. til you figure it out.
  • leelu137
    leelu137 Posts: 46
    Just to clarify most days I do not net 1200. I have been eating gross calories between my bmr at tdde-20 . Usually between 1400 and 1900.

    I receive my fit bit report and it advised I have averaged 2750 calorie burn per day inclusive of workouts.

    Also have have not double dipped exercise calories.
    I do not manually enter exercise unless I'm listing weights training. I use endomondo to track my walks and runs. It then tells the fitbit my start and finish times. It then lists this data in MFP . Fit bit and MFP have some differences in calories and it performs an adjustment to make it correct. . I have confirmed that this is correct and not double dipping.

    I will certainly take on board the advice re sugar

    I'm am 164cm tall
  • VBnotbitter
    VBnotbitter Posts: 820 Member
    Just posted with similar problems. Starting to think that Australian tap water has calories in it.
  • leelu137
    leelu137 Posts: 46
    VBnotbitter...
    Thank you you made me laugh and I was feeling rubbish
  • aronao
    aronao Posts: 112 Member
    Just posted with similar problems. Starting to think that Australian tap water has calories in it.

    LOL. And our tap water is meant to be one of the best in the world.
  • leelu137
    leelu137 Posts: 46
    PU- 239. I completely understand your post. I was replying to some other people who asked for clarification
  • leelu137
    leelu137 Posts: 46
    PU_239 Just did a quick calc. By your spread sheet.

    Total calories came out at 1814.
    I will give it

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