The neverending plateau...help!

brookester11
brookester11 Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,

I want to share amy weight loss journey, and see if anyone has tips/answers/thoughts or anything to bring me sanity.

I've lost 100 lbs in the last year...all in a healthy way. I go hiking, go to the gym where I do cardio and weights, play basketball here and there, and eat healthy. Additionally, I quit drinking 9 months ago, which really helped me get to the point I am now (I used to drink 5 days a week).

So here's my problem. I haven't lost a single pound in 2 months. I purchased the insanity workout, and I'm on week 2 of that. If you have done it before, you know it's serious stuff, especially for those of us who are not in the best shape. I also started counting calories again, limiting myself to 1500/day.

I'm 5'8 and currently 220 lbs. My goal is 190...which still sounds big to most of you, I'm sure, but I have a big frame, and lots of stretched out skin which accounts for some of the extra weight. That being said- my goal is not to be thin. My goal is to be at a healthy weight. My frustration comes from the fact that I am doing everything I am supposed to be doing, and have been stuck for 2 months now. I know plateaus are going to happen, but 2 months with no change is a little ridiculous. And it's not just weight...I haven't gone down a pant size either (i carry most of my weight in my butt and hips, so that's why the focus is the pant size).

I've had my thyroid and hormone levels tested within the last year, so it's not that. Anyways, I hoping someone out there has something insightful to share. Or perhaps I'm looking for someone who has experienced the same issue and overcame it. I will not give up until I reach my goal, but wow this is getting frustrating!

Replies

  • TattooedMuffin
    TattooedMuffin Posts: 174 Member
    I had the same thing happen to me.
    Then i got a tattoo and took a break from exercise to let the tattoo heal. My break was 5 days and i dropped a pound each day.
    now im stuck again. going to tough it out and workout like i usually do. at the end of the month i think ill take another break to see if thats the trick.. :drinker:
  • pomeraniamania
    pomeraniamania Posts: 9
    I do a juice cleanse/fast for five days when I feel like I need to "reset". I don't know your medical history, so I don't want to recommend something that may not be right for you, but it works really well for me. Cleans out the toxins and reminds my body to keep working. Good luck!
  • TattooedMuffin
    TattooedMuffin Posts: 174 Member
    I do a juice cleanse/fast for five days when I feel like I need to "reset". I don't know your medical history, so I don't want to recommend something that may not be right for you, but it works really well for me. Cleans out the toxins and reminds my body to keep working. Good luck!

    I never thought of that. I might try that soon!! Could you message me how you do your juice cleanse/fast?? :flowerforyou:
  • brookester11
    brookester11 Posts: 5
    I juiced for 12 days a couple of months ago and lost 14 lbs in 12 days (gained 4 back within a week but kept the other 10 off). That's the last time I lost any weight. Perhaps I should do it again until it no longer works :)
  • kazsjourney
    kazsjourney Posts: 263 Member
    Your quite likely not eating enough. Isnt the recommendation when doing insanity like 1800 cals?
  • Beautyandthebeef
    Beautyandthebeef Posts: 80
    I know this sounds weird but there have been times where my loss slowed down and then I had a junk day where I ate significantly more calories than I usually did-I was told that if you shock your system one day it sometimes helps you get over a hump.
  • JoanB5
    JoanB5 Posts: 610 Member
    High Intensity Interval Training got me out of a rut also, as well as caloric cycling (less calories on days I was less active, more when I worked out heavy).
  • kglading
    kglading Posts: 80 Member
    I do a juice cleanse/fast for five days when I feel like I need to "reset". I don't know your medical history, so I don't want to recommend something that may not be right for you, but it works really well for me. Cleans out the toxins and reminds my body to keep working. Good luck!

    Wow, I've been stuck on a plateau and I'm totally interested in this -- Would you be willing to send me a message telling me about this juice cleanse/fast?
  • brookester11
    brookester11 Posts: 5
    Thanks...just did the calculation. I have no idea where I got 1500 from. To lose a pound a week I should be consuming 2286, but I would like to lose 2/week, so I should take 500 cal off each day, right? That's still almost 1800 which means 1500 is definitely too low. Alright...so let's see what happens!
  • cluelessang
    cluelessang Posts: 36 Member
    would love to know about this juice cleanse! can you plz post it on this post? thank u!
  • kglading
    kglading Posts: 80 Member
    I do a juice cleanse/fast for five days when I feel like I need to "reset". I don't know your medical history, so I don't want to recommend something that may not be right for you, but it works really well for me. Cleans out the toxins and reminds my body to keep working. Good luck!

    Wow, I've been stuck on a plateau and I'm totally interested in this -- Would you be willing to send me a message telling me about this juice cleanse/fast?

    Um it's not the brightest idea. I went to go review your last forums posts in your profile because you looked very familiar. I thought you posted before that you where in a plateau or something. Well you say you're 1,200 calories a day. Read above what I wrote... Bodyweight * 10 = minimum calories to consume, you're eating way to few calories, that's why you're in a plateau. Yet you want to slow down your metabolism even more by juice fasting??? As I said not the brightest idea.

    Ok, so I should really be eating 1450ish calories a day. Should I be eating back the calories that I work off while working out as well?
  • brookester11
    brookester11 Posts: 5
    I will share my experience...but I'm not saying it's a good thing for everyone. I'm not a doctor...but did a lot of research and this is what worked for me.

    Watch "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" on netflix if you have the time for motivation

    I invested in a good juicer
    I only buy organic because non-organic has tons of pesticides and you will use A TON of fruit and veggies (it gets costly)
    Add apples to any combination to make it taste better
    Use kale...USE KALE
    Drink the juice within 24 hours of making it
    Balance volume and nutrients. For example, cucumbers and apples will render more juice than kale and spinach, so combine different fruits and veggies that will give you more volume along lots of nutrients
    You can count calories, removing fiber calories from the fruit/vegetable calories. Multiply the grams of fiber by 4, and subtract that total from the calories of the fruit/vegetable.
    If you work during the day, make enough juice to last you through work the next day, then make a fresh batch each night
    A little bit of ginger can change the taste of the entire drink

    Here is a typical batch for me (32 oz):

    2 bunches of kale
    4 cups of spinach
    3 cucumbers
    5 apples
    3 pears
  • kglading
    kglading Posts: 80 Member
    Thank you very much
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
    I'm on week 3 of Insanity, 6'-1" and 195 lbs, and I eat roughly 2200 calories a day. You need to be eating more, and definitely eating back exercise calories. Have you taken progress pictures and tape measurements? Those are going to give you more accurate results than a scale. I haven't lost any weight as of yet, but I have lost 1" off my waist and have visible fat loss in the pictures I've taken. When you start something as intense as Insanity, you generate microtears in your muscle fibers. Your body retains glycogen and water as part of the inflammation response. Water is quite dense, particularly compared to fat, and can balance or offset any losses made. After 2-3 weeks, your body will typically stop retaining fluid, and a lot of the weight will come off very quickly after not moving for several weeks. Don't trust the scale for something like this. Trust a tape measure and a camera. They won't lie to you nearly as badly.
  • kayleeblue
    kayleeblue Posts: 273
    Plateau Queen here... I started my weight loss journey 2.5 years ago..Lost 1 pound a week for 8 months..then I plateaued for a year!!! I tried changing my workouts, changing my eating habits and nothing helped.. after that year I started to gain weight again.. I gained 10 pounds and knew I had to do something. I then joined a gym worked even harder.. I also had 4- 1/2 hours training sessions with a personal trainer.. It did wonders!! I have again started loosing. I have lost 41 pounds and 112 inches in 2.5 years. 13 pounds and 9.5 inches in the past 3 months. I have my workouts down pat..it's the nutrition that had me stumped. I had also purchased the book the Metabolic Effect Diet. I highly recommend it. I lift heavy every other day with cardio in between and I rest one day a week. Don't give up..you need to find what works for you. GOOD LUCK!
  • kglading
    kglading Posts: 80 Member
    I do a juice cleanse/fast for five days when I feel like I need to "reset". I don't know your medical history, so I don't want to recommend something that may not be right for you, but it works really well for me. Cleans out the toxins and reminds my body to keep working. Good luck!

    Wow, I've been stuck on a plateau and I'm totally interested in this -- Would you be willing to send me a message telling me about this juice cleanse/fast?

    Um it's not the brightest idea. I went to go review your last forums posts in your profile because you looked very familiar. I thought you posted before that you where in a plateau or something. Well you say you're 1,200 calories a day. Read above what I wrote... Bodyweight * 10 = minimum calories to consume, you're eating way to few calories, that's why you're in a plateau. Yet you want to slow down your metabolism even more by juice fasting??? As I said not the brightest idea.

    Ok, so I should really be eating 1450ish calories a day. Should I be eating back the calories that I work off while working out as well?

    I don't know your stats, Go here and fill it out. http://physiquelore.com/harris-benedict/

    It will say something like "you need x amount of calories to maintain your weight." multiply that number by 0.80 and eat that many calories a day(this method you don't eat back your exercise calories.)

    Thank you very much
  • darwinwoodka
    darwinwoodka Posts: 322 Member
    I was stuck for a couple of months. Got a fitbit and started tracking my steps and figuring out I did need to eat a bit more. ;^) You need to track your real TDEE and decide what percentage less you want to eat, and the scale starts moving again.

    Oh, and -- lift weights! It helps.
  • brookester11
    brookester11 Posts: 5
    Thanks for all the tips! I guess the most important thing is to keep at it, which I will definitely do. The hardest thing I've ever done is quit drinking, so I know I can get through this...it just gets a little discouraging when you stop seeing results. I will increase my calories and look more to measurements (my next measurement and fit test is Saturday!).
  • pomeraniamania
    pomeraniamania Posts: 9
    Sorry, this is long....and probably boring.... =)

    There are differing points of view expressed on this thread, but since a few people have asked, I will share my personal experience with juice fasts. In the interest of full belief disclosure, I do not subscribe to the thought that you can ruin your metabolism by eating fewer calories, and thus be unable to lose weight. (I'm getting this from Dr. Joel Fuhrman, although I can't seem to find it online, so maybe it's in his book or something he explained on Facebook.) Starving people aren't usually fat, right? A slow metabolism is actually good, as it means you are aging slower, but you have to be eating a whole food plant based diet.

    I listen to Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn (the Engine 2 diet), Dr. T. Colin Campbell (the China Study), Dr. John McDougall, and Dr. Joel Fuhrman (Eat 2 Live), who all advocate completely eliminating animal protein (including dairy), oils, processed sugars, and caffeine from your diet. I believe in this because of the profound effect it has had on my family's health. My dad has had two massive heart attacks, 5 by-passes, and 3 stents. When he went to consult with Dr. Esselstyn, he could barely stand up without going white and having chest pain. Three years later, he has lost 60 pounds, exercises 2 hours a day, and has NORMAL heart function due to a spiderweb of capillaries that have grown to feed his heart. All of his coronary arteries, by-passes, and stents are 100% occluded. My mom had a benign brain tumor that disappeared in 18 months. My dog was on 7 medications, totally bald, and is now hairy again and med free. (Yes, I have a vegan dog. =) ).

    From reading through the boards, I understand this is not a popular lifestyle, but I am happy to be unpopular in this regard. If you are interested in the cliffnotes version of everything, the film Forks Over Knives is a good place to start. The above mentioned doctors all have websites that address common questions, as well.

    My current weight issue started several months ago, when I went through a rough time and turned into a "junk-food vegan" with sugars and salts and oils. I gained 20 pounds, and a couple of weeks ago, I decided I was ready to get rid of it.

    If you are interested in a juice cleanse--you could probably just google and find a cleanse that sounds tasty to you, but I personally prefer to make my own rather than purchase them from a company because companies add a lot of sugar and stuff, so it sort of defeats the purpose. Anyway, I did this one: http://traveljunkette.com/3-day-diy-juice-cleanse-for-travelers/ which is technically 3 days, but I upped it to 5. I don't have a juicer, so I just tossed it all into my Vitamix. I really didn't like the juices all that much--although the green one was okay--so by the 4th day, I was over it. I ended up just fasting until it was time to eat, which wasn't as hard as it sounds since my appetite had shrunk.

    I like doing mini-fasts when I get off-track because it kicks cravings for the bad stuff right to the curb, resets hormone levels, and gets rid of water weight, which helps motivate me to stay clean. I lost 8 pounds, gained 4 back the day I ate (1600 clean calories), and I've been eating a clean 1200 the seven days since and lost another 6 pounds, putting me 2 pounds below my end juicing weight. But more importantly, I have lost my cravings for junk, *real* food tastes better, and my appetite has reset to a more acceptable level. (My definition of clean is no animal protein, including no dairy, no oil, no caffeine, no processed sugar--I use date sugar if I have a recipe that calls for sugar.)

    BUT...it is not fun to do!! I was nauseated and had a terrible headache for 2 or 3 days while my body detoxed and withdrew from the caffeine and whatnot. You really have to be in a mental state where you WANT to do it or it is very difficult. I did have a bit of unsalted salsa with unsalted rice crackers the 3rd day, though, and it didn't seem to mess me up. Good luck if you decide to try it!
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
    Sorry, this is long....and probably boring.... =)

    There are differing points of view expressed on this thread, but since a few people have asked, I will share my personal experience with juice fasts. In the interest of full belief disclosure, I do not subscribe to the thought that you can ruin your metabolism by eating fewer calories, and thus be unable to lose weight. (I'm getting this from Dr. Joel Fuhrman, although I can't seem to find it online, so maybe it's in his book or something he explained on Facebook.) Starving people aren't usually fat, right? A slow metabolism is actually good, as it means you are aging slower, but you have to be eating a whole food plant based diet.

    This is all wrong. I did a lot of damage to my metabolism a few years back on a vegan starvation diet. I was eating about 300 calories a day and working out six days a week, so I was netting in the negatives. This went on for about 7 or 8 months before I simply couldn't sustain it any more. I was getting migraines, I was always tired, I was irritable. I lost a lot of weight, but I was still chubby. I lost a lot of lean body tissue, and the weight lifting I was doing at the time suffered significantly for it. It took me several years to get everything back under control, and required the help of a dietician. In the process, I gained about 100 lbs, which is more than I lost in the first place. At my lightest, I was 185 lbs, had a 38" waist and 28% body fat. Now, having lost the weight I gained in a healthy way, I am at 195 lbs, but my waist is 34" and my body fat is around 23% (and dropping). I have lost mostly body fat rather than mostly muscle tissue. When you starve yourself over the long-term, your body consumes muscle tissue to survive since it requires more calories to maintain muscle cells than fat cells. This is part of the reason anorexics always look skeletal. Their bodies devoured all of their muscle tissue, but not the fat, so they kept at it until the fat was gone too; by that time, there is very little muscle left. Starving people aren't fat, but they aren't healthy and they don't have healthy levels of lean body mass.

    Short version is that yes, there is such a thing as starvation mode and you can do significant damage to yourself by habitually under eating, but it takes time. A few days here and there are not going to do it. They may not help anything, but they won't send you spiraling into starvation mode. If you don't eat enough, though, your body will tend to burn muscle and fat as a way of maintain itself, and you won't get the body your looking for. Small, long term deficits are healthier and more sustainable.
  • maggs155
    maggs155 Posts: 258
    Take a complete break from all this bull**** with a little moderation with little exercise and i promise u will break it. Sometime we become so obsessed with weight loss we get to anal and stop loosing because we cant let loose to lose if that make sense:)
  • operation_cute
    operation_cute Posts: 588 Member
    I do a juice cleanse/fast for five days when I feel like I need to "reset". I don't know your medical history, so I don't want to recommend something that may not be right for you, but it works really well for me. Cleans out the toxins and reminds my body to keep working. Good luck!

    Wow, I've been stuck on a plateau and I'm totally interested in this -- Would you be willing to send me a message telling me about this juice cleanse/fast?

    Um it's not the brightest idea. I went to go review your last forums posts in your profile because you looked very familiar. I thought you posted before that you where in a plateau or something. Well you say you're 1,200 calories a day. Read above what I wrote... Bodyweight * 10 = minimum calories to consume, you're eating way to few calories, that's why you're in a plateau. Yet you want to slow down your metabolism even more by juice fasting??? As I said not the brightest idea.

    Ok, so I should really be eating 1450ish calories a day. Should I be eating back the calories that I work off while working out as well?

    I don't know your stats, Go here and fill it out. http://physiquelore.com/harris-benedict/

    It will say something like "you need x amount of calories to maintain your weight." multiply that number by 0.80 and eat that many calories a day(this method you don't eat back your exercise calories.)

    Do you eat that many calories regardless if its exersise day or not? or just that many on days you exercise? Right now I'm averaging around 1300-1400 per day (net) and I lift 3 days per week and try to do 1-2 days of cardio per week as well... I eat more on the days I exercise and less on the days I don't but always netting the same...
  • jennpaulson
    jennpaulson Posts: 850 Member
    Starving people in poor nations aren't fat because they don't have access to the food that we do. If we starve ourselves for a while our metabolism slows down and then go back to eating like a normal person (even a healthy normal person) we're not going to burn off the calories like we should. A real starving person is never going to have the option to eat even remotely like we do so that's why they stay thin. Why is this so hard to understand?
  • jennpaulson
    jennpaulson Posts: 850 Member
    Starving people in poor nations aren't fat because they don't have access to the food that we do. If we starve ourselves for a while our metabolism slows down and then go back to eating like a normal person (even a healthy normal person) we're not going to burn off the calories like we should. A real starving person is never going to have the option to eat even remotely like we do so that's why they stay thin. Why is this so hard to understand?

    I don't think you understand. Those starving people have very little muscle mass and a higher percentage of body fat. I was really sick for months, I could barely eat 300 calories a day if that. I lost 25lbs in 3 weeks of muscle 6lbs of fat. Over the course of my illness I lost I believe 40lbs of muscle.

    There are 3 phases

    1. Moderate calorie deficit (fat loss)
    2. Severe Calorie deficit(stall out possibly some muscle mass loss)
    3. Starvation (muscle mass loss and some fat)

    When people talk about stall outs they're talking about phase 2 usually. you're talking about stage 3.

    Maybe I misunderstand, but the one person posted that starving people are never fat. When I think of starving people I think of the pictures of people who are skin and bones and don't look like they have barely any fat or muscle.

    I should have quoted the information I was referring to... the one saying there is no such thing as a starvation phase and that you can't damage your metabolism.

    I can't imagine losing that much weight in that way. I'm sure it was very hard to recover like that, I hope you're doing much better : )
  • pomeraniamania
    pomeraniamania Posts: 9
    I'm sorry, but it the metabolism thing is a myth. You will not destroy your metabolism by restricting calories. You can, however, alter your hormones with the food you eat, and that may make it more difficult to lose weight. If you eat plants, grains, and legumes, you are eating high fiber, nutrient dense food that are naturally low in calories, making a 1200 calorie a day diet very simple.

    Dr. Joel Fuhrman is on Facebook and can explain this much better than I, as I am not a medical doctor. If you are interested, he is very friendly and approachable.

    Here are two articles I found explaining the misconception, one from Dr. Jeff Novick (another good source of info and on Facebook), and the other from Weight Watchers.

    http://www.healthscience.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=512:are-you-in-the-starvation-mode-or-starving-for-truth&catid=102:jeff-novicks-blog&Itemid=267

    http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=35501
  • Chemburly12
    Chemburly12 Posts: 53
    I know this sounds weird but there have been times where my loss slowed down and then I had a junk day where I ate significantly more calories than I usually did-I was told that if you shock your system one day it sometimes helps you get over a hump.

    This actual helps me too. I'll stop running (and only walk) and up my calories by a few hundred calories for a day or two. It seems to "reset" my body.

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