Plateau Since December --- Need help please

I am not a professional of anything, but I have read that sometimes you need to really change your exercise routine as well as the time of day you do it. Also change the food around. Try HIIT and see if that helps.

Can you make your diary public? You'll need to go to your settings and change it.

From another thread....

Also...

OMG... so much awesomeness. And truth.

Alright hun, here's my opinion and please note that it is just an opinion! You are still at a high enough weight that it won't hurt to have a bigger deficit. When you have a lot to lose, it's not going to harm you to create a larger deficit and lose weight more quickly. I know what everyone says about TDEE, but I also know it didn't work for me. Maybe we calculated wrong, I don't know! But what I do know is that I can't seem to lose if I eat over 1400 calories and that is supposed to be my BMR! Go figure. So, I would suggest that you maybe try 1500 or 1600 calories.

I noticed you're not logging exercise. It could be because you're set to your TDEE (minus whatever percentage you're using) and that's fine, but if that's not the case and you're not exercising, moving a bit more should help!

You do eat a lot of processed foods and sweets. No judgement here, I struggle with the exact same thing! But I also noticed your diary isn't set to track sugar. If you're using the app, you can see it anyway and I'm hoping that's the case becuase this is a number you should be paying close attention to. If a lot of your sugars come from fruit, dairy and veggies, that's great. But if you're getting a lot of your sugar from sweets and treats and carbs, which I think you are after looking at your diary, that could be the problem.

Your diary for today looks pretty well balanced, but if you want to enjoy a sweet treat during the day, maybe pick a less sugary cereal for breakfast. It's not about saying "NO!" to foods, it's about balance. Sugar and carbs cause your body to release insulin which is the fat storing hormone. If you cut back on your sugar intake, I really think it will make a huge difference in your weight loss success!

Hope this helps! :flowerforyou:

I would agree with what Lisa above said. Eating more whole foods, good carbs and good protein are the way to go. I have tried weightloss before with excercise and the gym and would always get to my dreaded number and stop losing. The difference between then and now is all the processed foods. I seldom eat bread,pasta and I got rid of cereal. I think they were my kiss of death. This time around I would say I follow the South Beach Diet "more or less (I use that term loosely)". I surely have bad habits still, which I am working on, but I broke my platuae by losing most the breads and cereals and watching sodium which is a must for me nowadays. Good luck!

Looking at your diary, one of the things that I noticed is your protein intake is way too low. Aim for at least 100 - 125 grams a day. It will also help you feel more satisfied. Drink plenty of water and make sure you are getting at least 7 hrs of sleep. It will reset and rejuvenate your body. Also, don't eat below 1200 calories -- it does not help your weight loss, it will actually hinder it. Try to do some cardio and some strength training -- variety is always good. Good luck and feel free to add me if you need an encouraging friend.

Looking at your diary, one of the things that I noticed is your protein intake is way too low. Aim for at least 100 - 125 grams a day. It will also help you feel more satisfied. Drink plenty of water and make sure you are getting at least 7 hrs of sleep. It will reset and rejuvenate your body. Also, don't eat below 1200 calories -- it does not help your weight loss, it will actually hinder it. Try to do some cardio and some strength training -- variety is always good. Good luck and feel free to add me if you need an encouraging friend.

^THIS! Protein!!! I beat my last plateau by upping the protein and it really helped with all the cravings. It's a great way to feel satisfied for longer and it's also great for repairing muscles after a good workout

As someone else stated, it might be a good idea to try a bigger deficit. Here is a link to another forum post where the OP provided a really good article deficits/TDEE/etc:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1017045-a-very-interesting-and-informational-read-on-deficits

- and even though it's a fairly long article, I would suggest reading it when you have some time. In a nut shell, it basically explains that the reason for TDEE and a determined deficit is because we don't want to lose lean muscle mass as we lose weight (which can happen if your deficit is too large). However, with bigger people who have more weight to lose (like myself), we have a higher amount of body fat and thus a smaller risk of losing lean muscle mass when eating at a large deficit, so if you have a lot to lose or are at a high weight, a larger deficit than you would get using TDEE may be beneficial. Just my 2 cents - check out the article if you have some time. Hope it's helpful!

I think you should extend your deficit, maybe try 1600 per day.
Eat more protein to make sure you are feeling fuller.
Exercise more exessively for the next week, and switch up your routine.
Drink lots of water (as you have been)
As well, you should track your sodium intake. You should stay below 2500mg.

This helped me get passed my plateau.