The best way to shock my body past the plateau?

BeachIron · July 2013

1# is since May. And yes I am weighing and measuring. Also, I only measured the other day and those inches lost are since I measured in February. I will see about the food diary again.

Okay, so you've lost 1 pound since May, but some sort of combined number of inches since that time also? How much have you lost around your waist and hips?

If you're losing size then you are not on a plateau and your body composition is changing. For people new to strength training this isn't unusual as newbie gains are known to be real. So if this is the case, just keep doing what you're doing and patient.

That said, I am noticing a good number of days with little or no food entries. How much are you eating on these days? Are you binging? You have set your calories pretty low, some days at 1000, so I wouldn't be surprised if you're binging on other days. You're much better off setting a more reasonable 1 pound per week loss goal and strictly sticking to it.

Oh, and if you want a serious approach to weight lifting, please read Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength. It will put you on a program built on progressive overload and you will avoid trying to reinvent the wheel. He's also excellent at explaining form.

jlapey · July 2013

inches lost is total body. arms, chest, waist, hips, thighs.
And I don't understand the TDEE. I just go with what MFP gave me and try to eat back my exercise calories, but with all the water I drink it gets hard and Im just not that hungry. I just read about the nut and coconut butter combo for adding calories at the end of the day. I may have to add more nuts to bring up my calories.

This might help

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

this group offered great advice on many issues, might be worth it to you to read and join. Good luck.

Corystormy · July 2013

Thanks. I will check out that book.
The low calorie days.... I was told to decrease by calories, but that felt wrong, so I went back to 1200kcal. The days without entry...I was just busy. I have not hade any binge days, I may have a calorie heavy meal here and there. I have really tried to stay on track.
As for the measurements... I lost 2" off hips and 1" off each thigh since February.

FitnessBeverlyHills · July 2013

Ok weight is currently 197#. 37 y old female. My loss is since February with the weight and the inches. Exercise program consists of 5-6x per week. Cardio every day about 30 min ( any combo of the elliptical, bike, treadmill). Weights M-legs, T- arms, W- just cardio, Th- Legs, F-arms., and every day abs, If I do a 6th day it is just cardio like zumba or yoga. This week I alternated the days with 2 heavy lifting days and 2 heavy rep days. I am a student and have increased my exercise days from 3-4 days a week to 5-6 since June, now that school is out for the summer.
TDEE is 2772, after -20% is 2217. My MFP calories are set at 1200, and I try to eat back my calories. Although I do find it hard a lot of time to reach the min. My diary is open I think. I try to eat a lot of protein (every meal) and not so much carbs, and lots of fruits and vegetables. I am still a bit confused with the TDEE numbers. I feel like that is way too many calories.
Hope this gives a bit more insight.
And I have been stuck at this weight for a few weeks now.

Here is my advice:

1. I would work less muscle groups on individual days instead of dividing it by arms/legs. Try giving more attention to individual muscle groups like..Monday: Biceps/triceps/shoulders Tuesday: quads & Hamstrings Wednesday: Chest/Back Thursday: Adductor/abductors and glutes Friday: you could do a hike and focus on stretching

The more I split up my muscle groups, the more I lose weight, gain muscle, and its when my body looks best overall. Many on this forum swear you can only lose weight or build muscle, but thats never been the case for me.

Another thing to consider is if you are not losing weight, it could be because you are gaining muscle, which weighs more than fat, so sometimes its not necessarily a bad thing and inches are a much better indicator of your process.

Oh and 1200 calories seems way too low, but your TDEE does sound high. I would add 200-500 more calories and see if it helps.

ok, so I add the 200-500 to my daily 1200, before the exercise calories are added in? My daily calories would be about 1500 + exercise calories?

Yes I definitely think you are eating too little. If you add 200-500 calories..so say you go from eating 1200 to 1500, but you burn 300 calories, I would eat those 300 calories back because consuming only 1200 calories is not enough.

BeachIron · July 2013

Thanks. I will check out that book.
The low calorie days.... I was told to decrease by calories, but that felt wrong, so I went back to 1200kcal. The days without entry...I was just busy. I have not hade any binge days, I may have a calorie heavy meal here and there. I have really tried to stay on track.
As for the measurements... I lost 2" off hips and 1" off each thigh since February.

That's a pretty nice loss. How tall are you? How did you calculate your TDEE (what calculator)?

Corystormy · July 2013

Thanks. I will check out that book.
The low calorie days.... I was told to decrease by calories, but that felt wrong, so I went back to 1200kcal. The days without entry...I was just busy. I have not hade any binge days, I may have a calorie heavy meal here and there. I have really tried to stay on track.
As for the measurements... I lost 2" off hips and 1" off each thigh since February.

That's a pretty nice loss. How tall are you? How did you calculate your TDEE (what calculator)?

Im 5'3" and I used fitness frog to calculate.
I am happy with the inches but thought the scale would have moved a lot more.
I workout with 2 heavier people and both have lost at least 25#, and are losing weight weekly. I know that they have a lot more than me to lose though so the weight comes off quicker. I was very discouraged until I measured yesterday. I mostly want to reduce BF%.
Thanks for all your advice.

BeachIron · July 2013

Thanks. I will check out that book.
The low calorie days.... I was told to decrease by calories, but that felt wrong, so I went back to 1200kcal. The days without entry...I was just busy. I have not hade any binge days, I may have a calorie heavy meal here and there. I have really tried to stay on track.
As for the measurements... I lost 2" off hips and 1" off each thigh since February.

That's a pretty nice loss. How tall are you? How did you calculate your TDEE (what calculator)?

Im 5'3" and I used fitness frog to calculate.
I am happy with the inches but thought the scale would have moved a lot more.
I workout with 2 heavier people and both have lost at least 25#, and are losing weight weekly. I know that they have a lot more than me to lose though so the weight comes off quicker. I was very discouraged until I measured yesterday. I mostly want to reduce BF%.
Thanks for all your advice.

Your TDEE seems quite high. Try this calculator. http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

It honestly sounds like you're generally on the right track and are not on a plateau. The scale is just one of several indicators of success and the tape measure and body fat calipers are also important, as you're seeing. Good luck!

Mistyfied_MD · July 2013

My MFP calories are set at 1200, and I try to eat back my calories. Although I do find it hard a lot of time to reach the min.

As some others here have said, you're not eating enough. 1200 is the *minimum* and really that's low, you should strive for more.

I do understand, however, that this can be a struggle, as it's one I deal with daily myself. Try upping your minimum to 1400 for 2-3 weeks and see if the scales move again.

For myself, I got some of those slim-fast type drinks, and add one or two of those in for additional calories.

The best way to shock my body past the plateau?

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