help, i've reached a plateau!!

Hey girl! Just read your post and thought I'd private message you because sometimes forums get all over the place!! It sounds like you just need a bit more support and motivation. Perhaps some accountability from your fit fam! Has anything else been going on that's deterred you from achieving your goals?

I think a big part of weight loss and a new health and fitness journey is having the support to back you. Personally I wouldn't be where I am without the support from my fit fam, so that's one thing you need to start building. Feel free to add me as a friend. I'd love to help!

Hi all,

I've been a member of mfp for about 7 months. Gained the weight back and started over (again) in late march. So far I have lost about 15lbs and was feeling really good. Then in June things started to... Slow down. I started to slip, went to the gym maybe once a week vs 3x a week like I had been. And then a new icecream place opened up down the street and then it really went downhill. I'm still tracking everyday but I cant seem to stay under my calorie limit everyday and am pretty much just maintaining my current weight. And since I haven't been working out, I'm tired all the time again which makes me not want to exercise even more. What can I do to get back on track??

I was in the same position, I started this whole thing in January (I had never really tried to lose weight before and had got to the stage where I chucked out all my skinnier clothing) BIG MISTAKE ha ha. So when I started I really was into it, regular workouts, stringent logging, researching foods, calories and exercise, talking about it non-stop. I had about 60 pounds to lose. I lost 24 pounds in that first 5 months. Then stuff came up, busy at work, moving house, I put on a few pounds, then I got back to it (a bit) but not as crazy as before, that lasted a week and soon it was my original three work outs turning into one a week, sometimes none, taking the lift instead of the stairs and basically forming back bad habits. At first I actually lost weight, but it was really a loss of the muscle mass I had worked so hard to build. I’ve kept losing weight but VERY slowly and often just maintaining. Last month my one cheat day suddenly turned into a cheat weekend and the never going over my calories turned to estimating it in my head most days when I would forget to log and one week I had a couple of drinks which caused me to put on 4 pounds in 7 days. I knew I had to do something.

So I’m back into it, total of 29 pounds lost, some up some down, but I’ve managed to lose again what I put on, but have only been back at it for the past 2.5 weeks. What helped me was joining a new gym and starting some cardio classes, I know its weight training I need to keep doing to lose weight like I was, but the fun cardio dance type classes, have got me back into the fun of exercising. If I don’t go to the gym at least once a week, in my mind I start to hate it, like it’s a horrible thing that I make myself do and I don’t want to go, MAN I don’t want to go, life is too tiring and I don’t have the time, energy or inclination, in fact, where is the chocolate. BUT as soon as I make myself go at the end of the session I remember how much I like it and weirdly how much more energy I seem to have when I am expending more. So this week it has been no lifts or escalators, all stairs. I’ve been eating healthier, not just low cal, but more fruit and veg which I had been avoiding because of the high carb ratios on MFP but which I realise I need if I want to feel good.

Weight in at work today and do you know what, after all that effort (I worked in the garden for 5 hours on Sunday until my body ached) I actually gained a pound. Yup, gained, BUT I won’t let it get me down, I just keep telling myself that it is a pound of muscle and if I keep going eventually at some point in the next few weeks the scales will reward all my efforts, well the scales or a reduction in dress size. Also keep in mind the SLOWER you lose the weight, the more likely you are to actually manage to keep it off long term, less issues with hanging skin, less damage to your metabolism and it won't negatively impact your quality of life, if like me, you like a bit of ice-cream / bad food now and again. We gotta live! I've still got a long way to go but I'm not going to kill myself doing it.

So my ADVICE – Mix it up, if you’re like me, you’re going to have to force yourself to do some exercise to kick start you out of this and make you feel good about the whole process again, try something social or sporty, something new. If you’re like me, you will feel tired and the thought of it is HATE but once you start you’ll remember the benefits and once you’re working hard to burn those calories you’ll think more about type and how many you’re eating. This will lead to a small starter victory which will increase your confidence and sense of achievement and you’ll want to taste more of that. You may have another slow down again, but if you can start yourself back up again then you’re set for success. Maybe you need to increase your calorie allowance to something you feel you can more realistically hit, or do that exercise in order to offset what you want to eat. Drink more water, maybe have a little less bread and a little more meat and you may feel leaner even if there hasn’t been a change in weight or shape.

It is hard, but that sense of achievement is worth it, and its as addictive as chocolate (or whatever your MMMMmmMmM food is) I look in the mirror and yes I’m still overweight and yes sometimes I am one of the “larger” ladies in the keep fit class, but damn I look much better than I did 6 months ago and I want to keep feeling that feeling.

I know this post is “me” “me” “me” but I hope it helps, I’m no expert so I can only talk from realistic experience of success at this and of failure.