Weight Loss = Hitting a brick wall.

aaronstarner
aaronstarner Posts: 3
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello All -

So since the beginning of March I've been steadily losing weight (down 56 pounds now), and 9 pounds out from my goal, my weight refuses to budge. I'm not really sure what the problem is, Most week days I am walking about 4 miles to/from work and on my lunch, and then I go to the gym and run anywhere between 2-3 miles a day.

My diet is fairly routine, I get me an iced coffee in the morning with a banana, a chicken wrap for lunch and I have a fairly big dinner. This scheme has worked well for me the past 4 months, I have steadily shed pounds, but not nothing is working. I've tried upping my run to about 4 miles daily now and increasing my calories ( for a while I was only taking in about 1200-1300 calories at 225 pounds now) to about 1500, but still...nothing. I've made my diary public so please feel free to peak and offer advice, I am 9 pounds out from my goal and it is very disheartening to just stop here like this. Thanks!

Replies

  • aaronstarner
    aaronstarner Posts: 3
    I should also note, though my diary doesn't state it because I don't track it on there, I get plenty of water a day (about 64 ounces).
  • Woomytron
    Woomytron Posts: 253 Member
    Sounds like you need to up your calories a bit. Also start lifting, while you are doing a wonderful job walking lifting will help get you farther in your weight lost.

    Do some research on your TDEE and look around for lifting programs.

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    You are doing a great job! Keep it up :flowerforyou:
  • perrir71
    perrir71 Posts: 3 Member
    COULD be that you are losing muscle mass which is reducing your metabolism. Try lifting weights or other forms of resistance training.
    A simple routine could be a simple two day a week training schedule like this:
    Day ONe - upper body = chest, back, bicep, tricep, abs, traps, shoulders
    Day two - lower body = lower back, quads, hamstrings, calves, shins
    Don't do more than 45 minutes of training (including your rest time) on either day. Try to keep the intensity up and the only way to do that is one of three ways: increase resistance, increase repetition, or reduce your rest time between sets.
    Cut back a little on the cardio in order to provide energy for weights. Definitely, do not do cardio before weights - always do after.
    Remember, the more muscle you have, the greater your metabolism. Therefore, strength training is important.
  • nabarnes
    nabarnes Posts: 17 Member
    Maybe you should try swapping out your carbs for whole wheat and whole grains and watch your sugar intake? Also, heavy lifting might help too!
  • janinealfke
    janinealfke Posts: 93
    How many carbs are you ingesting daily? Maybe too many carbs is responsible. I have had weight loss surgery and if I eat more than 30g of carbs in a day I will gain...or stall. Since carbs turn to sugar, which produces insulin......that COULD be the culprit. I would try cutting them way back...by at least half what you have been doing and see if that breaks your stall. Other than that sounds to me like you've done everything right!!!

    Best of luck,

    Janine Alfke
  • thisdamselflies
    thisdamselflies Posts: 92 Member
    Some more veggies might help. Or veggies at all. And they can be super easy and tasty, I promise. Honestly, if you cut them into bite-size pieces, drizzle some olive oil over them, sprinkle them with salt and pepper, and pop them in the oven on 400*, they're one of the most delicious things you could ever eat on the side of a meal, like your chicken and rice. Roasting works equally well for broccoli, tomatoes (I like to add balsamic for these), asparagus, pretty much any root veggie, etc. Really, anything you can think of. :)

    You could switch up the running with HIIT instead (lots of great posts on MFP about HIIT, and there's a great article here as well: http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/the_final_nail_in_the_cardio_coffin).

    Also, have you thought about starting to lift weights or do other strength training? You don't burn a ton of calories while lifting, but you keep burning calories afterward, and a little muscle is never a bad thing! :)

    Good luck!
  • aaronstarner
    aaronstarner Posts: 3
    Thanks everyone for the replies.

    Fortunately I was a little ahead, as this week I did start focus on lifting, so it seems everyone is in agreement that that can't hurt, and I had plans to incorporate that more into my exercise plan.

    I think I am going to try to make an effort to eat more calories, as right now I am set at about 1750, but typically take in 1500 at the most, and be a little more conscious of what I am eating. I suspect that what I was eating didn't matter as much as how much I was eating 56 pounds ago, but now that I am getting down to a more healthy weight, those things like carb intake really start to matter more.

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