Help! Plateau :(

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alanastar3
alanastar3 Posts: 32
in Health and Weight Loss
I've managed to lose 21 lbs in just around four weeks. I still have 2 and a half stone to lose but have hit a plateau and reducing calories and upping exercise just doesn't seem to be making a difference :(. I'm starting to get really frustrated and disheartened as reaching my goal just seems further and further away :( any advice would be much appreciated
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  • mperrott2205
    mperrott2205 Posts: 737 Member
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    Height, Weight, Age and how many times you work out a week.

    Also make your diary public.
  • alanastar3
    alanastar3 Posts: 32
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    5'9, 204 lbs :( and 23. Usually exercise about 5 times a week. What do you suggest? :(
  • mperrott2205
    mperrott2205 Posts: 737 Member
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    5'9, 204 lbs :( and 23. Usually exercise about 5 times a week. What do you suggest? :(

    I will still need to see your food diary before i make my suggestions :)
  • alanastar3
    alanastar3 Posts: 32
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    How do I make it public? There's two days missing from the weekend as I can't remember what I was drinking but I was defo under my calorie goal lol
  • DapperKay
    DapperKay Posts: 140 Member
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    The dreaded plateau. Just keep at it, that's the only way out of it. Make sure there is no 'calorie creep' in your diet. Things like alcohol for example, or going out to restaurants too much, that sort of thing.

    One BIG thing that helped me out of a plateau (though mine only lasted 3 weeks) was 'core exercises', I think it was because my gym routine was just no longer that effective and my core kind of revitalized my entire work out. Muscles after a while stop growing unless the muscles next to them also grow. I wasn't aware of this until I had lots of chats with body builders in my gym, and since then I am now more aware of muscles that have been "left out". This is why exercise after a while might feel ineffective. I am assuming you are also doing strengths training and not just cardio.
  • mperrott2205
    mperrott2205 Posts: 737 Member
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    How do I make it public? There's two days missing from the weekend as I can't remember what I was drinking but I was defo under my calorie goal lol

    Settings > Diary Settings > Public.
  • alanastar3
    alanastar3 Posts: 32
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    Well I've only been stuck at this plateau for a week. Do you reckon I'm just being really impatient? Lol
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    A week is not a plateau. It's a pause. It's a breather. It is NOT a plateau. Just keep doing what your doing.
  • alanastar3
    alanastar3 Posts: 32
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    Well I feel a bit silly now. I just know I'm working so hard and to stop seeing the results is driving me crazy!! I need to be skinny for Xmas :)
  • Warchortle
    Warchortle Posts: 2,197 Member
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    Have you been under eating or carb depleting without refeeds/cheat days? I cut my calories too low once and it stalled my metabolism, bumped it up 200 calories daily intake and was fine.
  • Warchortle
    Warchortle Posts: 2,197 Member
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    A week is not a plateau. It's a pause. It's a breather. It is NOT a plateau. Just keep doing what your doing.
    I was like... "2 months isn't a plateau..." /facepalm I I think shortly thereafter in the 3rd month I started reverse dieting for a few weeks.
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
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    A week isn't a plateau (I'd say about 3-4 weeks is when to start worrying), but I'll say this for you to bear in mind if/when you do hit one. When I hit a plateau I tried all the usual suggestions - eat more, do different exercise, etc. but none of it seemed to work. Soon exams & coursework came up and I stopped focusing on my diet so much to focus on them, so I kept calorie counting but didn't try anything specific to break the plateau. Eventually the weight just started coming off again. So by all means try a few things to break through it, but if you can't, don't get discouraged, it might just start coming off again at some point.
  • alanastar3
    alanastar3 Posts: 32
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    Yea I know it's not healthy but I never go over 800 cals and never eat calories I've burned during exercise. It's not entirely threw choice I just don't have an appetite these days. Having a bit of a hard time in life in general.
  • alanastar3
    alanastar3 Posts: 32
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    If I'm still at this point in 3-4 weeks I'm going to have a nervous breakdown lol why can't it just be easy to get in shape :(
  • LMick1986
    LMick1986 Posts: 431
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    Well I've only been stuck at this plateau for a week. Do you reckon I'm just being really impatient? Lol

    I do reckon this. I think it'd be almost crazy to think you can keep up with a 5-6 lb/week weight loss. 1-2 is more like it.
  • alanastar3
    alanastar3 Posts: 32
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    I knew it would have to slow down eventually but I thought it would happen gradually rather than just stopping completely. :(
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    So your starving yourself and freaking out when you don't lose for a week, "need" to be skinny for christmas... I see this ending well. How about reading up on healthy sensible weight loss?
  • mperrott2205
    mperrott2205 Posts: 737 Member
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    Yea I know it's not healthy but I never go over 800 cals and never eat calories I've burned during exercise. It's not entirely threw choice I just don't have an appetite these days. Having a bit of a hard time in life in general.

    This is the problem right here.
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
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    Yea I know it's not healthy but I never go over 800 cals and never eat calories I've burned during exercise. It's not entirely threw choice I just don't have an appetite these days. Having a bit of a hard time in life in general.

    Just add cheese to sandwiches, cook with more oil/butter, add tomato sauce or mayonnaise or something to meals, have higher calorie drinks, use brands of food that has the highest calorie amount per serving. You don't necessarily have to eat much more to get more calories in, just change what you do eat to a higher calorie version of it.
  • alanastar3
    alanastar3 Posts: 32
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    I'm not starving myself but I'm eating a crazy amount of fruit and veg. I lost 5 stone when I was 18 so I'm not new to a weightloss battle. I know what I should and shouldn't be eating and I know what my body can cope with. And as for my need to be skinny for Xmas I don't think 2.5 stone in four months is too extreme

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