in need of plateau help!!!

dayner13
dayner13 Posts: 42 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
hi guys---

i think i have hit my first plateau and not sure what i need to do to break it.

here are my stats:

female

5'9"

28% body fat

workout cardio 4-5 times a week

workout strength training 1-2 times a week

calories per day: 1200-1500 (sometimes a little less)

drink appx a gallon of water per day

would like to lose 10-15 more pounds. have already lost 64.

i really try to watch my carbs and fat intake...some days more than others.

i have a 16 month old so i have to fit my workouts in during naps...which is hard now a days (she doesn't always nap now)

please share ideas and/or solutions!!!

Replies

  • Escape_Artist
    Escape_Artist Posts: 1,155 Member
    How long have you been at the same weight for?

    Based on your diary you are not eating nearly enough.. You should NET 1200 cals at least. If you do all that cardio and don't eat enough your body doesn't get the fuel it needs.
  • seamonster1203
    seamonster1203 Posts: 118 Member
    The last 10 pounds are tough, specially for those of us over 25....you've got to become an athlete....super clean eating and a strict exercise routine. Notice there are like 4 people at your gym who are in much better shape than everyone else? cuz its super tough to lose the last 10
  • dayner13
    dayner13 Posts: 42 Member
    How long have you been at the same weight for?

    Based on your diary you are not eating nearly enough.. You should NET 1200 cals at least. If you do all that cardio and don't eat enough your body doesn't get the fuel it needs.


    i have been at aroun 170 or so for a month.....i am hoping maybe my body is just detoxing from all the holiday eating, but before the holidays i was averaging about .5 to 1 pound a week in weight loss.

    maybe i am eating too little, but i am afraid that if i start eating MORE it won't work. i know that if you don't eat enough your body will start to hold onto whatever you put in it....maybe i will give that a try and see what kind of results i get.

    my husband tells me that when he looks at me he doesn't see where i could possible lose more weight....but i know i do. :)
  • Escape_Artist
    Escape_Artist Posts: 1,155 Member
    How long have you been at the same weight for?

    Based on your diary you are not eating nearly enough.. You should NET 1200 cals at least. If you do all that cardio and don't eat enough your body doesn't get the fuel it needs.


    i have been at aroun 170 or so for a month.....i am hoping maybe my body is just detoxing from all the holiday eating, but before the holidays i was averaging about .5 to 1 pound a week in weight loss.

    maybe i am eating too little, but i am afraid that if i start eating MORE it won't work. i know that if you don't eat enough your body will start to hold onto whatever you put in it....maybe i will give that a try and see what kind of results i get.

    my husband tells me that when he looks at me he doesn't see where i could possible lose more weight....but i know i do. :)

    Your diary is inconsistent. Some days nothing is logged, some days logged at around 900 cals some days you only log around 400 cals and many days are blank.

    Do you log your food on another calorie counter?
    If not, how do you know how much you are eating?
  • dayner13
    dayner13 Posts: 42 Member
    How long have you been at the same weight for?

    Based on your diary you are not eating nearly enough.. You should NET 1200 cals at least. If you do all that cardio and don't eat enough your body doesn't get the fuel it needs.


    i have been at aroun 170 or so for a month.....i am hoping maybe my body is just detoxing from all the holiday eating, but before the holidays i was averaging about .5 to 1 pound a week in weight loss.

    maybe i am eating too little, but i am afraid that if i start eating MORE it won't work. i know that if you don't eat enough your body will start to hold onto whatever you put in it....maybe i will give that a try and see what kind of results i get.

    my husband tells me that when he looks at me he doesn't see where i could possible lose more weight....but i know i do. :)

    Your diary is inconsistent. Some days nothing is logged, some days logged at around 900 cals some days you only log around 400 cals and many days are blank.

    Do you log your food on another calorie counter?
    If not, how do you know how much you are eating?

    i know it looks that way....i end up logging and then forget to "finish" it so it is visible for people to see. i have been on MFP for almost a year and kind of have gotten a little lazy i guess about logging and i need to work on being more accountable. it's hard since i am the only one in my family working on losing weight. but that is no excuse.....anywho....after reading what you had posted about eating a NET of 1200 calories., i remembered back a few years ago when i was doing nutrisystem (before i got pregnant) and i was eating right at 1100-1200 calories a day and not exercising and i lost 22 pounds. so, i think i will work on getting the net calories up to where they need to be and see how that works for me.
  • littlebutlean
    littlebutlean Posts: 2,159 Member
    If you've never done it I would highly suggest carb cycling. It's one of the best methods I've found to get super lean and lose the last bit of weight. There's lots of regimens around carb cycling but I usually just do something like this:

    SAMPLE 6 DAY CYCLE
    MON - NO CARBS (trace carbs 15-20g or less)
    TUE - NO CARBS (trace carbs 15-20g or less)
    WED - LIGHT CARB REFEED (50-75g complex only)
    THUR - NO CARBS (trace carbs 15-20g or less)
    FRI - NO CARBS (trace carbs 15-20g or less)
    SAT - REFEED (150-200G CARBS COMPLEX & SIMPLE)

    rinse and repeat.

    OR

    SAMPLE 5 DAY CYCLE
    MON - NO CARBS (trace carbs 15-20g or less)
    TUE - NO CARBS (trace carbs 15-20g or less)
    WED - LIGHT CARB REFEED (50-65g complex only)
    THUR - LIGHT CARB REFEED (50-65g complex only)
    FRI - HIGH CARB REFEED (150G carbs try for complex only but some simple is fine)

    rinse and repeat.

    Feel free to research carb cycling, it truly does work!
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    i know it looks that way....i end up logging and then forget to "finish" it so it is visible for people to see. i have been on MFP for almost a year and kind of have gotten a little lazy i guess about logging and i need to work on being more accountable. it's hard since i am the only one in my family working on losing weight. but that is no excuse.....anywho....after reading what you had posted about eating a NET of 1200 calories., i remembered back a few years ago when i was doing nutrisystem (before i got pregnant) and i was eating right at 1100-1200 calories a day and not exercising and i lost 22 pounds. so, i think i will work on getting the net calories up to where they need to be and see how that works for me.

    Go back to the basics then. Log everyday, consistently. Also, if you don't already, think about weighing your food to get a more precise calorie count.
  • Escape_Artist
    Escape_Artist Posts: 1,155 Member
    If you've never done it I would highly suggest carb cycling. It's one of the best methods I've found to get super lean and lose the last bit of weight. There's lots of regimens around carb cycling but I usually just do something like this:

    SAMPLE 6 DAY CYCLE
    MON - NO CARBS (trace carbs 15-20g or less)
    TUE - NO CARBS (trace carbs 15-20g or less)
    WED - LIGHT CARB REFEED (50-75g complex only)
    THUR - NO CARBS (trace carbs 15-20g or less)
    FRI - NO CARBS (trace carbs 15-20g or less)
    SAT - REFEED (150-200G CARBS COMPLEX & SIMPLE)

    rinse and repeat.

    OR

    SAMPLE 5 DAY CYCLE
    MON - NO CARBS (trace carbs 15-20g or less)
    TUE - NO CARBS (trace carbs 15-20g or less)
    WED - LIGHT CARB REFEED (50-65g complex only)
    THUR - LIGHT CARB REFEED (50-65g complex only)
    FRI - HIGH CARB REFEED (150G carbs try for complex only but some simple is fine)

    rinse and repeat.

    Feel free to research carb cycling, it truly does work!

    Yeah no...
    Way to complicated IMO lol

    Eating at a deficit does the the trick....


    @OP, I second Ninkyou, go back to basics and log everything, everyday. Weight all on a food scale.
  • littlebutlean
    littlebutlean Posts: 2,159 Member
    Yeah no...
    Way to complicated IMO lol

    Eating at a deficit does the the trick....


    @OP, I second Ninkyou, go back to basics and log everything, everyday. Weight all on a food scale.

    Actually for the last bit of weight for people who just cannot lose, it's amazing. It's just a strategy to cut carbs while still maintaining glycogen levels. I'll admit it's more geared towards people doing a heavy resistance training regimen and/or the bodybuilding community.

    But I didn't notice the ops 28% body fat that she originally posted. For a woman this would be more geared towards sub 15-18%.

    @OP, Like the other posts have said, at 28% you should be able to still log and strictly eat clean and see results.
  • dayner13
    dayner13 Posts: 42 Member
    thanks for the info guys.....i think i will try and go back to basics....not as an excuse, but the all the holidays REALLY got me off track so hopefully i can just get back in the right mind set and just do it!!

    the whole carb cycling thing sounds ok if i was lifting alot of weight, but i just use 7 pounds dumbbells and do a strength training dvd once or twice a week. the rest of my workouts are cardio or jillian michaels circuit training.

    tomorrow is a new day and i will just log everything like i did before and work on getting a few more calories in.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    The last 10 pounds are tough, specially for those of us over 25....you've got to become an athlete....super clean eating and a strict exercise routine. Notice there are like 4 people at your gym who are in much better shape than everyone else? cuz its super tough to lose the last 10
    I disagree.

    I'm 45, 5'8", and I lost my last 10-15 lbs eating at about a 20% cut from my TDEE - which for me was 1800-2000 calories a day. Workouts were (and still are) running 3-5 miles three days a week, and maybe 30-45 minutes of work with dumbbells & 20 minutes of kickboxing the other three days - rarely more than an hour a day for any of it.

    I ate cheeseburgers, pizza, ice cream, drank wine, beer and mixed drinks, enjoyed the holidays, dinners out - basically lived life, but fit these goodies into my daily goals. It took some time, but it all happened without a single plateau or stall in progress. I lost inches and fat, and I still am, even though I hit "goal weight" last year, I'm still working on lowering body fat percentage a bit more, and enjoying building some strength and having fun with running.

    I found the info and tools in this thread very helpful: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13

    Best move I ever made was reading, understanding, and then putting into the practice the info there. :bigsmile:

    Good luck!

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