Long plateau - 2.5 months and counting ...

I think its normal, that as you do more weights and body toning you will gain muscle which weighs more than fat.

Do you have a nutritionist? they can be helpful in that they weight you on a scale that tells you how much of your weight is muscle and how much is fat. That way you can see your progress, rather than get discouraged from not seeing any weight loss.

Also you should try eating large salads or lots of vegeatbles to fill you up. That way you can eat more for less calories.

I'm also not too sure about the protein shakes. I would imagine that will help build muscles (again that weighs more than fat)

I am definitely not an expert, so take what you want from my advice good luck!!

Sometimes, people plateau due to not taking in enough calories. Honestly, I am taking in about 2000 calories at least, because if you starve your body while working out, it will store what you eat. So it makes it way harder to loose it. When your working out, try to up cardio to about 45 minutes with 5 minutes cool down. I am doing p90x and it works great. Studies also show, if you stay with the same routine, your more likely to plateau as well. Switch it up after the first month. Then continue to switch it up after two weeks. In your diet you want a 50, 30, 20. And by that I mean, 50% of total cals protein, 30% carbs, and 20% fat. This will help rebuild that lean muscle. More fish, chicken, turkey, beans. Lean meats are let fattening. Make on day meatless. Feel free to message for questions. My sources are P90x nutrition guide and completion of college nutrition class
Best of luck

Well, under the heading of, "since you asked..."

I've found the daily calorie recommendations from MFP accurate and effective. They seem most effective when accompanied by extended periods of aerobic exercise. I'd consider going back to whatever MFP recommends for daily calorie intake, and eat only half of your exercise calories. I'd also try to exercise aerobically for at least an hour, five days per week, at a level that puts your heart rate close to the top of your training zone. Combine that with three sets of pushups and leg raises a day for some toning. That's a pretty large weekly time commitment, but you're worth it! I've found that a decent heart rate monitor is an invaluable tool in the quest to not only drop pounds, but drop those large chunks of fat you were talking about.

Don't get discouraged! this is something I have battled for about five years. I realized the problem is I let myself stop when I get to a 'comfortable' weight instead of keeping on with the weight loss and pushing through the plateau.

Here's something I've realized in this process: when going from obese to healthy, your body has to adjust. your body cannot remain in a constant state of transformation, it needs time to recuperate. Considering the large amount of weight you're interested in losing, the slower you go the more likely you are to keep it off. Now that you've let your body have a little equilibrium time though, if you want to push past it here's my advice:

protein shakes after workout: this is a great way to build muscle, but a terrible way to lose weight. The more protein in your diet, the easier it is for your body to convert your existing fat to muscle, but that makes it impossible to burn that energy (and pounds) off of you. I'd suggest it only once you find a weight you're interested in maintaining. For now, during or after your workout try using an energy drink like the low calorie version of gatorade.

Unfortunately to loose a good deal of weight you have to shed muscle as well. In the course of any weight loss regimen, you lose fat, water, muscle, even bone. everything. For example my goal weight currently is lower than my non-fat body content weight at the present. But, when you eat without balance, it affects the type of weight you lose. Too little water would cause you to lose all your water weight but no fat, and you'd regain weight near-instantly when you stop the diet. or Too little protein and you're not going to have enough energy and you may end up overindulging on intstant-high-energy, eventual crash inducing foods like sugars and carbs and be unable to maximize your workouts (my biggest problem as a vegetarian!). Too much protein and you'll loose fat, absolutely, but the cost is that your body will instantaneously transform that lost fat into muscle, which is denser (you'll weigh the same or more but will see some difference in your clothes).

So, balance and patience is the secret!

Also, a vacation from exercising for a week or two can allow your body to find further equilibrium. you may find that you gain a few pounds, but again, sometimes you have to take a step back to go forward. A great amount of weight loss is a major life transformation, and much like a religious conversion, the quicker it's done the less likely it is to stick.

Congrats on the good results, keep up the good work. I noticed a couple of things when I was looking at your diary, there seems to be a lot of processed foods, these are high in sodium and sodium makes our bodies retain water, I would suggest watching the sodium intake. Also try more fruit and vegie as snacks. Try drinking more water, I know everyone and their dog says 8 glasses is the magic number but I like the calculation method as we are all a bit different, this method would have your drink 98 ounces of water or 12 glasses, this method takes your weight and divides it in half and equals the total ounces you should consume; keep the bathroom close.

Also try to make sure that you are getting to that 30 minute mark with the exercise and try more weights than cardio. Cardio is great for the heart and lungs doesn't do much for moving the scale.

Just remember don't get discouraged, it was a long journey to get to the size we started at and it is a long journey to lose it too.

:flowerforyou:

Thank you!! I was feeling so depressed because I didn't know what else to do about my weight.