Dreaded plateau?

jensiegel39
jensiegel39 Posts: 163 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there. I have been losing weight consistently since I started four or so months ago. However, ever since my recent TOM about a week and a half ago, I feel I'm up and down within the same five pounds. It's really frustrating! I even took a diuretic for a few days to try to rid myself of water weight because I felt very bloated and puffy in certain areas like my fingers and feet. I have continued my daily exercise of 1 - 2 hours of Zumba, elliptical and weight training and biking (usually two activities per day) and have been eating around 1200 calories a day with measuring and logging everything, as usual. What can I do to kick-start my weight loss again?

I'm particularly frustrated because I'm almost at 50 lbs. lost but can't seem to get there. I know now that I weigh less, I don't burn as much per workout, but I've increased my intensity in all my routines and it doesn't seem to be doing the trick. Some articles say I should up my calorie intake, but I'm not sure I'm able to do that or want to risk it. I got a Basis watch recently and have been making sure to do at least 10,000 steps a day and have been consistently hitting all my goals for sleep and activity. What else can you suggest? Should I do a cleanse or something?

Thanks!

Jen :)

Replies

  • sarahenagy
    sarahenagy Posts: 65 Member
    BTW I am female, 29, 5'5", 130 lbs. I know it seems counterintuitive, but in my experience I have had to up my calories to keep losing the fitter I got. I'm no dietician or nutritionist, but it is widely accepted scientifically that muscle burns calories at a faster rate than fat. So I suppose the more muscular I get, the more calories my body needs naturally to function.

    Again, I'm not a scientist, just based on my own research this is what I think.

    I do not, however, trust MFP's calculations of exercise calories. I wear a heart rate monitor so I know for sure. Maybe try this and start by only eating back half the extra calories each day...
  • thebradzter
    thebradzter Posts: 27
    Hey I'm a certified nutritionist and I see this quite often with my female clients.

    You are doing alot of activity for 1200 calories!! I hope you are reasonably short otherwise increase your calories immediately. If not your body is essentially in starvation mode and is slowing metabolism to try retain your body fat stores.

    I've fixed this multiple times simply by increasing calories. Add 100 calories for 1-2 weeks. The world will keep spinning and you won't balloon. If it goes well add another 100 calories. The metabolism works slowly but you can essentially increase your metabolism this way!
  • thebradzter
    thebradzter Posts: 27
    A cleanse will crash your metabolism! Don't do it! Focus on a healthy metabolism and the weight loss will be the side effect!
  • jensiegel39
    jensiegel39 Posts: 163 Member
    Some days, I eat 1300 - 1500 calories. It depends on what I make or the few times I go out to eat. I try to stick around 1200 though, but sometimes I do eat a bit more. I try to burn at least 600 calories a day. I think I will take your advice and up my calories 100 or so for a week or two and see if that makes a difference.

    On the plus side, I've lost inches everywhere recently and fit into a smaller sized pants, so that's great. I just want to get to a lower weight and feel I'm doing everything right. I guess the only thing I can do is up my calories. I'm certainly being active enough, more so than usual lately because I've had more time and motivation. Thanks for the responses!
  • jensiegel39
    jensiegel39 Posts: 163 Member
    I am pretty short. About 5'4", give or take. And I am using my Basis watch to track my calorie burns. It's not entirely accurate though. I walked around at the mall quite a bit today and although it recorded my steps, it did not track the calories I burned in my stats. I am using it as a guide though and trying to make sure I burn at least 600 calories a day.

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