Why in the hell am I stuck at this weight?!

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  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member
    Have you tried cutting out all un-naturally concentrated sources of calories? Do you still eat oil? Sugar? Flour? Bread? Just a little oil left in your diet will keep you on your plateau.
  • lindsey1979
    lindsey1979 Posts: 2,395 Member
    Lindsey1979 and Steph6467 Stop arguing lol. I have been on both sides of the fence to which you both plead! I didn't believe I had anything wrong until November 2013. So, versus bashing each other...help each other understand. Each one teach one!

    I don't disagree with you in concept, I just don't care for people who assert that it's only X (or 99% X). Rules are great, but there are very few rules in life that don't have exceptions. And things like thyroid disorders, insulin resistance, adrenal fatigue make up a lot more than 1% of the population (or the equation) and likely a significantly higher percentage of those battling weight/fat issues.

    It's really important that people be real with themselves and really try and be accountable for their food intake and exertion calculations. But when you see someone who appears to be doing that a great deal like yourself, it seems much more reasonable to me to say "hey, it looks like you're doing everything correctly, so you may want to look into those exceptions that will help this situation make sense" rather than keep insisting that you're just incapable of measuring/being honest or accurate with your intake/exertion calculations. And then mock alternative suggestions that provide legitimate explanation for the situation (like medical disorders that would be in line with the situation described).
  • xxsarahjwxx
    xxsarahjwxx Posts: 29
    I would disagree with increasing your exercise. I was going to suggest perhaps just taking a diet break for a week, eat at TDEE and stay away from the gym - when you push your body too hard (i.e. too much exercise for too few calories) it gets stressed and the cortisol will really not help your weightloss. If you give it a break, you may find that your body finally lets go of some of the weight. It might also help mentally as well to not fixate over every calorie for a week.
    I have always been one to go too hard at things and have frequently found myself stuck at a weight because i'm overtraining and undereating. It got to the point where I was unable to sleep much because I was overtraining and burnt out (something to do with glycogen stores i think). It usually takes a few days off with normal eating to sort me out.

    You totally just freaked me out a little. THIS IS ME DOWN TO THE T... I went over last month...and there was only 3 days in it that I had a net calories of 1200-1500. All of the others were below 1000. One was as low as 476. The LOWEST was 299. I wanted to cry at how bad it was.
    Again, this past week was the first week where I was actually OK... I had energy, I didn't get headaches, etc. I was eating 1800-2000 calories since last Sunday...and I went from 183.6 to 182.0...that's almost 2 lbs! But, I'm uncertain if the scale will move any more than that...since I've seen 182.0 once before and that's the lowest it's been. Hoping I can keep it moving DOWN...

    I agree, I don't agree with increasing my exercise. At least, not with what I do. This is because if I do 30 minutes I can barely make it back to home I'm so exhausted and wiped out. When I do 45 minutes, I have to sit down and drink water for 15-20 mins because I'm so lightheaded and my heart feels like it'll burst. You know the feeling? When you can feel your heart pulsing in your face? Your hearing gets all fuzzy...that's how I am after a 45 minute workout. I go that insane.

    But, I'm scared to stop going...lol. I have to do SOMETHING. Because I have a fear that I'll always put it off or something... So, since I like walking....I will take on that for a bit...I'll probably do about an hour to 2 hours of that since it's not as exhausting for me...and I like it.

    Calorie intake/output has CONSUMED my life. Seriously, it has. At one point, back in December, I was burning everything I ate. If I ate 1150, I would burn 1151 in exercise (I then included my walking, elliptical, running, and weight training)...I got that idea from some YouTube person...that was the worst mistake I've EVER DONE!

    Been there, done that, ended up in hospital with an eating disorder. That was 9 years ago and I have yo-yoed from one extreme to the other and the net result was i ended up putting on over 100lb. I can't stress enough that you have to take it easy on your body or it will fight back. Mild overtraining will make you tired and stressed but severe overtraining and undereating (i.e. trying to net 0 calories) will only come back to bite you and you will end up binging. You know this because you stopped but it's hard to go from trying to net 0 to trying to net 2000 calories (mentally and physically). I think walking is a good idea but maybe limit it to 1 hour or you will end up with the same effect as hitting the gym (i.e. a stressed body which holds on tightly to its fat reserves!). Just give your brain and your body a break for a week or two and you will feel the benefits in the long run. Sometimes you just need a reset to break a plateau.
    *But* when you return to your diet, don't go extreme, go gently. I know it's hard because you want results but if you want to maintain those results once you reach your goal weight then go easy on yourself! You don't have much to lose so maybe even look into body recomposition.
  • BayVay
    BayVay Posts: 24
    Hey there to everyone that was encouraging and shared any possible insight.

    After about 6 weeks...I broke my plateau!

    I did so by INCREASING my calories and DECREASING my exercise. I was exercising WAY too much overall. The 30-45 minutes of hard cardio plus 4-5 mile walk 6 days a week was TOO much apparently. Instead, now I do a walk/run outside (2.5-3 miles) for about 35 mins and eat at least about 1700-1800 calories a day.
    Strangely, the plateau broke when I did the most unthinkable thing...ATE JUNK FOOD (yes, I logged it LOL). I know, I know...that's BAD and it isn't a habit...and hasn't been. However, never go to the gas station (or any place with food in it) HUNGRY! LOL! While I was coming out of the plateau slowly, I was happy. But THIS caused it to break hardcore. :noway: I literally ate 1270 calories in junk in about 30 minutes. A bag of Ruffles, 1 individual pack of "blue" skittles (actually 1/2-3/4, shared it w/ my friend), and 2 star crunch cakes! I refused to eat anymore for the rest of the evening after that; but hey, considering that I don't cheat...I felt I deserved to "enjoy" myself....but it backfired pretty hard LOL.
    I got SO SICK doing that...a massive headache from the sugar high!!! UGH, which shows the amount of CHANGE that has come by eating properly. Anyway, I jumped into action and went for a 3 mile run/walk about an hour or so later to try fighting off the damage... and low and behold...I stepped on the scale just to see the damage...and I weighed less, at the END of the day, than what I did at the beginning of the day. I kinda became obsessed with the scale over the last few weeks...trying to break the stall and all.

    This has been the most stressful and learning stall I've experienced. SMH. Oh...
    I WAS INSULIN RESISTANT. A few days after posting this thread, I had my labs done. I had 4 out of the 5 necessary things in order to have it (you only have to have 3 to have it). UGH, I was mad. BUT, due to the fact that I kinda saw it coming...I had to switch up a couple things to reverse it. For instance, in 2.5 weeks my glucose went from 104 to 85. HDL from 41 to 46 (the last thing I've gotta correct to be above 50), and etc. Apparently, it was caused by eating carbs (flat wraps, brown rice, sweet potatoes, etc). Although healthy, I just needed to have a couple weeks of laying off of them and allow my blood levels to catch up and level out. Weird. I ate dairy (milk and eggs), fresh fruit/veggies, and nuts. I wanted a turkey burger SO bad it was crippling lol. I cut out meat just for the hell of it.

    So those of you who were being "Calorie cutting Nazis" understand that NOT EVERYONE is miscalculating, lying, and etc. There may be SOME, but not EVERYONE. SOME actually have medical issues and or need to take a "chill pill" on either how large of a deficit they have or how large of one they have created as to aid their metabolism. SOME just have to switch to low carb intake for a bit to straight things out.

    Anyway, I've learned a lot from this thread...and I will be referring to some of what you positive folks posted. I started out stalled at 182.0-183.6....I am now in the 170s. It's still dropping, so, I'll let you guys know where it all evens out a bit later.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Congrats on discovery and following through and being able to see positive results so quick.

    A carb refeed is actually a way to get a big water purge too, sometimes called whoosh effect. Usually happens to ones that have too great a deficit than body wants - too much stress.

    Alcohol can do it to, but perhaps you don't want to know that. :drinker:
    Too bad it was wrong thing for medical condition, but glad it worked anyway.

    Great on catching the insulin resistant part, if suggestion wasn't made, besides having every meal and snack at decent ratio of carbs:prot:fat - also eat the protein and fat before the carbs. It can help slow the insulin response down.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    You're either a medical miracle or in denial. Do you want to lose weight? If you do throwing all your toys out of your peek and saying your doing everything right wing help. You're obviously not doing everything right because it's not working. Take a step back and go back to the basics or continue to believe you're a freak and medical miracle and don't lose it. It's that simple
  • janesmith1
    janesmith1 Posts: 1,511 Member
    Hi Bay, good to hear what worked for you. I'm just wondering too if you're on a low carb/low fat diet. The new thinking is that fats are GOOD for you.

    https://www.google.com/search?num=100&newwindow=1&client=firefox-a&hs=ZLp&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=sb&q=fats+are+good+for+you+dieting&oq=fats+are+good+for+you+dieting&gs_l=serp.3...4301.5543.0.5898.7.7.0.0.0.0.220.856.2j4j1.7.0....0...1c.1.37.serp..4.3.352.1nioYNUpHWk

    I too am stuck, about 220 for a few weeks. I am doing a LOT of exercise too, but not drinking enough water. Good luck to you!

    ETA: I am eating real butter, whole milk, etc, even chocolate milk (check my diary). GL!! :)
  • Elsie_Brownraisin
    Elsie_Brownraisin Posts: 786 Member
    I don't understand how it is possible for one to consume less calories than is required to maintain their weight and then gain/maintain.

    Unless of course they have a nuclear reactor stashed in their small intestine.

    (and I have hypothyroidism, am going through early menopause and take 2 medications that are notorious for weight gain. The weight may come off more slowly, but let's face it, I didn't get fat by taking in less fuel than required)
  • qb63
    qb63 Posts: 88 Member
    You are way overestimating your calorie burns. You're probably burning 200-250 calories in the 30-45 minutes you're exercising. I'm in the gym 75 minutes lifting weights 3-5 times a week, and I bike 20-40 minutes a day. On my hardest workout days, which is 2 hours, the most burn I get is still under 600. I also push myself very hard. A 5K run in 30 minutes burns less than 250 calories for most women.

    You're also eating more than you think. Sorry, if you're stalling, it isn't magical metabolism-slowing foods or sugar causing your problems. It's thermodynamics.

    But if you don't want the advice, feel free to keep doing it your way.

    THIS!!!
  • lindsey1979
    lindsey1979 Posts: 2,395 Member
    Bay --- good for you. Obviously, people on this board don't understand what insulin resistance is and how it affects metabolism and weight gain. Low carb is definitely the way to go there until you can reverse it (if it's possible for you). Best of luck to you!

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