I have hit a plateau !!!

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loveme69
loveme69 Posts: 4
in Health and Weight Loss
Need advice...I have lost 34 lbs since August...going from 209 to 175. I am a 41 yr old female and have 1200 calories per day with a 60 minute workout per day (in profile goals). I definitely do more....weights (45 minutes), circuit class(30 mins), cardio dance (60 mins), elyptical and stationary bike(15 to 30 mins combined) everyday except Sunday. I rarely use all my given calories but do come close some days. I never use my earned calories (800 to 1100 per day) from exercise. I have been sitting at 175 for couple weeks. Am I putting myself in starvation mode ? Should I use some of those extra calories ? I worry that I may gain some and I have worked too hard to get where I am now .....

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  • mhoward1982
    mhoward1982 Posts: 15 Member
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    I would definitely recommend upping your calorie intake a bit! I never use ALL of my earned calories either, but I use at least half whenever possible! Even if you don't feel hungry, you're probably still in that dreaded starvation mode. Also, don't fret too much if you gain a pound or two... with all the work you're doing, its more than likely muscle! And muscle = yay!
    Keep up the good work!
  • NightOwl1
    NightOwl1 Posts: 881 Member
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    If I'm reading this correctly, you're eating around 1000 or so calories a day, and burning around 1000? If that's the case, then your net calorie intake for the day is 0, which would definitely be why you hit a plateau. You're not giving your body nearly enough energy it needs to keep it going.
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    If your daily calorie goal is 1200 you definitely need to be eating your exercise calories! The calorie goal is for net calories, not total calories. That means that you have to subtract the calories you burn from the calories you consume. Your body needs fuel in order to function properly and you won't burn any fat if you aren't eating enough, you'll just store it.
  • npryor100
    npryor100 Posts: 99 Member
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    And try mixing up your exercise. Your body may be used to all the rigorous work you're putting it through now.
  • InsiderTraining
    InsiderTraining Posts: 2
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    Yep...you are most definately in starvation mode. Your body is scared to death to burn any calories because it knows now that it's not going to get enough to support all that working out. Congrats on being so motivated to exercise that much! However...you might be overtraining. Your muscles actually grow during the recovery time, and if you are not resting enough your muscles won't be able to rebuild properly. My advice....eat more.....at least 5 times a day (healthy carbs, fats and protein in each meal/snack)...this will keep your metabolism burning. Also, instead of doing all that exercise everyday....break it up throughout the week. Throw your body a curveball and it will have to work harder just to adapt...ie...weight loss. Oddly, more time in the gym does not mean more weight loss, just as less calories consumed does not mean less weight on the scale. =)
    Good luck and don't get discouraged! ;)

    Katie
  • porcelain_doll
    porcelain_doll Posts: 1,005 Member
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    This happened to me; I was working out 1-2 hrs./day but only eating around 1400 calories, which meant I was only consuming about 600-800 because I wasn't eating the extras that MFP was telling me to eat after the exercise. I stopped losing weight and then I actually started gaining it back. Right now I am trying to find a balance so I can start losing again. I can guarantee that you are going through the same thing. Logic tells us that the less we eat/more calories we burn, the more weight we lose, but this is not the case when it comes to our metabolisms and how they were designed to defend our bodies against famine. Like the others have recommended, I also will recommend that you eat more and esp. when you're working out 60/min. a day. If MFP tells you to eat 2000 calories because you had a hard-core workout, do it!! :happy:
  • RippaRita54
    RippaRita54 Posts: 19 Member
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    Yep i reckon you need to eat some more!
    Same thing happened to me I just could not lose any weight on the scales and i was burning at least 800 calories a day in excercise however still sticking to 1200 calories a day in food! I didnt budge anything for 6 weeks! I was literally hungry for 6 weeks and then started to eat a little more out of frustation and then the scales started to drop!! I didnt buy all the starvation mode stuff before went with excerise more and eat less and that will work but only worked for a little while before i plateaued! I am much happier and less grumpy now that i am no longer hungry.......
  • AsaThorsWoman
    AsaThorsWoman Posts: 2,303 Member
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    You want to trick your body into thinking that there's an abundance of food everywhere.. and that it's safe to go ahead and rev that metabolism up to full speed!
  • VickieMW
    VickieMW Posts: 285 Member
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    Okay everyone here is going to hate me but I STRONGLY disagree. I am 50 work out 6 days a week, three days strength training and then run or spin! I eat 1200 - 1600 calories and when I don't lose weight, When I hit a hard plateau. I take three days and do this "special" eating. AND I drop the weight. I only do it for three days because usually after the first I drop two pounds and the next two days I drop one pound each.

    I alread eat 5 times a day. So here is what works for me.
    Normal five meals: 22 grams of Protein, 7 grams of fat, 44 grams of carbs any "clean" food you want to eat.

    To lose weight for three days: First three meals as above. Last two meals ONLY 22 grams of protein and unlimited vegetables. No fruit, no bread/starch, no sugar. You will drop weight. V

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