WTF is up with this 4 month plateau?

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Sarie_Bronish
Sarie_Bronish Posts: 255 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
No, im not eating more than I think. I measure EVERYTHiNG that enters my body in grams. (and even if that was off a little bit, its not enough to stall me for 4 months.)

I have a polar FT4 heart rate monitor with a chest strap. I burn 500-1000 calories a day, with 1 to 2 rest days per week.

I carb cycle.

I eat about 1500 calories per day between stregnth training and cardio, and I make sure my intensity on my workouts is always going up. In short, I dont get it.

im 188 pounds. i fluctuate between 187 and 189, but it never drops below. Im seriously sick of the 180s.

Eating more caused me to gain weight. Ive tried that already. eating less than 1500 doesnt seem sustainable. Ive tried netting above my BMR. Scale didnt move. Ive tried netting below my BMR (from exercise). scale didnt move. WTF?
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Replies

  • Sarie_Bronish
    Sarie_Bronish Posts: 255 Member
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    oh - and I tried taking a week off. honestly, that was a disaster, and I Was miserable lol.
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
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    Um if you weigh that much, you should be eating more. Around 1600-1750 a day. Maybe more. You burn more than I do in a day and I eat 2200+ at 172.5lbs. There are many reasons why you could have gained after eating more e.g. TOM, retaining water, eating too many sodium rich foods.

    Secondly, Polar FT4 gave me gross calorie burns. I would never use that model again or recommend it to anyone.

    Lastly, change your scale battery if you haven't in the last year.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,663 Member
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    Hormones fine?

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • lindsey1979
    lindsey1979 Posts: 2,395 Member
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    With numbers like that, you should definitely be losing. Had your thyroid, glucose metabolism and vitamin D levels checked? Notice any other symptoms -- cold, dry ski/hair, constipation, fatigue, cravings for sweets, bread or pasta?
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
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    Lots of good clues here. Especially where you adjusted calories up and gained. I see that advice a lot, and personally, it's never worked for me either. I'm wondering how accurate the FT4 is. Best we can do is estimate calories out, and there seems to be room for error in that side of the equation (for everyone).

    I'm also wondering about carb cycling. Many different protocols, and it just seems to me that there are lots of ways it can go wrong. I.e. reducing glucose radically enough to induce a big leptin drop during the off cycle, and then storing all that energy in the on cycle. I saw a study cited in which dieters' leptin was down as much as 50% after a week of caloric restriction, and they hadn't lost 50% body fat, ergo leptin is strongly influenced down by low glucose levels, but sadly, steep glucose increases do not raise leptin in a reciprocal manner. So glucose is up in the "re-feed" but leptin is still low, signaling energy storage. And I get the idea that re-feeds are meant to re-stock glycogen, but do muscles and the liver really have metabolic priority? Anyway, I have questions about carb cycling. I wonder if, at 180, you'd see something different if you kept your macros more consistent.
  • SrMaggalicious
    SrMaggalicious Posts: 495 Member
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    That was me 4 months ago. I researched Intermittent Fasting and training in a fasted state, and l've lost 9 lbs. since May 1st. And with this type of eating, I'm NEVER hungry. I love it. I love the feeling of being satiated and only having to think about food in a 4-6 hour window each day. google it....maybe it'll kick your metabolism back into 'drive'.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    UGH! I feel your pain - I was stuck in the 180s for 7 months! It sucked! I ended up dropping my calories to 1470 on days I workout and 1370 on non-workout days. It hasn't been nearly as painful as I thought it would be and I am finally out of the 180s.
  • TheStephil
    TheStephil Posts: 858 Member
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    May be your scale. Have you tried other scales? Changed the batteries? Have someone else weigh themselves then weigh yourself and see if it changes.

    My scale was about to die and it told me the same weight for about a month. I changed the batteries and it helped for awhile. Eventually it stopped working and I bought a new one and it works great.
  • Fitfully_me
    Fitfully_me Posts: 647 Member
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    Notice any other symptoms -- cold, dry ski/hair, constipation, fatigue, cravings for sweets, bread or pasta?

    In.
    Curious as to why you asked the quoted portion. What am I missing?
  • megaqt
    megaqt Posts: 4
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    Notice any other symptoms -- cold, dry ski/hair, constipation, fatigue, cravings for sweets, bread or pasta?

    In.
    Curious as to why you asked the quoted portion. What am I missing?
    Those are characteristic symptoms in hypothyroidism.
  • Sarie_Bronish
    Sarie_Bronish Posts: 255 Member
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    Lots of good clues here. Especially where you adjusted calories up and gained. I see that advice a lot, and personally, it's never worked for me either. I'm wondering how accurate the FT4 is. Best we can do is estimate calories out, and there seems to be room for error in that side of the equation (for everyone).

    I'm also wondering about carb cycling. Many different protocols, and it just seems to me that there are lots of ways it can go wrong. I.e. reducing glucose radically enough to induce a big leptin drop during the off cycle, and then storing all that energy in the on cycle. I saw a study cited in which dieters' leptin was down as much as 50% after a week of caloric restriction, and they hadn't lost 50% body fat, ergo leptin is strongly influenced down by low glucose levels, but sadly, steep glucose increases do not raise leptin in a reciprocal manner. So glucose is up in the "re-feed" but leptin is still low, signaling energy storage. And I get the idea that re-feeds are meant to re-stock glycogen, but do muscles and the liver really have metabolic priority? Anyway, I have questions about carb cycling. I wonder if, at 180, you'd see something different if you kept your macros more consistent.

    I cycle in smaller increments. 2 low carb days, 1 high carb day.
  • Sarie_Bronish
    Sarie_Bronish Posts: 255 Member
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    I had blood work done about 3 weeks ago to test everything and they said I was normal. That shouldve been great news, but it didnt answer my question unfortunately. sigh...
  • Sarie_Bronish
    Sarie_Bronish Posts: 255 Member
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    May be your scale. Have you tried other scales? Changed the batteries? Have someone else weigh themselves then weigh yourself and see if it changes.

    My scale was about to die and it told me the same weight for about a month. I changed the batteries and it helped for awhile. Eventually it stopped working and I bought a new one and it works great.

    lol if this is the problem, im going to die laughing. My scale can give me 5 different numbers all in a 5 minute time frame. I bet its dead. buying a new one tonight.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
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    I don't know the answer but I know how you feel...good luck~
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
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    my scale could be dead too...but I am afraid with a new one, I might be actually gaining? that would be more horrifying...
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
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    May be your scale. Have you tried other scales? Changed the batteries? Have someone else weigh themselves then weigh yourself and see if it changes.

    My scale was about to die and it told me the same weight for about a month. I changed the batteries and it helped for awhile. Eventually it stopped working and I bought a new one and it works great.

    lol if this is the problem, im going to die laughing. My scale can give me 5 different numbers all in a 5 minute time frame. I bet its dead. buying a new one tonight.

    You'd still probably know if you were losing weight. You shouldn't really rely soley on the scale anyway. Go by measurements and pay attention to the way your clothes fit as well
  • psych101
    psych101 Posts: 1,842 Member
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    Are you measuring or taking progress pics? Like, using other ways to measure your progress?
  • Sarie_Bronish
    Sarie_Bronish Posts: 255 Member
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    May be your scale. Have you tried other scales? Changed the batteries? Have someone else weigh themselves then weigh yourself and see if it changes.

    My scale was about to die and it told me the same weight for about a month. I changed the batteries and it helped for awhile. Eventually it stopped working and I bought a new one and it works great.

    lol if this is the problem, im going to die laughing. My scale can give me 5 different numbers all in a 5 minute time frame. I bet its dead. buying a new one tonight.

    You'd still probably know if you were losing weight. You shouldn't really rely soley on the scale anyway. Go by measurements and pay attention to the way your clothes fit as well

    i have technically lost like 1/2 inch on all parts, but at 188 pounds I still have fat left to lose. Lean women dont weigh 188 pounds lol, more like 140. Im just ready to see the numbers drop again.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
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    May be your scale. Have you tried other scales? Changed the batteries? Have someone else weigh themselves then weigh yourself and see if it changes.

    My scale was about to die and it told me the same weight for about a month. I changed the batteries and it helped for awhile. Eventually it stopped working and I bought a new one and it works great.

    lol if this is the problem, im going to die laughing. My scale can give me 5 different numbers all in a 5 minute time frame. I bet its dead. buying a new one tonight.

    You'd still probably know if you were losing weight. You shouldn't really rely soley on the scale anyway. Go by measurements and pay attention to the way your clothes fit as well

    i have technically lost like 1/2 inch on all parts, but at 188 pounds I still have fat left to lose. Lean women dont weigh 188 pounds lol, more like 140. Im just ready to see the numbers drop again.

    .5 an inch depending on where it is is from can be quite a bit proportionately.

    Pics and measurements tell more together IMO so I'd check progress pics also.

    No you shouldn't have to drop below 1500 at your weight to lose fat with the amount of activity you are doing. I would be getting a blood test to check thyroid and fasting blood glucose mainly.

    Your HRM burns seems a bit high unless you are doing a fair amount of endurance cardio work IMO. But if you are measuring food intake then that is a moot point really. (I prefer to work with gross numbers for people with regular exercise schedules)
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Do you WEIGH your food, or just measure it with cups? Big difference.

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