What am I doing wrong?

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faithNlove212
faithNlove212 Posts: 203 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I started MFP 50 days ago at 232lbs. I am down to 210lbs. So im down 22lbs. BUT for the past few weeks ive only been dropping 0.2lbs-0.4lbs or nothing at all or go up 2lbs. I have been stuck at 210lbs-212lbs past few weeks.

I go to the gym 6 days a week. I use the tredmill & the bike. I also use 5lb weights at home before bed to work on my arms. Should I be doing more??? I usually do anywhere from 40-60 minutes on the bike & tredmill.

I log into MFP everyday, I also log my food in everyday & stick to my calories which is 1220 a day. I drink at least 6 bottles of water a day. 1 bottle of water is 16oz so that would be 2 cups of water so I know im drinking lots of water.

Im stuck ....:grumble:

Replies

  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
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    It sounds like you're not eating *enough*. If you're sticking to 1220/day and exercising 40-60 minutes, I'm guessing you're not eating back any of those exercise calories. Try eating back 50% of those calories - stick to it for a few weeks and I'm betting it will make a difference. Many people on MFP have experienced this.
  • LOVEsummer
    LOVEsummer Posts: 304 Member
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    Sometimes when I plateau I eat a little more maybe like 1320 cals and drop my carbs/up my fat protein... Are you tracking your sugar... sugar and sodium can be real killers.
  • rogers8702
    rogers8702 Posts: 533 Member
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    i agree with the other poster up your calories by 100, 150 maybe. how tall are you?
  • Creiche
    Creiche Posts: 264 Member
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    If you've been doing the same workout routine for the past several months, you probably want to change it up a bit to jolt your body. Maybe take an aerobics class for cardio and lift weights with different muscle groups than just your arms (legs are great).
  • snowflowr82
    snowflowr82 Posts: 141 Member
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    Your first plateau... I'm guessing (could be wrong) that maybe your body used to be comfortable at this weight at some point and it remembers this weight range? That happens to me my body gets comfy at certain weights and will fight with all its might to stay at that weight when i start losing weight. Just keep doing what your doing and your body should finally give in other wise i think there are ways to basically shock your body into breaking the plateau such as doing some different exercises to confuse or even up your calories for a day. Hope you break through soon :) take care and congrats on your 22lb loss thats really a great accomplishment!!

    Shari
  • snowflowr82
    snowflowr82 Posts: 141 Member
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    Your first plateau... I'm guessing (could be wrong) that maybe your body used to be comfortable at this weight at some point and it remembers this weight range? That happens to me my body gets comfy at certain weights and will fight with all its might to stay at that weight when i start losing weight. Just keep doing what your doing and your body should finally give in other wise i think there are ways to basically shock your body into breaking the plateau such as doing some different exercises to confuse or even up your calories for a day. Hope you break through soon :) take care and congrats on your 22lb loss thats really a great accomplishment!!

    Shari
  • sarah29may
    sarah29may Posts: 6
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    I would try a couple different things. Try switching up your workouts- like taking a class (I like spinning) or using a different machine. Sometimes just this simple change can make a world of difference. I also try to go back to measuring everything when I get stuck. I know that I usually find that my eyes have gotten bigger than my measuring cups :) Hang in there- I can relate as I have gone up and down in my weight over the years. It's can be so frustrating!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    change up your routine, you did great losing 3 lbs/week for the first 7 weeks, but your body gets use to doing the same activity over and over again. It is recommended to change up your routine every 4-6 weeks.
  • scagneti
    scagneti Posts: 707 Member
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    It's possible that you're building muscle at the gym, which your scale wouldnt' be able to tell the difference from fat. Do your clothes feel looser over these past few weeks since you've stalled? Also, you might be taking in too much sodium which would mean that you've retained water, which would be easily fixed just by cutting your sodium down to under 2000mg per day.

    Unfortunately, most likely, you've put your body in starvation mode with so few calories and it's hanging on to every bit of fat in case it needs it. Our bodies haven't changed since our ancestors were cavemen, so the body is great at adapting to times of famine, but in our lives, very few of us are legitimately "starving". To fix that, you'll have to boost your metabolism which some do by eating small, frequent meals (every 2-3 hours), and in your case, raising your caloric rate a bit to let your body know that it's cool to burn some fat. Have you checked your Basal Metabolic Rate? 1220 calories seems very low. At 150lbs and 5'5", my BMR is around 1450 (some sites differ) for "somewhat active". You didn't list your height but it sounds like you're quite active during the day.

    You've accomplished a lot already and with just some tweaks, I'm sure you'll get back to losing!

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