plateau help please

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sarahlouisah
sarahlouisah Posts: 116
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi i started this in jan have lost 11 lb since then. I now seem to be stuck my weight is fluctuating a lb or so either way but will not go down and stay down. I have tried exercising more and eating more/less calories its been like this for 3 weeks now. can any of you help with how long a plateau lasts. I have now resorted to using slimfast to try and get my weight loss going again

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  • kelika71
    kelika71 Posts: 778 Member
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    It's your choice to do what you want. Personally, I wouldn't get my calories from any drink. You are kind of on the right track, however. Change up your eating...add more calories. Change up your workouts...backing off or doing more might help, but try something new instead.

    What I've done: I switched equipment, increased my calories by 200 and started eating back some of my exercise calories. Sometimes it's almost all, sometimes it's not. This fluctuating keeps your body in a guessing game.

    Good luck! Keep at it and it'll bust.
  • idahogirl71
    idahogirl71 Posts: 1,110 Member
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    Here are a coupe of suggestions:

    1. If you have lost 11 pounds try updating your food intake and exercise goals. It really can make a difference!

    2. Have an apple day - eat 6 apples and drink at least 1/2 oz of water for each pound you weigh...no other foods or drinks - it will kick-start your metabolism plus be a detox all in one

    3. Instead of an apple day you can try the steak day - drink water and tea only throughout the day and then have a huge steak (a minimum of 16 oz) for dinner (nothing else to eat). This too kicks your body into gear to get over a plateau.

    Good luck.....and there is no estimating a plateau....they suck and no two are the same.

    P.S. Ideas 2 & 3 are personal trainer recommended and that is what I did in the past when I reached a plateau and it worked great for me :).
  • mellybiene
    mellybiene Posts: 16
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    Sometimes, it requires the help of a professional to tell you exactly how you're doing and what should be changed, so maybe consulting with a dietitian will help you find out the methods of improvement? this must be the stage where your body is getting used to the weight you're at, so maybe its taking a bit longer as compared to before. when mine reached that stage, it took me more than a month to see results. hang in there! ( :
  • fitnezrox
    fitnezrox Posts: 41
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    I do not know how tall you are but at the amount of stones you are you should be eating somewhere between 1300-1600 calories a day. When you eat too few calories you put your body into starvation mode, it basically slows your metabolism down so much because it literally thinks it is starving, and you are now burning less caloires all day including when you are working out, it is conserving energy. you are also burning off muscle instead of fat, because your body will hold onto the fat, simply put it has more calories so the body wants to conserve them as it does not know when it will get food again. Now that being said, drinking your calories is definitely not the way to go, those liquid drinks are full of sugar, which turns to glucos in your body quickly and in turn becomes fat in your body. Try eating a healthy balanced diet, with healthy carbs (vegetables, fruits, whole grains), low fat meat/poultry/fish, and low fat dairy. Low sodium and low sugar and as little processed foods as possible. Workout for at least an hour each day, a workout out is one where you are working up a sweat by increasing your heart rate, you can talk but you don't want to, this is what burns the fat from your body (it takes 3500 calories burned to eliminate 1# of fat). workouts can and should include cardio and strength training. I was a fitness trainer, lifestyle weight management consultant for 9 years, this will work........starving yourself will not only NOT work it harms your body and will mess with your mind.

    Good luck
    Have a healthy and happy night
    Kim
  • sarahlouisah
    sarahlouisah Posts: 116
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    thanks have reset goals im 5ft 4 1/2 inces mfp has told me to eat 1210 to lose 1 1/2 lb a week is that to low?
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    Hi Sarah, and well done on your loss so far!

    I had a quick look at your diary and it seems very carb-heavy - toast AND cereal for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, pasta for dinner....I'd try making a few adjustments there. More protein at breakfast (eggs or beans, say), a veggie soup for lunch or a tuna salad, and grilled meat with steamed or stir-fried veg or salad for dinner.

    And 1 1/2 lbs a week is very ambitious - aiming for 1 lb a week would be more achievable I think.

    Keep at it girl, you'll get there!
  • sarahlouisah
    sarahlouisah Posts: 116
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    thanks think you are right im stuck in a food rut eating crackers toast sarnies and pasta or rice always thought of them as healthy but realise i may be having way to much
  • Saraingreen
    Saraingreen Posts: 6 Member
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    2. Have an apple day - eat 6 apples and drink at least 1/2 oz of water for each pound you weigh...no other foods or drinks - it will kick-start your metabolism plus be a detox all in one

    Just wanted to say thank you for the idea. In the past I will do a liquid diet for a day to kind of cleanse and feel more energized. I might have to try the apple thing one day!

    Sarah - I have hit plateaus in the past, but not recently. I found that varying calories from day to day seem to help. Like one day eat a few hundred more than you normally would, then the next day, eat less than you normally would, then the next day eat normal. You kind of have to find your own flow, but changing up calories seem to work for me. Also increasing cardio helped me. Best of luck!
  • Firewhirrrl
    Firewhirrrl Posts: 144
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    Sarah
    The close you are to your goals, the harder your body will resist to losing weight.
    Also the more you workout the more muscle, which means losing inches but gaining weight.

    I always have a hard time.
    I have lost 30 lbs last year and I'm at it again for the last 30.

    Last year, I would stay at my plateaus for about 3-5 weeks!! I was so hard for me.

    But :

    If you are really reall not lying to yourself and not full of it.... The weight will come off, so keep on going and just wait...

    This time around I am loosing weight sporadically. And again it's hard for my spirit.

    But I'm doing the work, I'm not cheating, or I'm honest when I do cheat.

    And I have lost 11 lbs since January.

    You can do it: remember, your bodies main purpose is to stay the same, not change!!
  • Firewhirrrl
    Firewhirrrl Posts: 144
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    Sara;
    Plateaus are good. This is where your body stabilizes at a new weight.
    The small fluctuations are likely water retention.

    However, someone said to me...
    " if you are not loosing weight you are lying".

    Because when you count calories, weigh your food, and work your program you will loose weight.

    There are over factors, sodium, caffeine, and foods which will make you gain/lose small amounts due to water retention.

    But if you are really doing the work, then even in the face of a plateau, you will feel stronger, slimmer, loose inches or be otherwise encouraged.

    So if you are not aware of results, and have not lost weight, inches , chlothes fit better or showing signs of progress...
    Then reexamine your foods, you are slipping up somewhere.

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