Help....on a plateau

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Well, I'm 12 pounds down from my starting weight and I've been at this for 2 1/2 months. I've been exercising 6 days a week, and I was eating pretty well, then I got stuck at 161 pounds for 3 weeks and now just binge ate for 3 days straight and I'm up to 163. Help! Can anyone offer some words of encouragement or have any tips for me to break my plateau? I'd really like to get down to 140, but it's really being difficult.:sad:

Replies

  • 00trayn
    00trayn Posts: 1,849 Member
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    *pokes the blog in my signature* Try reading that and see if the tips are things you can do.
  • Sherbog
    Sherbog Posts: 1,072 Member
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    I found that changing my routine, getting more sleep and monitoring my food diary helped. I also did a liquid calorie day that seemed to jump start me. Change the time of day you exercise and see if that helps. Best to you.
  • Angel1029
    Angel1029 Posts: 459
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    Try planning out your meals ahead of time. Focus on your goals and stay committed.
    Binge eating like that is just going to set you back and feel the way you do now.
    Plan ahead, stay focused and you will lose it. You can do it!!!
  • peytjalmom
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    This sounds counter-intuitive, but I bumped my calories up 100-200 calories and took 2 days off instead of one. That got me over my 3-4 week plateau. Decided to try this after reading a lot of experiences from this site. Keep it up! Your still healthier than when you started and don't ever go back!
  • SheilaSisco
    SheilaSisco Posts: 722 Member
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    If you haven't been eating exercise calories back, try doing that for a week or two... it has helped MANY MANY people break a plateau. :)
  • ObviousIndigo
    ObviousIndigo Posts: 382 Member
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    I am in the exact same place as you are!! I am thinking of doing a salad and smoothie day tomorrow or Wednesday. I will let you know what happens! Don't give up.
  • chanstriste13
    chanstriste13 Posts: 3,277 Member
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    stay the course. i recently just came off of a 12 week long plateau. the only thing i did differently was to up my water intake (96 ounces daily now). focus on the other health benefits you are obtaining and just stick with it. it will happen!
  • veggeslady
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    I have been on one for 6 going on 7 weeks now. I am losing inches not pounds. I would have your dr check your hormones including your thyroid. You may need to eat a few more calories too. I wish I could help more.
  • dendra7
    dendra7 Posts: 113 Member
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    I just broke a very -very- extended plateau. I thought I could outsmart my body and it would eventually succumb to lower calories and lots of exercise. Well- it didn't. I started eating back most of the exercise calories (with whole foods-as best I could muster) and had a day or two of rest from exercise (or just did something light -like a bike ride with my kid). Well, my body responded and the scale is moving. I'm hoping it will move again this week! Be good to yourself, eat, drink & play!!
  • McDougal416
    McDougal416 Posts: 74 Member
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    I would REALLY not recommend binge eating for 3 days. When you do it for ONE or TWO meals, its easier to get going again..but when you start doing it days at a time..its a LOT harder to get back going again. At least for me it is. Change up your routine a bit...and make sure you are counting everything on here....Maybe run a little farther than you normally do..give your self that EXTRA push and see what happens. Eat something a little different..and sometimes what I do is drink extra water that day or a couple of days...and see what happens. But, definitely DON'T give up! Your body is just used to you doing stuff...just change it up a bit. But, remember..it could take a couple of days before you start seeing results. A friend of mine and I have noticed that whenever we change something up..whether its our exercise or what we're eating..we will plateau for a week and then start losing again. You are doing AWESOME! And if you ever get discouraged, look back at your old clothes to see where you came from! My husband made me take some pictures when I started my first leg of the journey, and anytime I get discouraged he drags them back out for me to see how far I've come! Keep up the good work! You are doing GREAT! And if you don't have before pictures...look at your before clothes. I know right now you won't see that big of a difference...but there is one!! :)
  • janac17
    janac17 Posts: 2 Member
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    For those of you on a plateau,

    The key to any plateau is to not stress about it, first of all. As a trainer, I see this in many of my clients. Like everyone has said, change your workouts up, drink a lot of water, and most importantly look at the quality of food that you are eating. As we get closer to our goal, it's not just calories in/ calories out. You must look at proteins, carbs, fats, and the amount of sodium that you are taking in.

    Most will find that they don't intake enough protein. A good rule of thumb is to eat half your body weight in grams. For instant I'm 139lbs, so I'll need 70 grams of protein through out the day. I hope that's healpful!
  • Domestica
    Domestica Posts: 91
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    Make sure you're eating enough -- if you're binging, it probably means that you were feeling deprived. If you're starving, your body will resist breaking through the plateau. Don't worry about yesterday (or the three day binge) but instead, move forward in gratitude that you broke the binge instead of continuing on! You can do this!!