Plateau??

I'm in a bit of one myself. I've heard to change up your routine, not only exercise but food amounts and types too.


In regards to your sig, aren't kids the cutest things! hehe

I would say that maybe you aren't eating enough, and also, you should be doing strength training and not just cardio. Strength training will build up the muscles that will burn more calories, even while resting, thus raising your Base Metabolic Rate (BMR).

I agree with the others, you need to change up your routine more...your body gets use to it when you do the same thing over and over so you have to confuse it a little by doing something different.

Try zig-zagging your calories like friends have said. You eat the same amount of calories every week, but not the same amount every day. For instance, say you normally eat 1500 a day which is 10500 a week. Instead of eating 1500 every day, eat 2000 one day, 1500 the next, 1800 the next day, then 1600 the next, etc, etc... all as long as the calories add up to the weekly total. Hope this helps!

I have been on a plateau for more than 2 months. But I am OK with it as I am strength training and my body is in a constant state of flux. The scale reads one thing, but I see and feel my body responding in a different way.

As others have said, if you are going hard for the weight loss, you will need to trick your body. Spice it up a bit with a few minor changes that you feel could work for you and your routine and you will have the results.

For me, I know what I need to do to lose more, but at this point I am interested in mass gains, as well as fat loss. As a result, the scale numbers don't mean much to me right now. Do what works for you. Make it a game! If you don't go up, you are succeeding and winning.

I think you are getting some good suggestions from others here. I also started eating a bit more, changing up my exercise and doing strength training, when I plateaued at 200 and have found that I'm getting more steady again at about 1 to 1.5 per week loss now.
I did notice when I went through your food diary that you tend to replace a great many of your exercise calories with things like chocolate or candy or processed food. I know with Easter having just passed this is a time when that seems normal, but I went fairly far back and this seems to be a regular pattern for you. Although how you eat your exercise calories is definitely up to you (I am in no way a perfect eater), I think you might find some good changes if you start replacing the empty calories you are getting from candy with something more wholesome/nutritious that your body can really work with.
Good luck with your journey...you're doing great losing what you have already! Don't get too discouraged, it will come off as long as you continue to watch the calories and exercise. (at least that's what I keep telling myself!)

I started a Plateau Support thread in the Motivation forum because I am getting frustrated and need support!
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/226252-anyone-else-need-plateau-support

Feel free to join me!

I agree, even if you change your exercise simply by doing 2 days on one day off instead of every other day, or even twice in one day and skip two days, it could help. I also agree with eating more. I know it sounds like it is counter productive but if you've increased your workouts and you're still eating back your regular workout calories (what amounts to half) it won't be enough to sustain you long term. Remember your goal calories are set for you to lose weight without the exercise so even if you ate back every last crumb of a calorie, you'd still loose weight as planned.

You also have to consider that you've been doing the same exercises for 3 months now. That makes them part of your normal activities. I would suggest you up your activity level which will give you more food and still allow you to lose weight and you won't feel like you have to eat so much back at the end of the day.

Zig zagging can help. It's a method of staggering your calories over the week so your body doesn't get used to having x amount everyday and it will kind of put it in that guessing mode which is where our bodies seem to thrive. Guess it's all in the design. There are a couple of ways to do it. Search the forums for zig zag (unless someone already posted the link) there is a great post out there about one way to do it. The underlying theory is that if you need 1200 calories a day x 7 days you need 8400 calories a week. Instead of taking them at 1200 a day, you mix it up by using your maintenance level, your max fat burn level (the least you should eat) and something in the middle. In the end you're still eating the same amount, just not everyday.

You also fast on Mondays. Do you make up this calorie deficit over the week? Remember that while we focus on the day, we should still be meeting our weekly caloric needs to continue that weight loss plan (per MFP) since it takes your weekly and divides it to show you the daily. I think if you tried adding back those lost calories on Mondays over the week it could help too.

One thing I wouldn't do is try all of this at one time since you won't know what's working. Pick one and try it for at least 2 weeks. If it's not giving you the results you want then try something else. In the end you can end up having a variety of things to use to keep your intake and exercise fresh and yet still familiar.

I understand totally about doing the same things everyday. It's comforting and helps keep your life more relaxed. You know what to expect. The only problem is that so does your body and that's what hurts us the most. How would you feel about having like 4 or 5 different workouts - you can do one each week or every two weeks, this way you have a sense of doing the same thing but you're still changing it up often enough to keep your body guessing? Something else to consider.

Oh, as you get leaner you will also have to work harder to get your heart rate up as high as it was. That's just a fact of getting into better condition. Don't take it as a a set back because it's really a testament to how WELL you are doing!

Good luck and keep up the great work!