when is a plateau a plateau?

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rachylouise87
rachylouise87 Posts: 367 Member
in Introduce Yourself
my weight loss has stalled for 3 weeks? i have pushed my workouts this week with using .5kg weights doing cardio, i am 5ft1 and i keep weighing between 160 and 162 it varies week by week. i havnt felt a difference in how my clothes fit for a while and i feel extremely bloated all the time. on average i am burning about 300 calories per 40 minute workout and my heart rate is around 75% of the maximum so i know im hitting the high burn levels which has increased by using weight. before i was only hitting 60%. my calorie allowance is 1200 but i usually eat back 100 calories depending on how much was burnt. do i need to change my eating or up the intensity of the workouts. i am always dripping in sweat and cannot talk through the workouts so i know they are quite intense. i started at 174lbs so i have a lost a stone now and have around 2 stone to go but cannot seem to get past this hanging point?

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  • rachylouise87
    rachylouise87 Posts: 367 Member
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    oh and my TDEE was calculated to be 1750 per day so i know i have enough of a deficit
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    rachylouise87 wrote: »
    my weight loss has stalled for 3 weeks? i have pushed my workouts this week with using .5kg weights doing cardio, i am 5ft1 and i keep weighing between 160 and 162 it varies week by week. i havnt felt a difference in how my clothes fit for a while and i feel extremely bloated all the time. on average i am burning about 300 calories per 40 minute workout and my heart rate is around 75% of the maximum so i know im hitting the high burn levels which has increased by using weight. before i was only hitting 60%. my calorie allowance is 1200 but i usually eat back 100 calories depending on how much was burnt. do i need to change my eating or up the intensity of the workouts. i am always dripping in sweat and cannot talk through the workouts so i know they are quite intense. i started at 174lbs so i have a lost a stone now and have around 2 stone to go but cannot seem to get past this hanging point?

    a plateau is 6 - 8 weeks when all things are being logged accurately

    I would say
    1) pushing your workouts will increase water weight as muscles hold onto more water when they go into repair
    2) hormones can affect water weight - TOM, ovulation

    So look at your logging
    - are you truly weighing and logging everything you eat. Are you picking the right choices from the database, scanning barcodes, making your own recipes
    - if you can answer yes, brilliant move on

    Look at your exercise
    How do you estimate calorie burn on workouts? Do you have an HRM? Are you using the machines/MFP database
    - if the latter then eat back 50 - 75% of the calories from machines / MFP (they overestimate) - you can adjust your eat-back as you start to understand how much you are losing

    Look at your water intake - make sure you're drinking enough

    and finally - eat to fuel yourself

    1200 is the minimum MFP would give you - at that level you MUST eat back your exercise calories, not just 100 a so, but you shouldn't dip below the 1200 in the long-term

    get all these things right, keep logging you still may stall for a few weeks but it will whoosh

    anecdotally - over the last 3 weeks my weight has gone up and down the same 1-2lbs so that overall it looks like a straight line. Until yesterday when I dropped 3lbs in one big whoosh

    whooshes happen
  • ithrowconfetti
    ithrowconfetti Posts: 451 Member
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    ^^ Some really good suggestions. I'd suggest weighing food items whenever you can, ensuring enough water is drunk, and upping your calorie intake, because +1 on the "whoosh".
  • cecesquats
    cecesquats Posts: 166 Member
    edited December 2014
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    As rabbitjb mentioned, because you've started a new workout routine your muscles are going to retain more water. This happened to me and it drove me crazy! Just keep up everything you're doing, and you should be fine :)

    ETA: Take pictures and measurements. They'll help you gauge your progress when the scale isn't moving :)
  • rachylouise87
    rachylouise87 Posts: 367 Member
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    thanks, i only usually burn 300-600 cals per workout. i weigh everything i eat and check labels to log correctly. food choices are usually good. water is 1.5-2litres a day normally and 2.5 on workout days. im giving myself 2 days a week to recover 1 mid week and 1 on a sunday. i have noticed a huge change when i lost the first 10-12lbs or so in my body and my legs are shaping up lovely. i have had 3 children and my weight is supposed to be 132lbs on the higher end and 96lbs on the lower. my bmi is reading at 30.8. i have noticed i am very bloated lately and i do suffer with IBS so its not helping. how much realistically can water weight be? thanks so much for the tips and encouragement i think once i get past the 160lbs threshold i will be ok. i weighed myself for the first time in 2 weeks and i was still at 160. i feel ok eating 1200 calories. any more and the scale doesnt move at all. even eating 1750 which i should maintain with i manage to gain ... mysteries mysteries. oh and yes i wear a HRM everytime and log my average hr

    Thanks guys ill keep going
  • sarahgoodwin1107
    sarahgoodwin1107 Posts: 7 Member
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    These are all great suggestions. I hit a plateau for 10 weeks and I was flucutating between 164-161. It was maddening. Thanks for asking this question!

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