Weight loss plateau

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thibeaultt
thibeaultt Posts: 7 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Over the past year I've been making serious progress towards my weight loss goals, but I was also just starting out and making big changes can produce big change. Since about September (2014) I've been stuck in a weird plateau. I've still got another 25 to lose before i'll be content, but no matter how hard I work at the gym daily and consistently and no matter how strict I am with my diet, by tracking every single thing and never skipping a day, I still have only lost about 5 lbs in 4 months. I have noticed settle changes in my body such as muscles showing and what not but still not any change in weight. I usually eat around 1500 cal as my BMR is 1830. I stick to my proteins and stay a bit lower on the carbs. When I dropped down for 1350 for a week I could barely think, had rare and or un-pleasant bowel movements and didn't lose a pound. I am never giving up but this is soo very frustrating sometimes.

Anyone else have this sort of issue? What did you do to finally start making progress again? I'm still working hard toward this goal everyday, I'm just interested in what may have worked for others in this situation and am definitely open to suggestions.

Replies

  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    Are you certain that your BMR is 1830? That seems a little high for a woman's BMR. If you aren't losing weight, you're eating too much. As for unpleasant bowel movements and mental acuity, that has more to do with what you are eating, not how much you are eating.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Do you use a food scale?
  • Maries_wine_calories
    Maries_wine_calories Posts: 152 Member
    Have you re-evaluated your goals/reinput them at any time since you started? Perhaps until you begin losing again you need to change up your activity level and your calories! I did adjust at my plateau not long ago- I adjusted to lose more slowly (1lb/week) and my calories went up by 230 and I began losing again. My other thought is that you need to ensure you are eating your fat goals to help your bm's- may take some calories in nuts or oils to do that.
  • besee_2000
    besee_2000 Posts: 365 Member
    edited January 2015
    http://www.chalenejohnson.com/podcasts/breaking-a-weight-or-fitness-plateau/
    Her advice makes sense to me.
  • thibeaultt
    thibeaultt Posts: 7 Member
    Yeah, i'm pretty sure it is 1830 unless i'm mistaken, but I'm 5ft 9.5in. 225lbs. 27yrs old so that's what I get. I've been told i don't "look" like I weigh 225, but i'm kinda tall and that's what the scale reads. I have also replaced the batteries recently haha and yea I weigh all of the chicken that I eat and measure everything else such as vegetables, salad greens, and everything to be as accurate as possible. My goals are at 30/45/25 or 112g(Carbs)/169(Protein)/42g(Fats). I meet them as close as possible consistently and I have definitely considered making some adjustments. Maybe eating more may help out for a bit!
  • Maries_wine_calories
    Maries_wine_calories Posts: 152 Member
    I think your carbs are a bit low, and getting this much closer to your goal weight- input your loss at zero (maintenance) info and have a look at what mfp suggests for those macros? Advice I have seen suggests high protein % in maintenance only f you are initiating a muscle building program.
    - let us know how its going! :)
  • Phoenix_Down
    Phoenix_Down Posts: 530 Member
    scoandmur wrote: »
    I think your carbs are a bit low, and getting this much closer to your goal weight- input your loss at zero (maintenance) info and have a look at what mfp suggests for those macros? Advice I have seen suggests high protein % in maintenance only f you are initiating a muscle building program.
    - let us know how its going! :)

    High protein intake is important for muscle retention during weight loss as well, coupled with resistance training it can help aid in leaving one leaner at goal weight.

    It's also crucial to help repair muscles and overall health, so it's not just about building muscle (which would only be beneficial if the individual in a calorie surplus and undergoing some form of resistance training like weightlifting)
  • RaspberryTickleChicken
    RaspberryTickleChicken Posts: 629 Member
    Calories is not the answer.

    Change up your workout routine.

    Reduce the duration of your cardio but max out the intensity. ie. if you are doing 45 min of cardio reduce it to 30 min but really work it. If you can carry on a conversation or leisurely read a book you're not maximizing your O2 expenditure.

    When I hit a plateau my friend who is certified nutritionist and personal trainer suggested to upping the intensity of my cardio routine & keeping everything else the same. Within a week I broke through the plateau.

    Best of luck to you!
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,572 Member
    1) I got slower and slower as I got to my goal weight. It took me as long to lose the last 5 pounds as the previous 35.

    2) If my carbs aren't under 40% (in other words, if my protein and fat aren't high enough) I don't lose weight no matter what my calories.

    3) Have you readjusted your calorie goals to fit your new weight. The thinner you are the fewer calories you need. Every time I plateued I would recalculate my calories, MFP would take away a few calories, and I'd lose again.

    4) Revisit your measurements and portion sizes. It's easy to drift upwards.

    Good luck. It just takes time.

  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    kripster wrote: »
    Yeah, i'm pretty sure it is 1830 unless i'm mistaken, but I'm 5ft 9.5in. 225lbs. 27yrs old so that's what I get. I've been told i don't "look" like I weigh 225, but i'm kinda tall and that's what the scale reads. I have also replaced the batteries recently haha and yea I weigh all of the chicken that I eat and measure everything else such as vegetables, salad greens, and everything to be as accurate as possible. My goals are at 30/45/25 or 112g(Carbs)/169(Protein)/42g(Fats). I meet them as close as possible consistently and I have definitely considered making some adjustments. Maybe eating more may help out for a bit!

    That's what I get for you also.
  • Phoenix_Down
    Phoenix_Down Posts: 530 Member
    RaspberryTickleChicken wrote: »
    Calories is not the answer.

    Change up your workout routine.

    Reduce the duration of your cardio but max out the intensity. ie. if you are doing 45 min of cardio reduce it to 30 min but really work it. If you can carry on a conversation or leisurely read a book you're not maximizing your O2 expenditure.

    When I hit a plateau my friend who is certified nutritionist and personal trainer suggested to upping the intensity of my cardio routine & keeping everything else the same. Within a week I broke through the plateau.

    Best of luck to you!


    by upping your activity you increased your caloric burn, therefore leading to a calorie deficit.

    I can lose weight by just counting, exercising helps with logging errors and is great for overall health and fitness.
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