plateau help

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kangaroux92
kangaroux92 Posts: 188 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
i am struggling to get under 160

ive been bouncing from 166 10 163 for months

cant seem to bust through the wall, l i cant decrease my calories becuase they are already low.
and ive switched up and intensified my workout, but no luck.

however i will say i only go to the gym 3/4 days a week and weekend dieting is a struggle.

i hate no scale progress. :(

and my boyfriend started dieting and exercising a little more than a month ago and has lost 20 pound the equivalent of what i lost in 8 months :(

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    Your logging is showing that you're eating more than you think. There are missing meals/days, a lot of quick add calories, no evidence of using a food scale.

    Read these threads to help you out:
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants#latest
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101#latest
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide#latest

    Additionally, don't compare yourself to what your boyfriend has done...most of what he lost is probably water weight, which flies off in the beginning weeks.
  • higgins8283801
    higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
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    Try to do something else outside in addition to the gym.

    Fine tune your weekends. Make sure you're weighing every food and drink being put in your mouth.

    Reduce the number you're giving for burns on your exercise.

    If weekends are a struggle that is probably a huge part of your issue.
  • higgins8283801
    higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
    edited April 2015
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    And don't compare your loss to others. He is a male and they have different caloric needs.

    My husband and I go on 4-5 mile runs. He burns close to 900 according to his Garmin. I burn 500-600 according to mine. It's just how it is.
  • kangaroux92
    kangaroux92 Posts: 188 Member
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    thanks hes 6'5" and was 280 i knew he would burn through it fast, it just is annoying lol. and yeah the weather is getting nicer i was thinking about jogging outside soon. thanks
  • futuremanda
    futuremanda Posts: 816 Member
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    I agree that it would be helpful if you tightened your logging. Missing days, missing meals, missing info (quick add). There's really no way for you to know what you've truly been eating, and if you're not losing, that means there's no deficit. Log it all, always, consistently, as correctly as you can, and give that another 1-2 months. I bet the weight starts coming off again!

    I'd also say that with 20-25 lbs to lose, you may be looking at 0.5 to 1 lb per week for a reasonable expectation. I think that sometimes those losses are more easily obscured by things like water weight fluctuations. You may want to start taking measurements and/or photos if you haven't been, and basically just adhere as best you can to your plan, while being patient with the scale. If you've been fluctuating at least 3 lbs, then you do have some normal fluctuations that will make it tough to see if changes you are making are working immediately. (And remember that intensifying exercise can add temporary water weight too, so just try to take the fluctuations in stride and see how the trend goes over several weeks.)

    Regarding weekends: Weekends are hard for most people! Do log them. Even jot things down on paper and log it more properly in MFP when you get the chance. Don't use quick add, because it gives you nothing to go on when you need to evaluate your diary later. Try to get an approximate match of an unknown food instead. For example, we get pastries from a french bakery on Sunday mornings. So I often just try to find similar sounding pastries with a good deal of calories to log. Then later, even though it might say Starbucks or some chain I'm not familiar with or a different flavour (but similar item, like cream filling), I *know* that's pastries at least, not mystery cals.

    You may also find that you can increase your activity level on weekends -- go shopping, go grocery shopping, do meal prep, take some extra walks, go for a bike ride, do spring cleaning, have a dance break in your kitchen. You'd be surprised how well some walking, even lots of standing, can help, especially if you're also still trying to make smart choices with your food.

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