I've hit a plateau!!

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  • Jurra13
    Jurra13 Posts: 13 Member
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    I really wish I would have posted this a while ago lol everyone is so helpful! Thank you. I'm used to people telling me that I don't need to lose weight or that I'm crazy for wanting to count calories. I need the "tough love" or truth . I don't want my life to revolve around counting calories, but I definitely think seeing results the healthy way will be worth it!
  • Jurra13
    Jurra13 Posts: 13 Member
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    I should have also added that my metabolism is EXTREMELY slow. My body takes days to digest food .
    Which....counting calories will most likely help with that!
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
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    Jurra13 wrote: »
    I should have also added that my metabolism is EXTREMELY slow. My body takes days to digest food .
    Which....counting calories will most likely help with that!

    Well counting calories will tell you how slow you think your metabolism is.
  • conklinn
    conklinn Posts: 5 Member
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    If you've been running and weight lifting for a while (6+ months), your body has probably become efficient at that particular exercise. Try spinning or swimming in place of running for a little while, and maybe working out with a stretch band or body-weight exercises in place of weight lifting. Then change back when/if you plateau again. I don't know if you belong to a gym, but give their group ex classes a try. Usually those kinds of surprises to your body is enough to kick it out of a plateau. Just a suggestion.
  • joejccva71
    joejccva71 Posts: 2,985 Member
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    conklinn wrote: »
    If you've been running and weight lifting for a while (6+ months), your body has probably become efficient at that particular exercise. Try spinning or swimming in place of running for a little while, and maybe working out with a stretch band or body-weight exercises in place of weight lifting. Then change back when/if you plateau again. I don't know if you belong to a gym, but give their group ex classes a try. Usually those kinds of surprises to your body is enough to kick it out of a plateau. Just a suggestion.

    What?
  • Allelito
    Allelito Posts: 179 Member
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    conklinn wrote: »
    If you've been running and weight lifting for a while (6+ months), your body has probably become efficient at that particular exercise. Try spinning or swimming in place of running for a little while, and maybe working out with a stretch band or body-weight exercises in place of weight lifting. Then change back when/if you plateau again. I don't know if you belong to a gym, but give their group ex classes a try. Usually those kinds of surprises to your body is enough to kick it out of a plateau. Just a suggestion.

    Ah yes, make sure to arrange a surprise party for your body! I suggest lots of balloons and cake.
    Nah, keep running and lifting as long as you enjoy it, it's not like it'll stop burning calories just because you do it a lot. :)
  • conklinn
    conklinn Posts: 5 Member
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    joejccva71, if you do the same exercise everyday, your body becomes very efficient at it and doesn't burn as many calories...its called muscle memory. Change up your exercise and it challenges your muscles, encouraging change.
  • joejccva71
    joejccva71 Posts: 2,985 Member
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    conklinn wrote: »
    joejccva71, if you do the same exercise everyday, your body becomes very efficient at it and doesn't burn as many calories...its called muscle memory. Change up your exercise and it challenges your muscles, encouraging change.

    Sure your body can become accustomed to doing the same exercises so it's good to change things up but this has absolutely no effect on weight loss. Not even a little bit.

    Weight loss is calorie intake vs TDEE. Food type doesn't matter either.
  • Jurra13
    Jurra13 Posts: 13 Member
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    So let's say I've logged my 1200 calories for the day, but then I log my exercise and it deducts x amout of calories because I've burnt those off. Am I allowed to eat those burnt calories or am Is that defeating the purpose of burning calories?

    Does that make sense? It's a serious question lol
  • conklinn
    conklinn Posts: 5 Member
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    joejccva71 wrote: »
    conklinn wrote: »
    joejccva71, if you do the same exercise everyday, your body becomes very efficient at it and doesn't burn as many calories...its called muscle memory. Change up your exercise and it challenges your muscles, encouraging change.

    Sure your body can become accustomed to doing the same exercises so it's good to change things up but this has absolutely no effect on weight loss. Not even a little bit.

    Weight loss is calorie intake vs TDEE. Food type doesn't matter either.


    Yes, it does. And I didn't say it would create a weight loss. It will help knock down a plateau. I've done, I've seen it happen.
  • Allelito
    Allelito Posts: 179 Member
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    Jurra13 wrote: »
    So let's say I've logged my 1200 calories for the day, but then I log my exercise and it deducts x amout of calories because I've burnt those off. Am I allowed to eat those burnt calories or am Is that defeating the purpose of burning calories?

    Does that make sense? It's a serious question lol

    Assuming the exercise calorie burn is 100% accurate, you could eat back all of those calories and still lose the same amount as if you ate 1200 calories and didn't work out at all. However, calculators and machines don't estimate the exercise calories 100% correctly, so it's usually suggested to only eat back some of it. Maybe try eating back 50-75% of your estimated exercise burns. :)
  • joejccva71
    joejccva71 Posts: 2,985 Member
    edited April 2015
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    Jurra13 wrote: »
    So let's say I've logged my 1200 calories for the day, but then I log my exercise and it deducts x amout of calories because I've burnt those off. Am I allowed to eat those burnt calories or am Is that defeating the purpose of burning calories?

    Does that make sense? It's a serious question lol

    I mean I honestly don't do it that way. I find out what my TDEE is which is my total daily energy expenditure and then I eat a deficit to lose .5 to 1lb per week while making sure I eat enough protein (.5 to 1lb per gram of body weight is a good start) so I can maintain the muscle mass I have and minimize it's loss while dieting.

    It's much easier than "eating back exercise calories" and messing with that whole thing.

    Finding your TDEE can be done in a number of "easy" ways or "hard" ways.

    Example of an easy way:
    Buying a fitbit or another device that you wear on your arm every day and all day (except showering) and after about 2 weeks you'll have your consistent TDEE.

    Hard way:

    Pick a calorie intake level and eat. Eat for 2 weeks and track how much weight you lose, gain, or maintain and calculate your TDEE that way. This way is kind of a pain in the *kitten* but it works too.

    Although nowadays I believe there are websites out there that can calculate this for you, but it's a rough estimate and isn't 100% accurate.
  • Jurra13
    Jurra13 Posts: 13 Member
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    Okay! I'll just not eat those back. I've noticed that with portioning over the past few weeks, I've been getting full quickly, where as I used to be able to eat and eat and eat.

    What exactly is TDEE?
  • conklinn
    conklinn Posts: 5 Member
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    From ACE (American Council on Exercise:

    Get Off the Plateau

    If you’ve stopped losing weight, the key to getting off the plateau is to vary your program. The human body is an amazing piece of machinery, capable of adapting to just about any circumstance or stimulus. By shaking things up a bit and varying your program by introducing some new elements, you’ll likely find yourself off the plateau and back on the road to progress in no time.

    There are many reason for hitting a plateau. Calorie intake, calorie outtake, and exercise are all part of it.
  • joejccva71
    joejccva71 Posts: 2,985 Member
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    Jurra13 wrote: »
    Okay! I'll just not eat those back. I've noticed that with portioning over the past few weeks, I've been getting full quickly, where as I used to be able to eat and eat and eat.

    What exactly is TDEE?

    It's the amount of calories you burn throughout the day. It includes exercise, eating, walking, talking, having sex, taking a dump, yelling at other drivers on the road, sleeping, everything.

    When you find that number (with atleast 90% accuracy), you've found your way. This number also changes when you lose weight. So if you lose 20lbs lets say, your TDEE will go down because the less you weigh, the less calories you burn throughout the day.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    Jurra13 wrote: »
    Okay! I'll just not eat those back. I've noticed that with portioning over the past few weeks, I've been getting full quickly, where as I used to be able to eat and eat and eat.

    What exactly is TDEE?

    If you're only eating 1200 calories, you'll be better off actually eating some of them (not all, of course, for the reasons the other poster said) so you can keep your body fueled, especially if you lift.

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