Having Issues Getting Passed My Plateau

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whoride
whoride Posts: 8 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello, I was wondering if anyone had a recommendation about how I can get passed this plateau I have been stuck on. This is day 16 and I am getting frustrated. I hit another similar plateau about a month ago and I got passed that by adding time to my workouts and lowering the calories that I was eating. I tried that logic again this time, but it looks like it's not working. I am doing 50min (up from 45) of elliptical (Endurance Workout) 5 days a week and only eating 25-50% of what MFP tells me I earned from the workout. I have been working out 5 days a week since October, so I doubt it's muscle mass still building

I don't workout Saturday and Sunday, but I stick to the calories and make sure that I don't go over. I have been avoiding all supplements and gimmicky weight loss pills/drinks. I don't really want to use anything additional to my regular diet, but maybe I need to at this point?

I am not opposed to increasing my workout time or lowering my calories, but it's not making sense to me that my net calories for the week is so low yet I lose nothing.

Any help or recommendations are appreciated!

Replies

  • Muzyka6
    Muzyka6 Posts: 1 Member
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    You need to increase your protein....At least half your body weight in protein a day. It burns fats and increases your metabolism. Also drink 8 glasses of water a day and for every 25 pounds over weight your are you need to drink an extra glass. Its not just all about workouts and calories. And don't forget muscles weighs more than fat so maybe you should check your inches. You may have lost in inches but not in pounds. Hope this helps :)
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Muzyka6 wrote: »
    You need to increase your protein....At least half your body weight in protein a day. It burns fats and increases your metabolism. Also drink 8 glasses of water a day and for every 25 pounds over weight your are you need to drink an extra glass. Its not just all about workouts and calories. And don't forget muscles weighs more than fat so maybe you should check your inches. You may have lost in inches but not in pounds. Hope this helps :)

    This is almost like a bingo card of broscience, right here.
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    Muzyka6 wrote: »
    You need to increase your protein....At least half your body weight in protein a day. It burns fats and increases your metabolism. Also drink 8 glasses of water a day and for every 25 pounds over weight your are you need to drink an extra glass. Its not just all about workouts and calories. And don't forget muscles weighs more than fat so maybe you should check your inches. You may have lost in inches but not in pounds. Hope this helps :)

    This is almost like a bingo card of broscience, right here.

    +1

    OP, I regularly go that long (or longer) without a loss. It's not a plateau. If it continues, you might want to check the accuracy of your logging. Do you use a food scale?
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    whoride wrote: »
    Hello, I was wondering if anyone had a recommendation about how I can get passed this plateau I have been stuck on. This is day 16 and I am getting frustrated. I hit another similar plateau about a month ago and I got passed that by adding time to my workouts and lowering the calories that I was eating. I tried that logic again this time, but it looks like it's not working. I am doing 50min (up from 45) of elliptical (Endurance Workout) 5 days a week and only eating 25-50% of what MFP tells me I earned from the workout. I have been working out 5 days a week since October, so I doubt it's muscle mass still building

    I don't workout Saturday and Sunday, but I stick to the calories and make sure that I don't go over. I have been avoiding all supplements and gimmicky weight loss pills/drinks. I don't really want to use anything additional to my regular diet, but maybe I need to at this point?

    I am not opposed to increasing my workout time or lowering my calories, but it's not making sense to me that my net calories for the week is so low yet I lose nothing.

    Any help or recommendations are appreciated!

    A plateau is usually considered to be something like 6+ weeks with no change on the scale while keeping your routine consistent. It doesn't sound like you're quite there yet. 16 days is more of a stall, but they're still super frustrating.

    With the increased time on the elliptical, it's entirely posssible that you're retaining some extra water for muscle repair, which can cause a stall or a spike on the scale.

    Opening your diary might help to get you more specific advice if you're comfortable doing so.

    Other than that, the first thing most people will tell you to watch is to make sure you're logging as accurately as possible.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1290491-how-and-why-to-use-a-digital-food-scale
  • whoride
    whoride Posts: 8 Member
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    Thank you for all your responses. I did start using a food scale after my last "plateau" and found that it did help and I realized I was eating too much of some things and not enough of others.

    I didn't realize that 16 days is not considered a plateau. I will take some measurements, increase my water and protein consumption and see if I can get passed this point.

    I appreciate the feed back!
  • NobodyPutsAmyInTheCorner
    NobodyPutsAmyInTheCorner Posts: 1,018 Member
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    It's a stall not a plateau :-) great advice above. Other than the broscience that is lol
  • ncboiler89
    ncboiler89 Posts: 2,408 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    Muzyka6 wrote: »
    You need to increase your protein....At least half your body weight in protein a day. It burns fats and increases your metabolism. Also drink 8 glasses of water a day and for every 25 pounds over weight your are you need to drink an extra glass. Its not just all about workouts and calories. And don't forget muscles weighs more than fat so maybe you should check your inches. You may have lost in inches but not in pounds. Hope this helps :)

    This is almost like a bingo card of broscience, right here.

    LOLOLOL
  • geotrice
    geotrice Posts: 274 Member
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    whoride wrote: »
    Hello, I was wondering if anyone had a recommendation about how I can get passed this plateau I have been stuck on. This is day 16 and I am getting frustrated. I hit another similar plateau about a month ago and I got passed that by adding time to my workouts and lowering the calories that I was eating. I tried that logic again this time, but it looks like it's not working. I am doing 50min (up from 45) of elliptical (Endurance Workout) 5 days a week and only eating 25-50% of what MFP tells me I earned from the workout. I have been working out 5 days a week since October, so I doubt it's muscle mass still building

    I don't workout Saturday and Sunday, but I stick to the calories and make sure that I don't go over. I have been avoiding all supplements and gimmicky weight loss pills/drinks. I don't really want to use anything additional to my regular diet, but maybe I need to at this point?

    I am not opposed to increasing my workout time or lowering my calories, but it's not making sense to me that my net calories for the week is so low yet I lose nothing.

    Any help or recommendations are appreciated!

    16 days is not a plateau. 8 weeks is. Just keep doing what you're doing.
  • TheLegendaryBrandonHarris
    TheLegendaryBrandonHarris Posts: 502 Member
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    I've stalled/plateaued/whatever several times.

    Each time the cause was inaccurate measuring and/or logging. If your weight isn't dropping steadily, especially for over two weeks, you're eating at your maintenance level, or above it.

    Good luck.

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