6 Month Plateau... Looking for Advice/Help
00trayn
Posts: 1,849 Member
I've been stuck at 150 for the last 6 months (I'm 5'2.5", no kids). I'll drop down to 149 for a few days and it goes back up just as quickly. I work out consistently 4-5 days a week and I'm active at least on the days I don't have a formal workout. Mainly I've been running, but I do strength training once a week with my personal trainer and usually some other cardio not running once a week (since I don't like to run back-to-back days for the most part).
In terms of food, my diary is public. I don't log my Saturday night dinners usually since it almost always at a restaurant with my boyfriend that has no nutrition info, but I don't go insane and eat everything in sight. I've been zigzagging my calories with 1270 as my low day, 1900 as my high day, and 1590 as the average. I think my carb/protein/fat ratio is at 50/25/25 right now and that's a level I'm comfortable at and can eat on a regular basis without chowing down on giant chicken breasts to get my protein number up.
So at this point, I'm open to ideas. I've tried just about everything you can imagine in the last 6 months to get the scale moving and it's just not budging. I have lost some body fat % (I'm down to 27.4% according to a handheld bioimpedence thingy) and not much in terms of inches the last few months, aside from an inch off my waist.
In terms of food, my diary is public. I don't log my Saturday night dinners usually since it almost always at a restaurant with my boyfriend that has no nutrition info, but I don't go insane and eat everything in sight. I've been zigzagging my calories with 1270 as my low day, 1900 as my high day, and 1590 as the average. I think my carb/protein/fat ratio is at 50/25/25 right now and that's a level I'm comfortable at and can eat on a regular basis without chowing down on giant chicken breasts to get my protein number up.
So at this point, I'm open to ideas. I've tried just about everything you can imagine in the last 6 months to get the scale moving and it's just not budging. I have lost some body fat % (I'm down to 27.4% according to a handheld bioimpedence thingy) and not much in terms of inches the last few months, aside from an inch off my waist.
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I'm there too. I'm interested to see the replies.0
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I won't have much great advice unfortunately, seeings as I've also been plateaued for 6 months. However, i'm always trying new things too.
Have you tried setting your goal to lose 0.5 per week and eating the calories it recommends at that rate? Maybe your body is in need of more food because your metabolism has sped up?0 -
this might not be what you want to hear, but maybe this is your body's happy weight??
I try to live my life pretty well in terms of food and with the hope of always losing a few pounds. I can never seem to maintain less than 185 (I am 5'11, no kids).
I have been this way for YEARS!
I don't like it, but I am trying to accept it.0 -
It sounds like you're doing a lot right. How is your water consumption? Switching up the cardio is a good idea too. You're looking great so don't get discouraged.
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I hit a 6 month plateau in March, when i hit 51lbs lost. I had to change my eating. I was on Weight Watchers where I made huge strides, but then I hired a trainer, and talked with him about what needed to change. I switched over to clean eating. I now eat greek yogurt instead of light n fit, almond milk instead of skim milk, added almonds & walnuts too. Also I allow myself to have a green apple with peanut butter at least 3 times a week. These changes made a huge difference with my plateau. Plus I pushed myself harder with running, but upping my speed once a week. Now I run at 5.5 with a 2 incline, instead of 4.0.
Hopefully this helps! You'll break through. Look how far you've come! Great job!!0 -
Are your workouts still really challenging you? Try to do something that you think you can't in order to determine where your real limit is now, as a fit person.
You could also try bumping up the intensity with some intervals. And trying something completely different can sometimes help as well (if you normally run, add in a few tennis matches, go rock climbing, etc). Just adding in a few trail running sessions to my weekly workout (in place of road runs) got me past my last really bad hurdle.
After that, I'm out (except for the fairly useless recommendation of patience). You mentioned a personal trainer, so you should probably talk with him/her in detail about what you're going through (since this person presumably knows your body). He/She might also be able to recommend a nutritionist who can make suggestions.0 -
If your weight hasn't changed in 6 months and you want it to, then you might need to change your diet and/or exercise routine. A few weeks without loss could just be temporary water weight, but 6 months would seem to indicate that this is the weight you will remain on your current regimen. Maybe add a little extra cardio or sustitute low-cal veggies for some of your protein or carbs. You probably just need to tweak your plan a little to start losing again.0
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One suggestion would be to increase your resistance training. The more muscle you have the easier and faster fat is removed. Now the scary part about this is at first you may gain weight however this is only temporary. Your body needs to get used tot he increased lean mass and then it kicks up you metabolism.
The other thing is once your body has been working out for a while it becomes a well oiled machine, meaning it begins to adapt to the calories you are ingesting. Perhaps reevaluating your total calorie intake would help.
And last you have to be really honest with yourself……I recently had to do this….are you working out like you should be, is your diet on track, and am I sabotaging my efforts. (the latter was me).
Hope this helps you have come a long way…..you can break this plateau0 -
First congrats on your work!!! You look fantastic (you can see the self-confidence in the photo!) and Just think you are doing such a great thing for yourself and your life!!!
As for the plateau thing... I've gone through more than a few in my journey... Some things that I've done are
Adjust your cardio. If you work out for 60 minutes a day (Cardio) increase the intensity of the workout (even if you lower the time to 30-45 minutes for example)... HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is a great way to bust out of a plateau that has personally worked for me...
Protein vs. fat... 25% fat is about where I started but had to lower that to break out of a plateau and am now down to closer to 10-15% - I added protein (not carbs) for my difference and that helped immensely... In truth - I'm at 60% Protein, 25% Carbs, 15% fat (or 30%/10%) and feel much better (also have more energy for my workouts)...
Water and Sodium... The last plateau I broke ended by me diligently adjusting my sodium intake down to less than 2200 a day and maintaining water of at least 12 glasses... While sodium does NOT stop fat burn or weight loss, it does cause us to retain water and we can sit and sit and sit at a given weight while our body fights to retain the water we take in to combat the extra sodium in our system...
lastly - for your zigzag - Have you checked with a medical professional regarding your MBR or suggested calorie intake? The site is great at giving us an "example" or "sample" MBR, but without a medical professional doing real tests for our body - it is JUST an example - and it might behoove you to check with one to ensure you are where you should be!!!
lastly - just let me end with - fantastic work - please keep it up - you deserve to be a healthy and happy individual and I'm just so blessed to have seen your post and your loss - well done!!!
C.J.
PS: I've lost a lot of weight - but I'm no doctor - I would hope that my advice and tips on things that have worked for me are taken as just that. Please consult a physician and nutritionist for the most accurate and up-to-date medical information regarding weight loss and sculpting....0 -
Maybe your calorie deficit is too high? Do you know how many calories your burn during the day? As you get closer to your ideal weight your body will resist losing weight because it is happy therefore you need to reduce the calorie deficit to only 500 calories between how much your body is using and how much you are eating for example if you eat 2000 calories you should only burn 2500 during the day. I've just purchased a body bugg to try and get to my ideal weight hopefully it will help.
Good luck0 -
Wow, lots of questions suggestions.
- I definitely want to chat with the trainer this week about it, but his tips haven't worked too well (I tried really low carb and hated it and didn't lose, tried no carbs after 6 and hated that even more and didn't lose...). But I do want to ask him about more strength training.
- Running for me is REALLY pushing myself. I am 100% spent after I run and I've been gradually increasing my mileage (did 4 miles yesterday morning on the treadmill) and in terms of speed (I do interval runs, tempo runs, and hill runs). So I'm pretty content with my running as a great workout and its only getting more intense as I push myself and can handle it.
- I've tried zig zagging calories, but maybe I need to try a low calorie week or something. I don't know if I need to eat more, eat less, etc... My eating is pretty spot on, as you can see in my diary. A few treats but lots of good for you foods, and I aim for low sodium.
- I drink water like a fish. I have my camelbak water bottle that holds 20oz and I empty it at least 4 times a day, so I'm getting more than the recommended 64oz.
- I have a desk job so I don't think my BMR is really all that high, and I've set myself up so my deficit isn't too large with calorie zigzagging.0 -
I went to a dietitian/nutritionist to see if she can find the reason for my plateu.. she did a test to check my BMR with a devise called Medgem and it said my resting metabolic is 1540 plus my job description it puts me at 1848 for my daily calories intake,, she put me at a 500 calorie deficit.. she stated I was not eating enough and that is why I was not losing weight… well I think she was right if I was eating 1200 calories and burning minimum 500 calories per day( I burn more that this) I was keeping my self on 700 calories a day. I need to say.. I think she was right.. I have stated to see the scale go down.. I have no clue how this works but the truth is sometime is nice to get some expert advise. I will not log my lost until 1 month until I really see if this is working. Ifn you guys are interested in this test the MEDGEM any nutritionist should have it in their office it was 55 dollars for the test worth every penny. Below is the website http://www.mimhs.com/0
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I went to a dietitian/nutritionist to see if she can find the reason for my plateu.. she did a test to check my BMR with a devise called Medgem and it said my resting metabolic is 1540 plus my job description it puts me at 1848 for my daily calories intake,, she put me at a 500 calorie deficit.. she stated I was not eating enough and that is why I was not losing weight… well I think she was right if I was eating 1200 calories and burning minimum 500 calories per day( I burn more that this) I was keeping my self on 700 calories a day. I need to say.. I think she was right.. I have stated to see the scale go down.. I have no clue how this works but the truth is sometime is nice to get some expert advise. I will not log my lost until 1 month until I really see if this is working. Ifn you guys are interested in this test the MEDGEM any nutritionist should have it in their office it was 55 dollars for the test worth every penny. Below is the website http://www.mimhs.com/
Thanks for sharing, marianpp!0 -
Great Job....
The recipe to break through differs for everyone but some here are some of the best suggestions 've heard.....
Up the # of days you strength train from 1 day up to 3--- (avoid back to back days)-
Circuits Train (allow you to strength train while keeping your heart rate up -- see Jillian Michael's or Biggest Loser videos)
Cardio Intervals vs. Continuous cardio
Check out HiiT Training ( High Intensity Interval Training)
Make sure your challenge yourself -- not just going thru the same motions each visit -- your body is very efficient at adjusting
Increase Lean Protein Intake
Decrease Carb Intake
Try Carb Cycling--- ( Alternate Low Carb Days with Higher Carb Days)
No carbohydrates after 4pm
Have a Cheat Meal or Day
Make sure you are getting enough sleep
Give your body a full 1-2 Rest Days per week form exercise
Keep Stress Levels in check
Try using a weighted vest --- your body has gotten use to your new lighter weight --- The heavier you are the more calories you burn
Make sure you are not under eating for the amount of activity you are getting
Look for new exercise routines that your body is not use to --- explore exercise DVD's, try using a piece of gym equipment or class you normally avoid -- mix it up
Lastly, if you are an evening exerciser -- try doing it in the morning a couple days per week -- ( or vise versa)
Try split work out --- 30+min in the morning --- 30+ min later in the day
Good Luck in your Journey !0 -
Great advice, ncrenshaw! I want to keep this in my list.0
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Wow a 6 month plateau, I can' t imagine your frustration! You have been doing so well and eat healthfully and work out, so that's rough that you haven't lost weight in 6 months. You should be very proud of what you've accomplished, even if POUNDS aren't coming off lately, you have most definitely lost body fat and increased your strength and cardiovascular health. I'm sure your new lifestyle will stick for good!
As for breaking the plateau, try giving yourself a 0.5 pound loss per week. The less you have lose, the more calories you should be eating otherwise you're body will freak out! Seriously, eat more. Do you have it set to a 1 pound loss now? Also, not to start a war lol but do you eat your exercise calories back?
Good luck, let me know how it goes!0 -
I was also at a plateau for about 6 months while I was training for a half marathon. For me, running just doesn't help me lose weight. I started Jillian Michael's ripped in 30 (5 days a week) and zumba 2 days a week with a short run a couple days a week and I've lost 2 lbs in 2 weeks. Last time I got stuck at a plateau I did Jillian Michael's 30 day shred 6 days a week for 2 months and lost 6-7 lbs. I am a huge fan of her DVD's and they always seem to help me push past a plateau.
As for calories, I stay around 1200-1300 calories a day. I know if I eat over 1,500 per day, I am definitely not going to lose weight (i'm 5'2). I saw a nutritionist last week that said unfortunately for me, I'm a petite woman so my body doesn't need many calories and 1200-1300 is pretty much my maintenance calories. I'm wondering if eating 1,900 calories some days is just too many calories?0 -
I changed my goals on MFP to a 0.5lb a week loss, since I am close to a healthy weight. I get 1500 calories a day. With zigzagging, that's about my average. My schedule looks like this:
Monday 1270
Tuesday 1749
Wednesday 1590
Thursday 1431
Friday 1590
Saturday 1908
Sunday 1590
i might drop the highest days down by 100 calories tho, so it's more like 1500, 1650, 1800, etc. so I'm not getting too little calorie deficit. But I admit I haven't been sticking that closely to it come Friday and Saturday, so I need to try that and see if it helps. It was working when I was more strict with it for a week, then I let myself indulge.
I also am running more frequently to prepare for one more 5K this season, on June 5th. After that I might try to do a bit less cardio and more strength/circuit training for the summer, since I'll be indoors at the gym. Perhaps start going to a class or doing more of my DVDs at home. I suspect the abundance of cardio is hurting me at this point, not helping. But I have 2 more weeks to run like a maniac and then I'm cutting back.0 -
I think that this and many forums on this web cite need to rethink the perils of steady-state cardio (The kind of exercise where you maintain a specific heart rate for long periods of time.) When you do steady state card you are only giving your body half the benefits of exercise. A key reason why you should increase your resistance/ Strength training days is EPOC or exercise post oxygen consumption. This is when you body becomes in oxygen debt and in turn burns more calories after you workout. Some Personal trainers call it after burn, but is associated with anaerobic training from Strength training, or metabolic circuits. To help break through your pleatu I would suggest the fallowing.
1) Add 2 Strength training days a week, taking away two running days.
a) one of those days should be a metabolic circuit, talk to you trainer they should be able to help you design this. But consists of doing 2-3 exercises right after another with 60-90 second rest in-between sets.
2) Get some sleep. Make sure you get 6-8 hours of sleep every night.
3) Eat your BMR at a minimum - What others were talking about in this forum is when you are on a extreme caloric restriction you body can become catabolic. When this happens you body tends to hold on to fat and look for other things to burn as fuel.
I hope this helps.0 -
Hi! I'm a PT and just posted on this yesterday!
www.fitnesswithnatalie.blogspot.com
I hope it helps!0 -
We must be twins I'm dealing with the same issue. I'm just hanging in there and trying to keep positive, never going to give up.
On Biggest Loser they said something that hit home with me so I wrote it on my large dry erase boar in the kitchen, 'Finish what You Started" . So lets all hang in there and never give up!0 -
I think that this and many forums on this web cite need to rethink the perils of steady-state cardio (The kind of exercise where you maintain a specific heart rate for long periods of time.) When you do steady state card you are only giving your body half the benefits of exercise. A key reason why you should increase your resistance/ Strength training days is EPOC or exercise post oxygen consumption. This is when you body becomes in oxygen debt and in turn burns more calories after you workout. Some Personal trainers call it after burn, but is associated with anaerobic training from Strength training, or metabolic circuits. To help break through your pleatu I would suggest the fallowing.
1) Add 2 Strength training days a week, taking away two running days.
a) one of those days should be a metabolic circuit, talk to you trainer they should be able to help you design this. But consists of doing 2-3 exercises right after another with 60-90 second rest in-between sets.
2) Get some sleep. Make sure you get 6-8 hours of sleep every night.
3) Eat your BMR at a minimum - What others were talking about in this forum is when you are on a extreme caloric restriction you body can become catabolic. When this happens you body tends to hold on to fat and look for other things to burn as fuel.
I hope this helps.
I've been doing HIIT running intervals twice a week, where I'm running at my max speed for 1/4 mile, then walk for 2-3 minutes to recover. I did one of those yesterday for 5K total. I'm definitely planning to replace at least one cardio day with a strength day, and probably shorten one cardio day to include a 20 minute strength circuit. My trainer actually already has me doing a metabolic circuit with him once a week, I didn't realize that's what it was called tho. We have a set of 3 circuit exercises set up, I do all 3 and then rest and repeat. My BMR I think is about 1370, so I eat that as a minimum every day, even my low calorie zigzag day is at least 1300. And I love sleep, minimum 7-8 hours a night.0 -
Hi! I'm a PT and just posted on this yesterday!
www.fitnesswithnatalie.blogspot.com
I hope it helps!
I read that! Great blog! It was the reason that I realized strength training was needed. I've got the food down (I just have to stop overeating and over-drinking on the weekends) and I do tons of cardio. It was strength training that I've been slacking on, so my new plan is to add more.0 -
Bump all great suggestions I will be using0
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This sounds really naive, but does the zig zagging with the calories really make a difference?
I've been in this plateau for far too long and I'm at wits end.
Recent change: eating more including calories burned during exercise.
After getting on MFP I realized I was eating really low, about 1200 calories a day. I've upped it to 1400 and well today I'll start to go a bit higher just to change things up a bit.
::crosses fingers::
Looking again through previous posts and DUH. I guess it does. If you can't tell I'm slightly desperate.
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This sounds really naive, but does the zig zagging with the calories really make a difference?
I've been in this plateau for far too long and I'm at wits end.
Recent change: eating more including calories burned during exercise.
After getting on MFP I realized I was eating really low, about 1200 calories a day. I've upped it to 1400 and well today I'll start to go a bit higher just to change things up a bit.
::crosses fingers::
Looking again through previous posts and DUH. I guess it does. If you can't tell I'm slightly desperate.
I was in a plateau for six weeks. I upped my calories from 1200 to 1400 a few weeks ago and the scale just started to move again this week. Upping calories seemed to have worked for me!0 -
I looked back through your diary briefly, and you say that 1270 is your "low day," but I saw at least two days where you were far below that. You're well below your calories every day from what I can see. Perhaps you're just simply not eating enough. Have you tried just eating more for a couple of weeks to see what happens? With as much exercising as you're doing, you need to give your body enough fuel to do its job properly. If it were me, I would just try eating more for a couple of weeks and see what happens. You might gain a pound or two initially if your metabolism has slowed, but it should start coming back off pretty quickly. I wasn't in a plateau, but I went through a period of eating right around maintenance calories for a while because I was stressed out, and when I lowered my goal again the weight dropped pretty rapidly. Sometimes our bodies just need a break from "dieting."0
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I looked back through your diary briefly, and you say that 1270 is your "low day," but I saw at least two days where you were far below that. You're well below your calories every day from what I can see. Perhaps you're just simply not eating enough. Have you tried just eating more for a couple of weeks to see what happens? With as much exercising as you're doing, you need to give your body enough fuel to do its job properly. If it were me, I would just try eating more for a couple of weeks and see what happens. You might gain a pound or two initially if your metabolism has slowed, but it should start coming back off pretty quickly. I wasn't in a plateau, but I went through a period of eating right around maintenance calories for a while because I was stressed out, and when I lowered my goal again the weight dropped pretty rapidly. Sometimes our bodies just need a break from "dieting."
I have days where I don't log everything I eat, especially on the weekends when I don't have nutrition info for anything. So if you see a day Thurs-Sunday without a complete day filled in, it's because I didn't log it, but I definitely ate it... hahaha. I only have that one day at 1270 once a week, and the rest I consume at least 1400-1500, depending on the schedule.0 -
And I thought that I was the only person with this problem. I have lost 71 lbs, it has taken one year and 4 months.
I have only lost 5 lbs in the last 6 months of my life change " diet" . Losing the 71 lbs is great , but that is it.
My ave. intake per day, for the last 234 days is: 1230g cal., 150g carb., 37g fat, 81g prot., 1733g sod., 33g sug., and 15g fib.
I am working out 7 days a week and have, for the past two weeks intensity traning. I have tried to take in more cal. due to
working out, I put on 4 lbs. I am not going to give up, but it sure can get you down. It helps to see that other people are
working as hard to overcome the stop in weight loss. Thanks for all the input.0 -
What do you mean by 60% prot., 25% carb. and 15% fat. Is that relative to your body weight vs intake?0
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