WEIGHT LOSS PLATEAU

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rxjesrk
rxjesrk Posts: 18 Member
edited June 2015 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi. I'm 19, 5'10" and I've been working hard at the gym since December 2014. Managed to shed 60 pounds/ 30 kgs so far. But, have been seeing the same number on the scale for about a month right now. Have paused my workouts in May due to exams and now I've been back on it for the last two weeks. Being someone who's used to seeing a drastic change every time I weight myself, it's pretty depressing and frustrating seeing absolute no changes these days. Ive tried Google searching solution, but, they leave me in confusion. Wondering if anyone could please help guide me through this horrible phase. Aiming to lose about 40 pounds /20 kg by October. DO HELP/ADVICE PLEASE AND THANK YOU.

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  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
    edited June 2015
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    Can you open your diary to the public? Also what's your current weight?
  • rxjesrk
    rxjesrk Posts: 18 Member
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    Can you open your diary to the public? Also what's your current weight?
    Well, I'm quite busy at times, so, they are days where I don't get to update but here's what I consume as they don't vary drastically :smile:

    Breakfast :
    1.Eggs and toast with fruits
    2. Oats with protein powder and fruits

    Snack 1 :
    1. Nuts / fruits

    Lunch :
    1. Grilled /steamed /curried chicken and all kinds of veggies

    Snack 2 :
    1. Protein shake and fruits

    Dinner :
    1. Salads

    Daily calories these days vary from around 800 to 1200 kcal.

    My current weight is 91kg.:)






  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
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    rxjesrk wrote: »
    Can you open your diary to the public? Also what's your current weight?
    Well, I'm quite busy at times, so, they are days where I don't get to update but here's what I consume as they don't vary drastically :smile:

    Breakfast :
    1.Eggs and toast with fruits
    2. Oats with protein powder and fruits

    Snack 1 :
    1. Nuts / fruits

    Lunch :
    1. Grilled /steamed /curried chicken and all kinds of veggies

    Snack 2 :
    1. Protein shake and fruits

    Dinner :
    1. Salads

    Daily calories these days vary from around 800 to 1200 kcal.

    My current weight is 91kg.:)

    Do you weigh everything? 800 to 1200 is incredibly low, you'd definitely be losing weight if you were eating that little. Do you eat back your exercise calories?
  • lemonlionheart
    lemonlionheart Posts: 580 Member
    edited June 2015
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    rxjesrk wrote: »
    Can you open your diary to the public? Also what's your current weight?
    Well, I'm quite busy at times, so, they are days where I don't get to update but here's what I consume as they don't vary drastically :smile:

    Breakfast :
    1.Eggs and toast with fruits
    2. Oats with protein powder and fruits

    Snack 1 :
    1. Nuts / fruits

    Lunch :
    1. Grilled /steamed /curried chicken and all kinds of veggies

    Snack 2 :
    1. Protein shake and fruits

    Dinner :
    1. Salads

    Daily calories these days vary from around 800 to 1200 kcal.

    My current weight is 91kg.:)





    How do you determine that calorie number? Are you using a food scale, measuring with cups, or estimating portion sizes?
  • rxjesrk
    rxjesrk Posts: 18 Member
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    @DemoraFairy well I guess so since I workout during lunch hours.
  • rxjesrk
    rxjesrk Posts: 18 Member
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    @lemonlionheart I used this very app to calculate. And since my food intakes are basically similar everyday.
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
    edited June 2015
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    rxjesrk wrote: »
    @DemoraFairy well I guess so since I workout during lunch hours.

    I mean (if that's in response to eating back your exercise calories), do you eat the calories you burn during exercise? So if you burn 300 calories in your work out, do you eat an extra 300 that day, or just stick to what you would have eaten if you didn't do that work out?

    When you say you use this app to calculate, what exactly do you mean? You look for entries in the database that look about right? Or do you weigh your food with a food scale so you know exactly how many calories your eating? It would be a lot easier if you opened your diary! :)
  • lemonlionheart
    lemonlionheart Posts: 580 Member
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    rxjesrk wrote: »
    @lemonlionheart I used this very app to calculate. And since my food intakes are basically similar everyday.

    Yeah, I get that you use the app to put in the food you eat. But how do you calculate how much you actually tell the app you are eating? Again: do you use a food scale, do you use measuring cups, or do you estimate?
  • rxjesrk
    rxjesrk Posts: 18 Member
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    @DemoraFairy I don't eat all of the cals back, maybe a tad bit. And on days I don't workout, I stick to the diet too.

    I look for the closest entries.
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
    edited June 2015
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    rxjesrk wrote: »
    I look for the closest entries.

    There's your problem. They could be COMPLETELY different. For example, if you look up 'lasagne' there's an entry that's a pub lasagne and says 400 calories. I know that the lagasnge they serve at the pub I used to go to a lot was 700 calories. If I just went for the closest entry rather than looking up the pub's nutritional info I'd be eating an extra 300 calories that I didn't know about.

    Weigh everything, go by the calories on the packet. Look at what it says the calories per 100g is, and from that you can work out how many calories you've eaten. Estimating may have worked before, but now that your BMR is lower it looks like you'll need to be a bit stricter in your logging.
  • rxjesrk
    rxjesrk Posts: 18 Member
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    rxjesrk wrote: »
    @lemonlionheart I used this very app to calculate. And since my food intakes are basically similar everyday.

    Yeah, I get that you use the app to put in the food you eat. But how do you calculate how much you actually tell the app you are eating? Again: do you use a food scale, do you use measuring cups, or do you estimate?

    I search for the closest entry to what I eat.
  • lemonlionheart
    lemonlionheart Posts: 580 Member
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    rxjesrk wrote: »
    rxjesrk wrote: »
    @lemonlionheart I used this very app to calculate. And since my food intakes are basically similar everyday.

    Yeah, I get that you use the app to put in the food you eat. But how do you calculate how much you actually tell the app you are eating? Again: do you use a food scale, do you use measuring cups, or do you estimate?

    I search for the closest entry to what I eat.

    Then you're probably eating more than you think. Get a food scale (you can get a digital one for $10 or $15), weigh everything for 3 weeks, then come back if you're still stuck. If you're just guessing there's no way of knowing how much you're eating. People in general tend to underestimate calories, and lots of little inaccuracies could be wiping out your deficit
  • rxjesrk
    rxjesrk Posts: 18 Member
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    rxjesrk wrote: »
    I look for the closest entries.

    There's your problem. They could be COMPLETELY different. For example, if you look up 'lasagne' there's an entry that's a pub lasagne and says 400 calories. I know that the lagasnge they serve at the pub I used to go to a lot was 700 calories. If I just went for the closest entry rather than looking up the pub's nutritional info I'd be eating an extra 300 calories that I didn't know about.

    Weigh everything, go by the calories on the packet. Look at what it says the calories per 100g is, and from that you can work out how many calories you've eaten. Estimating may have worked before, but now that your BMR is lower it looks like you'll need to be a bit stricter in your logging.

    Okay thanks. But some people claim I have to increase my calorie intake to increase my metabolic rate and some go like I have to reduce it furthermore. And then some claim I need to increase my hours at the gym (I workout for an hour) but it is not possible considering I have school etc.



    What I have done this week is maintain what I'm eating and doing more weights than cardio for one hour .

    I'm not really sure what to do other than what you have mentioned at this point and to get my weight loss on track again.
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
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    rxjesrk wrote: »
    rxjesrk wrote: »
    I look for the closest entries.

    There's your problem. They could be COMPLETELY different. For example, if you look up 'lasagne' there's an entry that's a pub lasagne and says 400 calories. I know that the lagasnge they serve at the pub I used to go to a lot was 700 calories. If I just went for the closest entry rather than looking up the pub's nutritional info I'd be eating an extra 300 calories that I didn't know about.

    Weigh everything, go by the calories on the packet. Look at what it says the calories per 100g is, and from that you can work out how many calories you've eaten. Estimating may have worked before, but now that your BMR is lower it looks like you'll need to be a bit stricter in your logging.

    Okay thanks. But some people claim I have to increase my calorie intake to increase my metabolic rate and some go like I have to reduce it furthermore. And then some claim I need to increase my hours at the gym (I workout for an hour) but it is not possible considering I have school etc.

    What I have done this week is maintain what I'm eating and doing more weights than cardio for one hour .

    I'm not really sure what to do other than what you have mentioned at this point and to get my weight loss on track again.

    All you need to do is make sure you're eating the right amount. Right now you could be eating way more. And when I say the right amount - 800 calories is not the right amount. Stick to the goal MFP has given you, try not to eat under it too often.
  • lemonlionheart
    lemonlionheart Posts: 580 Member
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    rxjesrk wrote: »
    rxjesrk wrote: »
    I look for the closest entries.

    There's your problem. They could be COMPLETELY different. For example, if you look up 'lasagne' there's an entry that's a pub lasagne and says 400 calories. I know that the lagasnge they serve at the pub I used to go to a lot was 700 calories. If I just went for the closest entry rather than looking up the pub's nutritional info I'd be eating an extra 300 calories that I didn't know about.

    Weigh everything, go by the calories on the packet. Look at what it says the calories per 100g is, and from that you can work out how many calories you've eaten. Estimating may have worked before, but now that your BMR is lower it looks like you'll need to be a bit stricter in your logging.

    Okay thanks. But some people claim I have to increase my calorie intake to increase my metabolic rate and some go like I have to reduce it furthermore. And then some claim I need to increase my hours at the gym (I workout for an hour) but it is not possible considering I have school etc.



    What I have done this week is maintain what I'm eating and doing more weights than cardio for one hour .

    I'm not really sure what to do other than what you have mentioned at this point and to get my weight loss on track again.

    You don't actually know how many calories you've been eating since you're not weighing anything, so I'd start there. Increasing calories won't reset your metabolism or anything like that, that's not how it works. Calorie counting works! You just have to do it right :)
  • rxjesrk
    rxjesrk Posts: 18 Member
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    Thank you guys!!