In a Plateau for Four Months - Any Advice?

penelopefae
penelopefae Posts: 4 Member
edited July 2015 in Health and Weight Loss
I started losing weight last October. So far, I have lost just under 25lbs. Technically I'm still about 15lbs overweight, and about 25lbs from the weight I want to be. However, I have been losing and gaining the same 3lbs since the middle of March. When I initially started to lose, I bought a Fitbit and made sure I walked about 4-5 miles a day 6-7 days a week. Calorie-wise, I was eating about 1700-2000 every day.

After I hit the plateau I figured I needed to change some things, so I split the walking with 30 min. of the elliptical or arc trainer. Now, I'm mostly using the arc trainer and I started with strength training about a month ago. On average I burn about 400-550 calories during each workout and I'm doing some form of exercise at least 5 days a week. I've tried lowering my calories intake to 1500-1800 a day for a few weeks and also upping it to 1800-2200 for a few weeks to see if that helped but I'm still stuck.

I'm happy that I still have motivation because this is a lifestyle change, but I'm definitely getting frustrated. Any advice would be appreciated!

Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    The most common problems we see come from underestimating calories eaten and overestimating calories burned.

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

    You're logging everything you eat? Including condiments, cooking oils, veggies, cheat days, etc? Are you using a food scale, measuring cups, or eyeballing your portion sizes? Most people can be off in their estimates by several hundred calories when they eyeball portions. Measuring cups are better, but a food scale is going to be the most accurate.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101
    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

    And make sure that you've calculated your calorie goals appropriately. Remember that these are just estimates. You may need to play around a little to find what works best for you.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    If you're exercising and eating back your earned exercise calories, be sure that you're using accurate estimates of your burn. MFP and gym machines have a tendency to overestimate certain activities, which can cause you to eat back more calories than you need to. Even a heart rate monitor isn't 100% accurate. If you're eating those extra earned calories it might be a good idea to eat only 50-75% of those.

    And there's something to be said for the fact that some people just burn fewer calories than the generic equations predict. If that's the case for you, you may need to adjust your calories a little lower until you start losing again or talk to your doctor or a dietitian for more specific advice.

    tl;dr version (courtesy of @lemonlionheart)
    58l6un52vry0.jpg
  • maillemaker
    maillemaker Posts: 1,253 Member
    The long story short is plateaus mean you are eating at maintenance. Regardless of what you think you are eating or how much you think you are burning. Gotta eat less or exercise more.
  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
    If you aren't using a food scale & weighing every single thing you eat/drink, try that.
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
    Weigh all your food in grams, dont use cups, spoons and or serving sizes

    For most people that solves the problem because they ate more than they thought they were.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    Exercise for fitness; log to lose weight. Open your diary for personalized advice, but you're probably underestimating your food &/or overestimating your burns.

    Log everything you eat & drink accurately & honestly. Connect your accounts at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/fitbit

    Set your goal to .5 lb. for every 25 lbs. you're overweight: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided

    Enable negative calorie adjustments: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

    Ignore your Fitbit calorie goal and follow MFP's, eating back your adjustments. No need to log any step-based activity—your Fitbit is tracking it for you. Log non-step exercise (like swimming or biking) either in Fitbit or in MFP—never both.

    You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users
  • bsnewbigging
    bsnewbigging Posts: 10 Member
    I would ask a health care professional who has been educated on this. People have many different opinions, mainly on here its calories in , calories out mentality, but there are experts who understand the human body and all its variations, differences and intricacies. ;)
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
    bsnewbigging wrote: »
    I would ask a health care professional who has been educated on this. People have many different opinions, mainly on here its calories in , calories out mentality, but there are experts who understand the human body and all its variations, differences and intricacies. ;)

    Many come here for advice. Many ask the plateau question. and for 99% it is an issue with weighing and logging.

    And you dont know me or what my education is. But i sure feel very comfortable within my skills to give this advice.
  • penelopefae
    penelopefae Posts: 4 Member
    To answer the weighing foods question, I do have a food scale and I would estimate that I weigh my food in grams about 80% of the time. The rest of the time, I don't have access to it.
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
    the 20% are probably your problem than
    Can you open your diary?
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    edited July 2015
    penelopefae wrote: »
    To answer the weighing foods question, I do have a food scale and I would estimate that I weigh my food in grams about 80% of the time. The rest of the time, I don't have access to it.

    Using a food scale is only the first step tho....

    choosing correct entries matters as well.

    Logging accurately (food scale for solids/cups and spoons for liquids, and choosing correct entries) and consistently is what is needed...

    Do you log that way?? Accurately and consistently?
    bsnewbigging wrote: »
    I would ask a health care professional who has been educated on this. People have many different opinions, mainly on here its calories in , calories out mentality, but there are experts who understand the human body and all its variations, differences and intricacies. ;)

    sometimes the right answer is the simple one aka Occam's Razor...there is no need to spend money on a RD if you don't have to.
  • pmm3437
    pmm3437 Posts: 529 Member
    When was the last time you had MFP recalculate your targets via a goal update at current weight ? When I was using guided, I would re-run it every month or 10 lbs. lost, so it would recalculate my base calories to maintain the same average weekly rate.

    A shrinking deficit, coupled with tracking inaccuracies and exercise estimations could very easily have contributed to the stall you are seeing.
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    bsnewbigging wrote: »
    I would ask a health care professional who has been educated on this. People have many different opinions, mainly on here its calories in , calories out mentality, but there are experts who understand the human body and all its variations, differences and intricacies. ;)
    Calories in vs calories out isn't an opinion. It's scientific fact. To not "believe" in it is akin to not "believing" in physics. Fortunately, physics exists whether people believe in it or not. If you aren't losing weight in the long term, you are not eating less than you burn. Health problems can make what you burn in a day much lower than one would expect, but not even healthy problems invalidate CICO. If you eat in a deficit your body MUST use stored fuel to function. It cannot create energy out of thin air.

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