I hit the dreaded plateau
texasf1ght
Posts: 70 Member
I started out around 220 lbs and I'm now down to 168 lbs. I'm 5'5 and while I do have a lot of muscle on my body, I know this cannot be the end of my weight loss journey. I've been at 168 lbs for about 3 months now. Basically since I started back at school (I'm a teacher). I work out 4-5 days per week (Camp Gladiator workouts), and eat around 1,500 calories a day. I don't know where to go from here. I'm going to do the 21 day no junk food challenge that someone else on another thread posted. We'll see if that helps at all. Any other ideas or pointers from people who got past plateaus? Thanks!
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do you use a food scale to weigh everything? i find that can be an issue, eyeballing portions was my biggest error0
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No, I have never used a food scale actually. Do you have a good recommendation?0
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i have a few actually lol. & the cheap one from Walmart is my main one. just make sure it can measure grams as it's easy to be more accurate with grams. I think one is by Taylor, my other was by cuisart but honestly you don't need to spend a lot .
I think you'll be surprised once you start weighing foods. I know i was & congrats btw on your fabulous loss so far! you are doing so well0 -
Sounds good, I'll have to make a Walmart run later. Hopefully the holiday crowds are gone! Yeesh!0
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good luck lol. & i bet the crowds have thinned out. All the best to you in this wonderful journey0
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Jerry, I think you're right, and I'm going to take Shashay's advice on the food scale. My goals are set at 1,200 calories/day, but I eat some of them back since I'm usually burning 600 cals/day when I exercise. So I'm actually consuming around 1,500 per day. I guess I should be sticking to 1,200 now and not eating anything back.0
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Would you try maintenance for a few weeks and then go back to a deficit? Or try a 5:2 fast or 18:6 IF schedule? I find if I change things my body loses easier; that works for calorie changes in both directions. If I stay the same, my losses slow and plateau eventually.
I was losing steadily for months and then it slowed down. I went to a maintenace level of calories for a few weeks and then went back to my 1500 kcal deficit with some IF or fasting thrown in. I lost 5 lbs within a couple of weeks.0 -
Would you try maintenance for a few weeks and then go back to a deficit? Or try a 5:2 fast or 18:6 IF schedule? I find if I change things my body loses easier; that works for calorie changes in both directions. If I stay the same, my losses slow and plateau eventually.
I was losing steadily for months and then it slowed down. I went to a maintenace level of calories for a few weeks and then went back to my 1500 kcal deficit with some IF or fasting thrown in. I lost 5 lbs within a couple of weeks.
^ I have no idea what that bold part means.
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texasf1ght wrote: »Would you try maintenance for a few weeks and then go back to a deficit? Or try a 5:2 fast or 18:6 IF schedule? I find if I change things my body loses easier; that works for calorie changes in both directions. If I stay the same, my losses slow and plateau eventually.
I was losing steadily for months and then it slowed down. I went to a maintenace level of calories for a few weeks and then went back to my 1500 kcal deficit with some IF or fasting thrown in. I lost 5 lbs within a couple of weeks.
^ I have no idea what that bold part means.
Sorry.
5:2 is a fasting reference (from The Fast Diet I think) where you eat normally 5 days a week and fast (or eat under 500 kcal) for a couple days of the week (not consecutive).
IF is intermittent fasting, meaning you only eat during a certain time period each day - not spreading your meals out too much. Many IF'ers do not eat 16-18 hours a day and consume all of their calories in a 6-8 hour window.
Some people, like me, eat fats during fasting time, so it isn't a full fast but it is similar.
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Thanks guys! So on the 16:8 would you stick to your normal daily calorie goal, or also a reduced calorie goal?0
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Some interesting options for you to try. I've not tried the fasting ways.
But i do think if you try the food scale & weight all the food for some time it might just help bump the weight loss again. again a great loss so far & keep it up
All of us are different as to what works for us & i really like hearing about the different approaches folks use0 -
I'd try food scale and accurate, honest logging. I've been bouncing around losing the same 5 pounds over and over again for a while now, but if I'm being honest with myself it's because I haven't been as strict as I used to be. I eat at maintenance or over a lot more than I should. At least that's what I discover when I start weighing and logging 100% again. As soon as I get too comfortable, thinking "I've got this", I start eating too much.. :P It's easy to underestimate the amount of calories we eat, unfortunately.
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Would you try maintenance for a few weeks and then go back to a deficit? Or try a 5:2 fast or 18:6 IF schedule? I find if I change things my body loses easier; that works for calorie changes in both directions. If I stay the same, my losses slow and plateau eventually.
I was losing steadily for months and then it slowed down. I went to a maintenace level of calories for a few weeks and then went back to my 1500 kcal deficit with some IF or fasting thrown in. I lost 5 lbs within a couple of weeks.
completely unnecessary.
you don't need to "trick" your body into losing. Just get in a calorie deficit and you will lose weight.
OP - I would suggest the food scale options mentioned and tightening up your logging.
do you eat back 100% of your exercise calories, if yes, you may want to consider just eating back half of your exercise calories.0 -
texasf1ght wrote: »Thanks guys! So on the 16:8 would you stick to your normal daily calorie goal, or also a reduced calorie goal?
i would suggest tightening up logging and getting a food scale before doing this.
IF is just a tool to get into a calorie deficit. If you switch to IF and your logging is still inaccurate, and you are not in a calorie deficit, then you will not lose.0 -
I don't weigh as much as you do so I burn less with exercise but I'd have to walk for two hours to burn 600 calories. Maybe you're overestimating your burn.0
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texasf1ght wrote: »Jerry, I think you're right, and I'm going to take Shashay's advice on the food scale. My goals are set at 1,200 calories/day, but I eat some of them back since I'm usually burning 600 cals/day when I exercise. So I'm actually consuming around 1,500 per day. I guess I should be sticking to 1,200 now and not eating anything back.
If you're going to go the food scale, route, I would suggest NOT lowering your calories yet. No point in going to 1200 if you don't have to. Just start weighing your foods (and choosing accurate entries) and do that for at least 4 weeks. Then, if you don't see some downward movement, you may want to lower the percentage of exercise calories you eat back, rather than ignoring them completely. Try that for 4 weeks, and so on. It's all a process, and since weight loss is not linear, it's good to give yourself a significant period of time in which to measure changes. Otherwise, you may be making decisions based on normal fluctuations, and restricting your calories more than you need to.0 -
texasf1ght wrote: »Jerry, I think you're right, and I'm going to take Shashay's advice on the food scale. My goals are set at 1,200 calories/day, but I eat some of them back since I'm usually burning 600 cals/day when I exercise. So I'm actually consuming around 1,500 per day. I guess I should be sticking to 1,200 now and not eating anything back.
what are you using to measure a 600 calorie burn??0 -
texasf1ght wrote: »Jerry, I think you're right, and I'm going to take Shashay's advice on the food scale. My goals are set at 1,200 calories/day, but I eat some of them back since I'm usually burning 600 cals/day when I exercise. So I'm actually consuming around 1,500 per day. I guess I should be sticking to 1,200 now and not eating anything back.
what are you using to measure a 600 calorie burn??
My Fitbit Charge HR. I log my workouts which are usually around 450 cals, and then the rest is from walking around my school all day. My classroom is out in the portables, so I truck around the school a quite a bit taking my kids to lunch, specials, recess, etc.0 -
Tblackdogs wrote: »I don't weigh as much as you do so I burn less with exercise but I'd have to walk for two hours to burn 600 calories. Maybe you're overestimating your burn.
I'm just going off of what my Fitbit Charge HR is telling me. Usually my camp gladiator workouts burn around 450 calories, and then the rest is just from daily walking around my campus.
It could very well be inaccurate.0 -
texasf1ght wrote: »texasf1ght wrote: »Jerry, I think you're right, and I'm going to take Shashay's advice on the food scale. My goals are set at 1,200 calories/day, but I eat some of them back since I'm usually burning 600 cals/day when I exercise. So I'm actually consuming around 1,500 per day. I guess I should be sticking to 1,200 now and not eating anything back.
what are you using to measure a 600 calorie burn??
My Fitbit Charge HR. I log my workouts which are usually around 450 cals, and then the rest is from walking around my school all day. My classroom is out in the portables, so I truck around the school a quite a bit taking my kids to lunch, specials, recess, etc.
I would suggest getting a food scale, tightening up logging , and only eating back half of exercise calories....
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Thanks for the suggestions everyone! 0
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Also, OP, there's no need to do a 21 day "no junk food" diet... what a headache and thoroughly unenjoyable. The advice here to get a scale and eat in your calorie deficit is sound and will give you results. Eat all the foods you enjoy, and stay at/under your goal. No use being miserable.0
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Plateaus are actually quite difficult to reach. A plateau in weight loss is defined as 6 weeks or more of no weight movement IF (and that's the key word) everything you've done each day is consistent. If there was any diversion from diet, exercise, rest, etc.......................it's NOT a plateau.
More than likely a stall and usually it's due to homeostasis. Your body is utilizing calories as efficiently as possible. So I would just try increasing your workout intensity a bit more first, then go from there.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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vivmom2014 wrote: »Also, OP, there's no need to do a 21 day "no junk food" diet... what a headache and thoroughly unenjoyable. The advice here to get a scale and eat in your calorie deficit is sound and will give you results. Eat all the foods you enjoy, and stay at/under your goal. No use being miserable.
I enjoy challenges, so I don't see it as something miserable, but more of a fun push for myself.
I don't eat a ton of junk food anyway, this is really just cleaning things up a bit, and a push toward a more paleo type of eating.0 -
Plateaus are actually quite difficult to reach. A plateau in weight loss is defined as 6 weeks or more of no weight movement IF (and that's the key word) everything you've done each day is consistent. If there was any diversion from diet, exercise, rest, etc.......................it's NOT a plateau.
More than likely a stall and usually it's due to homeostasis. Your body is utilizing calories as efficiently as possible. So I would just try increasing your workout intensity a bit more first, then go from there.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Well, I haven't changed my routine besides being MORE active actually since I'm not on summer break anymore. But I think maybe what people are suggesting with getting a food scale to be more accurate could work. Like I've stated already I do 4-5 days a week of an hour long boot camp style work out. I can't devote too much time beyond that, so the changes will have to come from the kitchen. 0 -
texasf1ght wrote: »vivmom2014 wrote: »Also, OP, there's no need to do a 21 day "no junk food" diet... what a headache and thoroughly unenjoyable. The advice here to get a scale and eat in your calorie deficit is sound and will give you results. Eat all the foods you enjoy, and stay at/under your goal. No use being miserable.
I enjoy challenges, so I don't see it as something miserable, but more of a fun push for myself.
I don't eat a ton of junk food anyway, this is really just cleaning things up a bit, and a push toward a more paleo type of eating.
The point that poster is making is that it is completely unnecessary ...
What is a"paleo type of eating?"0 -
texasf1ght wrote: »vivmom2014 wrote: »Also, OP, there's no need to do a 21 day "no junk food" diet... what a headache and thoroughly unenjoyable. The advice here to get a scale and eat in your calorie deficit is sound and will give you results. Eat all the foods you enjoy, and stay at/under your goal. No use being miserable.
I enjoy challenges, so I don't see it as something miserable, but more of a fun push for myself.
I don't eat a ton of junk food anyway, this is really just cleaning things up a bit, and a push toward a more paleo type of eating.
The point that poster is making is that it is completely unnecessary ...
What is a"paleo type of eating?"
And my point was that I don't consider it necessary, just something fun that I want to try.
To me a paleo type of eating just involves a diet consisting of mainly lean proteins, healthy fats, and veggies. Limited fruits at the right times.0 -
texasf1ght wrote: »texasf1ght wrote: »vivmom2014 wrote: »Also, OP, there's no need to do a 21 day "no junk food" diet... what a headache and thoroughly unenjoyable. The advice here to get a scale and eat in your calorie deficit is sound and will give you results. Eat all the foods you enjoy, and stay at/under your goal. No use being miserable.
I enjoy challenges, so I don't see it as something miserable, but more of a fun push for myself.
I don't eat a ton of junk food anyway, this is really just cleaning things up a bit, and a push toward a more paleo type of eating.
The point that poster is making is that it is completely unnecessary ...
What is a"paleo type of eating?"
And my point was that I don't consider it necessary, just something fun that I want to try.
To me a paleo type of eating just involves a diet consisting of mainly lean proteins, healthy fats, and veggies. Limited fruits at the right times.
That's not a Paleolithic diet......0
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