I have hit a plateau! Any advice would be great!

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Hi everyone!

I have really been watching what I have been eating and trying to exercise recently. I started in March and took off with great results losing about 20 pounds in one month. However, I have hit a plateau. I am officially stuck between a 22-23 pound loss. I still have at least 40 pounds to go to be near my goal weight. What do I do?? My only limitation here is exercise. I hurt my back 6 months ago which I found out was due to a herniated disc. So, I am still recovering from that and am unable to do any intense exercises. I still walk/run if my back reacts well and I have had luck lifting with my arms. My motivation is still there, but it is getting discouraging since nothing is changing. If you have any advice on how to beat this plateau, I would really appreciate it!!!

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  • marmar_cop
    marmar_cop Posts: 2 Member
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    Maybe a fitness class can get you over that plateau
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    1. If it's been less than 3 weeks or so, don't sweat it! Normal fluctuations happen and unfortunately sometimes we stall for a week or two even when we're doing everything right. Give your body some time to catch up with the changes you're making.

    2. If you aren't already, be sure that you're logging everything. Sometimes people forget about things like veggies, drinks, cooking oils, and condiments. For some people these can add up to enough to halt your weight loss progress.

    3. Consider buying a food scale if you don't already have one. They're about $10-$20 dollars in the US and easily found at places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Measuring cups and spoons are great, but they do come with some degree of inaccuracy. A food scale will be more accurate, and for some people it makes a big difference.

    4. Logging accurately also means choosing accurate entries in the database. There are a lot of user-entered entries that are off. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries.

    5. Recalculate your goals if you haven't lately. As you lose weight your body requires fewer calories to run. Be sure you update your goals every ten pounds or so.

    6. If you're eating back your exercise calories and you're relying on gym machine readouts or MFP's estimates, it might be best to eat back just 50-75% of those. Certain activities tend to be overestimated. If you're using an HRM or activity tracker, it might be a good idea to look into their accuracy and be sure that yours is calibrated properly.

    7. If you're taking any cheat days that go over your calorie limits, it might be best to cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens. Some people go way over their calorie needs without realizing it when they don't track.

    8. If you weigh yourself frequently, consider using a program like trendweight to even out the fluctuations. You could be losing weight but just don't see it because of the daily ups and downs.

    9. Some people just burn fewer calories than the calculators predict. If you continue to have problems after 4-6 weeks, then it might be worth a trip to the doctor or a registered dietitian who can give you more specific advice.
  • seanafvet
    seanafvet Posts: 57 Member
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    try eating something small every 2 hours to keep your metabolism going. I do not eat back my workout calories and i cut out liquid calories. since you hurt your back and are limited with walking and running. try a morning and a night walks or runs. patience is key and you will get there. losing 20 lbs in a month is awesome. I lost 5 lbs since last week but i do not expect the same results week after week I will be happy with a 1lb weight lose this week. its a marathon not a sprint so stay positive. you will get there.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    You had a very rapid loss (20 lb) the first month plus 2-3 lb more since, so I'm not clear where the "official plateau" is coming from. You probably will not lose weight each and every week, even when you stick to the plan. The body just doesn't work that way. This is what people mean when they say "weight loss is not linear". Just keep following your plan consistently and you will continue to see drops.
  • abskrbina
    abskrbina Posts: 2 Member
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    Thanks everyone! In looking at it, maybe my main issue is patience. I appreciate all of your feedback!! I will keep at it and hopefully continue the downward trend.