Hit my fourth plateau 4 pounds from my goal weight...

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Stakmaster
Stakmaster Posts: 15 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Because of course I would, lol. Down to 204 from 345 and this is the fourth plateau like this that I've encountered, all of which I've overcome from switching exercise and eating less, but I really don't know how much less I can eat or how much more time I can devote to exercise at this point. I run for an hour every other day and lift weights on the opposite with a rest day on Sunday, and even though I don't count my calories anymore I know it can't be much more than 1200 a day. I intermittently fast between 6PM and 10AM and usually eat two meals (3 eggs with a vegetable stir fry and 12 ounces of lean chicken breast with vegetable stir fry) and maybe one or two pieces of fruit in between, and I don't have cheat days. I'm just not sure what to do. Would it be safe for me to eat even less, or should I just keep doing what I'm doing and see if anything changes? Thanks in advance, you cool weight loss cats.

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  • pinkteapot3
    pinkteapot3 Posts: 157 Member
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    Stakmaster wrote: »
    Because of course I would, lol. Down to 204 from 345 and this is the fourth plateau like this that I've encountered, all of which I've overcome from switching exercise and eating less, but I really don't know how much less I can eat or how much more time I can devote to exercise at this point. I run for an hour every other day and lift weights on the opposite with a rest day on Sunday, and even though I don't count my calories anymore I know it can't be much more than 1200 a day. I intermittently fast between 6PM and 10AM and usually eat two meals (3 eggs with a vegetable stir fry and 12 ounces of lean chicken breast with vegetable stir fry) and maybe one or two pieces of fruit in between, and I don't have cheat days. I'm just not sure what to do. Would it be safe for me to eat even less, or should I just keep doing what I'm doing and see if anything changes? Thanks in advance, you cool weight loss cats.

    Ding ding ding!

    Log again for a week. Log everything, accurately - weighing all your food. Check you're really eating as few calories as you think.
  • Stakmaster
    Stakmaster Posts: 15 Member
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    pinkteapot3 wrote: »
    Stakmaster wrote: »
    Because of course I would, lol. Down to 204 from 345 and this is the fourth plateau like this that I've encountered, all of which I've overcome from switching exercise and eating less, but I really don't know how much less I can eat or how much more time I can devote to exercise at this point. I run for an hour every other day and lift weights on the opposite with a rest day on Sunday, and even though I don't count my calories anymore I know it can't be much more than 1200 a day. I intermittently fast between 6PM and 10AM and usually eat two meals (3 eggs with a vegetable stir fry and 12 ounces of lean chicken breast with vegetable stir fry) and maybe one or two pieces of fruit in between, and I don't have cheat days. I'm just not sure what to do. Would it be safe for me to eat even less, or should I just keep doing what I'm doing and see if anything changes? Thanks in advance, you cool weight loss cats.

    Ding ding ding!

    Log again for a week. Log everything, accurately - weighing all your food. Check you're really eating as few calories as you think.

    This is what I figured. I guess I just trusted myself at this point to eyeball what I was eating but that clearly isn't working. Time to dust off the food scales, lol.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    You're a guy and you're eating 1200...well that's just wrong! but if you aren't logging you really have no idea of how much you're eating.
    Tighten up the logging and that plateau will be history.
  • richln
    richln Posts: 809 Member
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    How tall are you? When was the last time you took a diet break?
  • Stakmaster
    Stakmaster Posts: 15 Member
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    richln wrote: »
    How tall are you? When was the last time you took a diet break?

    I'm 5'9", and I don't know that I've ever taken a diet break since I started, at least not on purpose, lol.
  • richln
    richln Posts: 809 Member
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    Take a diet break for 2 weeks and eat at maintenance levels. Don't freak out if you gain a few pounds right away from increased glycogen reserves. Give yourself a full 2 weeks at maintenance levels. If you keep dropping calories and hit a new plateau, guess what will happen if you drop calories again? You should be able to cut on way more than 1200 a day. It is possible that your estimates of calories in are way off, but since you claim that you are experienced with counting and using a food scale, it doesn't sound likely that your estimate is that far off.

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html/
    http://rippedbody.jp/diet-break/
    http://strengthunbound.com/when-to-take-a-diet-break/
  • debback56
    debback56 Posts: 2 Member
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    If you are eating only 1200 calories a day for a 204 pound guy and you exercise as much as you do, you are not eating enough and your body is putting itself into starvation mode. You need to eat more, but make sure it is healthy. Like several said above, record your food, weigh everything but watch your sodium content. If you eat a lot of bread, try switching out other things for bread. Sometimes when I have stalled, eliminate the bread in my diet has got me started again. Also, are you eating several small meals a day or 3-4 main meals. Switch that up. I was on a Shred plan that has us eating about every 2 hours and my body told itself, why should I burn fat, when you are going to feed me soon, so I stopped losing. Once I changed that (I still eat my snacks, just combine it with my meal) so now I am going 3-4 hours between eating. Starting losing again. Good luck!!
  • joncooper1980
    joncooper1980 Posts: 96 Member
    edited May 2016
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    debback56 wrote: »
    .....you are not eating enough and your body is putting itself into starvation mode. You need to eat more, but make sure it is healthy. Like several said above, record your food, weigh everything but watch your sodium content. If you eat a lot of bread, try switching out other things for bread. Sometimes when I have stalled, eliminate the bread in my diet has got me started again. Also, are you eating several small meals a day or 3-4 main meals. Switch that up. I was on a Shred plan that has us eating about every 2 hours and my body told itself, why should I burn fat, when you are going to feed me soon, so I stopped losing. Once I changed that (I still eat my snacks, just combine it with my meal) so now I am going 3-4 hours between eating. Starting losing again. Good luck!!

    NO. NO and NO. Stop offering advice like this. Its the reason that people are confused. stop perpetuating broscience.
    1. Starvation Mode is a myth. It doesnt exist. Stop saying that it does.
    2. Eliminating one particular food is not the answer. Your body doesnt care where it gets its calories from. Its not biased against bread.
    3. The number of meals makes no difference to weight loss. Your body DOES NOT tell itself not to burn fat because you are eating too regularly. This is by far the biggest load of bull i have ever read! All that matters is CICO. You could eat those calories over 9 meals or just one meal or anything in between.

    OP - What CAN make a difference is fasted cardio. Your body is primed to burn fat in a fasted state. Maybe give this a go. stick with 20ish minutes of HIIT, first thing in the morning.
  • moto450
    moto450 Posts: 334 Member
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    Give it more time and log more accurately. Plateaus can take their time at times. I also like the "eating at maintenance for a number of days" idea too. It's worked for me a number of times.

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