Stuck and I don't know why. Advice?

katieflaniken2017
katieflaniken2017 Posts: 19 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been on this journey for a couple years with 2 pregnancies along the way. I've gotten so close to my goal twice before getting pregnant. Losing weight wasn't easy, but it made sense. This go around, it is not straight forward and I am hoping someone can give me some insight as to why I'm in a plateau from the beginning.

Details of my life: I work out 6 days a week with a rest day on Sunday. I lift weights 2-3 times a week, do an hour Zumba class 2-3 times a week, as well as mixing in walking, rock climbing, biking, HIIT training, and other active things that I enjoy. I feel that it is varied quite nicely so my body doesn't catch up.

My intake is around 1200-1400 calories daily. I have a reasonable cheat meal every Sunday evening. I very rarely go over my carbs/fat intake but get quite a bit of protein and fiber. I take several supplements. I don't eat processed foods or bleached/white flour, rice, or potatoes.

I have two young children, so I'm pretty active at home as well. In the past, doing these things has melted weight off of me, but after this last pregnancy, the scale just isn't moving. Measurements are getting slightly smaller, but I'd still like to understand why the scale is so stuck right now.

If anyone has advice or tips, I'd love to hear them.

Replies

  • dlkfox
    dlkfox Posts: 463 Member
    queenliz99 wrote: »
    How accurate is your calorie counting? Do you use a food scale? Your Sunday meal could wipeout all progress you've made during the week.

    I was going to ask.this almost exactly.

    Also, how long have you been "stuck"?
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,501 Member
    Your body is likely in homeostasis. Regardless of how varied your workout is, consistency will eventually get the body to adapt to calorie intake and physical activity. So how do you change it? With clients that run into this, I change the whole way they exercise together. If they were on say a 5x5 program, for a month I'd put them on an "endurance" program consisting of reps in the 15-20 range. Body will have to try to adapt to this different type of training for a month and that may be all it needs before resuming with the 5x5 program again.

    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
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  • capaul42
    capaul42 Posts: 1,390 Member
    leelou84 wrote: »
    Your body is on strike because you won't give it potatoes.

    J/k, potatoes are my favorite food, I'll make them fit my micros no matter what I have to do!

    I agree with queenliz99, your calorie intake is higher than you thought or you aren't burning as much as you think or both.

    Me too :smiley:
  • katieflaniken2017
    katieflaniken2017 Posts: 19 Member
    edited June 2016
    To everyone, I am very careful with my intake. I do have a scale, I log my own recipes instead of guessing, I measure, I read labels. It's not my intake. I don't have a heart rate monitor, but I don't eat back my exercise calories, either, so even if those calories are overestimated, I'm still making a deficit there.

    As for the cheat meal, it's a meal with my whole family. I take portions into deep consideration, but I let myself enjoy it. I drink extra water before hand to combat sodium and have done research about how a reasonable cheat meal, not a binge, once a week is actually okay for both body and mind.
  • __leis__
    __leis__ Posts: 100 Member
    It sounds like you know what to do are are doing a great job! How long have you been at your plateau? If it's just been a few weeks that is totally normal. If it's been a few months and your weight hasn't budged then definitely talk to your dr.
    Are you weighing daily or weekly? I like to chart my daily weight in a seperate app, that way I see my weight zig zag up and down daily but i can see the overall downward trend. Sometimes my weight is exactly the same from one Thursday to the next Thursday but Friday I'll be down 3 lbs. If I had only weighed myself on Thursdays I wouldn't have seen that change until the following week.
  • texteach66
    texteach66 Posts: 92 Member
    It sounds to me like you know what you're doing better than I do. Have you considered a visit to the doctor to rule out any physical issues?
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,940 Member
    edited June 2016
    You haven't mentioned how many pounds you are trying to lose, how tall you are, your current weight?

    If you only have 10-20 pounds to lose it's going to be slow - and if that's the case, 1200-1400 may not be enough, especially with all the exercise. 1200 is for tiny women who are mostly sedentary; and even if that were the case, you're not eating more to compensate for all the exercise. With two small children and all that exercise, your activity level should likely be set to "High." Are you breast-feeding?

    Read the flow chart.
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    OP can you open your diary?

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