On A Plateau And It SUCKS!!

keeponkickin · July 2011

Just wanted to vent and see if anyone else out there is on a plateau and pissed off about it too. Maybe you were on a plateau and it finally broke for you and wondered what you did that worked.

I joined MFP in January and have lost 84 pounds. I am doing everything right. I get my calories in, I eat all things healthy all the time. I go to the gym 5 days a week and walk nearly every day. When at the gym I workout hard. I wear a HRM and don't leave the gym until I burn 500 calories, which usually takes me about 45 minutes.

Now I am stuck on the dreaded "Plateau." I've made sure to not go way below on calories, I've tried zigzagging, mixing up my workouts, taking rest days, getting enough sleep, enough water, everything! It's beyond frustrating and yes, I feel blessed about how far I've come. I still have 40 more pounds to drop and won't get there at this rate. I won't give up, I won't go back, I am pissed off and fighting back but looking for anything that will work and wondering how long the scale will be stuck.

Here's a before and current picture of me...always include them in my posts not only to keep me encouraged but for others as well.

coronalime · July 2011

i'm stuck at my last 10pds. stuck stuck stuck

fatkidlovescake · July 2011

I upped my calories by about 250 and started to see a bit more weight coming off. From what i've read it seems that after a certain amount of weight loss your body worries that you're going to carry on with the deficit and it'll have to run on it's own resources for ever so stores what you take in therefore hindering you weightloss.
Also, with such an extreme workout routine do you eat back all your exercise calories (and stock up on protein to repair your muscles)?

superstah00 · July 2011

I hit a plateau a month ago. UGH!!!! Looking forward to hearing what everyone has to say!

SeasideOasis · July 2011

Eat your workout calories...You probably have low NETS and that not necessarily good for your body overall.

riannenrings · July 2011

you look so great! so much younger! ive also heard adding in some extra calories seems to get the scale moving. seems scary to try but maybe it will work!

vivie72 · July 2011

I tried everything and was stuck for about 6 months!!! 8 weeks ago I started weight training 3x a week in a class for an hour. That has pushed me over the edge. I have lost 7 pounds this month.

keeponkickin · July 2011

I upped my calories by about 250 and started to see a bit more weight coming off. From what i've read it seems that after a certain amount of weight loss your body worries that you're going to carry on with the deficit and it'll have to run on it's own resources for ever so stores what you take in therefore hindering you weightloss.
Also, with such an extreme workout routine do you eat back all your exercise calories (and stock up on protein to repair your muscles)?

Tried this. I upped my calories over what MFP said for me to eat. Tried using freedieting.com and used their guide and zigzagged them so I wasn't eating the same each day. I even had days where I went over calories on purpose. I do eat lots of protein and I eat back into my exercise calories. So I just don't get it.

livi_cowgirl · July 2011

First of all, well done! I can see from your pics a huge difference. You look amazing!
I had a 3 week plateau a few weeks ago and it was driving me nuts. So I looked at what I was eating and decided to cut down my calorie limit more and cut out more carbs. I also ate salad 5 days in a row, sometimes twice a day and it worked because I lost 5lbs in that week. Not so sure I will loose much this week though. I have been quite naughty. x

andybaxta · July 2011

Wow, sounds so similar to my current situation, 91 pounds down, with about 40 to go and the same has happened. It has kicked back up in the last few weeks after someone gave me the following advice.

Evaluate what you are doing now vs. when you started on MFP, naturally we all grow to eating underneath our daily allowance, but habits do creep in without you knowing them - are you more relaxed about counting, say, condiments with food or tea/coffee. Because you are now an 'expert' on the calorie content in food are you estimating rather than recording the individual calories and what does your meal profile look like compared to the faster days - how balanced are your calories between breakfast, lunch and dinner - I found that I had been stacking up my calories for larger dinners - but its bad for metabolism.

I suspect you aren't doing anything wrong - your body is adjusting to the number of calories you eat and maintaining accordingly. Surprisingly I think the odd 'bad' day can help kick it into action - on the odd occasion, we will have a Friday night where I end up 500-1000 calories over my daily allowance at the end of the day and then by Sunday - Boom! 2 lbs lost!!

The body is a weird and wonderful thing, best advice I think is to keep doing what you are doing, it might take a little longer than you hope, but it will keep coming off!

Atlantique · July 2011

How long has the scale been stuck? And how many pounds are you trying to lose per week? At this point, you probably want it set to lose 1 lb per week, not 2.

anthony438 · July 2011

How long have you been stuck?

*edit - lol, great minds think alike

Heather75 · July 2011

I'm stuck, too, but I think the scale may have moved a little yesterday.

I upped my calories and increased my strength training. I also started lifting heavier weights.

Just persevere. This is the point where some people give up. You're not that sort of person, though.

TayJoMama · July 2011

I would suggest taking another look at your calories and making sure you're eating enough. I was burning at least 400 cals a workout and found the sweet spot for me was right around 1500 calories. Now that I'm doing P90x, my sweet spot is 1300-1400 cals. You may need to adjust you calories also for the weight you're at now. I posted a while back about busting a plateau and a few pals suggested taking a week off of working out or just lightly working out and relax the diet just a little. Then hit it full force the next week. This helps recharge your metabolism and I have found that worked for me as well. Good luck and congrats on your progress so far!

alise_lmx · July 2011

First, I think you look great! That's a lot of progress.

I started here a month ago but have been trying to lose weight for about 2 months now, and I am on a plateau as well. I've lost 4 lbs, but my weight fluctuates a lot too. But I can't go below 4. It's frustrating. There are days when I want to throw in the towel and just eat whatever and not care. When that happens, I try to refocus my goal on just being healthier, not counting the 10ths of a pound that I have gained or lost. I know that even if I am not losing weight, I am definitely healthier. Sometimes I think it's just a mind game that I have to play with myself.

Keep looking at the long term... look at how far you have come and use that as motivation to stay healthy! Good luck

auntmeg · July 2011

I hit a plateau a few months back and added a extra snack to my daily intake as well as changed from doing 45 minutes per day (7 day) of exercise to 1 hour per day (6 days) with on day off completely. Within a few days I noticed a change happening again. I think our bodies not only get use to a routine of diet and exercise but also require more calories at times to give more energy to burn.

Don't beat yourself up. Continue to eat healthy...exercise and stay motivated...you will get back on track...

ShellyMacchi · July 2011

i broke my plateau by eating more.
i was already eating all my base calories...but not eating alot of my exercise calories back... i finally bit the bullet and ignored my mind (which was determined to not let me eat them as it 'felt' self defeating).. BUT... starting to eat at least 1/2 of my exercise calories back started me losing again, broke the plateau.. and time after time now i am finding that the more of my exercise calories i consistently eat each week, the better my weekly losses.

ChristyP0303 · July 2011

I was stuck too for 2 weeks! Went from 1500 calories a day to 1800-1900 a day. I usually burn 300 calories, 6 days a week. I don't worry about eating my calories back unless I burn more than usual. I increased my calories last Tuesday and by Friday I was down another pound. Also weighed in today and was down 1 more pound! Try increasing your calories by a couple hundred.

Reykur · July 2011

I lost about 24 pound than just stayed there for about 3 or 4 months after the first month I decided long as I didn't gain than fine my body could do its thing heal up from loosing that much. I was getting pretty saggy. This month I started loosing again. Thinking back I gained it like that too about 24 pounds about a 2 years ago. 20 pounds the year before that. I just relaxed about it ate what felt good long as the scale didn't start going up didn't worry to much about it. Than had an OH YAH moment if I'm going to be skinny I have to eat like a skinny person I was wanting to eat like my brothers. That more than anything (I think) is what kick started me back to loosing.

Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter

keeponkickin · July 2011

Wow, sounds so similar to my current situation, 91 pounds down, with about 40 to go and the same has happened. It has kicked back up in the last few weeks after someone gave me the following advice.

Evaluate what you are doing now vs. when you started on MFP, naturally we all grow to eating underneath our daily allowance, but habits do creep in without you knowing them - are you more relaxed about counting, say, condiments with food or tea/coffee. Because you are now an 'expert' on the calorie content in food are you estimating rather than recording the individual calories and what does your meal profile look like compared to the faster days - how balanced are your calories between breakfast, lunch and dinner - I found that I had been stacking up my calories for larger dinners - but its bad for metabolism.

I suspect you aren't doing anything wrong - your body is adjusting to the number of calories you eat and maintaining accordingly. Surprisingly I think the odd 'bad' day can help kick it into action - on the odd occasion, we will have a Friday night where I end up 500-1000 calories over my daily allowance at the end of the day and then by Sunday - Boom! 2 lbs lost!!

The body is a weird and wonderful thing, best advice I think is to keep doing what you are doing, it might take a little longer than you hope, but it will keep coming off!

Thanks for the advice. I am doing all the same things. I measure my food, I eat more carbs in the morning and usually just have some protein and veggies at dinner.

keeponkickin · July 2011

i'm stuck at my last 10pds. stuck stuck stuck

That sucks for sure! I expected to get stuck as I got closer to goal but not with 40 more to go! It's so frustrating to be doing everything right and trying everything and nothing works!

EDesq · July 2011

I've been on one since January. My philosophy is that the Body is in Healing/Replenishing Mode. People always go through "Plateaus" and wonder why, and start doing all kinds of "stuff" to Jerk the Body around. I think the Body knows what it needs and it always goes back to losing weight at its pace. Take this opportunity to Live Healthy, if you have indeed changed your Lifestyle then you should be Happy. You are eating healthy, exercising...you will start back losing if you restrict your calories. Just let your Body Heal. This is the Beauty about Living; all the "Goals" one sets mean nothing when Nature takes over; people never take REALITY into consideration when they make their "Plans."

keeponkickin · July 2011

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On A Plateau And It SUCKS!!

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