I'm stuck! ~ Advice for that awful "plateau"

gpacheco0768
gpacheco0768 Posts: 47 Member
edited September 29 in Motivation and Support
I'm stuck! I've been at roughly the same weight for 30 days now; have lost almost 40 lbs since January, I have about 20 - 25 more I want to remove. I have been eating OK, following mostly 1200 cal/day, and started walking, but the scale isn't moving, and my clothes don't fit differently... I don't think I'm gaining muscle, I'm just stuck! What to do??? :sad:

Replies

  • ramseyrose
    ramseyrose Posts: 421 Member
    I stuck for a month too. I have cut down on carbs and upped my protein intake and the weight has started shifting again.
  • sharidiane
    sharidiane Posts: 212 Member
    Here's a really great blog that can help you look at your plateau analytically:

    http://fitnesswithnatalie.blogspot.com/2011/05/most-dreaded-word-in-weight-loss.html

    Also - I just broke through a plateau by adding 100 calories to my breakfast, but subtracting 100 calories from dinner/dessert. You will probably get lots of advice - good luck!!!
  • franciefeet
    franciefeet Posts: 2
    Have you tried strength training? It may add a couple of pounds in weight, but muscle helps to burn fat and a 5 lb muscle gain can help you to burn 10 lbs of fat, which would result in a net loss of 5 lbs. It's also good to sculpt your body. You might want to find a routine that incorporates high reps with low weights.
  • bethdris
    bethdris Posts: 1,090 Member
    I changed the time of day I work out. This may sound strange but I now workout at midnight, when everyone else is sleeping! I would also adjust your calories either up or down by 50-100. If yo don't drink a lot of water, increase it. Good luck!!
  • Amy_B
    Amy_B Posts: 2,317 Member
    Are you eating back your exercise calories? If you are exercising, you definitely need to eat more than 1200 calories per day...to fuel those workouts. Basically, you need to try something different. Add in a new workout, zigzag your calories, have a cheat meal, etc. I found during my journey that if I plateaued for a couple of weeks, almost without fail, if I had a cheat meal, the scale would start moving again.
  • Grimmerick
    Grimmerick Posts: 3,342 Member
    I am 13lbs from by goal and I got totally stuck, I just recently upped my calories from 1200 to 1416 a day and I started calorie cycling, in two days my plateau was broken and I started losing weight again. So up your calories and start cycling them. Go to freedieting.com and they have a calculator that will show you how many calories you should be eating now, and they have a cycle button under that that will do that for you.
  • khparks
    khparks Posts: 2 Member
    I agree with Amy B. you need a cheat day. i was "stuck" too and while searching for something different to do, i learned the concept of "calorie cycling". what i read was that you should do it every 3 days. meaning, eat over your calories. i don't do it every three days, but do it roughly 2x a week. that helped jump start my body again. the other person that said "change up your workouts", that works too. good luck!
  • mymelody_78
    mymelody_78 Posts: 657 Member
    BUMP!
  • Rklane
    Rklane Posts: 42 Member
    Eat more. I just finally had the scale start moving again. Relax for a few days and eat 1400-1500 calories. I know it was hard for me to allow myself to do it, but it worked.
  • dougstevens
    dougstevens Posts: 208 Member
    My wife showed me something about this same topic yesterday, she's a big fan of Dr. Oz show. (She recorded it from last week.)

    "It’s week 5 of the Move It and Lose It campaign! Are you having trouble losing weight? It's not what you’re doing, it's when you’re doing it. Learn the best time to fight fat." - Dr. Oz

    Essentially, he was tauting about that our weight loss efforts have a higher success if we coincide the eating, taking supplements and working out along with our natural circadian rhythm. Apparently there are studies supporting.
  • luvgreen25
    luvgreen25 Posts: 202
    Shake things up - change your activity and play with your calories. It sounds odd (at least it does to me) but eat more calories a few days a week. It will confuse your body and break your plateau. Good luck!
  • GinaKurtz
    GinaKurtz Posts: 228 Member
    I am 13lbs from by goal and I got totally stuck, I just recently upped my calories from 1200 to 1416 a day and I started calorie cycling, in two days my plateau was broken and I started losing weight again. So up your calories and start cycling them. Go to freedieting.com and they have a calculator that will show you how many calories you should be eating now, and they have a cycle button under that that will do that for you.
    I'm 15 lbs from my goal! Thanks for the advice...I'm going to try that! :happy:
  • gpacheco0768
    gpacheco0768 Posts: 47 Member
    What does "zig zag" your calories mean??? I've seen that a couple of times now...
  • kje2011
    kje2011 Posts: 502 Member
    bump
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