Don't know what to do

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kyledc2000
kyledc2000 Posts: 10
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys, I'm 20 years old (male) 5 foot 10 inches. I'm a college student whose home for the summer, so ive been devoting this summer to losing weight. I gained plenty of weight at school and was up to 182, and I am down to 163-5 lbs now. I have been at around 165 for at least 2 weeks now, even though I am eating just as healthy as I was for the past month, and am doing over an hour of cardio everyday with a heart rate monitor, which constantly tells me I burn over 800 calories during my workouts. I was on pace to lose 2 lbs per week, and have not lost any weight for awhile. Although this is very frustrating, I am not going to give up. I lost over 17 pounds so far, but of course my big belly is still there. If anyone can give any tips or advice, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

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  • tobftt
    tobftt Posts: 6
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    A couple of things could be causing your plateau.

    Here are some ideas of what might be happening... Try to think about each of these and make adjustments based on the one you think is most likely?

    1. You are still losing fat, but gaining muscle so the weight is not going down because it's an exchange (but a good one!) Keep on keeping on and you'll see changes in your body even if you don't see them on the scale.

    2. Your BMR has changed a bit as you are now lighter, and thus you need to lower your intake a little bit.

    3. You are over-training and your body has decided to go into survival mode, in which it lowers it's metabolism to conserve energy. Give yourself proper rest, or better yet alternate between Cardio days and weight training days. (Muscle >>>> fat and if you only do Cardio you risk losing some :( )

    4. Your body has gotten used to your diet regime and you need to change it up a bit. Try calorie cycling or different proportions of protien/carb/fat.
  • SeanC86
    SeanC86 Posts: 88
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    I was basically gonna post the same thing as tobftt... she has some good points. Switch up your routine... doing the same thing over and over again forces your body to adjust to it. If your a distance runner, trying doing some sprints. And as always, switch up each day with Cardio, then weight lifting. The muscle building will certainly plateau your weight loss... I've had this happen to me many times. Keep it up, and eventually you'll see some difference. Work on ab muscles. You may actually notice your stomach growing a bit more (like mine did at first) but your muscles will help melt away the fat. I've always struggled with a little gut myself. Never give up. :D

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