at a weight loss plateau.. any tips?

diannethegeek wrote: »

We don't have a lot of details here to work with. Opening your diary so we can take a peek might help you get more specific answers, but otherwise:

1. If it's been less than 3 weeks or so, don't sweat it! Normal fluctuations happen and unfortunately sometimes we stall for a week or two even when we're doing everything right. Give your body some time to catch up with the changes you're making.

2. If you aren't already, be sure that you're logging everything. Sometimes people forget about things like veggies, drinks, cooking oils, and condiments. For some people these can add up to enough to halt your weight loss progress.

3. Consider buying a food scale if you don't already have one. They're about $10-$20 dollars in the US and easily found at places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Measuring cups and spoons are great, but they do come with some degree of inaccuracy. A food scale will be more accurate, and for some people it makes a big difference.

4. Logging accurately also means choosing accurate entries in the database. There are a lot of user-entered entries that are off. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries.

5. Recalculate your goals if you haven't lately. As you lose weight your body requires fewer calories to run. Be sure you update your goals every ten pounds or so.

6. If you're eating back your exercise calories and you're relying on gym machine readouts or MFP's estimates, it might be best to eat back just 50-75% of those. Certain activities tend to be overestimated. If you're using an HRM or activity tracker, it might be a good idea to look into their accuracy and be sure that yours is calibrated properly.

7. If you're taking any cheat days that go over your calorie limits, it might be best to cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens. Some people go way over their calorie needs without realizing it when they don't track.

8. If you weigh yourself frequently, consider using a program like trendweight to even out the fluctuations. You could be losing weight but just don't see it because of the daily ups and downs.

9. Some people just burn fewer calories than the calculators predict. If you continue to have problems after 4-6 weeks, then it might be worth a trip to the doctor or a registered dietitian who can give you more specific advice.

malibu927 wrote: »

doriribaudolax wrote: »

malibu927 wrote: »

If you haven't been counting calories there's no way you can guarantee you're eating less than 1500 calories. Eating too few calories will not cause you to plateau or gain...eating too many will.

well i asked a fitness professional & she said since i have been eating little calories, my body is holding onto the little calories i have been eating & not losing weight. I've only been eating about 3-4x a day & the calories being very little. I'm not counting but it's definitely not over 1500. Idk if that makes sense but yeah lol

They're wrong. Your body doesn't hold onto weight from eating too few calories (commonly referred to as "starvation mode"). Start logging everything you're eating as accurately as possible and you'll see that you're eating more than you think.

earlnabby wrote: »

How long ago did you start losing weight?

Muscleflex79 wrote: »

doriribaudolax wrote: »

aggelikik wrote: »

What is your current height and weight? can you post a sample of what a day looks like, regarding food? Even without calorie counting will give some indication

well i'm currently 145 & im 4'11" (i know i'm short lol) & usually for breakfast i'll have cereal or toast, i'll usually eat them with yogurt or friut. I go to the gym every single day. I usually don't eat lunch i'll have a small snack & then wait until dinner. i'll eat dinner, then have about 1 snack after (usually fruit) & then stop eating after 7pm. I drink water all day as well. I think i'm eating too little.

so you don't count calories...you obviously don't weigh your food, but you can guarantee that you are eating under 1500 calories?? that makes no sense. Malibu is exactly right in what she said - you don't gain by not eating enough - you gain my eating too much! time for a new "fitness professional" if they are telling you that garbage (actually don't go to a fitness professional for nutritional advice at all!)