Hitting plateau ! HELP !

levoosayegh
levoosayegh Posts: 37 Member
edited November 21 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey , Im 5'3 , 20 years young and lost 45 pounds from feb 2017 until now .
i weighed 210 pounds and now im at 165 .
Ive been stuck for couple months now . so im going to the gym 3 times a week , which i didnt do before , i do some cardio but mostly strength workouts with light lifting , but still no change .
im mainly doing this because my Body fat percentage shocked me once i knew it when i signed up at the gym , so any help is appreciated .
also i wanted to post pictures but i dont know how !

Replies

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Ignore body fat measurements taken by machines unless it's the real deal (the gym's equipment not the real deal).

    As you lose weight, your loss will slow down, as well as your calorie expenditure. Have you adjusted your calorie goal after you lost weight? Do that, and pick a slower rate of loss (1.5 or 1 pound per week).

    And tighten up your logging. You have less room for error now.
  • levoosayegh
    levoosayegh Posts: 37 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Ignore body fat measurements taken by machines unless it's the real deal (the gym's equipment not the real deal).

    As you lose weight, your loss will slow down, as well as your calorie expenditure. Have you adjusted your calorie goal after you lost weight? Do that, and pick a slower rate of loss (1.5 or 1 pound per week).

    And tighten up your logging. You have less room for error now.

    yeah i changed it to 1 lb /week so it upped my calorie intake
  • misnomer1
    misnomer1 Posts: 646 Member
    edited August 2017
    I made a new weight low and didn't break it for 18 days till finally it happened today. Give it time if you have been tight with your calorie intake expenditure and logging.
    Eta: if you've been stuck for 2 months you are most likely eating at maintenance.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    So you had been losing about 7.5lbs per month until a couple of months ago? Have you lost anything since then?

    Do you weigh and/or measure your food? If not and you have eyeballed to this point there's a good chance of calorie creep, exercise is making you hungrier so you're subconsciously giving yourself a slightly bigger portion.

    Your losses suggest that you should still be losing all things being equal. It can be normal to go even 6 weeks without scale loss, particularly when adding in exercise.

  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    How many calories are you crediting to those strength workouts? I'm given to understand that many people greatly overestimate how many calories those burn. They're still great for you, of course, but I don't think they burn nearly as many calories per hour as cardio.
  • levoosayegh
    levoosayegh Posts: 37 Member
    edited August 2017
    MegaMooseEsq wrote: »
    How many calories are you crediting to those strength workouts? I'm given to understand that many people greatly overestimate how many calories those burn. They're still great for you, of course, but I don't think they burn nearly as many calories per hour as cardio.

    so MFP gave me the amount 1895 of calories to be loosong 1 pound/per week , but im not eating that much , im averaging around 1400/1500 some days 1250 . im not doing it on purpose i just feel uncomfertably full if i eat all the amount im given
  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
    Are you weighing everything you eat and logging everything you consume (cheat meals included)? Are you using correct entries (no homemade or generic)?
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    Don't lift light, lift heavy.

    Are you weighing your food?
  • levoosayegh
    levoosayegh Posts: 37 Member
    cathipa wrote: »
    Are you weighing everything you eat and logging everything you consume (cheat meals included)? Are you using correct entries (no homemade or generic)?

    i have been using some "homemade" entries . wasnt aware of its affect . point taken thanks !!
  • levoosayegh
    levoosayegh Posts: 37 Member
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »
    Don't lift light, lift heavy.

    Are you weighing your food?

    i am actually not . im not well educated about Nutrition so i dont understand why i should weigh my food and what not . i know it sounds stupid but im being completly honest .
    maybe that is the problem , ill start reading on to know more about weighing my food . thanks
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    levoosayegh wrote: »
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »
    Don't lift light, lift heavy.

    Are you weighing your food?

    i am actually not . im not well educated about Nutrition so i dont understand why i should weigh my food and what not . i know it sounds stupid but im being completly honest .
    maybe that is the problem , ill start reading on to know more about weighing my food . thanks

    Weighing is the most accurate way of estimating the portion size of whatever you're eating, which is how you estimate calories. It certainly is not necessary to weigh your food to lose weight, but when someone says they've hit a plateau, often the reason is that they are eating more than they think they are. You started at a large enough number that just estimating your portions worked to get you to a deficit, but now that you have less to lose, you need to be more accurate. Weighing your food can help with that, or just do what you need to do to reduce your portion size.
  • DebLaBounty
    DebLaBounty Posts: 1,169 Member
    I got a kitchen scale ($20) and started weighing my food. For example, I used to eat a ton of cheese and crackers. Now I weigh out 1 ounce of cheddar or Swiss, and that's all I have if I'm really craving cheese. Last night we had salmon fillets and I weighed out a 5 ounce portion, which was a perfect serving for me. This approach has really helped me see what I'm eating and helps with more accurate logging.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    levoosayegh wrote: »
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »
    Don't lift light, lift heavy.

    Are you weighing your food?

    i am actually not . im not well educated about Nutrition so i dont understand why i should weigh my food and what not . i know it sounds stupid but im being completly honest .
    maybe that is the problem , ill start reading on to know more about weighing my food . thanks

    You might find these videos interesting:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

    https://youtu.be/vjKPIcI51lU

    http://youtube.com/watch?v=XpHykP6e_Uk
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    These three posts are great too:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10012907/logging-accuracy-consistency-and-youre-probably-eating-more-than-you-think/p1

    In fact, all of the posts in the stickied "must reads" topics at the top of each forum section are great. Check them out if you haven't already.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    DebLaBounty wrote: »
    I got a kitchen scale ($20) and started weighing my food. For example, I used to eat a ton of cheese and crackers. Now I weigh out 1 ounce of cheddar or Swiss, and that's all I have if I'm really craving cheese. Last night we had salmon fillets and I weighed out a 5 ounce portion, which was a perfect serving for me. This approach has really helped me see what I'm eating and helps with more accurate logging.

    I swear i feel like such a pig when i read other peoples portion sizes :worried: When i have salmon it's usually around the 280g mark (9-10oz)
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    They did a study at some point that showed even Registered Dietitians underestimated their portions significantly.

    The fact that you aren't losing on such low calories almost guarantees you are eating more than you think. While some folks can eyeball, most of us need to use the scale, it's just human nature!
  • hydechildcare
    hydechildcare Posts: 142 Member
    Christine_72 wrote: »
    DebLaBounty wrote: »
    I got a kitchen scale ($20) and started weighing my food. For example, I used to eat a ton of cheese and crackers. Now I weigh out 1 ounce of cheddar or Swiss, and that's all I have if I'm really craving cheese. Last night we had salmon fillets and I weighed out a 5 ounce portion, which was a perfect serving for me. This approach has really helped me see what I'm eating and helps with more accurate logging.

    I swear i feel like such a pig when i read other peoples portion sizes :worried: When i have salmon it's usually around the 280g mark (9-10oz)

    I know what you mean. I usually have bigger portions of meat but last night I really wanted a steak and was so sad to see how much 5 oz of meat was.
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