help im stuck

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Been losing fast for months and have hit a plateu (sp?) I am 5'7" tall and now weigh 165 from 208 I would love to loose 10 to 15 pounds more but I can't seem to get the scale to move I am still working out and was staying under 1200 cals but it was sugested that I reboot my metabolism and eat 1800 cals a day...has anyone heard of this? Any suggestions on what I can do to get my body to cooperate? Thanks I appreciate the help

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  • stephaniezoundi
    stephaniezoundi Posts: 1,148 Member
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    Staying under 1200 would strongly suggest you are not getting enough calories,especially if you are working out. Remember MFP has already given you a 500 cal deficit (depending on how much you set to lose a week). I would definately try upping your calories.
    I was stuck for about a month eating around 1200 (and i'm a lot bigger than you) and upped my cals to 1560 and last week I lost 4.4lbs and looks like I'll lose another 2 this week.
    Best of luck!
  • muunkyboy
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    I agree completely with Stephanie. Because of your low Cal count, your body may have gone into starvation mode. This is an ancient mechanism which kicks in as a reaction to lack of food in our environment and dates back to caveman times when we were 'hunter gatherers'. Can you confirm, is the 1200 cals net or gross? If it's net, then it's still quite low. I'm on about 1500 net. I spread these out across 5 small meals a day and I do my exercise in short bursts (apart from the weekend when I go mad on my bicycle!) I have a good solid breakfast, usually a couple of slices of dry whole-wheat toast, 1 with scrambled egg, the other with a good tablespoon of peanut butter. Plenty of fresh fruit and veg and lots of protein for lunch, mainly pulses and tuna. In between, I snack on things like seeds and raisins. This way, your body thinks there is plenty of food around, and your metabolism actually increases. I've cut out all the 'bad fats' keeping the good fats such as oily fish, olive oil, etc. I've also cut down on my alcohol intake (many hidden cals there) and little things like milk in my coffee (I used to love a good latte) but I also remember to treat myself once in a while (as they as they are earned calories, lol) The most important thing for me, is that this isn't just a short term thing, this is a lifestyle change. Keep going, you will get there!
  • jragan68
    jragan68 Posts: 22
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    That is my net, which has worked great up until now. I also look at it as a lifestyle change and not a diet I don't buy anything without reading the label with cals and fat grams. I tend to burn 300+ cals a day plus I'm extremely active I wouold say on a good day I sit down for 45mins but most days it is go go go plus I work as a housekeeper 8 hours a day 5 day a weeek a a local hospital :)...I will try and increase my cals and cros my fingers that it works I used to weigh 272 so being this close to my goal and stuck is driving me nutts....thanks for your help :)