Lost 120lbs and hit a plateau

coreymac89 · January 2018

I started 2017 at nearly 370 pounds.

I knew I needed to make a change and slowly did, the usual cutting sugary drinks and excessive junk food worked quickly and weight seemed to fall off the more excercise I did.

Until recently I always noticed a drop on the scale at nearly 5 pounds a week, knowing this would not last forever I figured I would be fine with it.

I have gone from a XXXL and 46W down to XL and 36W however amd still not satisfied.

Although I have always been larger since I was a kid I feel as though 225 is a solid weight to feel comfortable and confident come beach season.

Aside from the odd pizza, I have completely changed my diet to the point I do not think I could go any healthier.

I am hoping for some helpful advice on what extraweights or specific machines would help me best to get toned in places in other than my legs and arms.

jaymie_x0 · February 2018

You need to either drop
Your calories more or up your activity more. Easier to cut calories down a bit. Start with cutting 100 and see if the scale starts moving again

jaymie_x0 · February 2018

Eating healthy does not mean weight loss. A caloric deficit does

cheryldumais · February 2018

Congrats on a great loss! As your body changes and gets smaller it takes less calories to fuel it. You will have to continue to drop your input or increase your output as @jaymie_x0 says. If you haven't already you need to update your goals in MFP to get a new lower calorie goal. Also you can expect to lose at a slower rate the closer you get to your goal. I lost 70 pounds the first year and only 20 the second year. Not much you can do about that part but as long as the numbers are going down you will reach your goal. Good luck.

mulecanter · February 2018

Agree with all above. Tremendous achievement. Now you are down to what I call "The Lard". Each succeeding pound loss is harder than the previous. Your body is fighting back! Work all your muscles. Most gyms have a machine for everything--consider joining if you're not using one now. Alternately, YouTube has videos on any exercise regime you can imagine. Nothing beats cardio for weight loss in my opinion. For me running is the most productive use of time to burn the lard (knees permitting). You are smaller now, you must eat smaller too. Way to go.

Jessie24330 · February 2018

I must admit, I'm a bit confused. Your title says you hit a plateau but your post seems to imply that you are just unhappy that you aren't losing 5 lbs a week anymore. So are you losing slower or not losing at all?

If it's losing slower, you need to accept that. 5 lbs a week is not a sustainable loss. The lower your weight becomes, the slower you will lose if you are doing it healthy.

If it's a plateau and you are no longer losing at all, you are either eating more calories than you think, burning less calories than you think, or both. Make sure you are weighing and logging everything. Don't eat back 100% of your exercise calories as they are often over-inflated estimates.

Congratulations on your amazing loss so far! 120 lbs is nothing to snicker at.

malibu927 · February 2018

That's an incredible amount of loss! Have you taken a diet break recently to give your body some time to catch up? http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks

meritage4 · February 2018

Check how much you are exercising. With less body weight you burn less calories doing the same workout for the same time. Up the intensity and/or length of exercise. Way to go for what you have already accomplished.

Bechler77 · February 2018

You and I have a similar weight loss experience. I started in January 2017 at 370 and I'm currently at 208. I took a two week break from my diet and exercise over the holidays and when I started up again I lost 15 pounds in three weeks. I've since slowed down but I don't expect to lose 5 pounds a week anymore. Even before the holidays I was averaging 1.5-2.0 pounds per week. Taking a break will help but you MUST get back on your routine after a week or two. Don't get complacent or give up. You got this!

Bexsatx · February 2018

My nutrition friends tell me you have to mix it up. And that means everything. Revisit portion sizes and your macros and change the type of workouts. Your body goes into stasis and you need to rattle it. Either way awesome job 120lbs. 100lbs here. It's so exciting, right?

doctrk · February 2018

@bechler77 tell us how you did it !!

Bechler77 · February 2018

There's no magic to my weight loss. I tried to stay around 1500 calories a day, eat healthy foods and limit how much sugar I ate to under 50 grams a day. I also made sure I exercised 4-6 days a week and tried doing something active every day. I started slow at first just trying to limit my sugar intake and then slowly started watching portion sizes and the types of food I was eating.

Melkiah · February 2018

First of all, congratulations on making the greatest change for yourself. Losing any amount of weight is no small feat. Especially 120 pounds! Great work!!

Now let me address the elephant in the room. There is no such thing as a plateau onset from “starvation mode”. If You’re not seeing a budge on the scale, you need to address one of the following

-new maintenance caloric requirement due to lower energy requirement from weighing less
Salt intake/carbohydrate intake causes water retention so keep a close eye on these.
Not logging caloric intake properly
Not truthfully reporting caloric intake
Overestimating excercise caloric burn
Strength training changing the balance of your body -100lbs lean mass 20lbs of fat weighs the same as 110lbs lean mass and 10lbs of fat.

Also, I recommend using measurements besides total body weight, such as body fat calipers or a cloth tape measure. Measure your waist every month. If you’re doing it right you will see the inches go.

See attached picture for proof of linearity.

Here are my credentials
NASM Certified Personal Trainer
NASM Fitness Nutrition Specialist.

Lost 120lbs and hit a plateau

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