Year long plateau(?) please help!

catchyoucatchme
catchyoucatchme Posts: 3 Member
edited November 26 in Motivation and Support
Ok so Im 20 years old, female, 5'1" and 130 pounds. About a year ago I was near the end of my first diet ever. I had started at 135 and lost 20 pounds just by restricting calories to 1200, I didnt even exercise and I didnt do much to better my health but I still lost the weight fairly quickly.

...Then I unfortunately got off track and gained back up to 130, and despite SO MANY attempts to lose weight again that's where I've been since then.

I've tried everything - adding exercise, eating less processed foods, no carbs, less sugar, doing strength training with weights, drinking more water, getting more sleep. I'm doing everything even better than I did the first time, yet every week the scale reads between 129-132. I get so excited one week seeing 129 one week, and then it goes back to 130, or 131, or 132. What am I doing wrong??? I dont understand. I eat 1200-1300 calories a day and im currently burning 1900-2000 so I have a deficit and I am positive Im not underestimating calories since I keep meticulous track of everything that goes in my body. How do I overcome this?? Am I doomed to be the same weight for the rest of my life?

Replies

  • readyteddygo
    readyteddygo Posts: 4 Member
    Hi!! I know what how you feel - BUT - even though the scale numbers are not changing - are you noticing any other changes? Clothes fitting better, more energy, do you look more toned? Reason i'm asking is that your body composition may be changing but it's not being reflected on the scales, you may actually be losing body fat/viceral fat and increasing lean muscle (which is heavier) and hence the numbers aren't shifting on the scales. I've been stuck at my body weight for ages too...i've tried everything from keto, zero-carb, training twice a day etc etc. Now I intermittent fast, calorie count and train without too much fuss - and although my weight on the scales is hardly moving - my body fat % is slowly going down...and that's the bonus.
  • readyteddygo
    readyteddygo Posts: 4 Member
    There are other options like carb cycling, re-feed days which can give your metabolism a kick if everything has become stagnant
  • catchyoucatchme
    catchyoucatchme Posts: 3 Member
    Unfortunately I havent been noticing changes. My waist has stayed the same. My scale reads body fat percent, and although Ive heard supposedly it isnt that accurate to calculate that through the scale, that percentage will go up and down with my weight by like .1% every time. I dont feel any different, and I keep my eye out for that since at least if what you described was the case Id feel much better knowing SOMETHING was happening. It just feels really hopeless since it seems Ive tried everything but I suppose I can look into carb cycling, yeah.
  • serindipte
    serindipte Posts: 1,557 Member
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  • catchyoucatchme
    catchyoucatchme Posts: 3 Member
    I track calories meticulously every day using MFP and I track exercise with a fitbit which I wear constantly. I weigh once a week in the morning before I eat. And its possible I havent given some things enough time I suppose, but I try to allow several weeks before I judge whats going on. I think thats difficult for me because when I lost weight the first time it was immediate and my weight never once went up the whole time, it was a straight shot down. So now when I see whats happening now, I cant shake the nagging feeling im doing something wrong. Thank you for the replies and chart by the way I appreciate the advice :)
  • kristenrae83
    kristenrae83 Posts: 3 Member
    Hello there! I'm going to follow this thread if y'all don't mind. I'm having a very similar issue (but at the 180-185lb level). Everyone on this site always has such great ideas and motivational techniques. One thing I do have a question on is weighing vs measuring (cups, tbs etc). I see it mentioned quite a bit that measuring cups are not accurate at all most of the time. Would you recommend weighing for liquids too? For example, my digital scale has a "milk" and "water" option that will do fl oz. Is that a better way to go?
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    kristenrae83 wrote: »
    Hello there! I'm going to follow this thread if y'all don't mind. I'm having a very similar issue (but at the 180-185lb level). Everyone on this site always has such great ideas and motivational techniques. One thing I do have a question on is weighing vs measuring (cups, tbs etc). I see it mentioned quite a bit that measuring cups are not accurate at all most of the time. Would you recommend weighing for liquids too? For example, my digital scale has a "milk" and "water" option that will do fl oz. Is that a better way to go?


    The general answer is yes, it won't hurt anything to weigh liquids and use gram measures for them as well.
  • kristenrae83
    kristenrae83 Posts: 3 Member



    The general answer is yes, it won't hurt anything to weigh liquids and use gram measures for them as well.
    [/quote]

    Thanks so much. It was always something I wondered because I do use a combo of measuring and weighing for all items. I'll tighten up on "weighing only".
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