Hit the ceiling

drick37
drick37 Posts: 1
in Introduce Yourself
Hi all,

I just joined MFP. I have been doing it alone for 3 months and have went from 338 to 306, but I have stopped losing. I would like to amp it up, but really don't know how. I swim 30 minutes 4 days a week due to knee issues. Wondering if I should up it to 45 minutes a week or if I should move to the eliptical for 45 minutes? Any advice would be appreciated. I have not included any weights and I have reduced my caloric intake to about 2500 per day.

Replies

  • jarrettd
    jarrettd Posts: 872 Member
    Search the boards. There is a lot of wonderful info on plateaus. Your body will adjust to your activity and you have to change it up now and then. Great job so far, welcome to MFP, and good luck on breaking through!
  • BrentGetsFit
    BrentGetsFit Posts: 878 Member
    Congrats on your loss so far, great job! Switching up your exercise routine every few weeks is always a good idea. On the calorie front, have you lowered your intake since you were at 338? As you get smaller your body needs fewer calories. MFP will recalculate your needs every time you lose 10 lbs. Maybe you need to look at that. Good luck :)
  • hostile17
    hostile17 Posts: 54 Member
    That's quite a lot of calories if your aim is weight loss. I'd try lowering that to see how it goes.
  • Articeluvsmemphis
    Articeluvsmemphis Posts: 1,987 Member
    congrats on ur lose! so, have you tried water aerobics? maybe that will give your body enough of a change vs. just swimming. and adding 15minutes may work as well. i've never done it intentionally, but i heard that zigzagging your calories is good to keep confusing your body. basically you do what it sounds like. everyday is a different caloric intake. hope this advice helps.
  • robpett2001
    robpett2001 Posts: 320 Member
    Wow, congratulations on the GREAT losses you've achieved so far! Sounds like you're doing it right -- exercising, and losing the weight gradually. There are lots of reasons your loss could've slowed -- your body might've adjusted to doing the same exercises every day, you might not be eating enough calories. Do a search for "plateau" and you'll find a lot of good suggestions around here.

    I think you've got a good idea there, to add weight training to your regimen. Building some additional muscle mass is a GREAT way to increase your body's ability to burn more calories.
    That's quite a lot of calories if your aim is weight loss. I'd try lowering that to see how it goes.

    Actually, I just took a look at a BMR calculator and -- wildly guessing your height to be 5'9" -- it suggests that 2600 is almost exactly your BMR, the bare minimum calories needed just to let your body survive. So I wonder if you're not eating enough calories. When you enter all your information into your MFP profile, what calorie target is it suggesting? MFP does a pretty good job of giving you an ideal target, so be sure you're eating close to that target (the suggestions here for zigzagging are good, too).

    Best wishes!

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