17 day plateau @ 35lbs.

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Frappuzzino
Frappuzzino Posts: 342 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been 221.0 since August 1st. I do a 20 minute brisk walk every day (roughly 160 calories burned), and (before my plateau) did Zumba for 20 minutes 3x a week (roughly 234 calories burned). These 2 combined helped me lose a steady 1/lb a week for a couple of months.

The past 17 days I have been at a plateau. I started C25K on Monday, and have done Zumba once this week but my weight has not moved. Last week it was fluctuating between 221 and 225, and this week my scale hasn't gone over 223 or under 221.

My diary is open if anyone can help me figure out what's going on. :) Saturday's and Sunday's are my lenient days. I would never eat that way during the week.

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  • Jthurston1
    Jthurston1 Posts: 23 Member
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    I've been looking into starting c25k....I read that some people gain in the first few days of it and then it all come off toward the end of the program!?!? Just a thought...
  • KidP
    KidP Posts: 247 Member
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    It looks like for the few days that i saw, you were clocking in with about 400-500 cals or so leftover at the end of each day. You don't want to do that - the goal is to get close to 0 cals left (i'm not always successful with this either). You want to eat back your exercise calories.

    I've hit plateaus for weeks at a time too and the only way things changed was to eat/drink better & change up my exercise routine. I'm in one right now too but i am chalking that up to summer weekends at the cottage & all that entails.

    It sounds like you are changing up your exercise routine, so give it time. It will take a little while for your body to adjust.
  • fbmandy55
    fbmandy55 Posts: 5,263 Member
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    I had a 60 day plateau at 30lbs. I was furious by the time I got out of it. Really I think you just need to chagne things up. Try adding in some weight training, builing muscle will help burn off fat. Also maybe increase the length of your walks from 20mins to 40mins..
  • TMcBooty
    TMcBooty Posts: 780 Member
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    the first thing I notice is you may be eating too few calories
  • noexcuses1218
    noexcuses1218 Posts: 332 Member
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    I hit a six-week plateau a while ago and honestly stopped worrying about it. As long as my body was working better, breathing better, looking better, I didn't worry about the weight, as long as I wasn't gaining. 17 days doesn't constitute a plateau.

    Then about a week ago it started to drop again. Don't know if it's because I'm able to work harder during exercise programs, or if it's because I started running and walking in intervals, but if I were you, I wouldn't stress over it. You're doing everything right as far as exercise goes, and I promise you, when you start running regularly and sustain a sensible calorie level (i.e., don't starve yourself), the weight will just drop right off.

    Addendum: I checked out your diary (which I should have done to begin with, sorry), and I noticed that you're eating a fair amount of simple carbs (rice, especially). You might consider increasing your fiber goal - go for whole grains, not just whole wheat, etc. MFP's fiber goal is low.

    And as another poster said, your calorie deficit is pretty high. I know it's nice to see that little MFP message at the end, saying that in five weeks you'll weight such and such, if every day were like today, but it's not always right.

    When you start running, please eat more. Really.

    oh, and this is a fantastic post about the stages of weight loss. definitely worth the read.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/9433-expectations
  • danbabcock
    danbabcock Posts: 10
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    Your body is likely adjusting, building additional muscle to support the work, while losing fat, which is balancing out. This is common. Your body dimensions will likely change before the scale does. Musle is more dense than fat, so you can weigh the same, but your body dimensions will be smaller (neck, arms, waist, leg circumference) Put differently, 1 lb of fat weighs the same as 1 lb of muscle, it just occupies less space, i.e. your dimensions will be smaller, but the weight stays the same.
  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
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    It looks like for the few days that i saw, you were clocking in with about 400-500 cals or so leftover at the end of each day. You don't want to do that - the goal is to get close to 0 cals left (i'm not always successful with this either). You want to eat back your exercise calories.

    I've hit plateaus for weeks at a time too and the only way things changed was to eat/drink better & change up my exercise routine. I'm in one right now too but i am chalking that up to summer weekends at the cottage & all that entails.

    It sounds like you are changing up your exercise routine, so give it time. It will take a little while for your body to adjust.


    +1
  • ltl_leah
    ltl_leah Posts: 57 Member
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    I took a peek at your food diary and I definately think you are not eating enough calories. When you are active, you need to feed your body otherwise you can slow down your metabolism because it is going into survival mode. That may be happening with you. I would suggest eating all or most of your exercise calories. On days when you are not active, be sure not to never go below 1200 calories.

    I have been in the same boat as you, where I stopped losing. After a conversation with my personal trainer, she said I have become very active and not eating enough. I now eat my exercise calories and I can tell I've increased my metabolism.

    I hope this helps!
  • taem
    taem Posts: 495 Member
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    Try cutting out processed foods, this helps severely reduce sodium and sugar. Good luck!
  • Frappuzzino
    Frappuzzino Posts: 342 Member
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    Thank you for all of the kind advice. :) I didn't read too much into other peoples stories about starting C25K, so I may not be losing because of a new routine.

    I've never had to eat back my exercise calories to lose, but my body may be changing after losing 35 pounds. I will try to consume more calories.

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