Plateau or am I expecting too much?

armaretta · August 2011

Hi there! I am open to some constructive criticism. Please refrain from being a jerk. I've been bouncing around the same 1-2 pounds for about a month now. I got excited last week when I though I had lost one, but it came back, then went away, then came back, then went away. You get the picture. I have my stats in my signature and I opened my diary to public view. I look like I'm under most the time because I recently changed my goal to increase my calories by 200 or so to see if it would help. It did not. Before I was netting around 1000-1100. Now I net 1200-1400 (1400-1800 total depending on exercise), and was planning to gradually increase that to 1400, but the scale stopped moving completely the past couple weeks. Measurements haven't changed in a couple weeks either. Measurements have been jumping up and down an inch just like the scale.

Am I eating too little? Am I eating too much? I feel like I'm constantly eating. I think I eat pretty well overall. I know the sugar and sodium could stand to be lower, but I have been gradually lowering it as much as I can and most of my sugar is from fruit. I exercise 6 days/week, burning 400-600cals usually (measured with HRM). I've been doing JM Ripped in 30 with additional jogging for some extra cardio. I'm pretty sure its not all just water weight. I drink plenty of water (about 2 gal/day) to flush out most the excess sodium and I actually consume less sodium that when I was losing weight.

Perhaps I'm expecting too much out of my body. I got used to losing consistently 1lb/week, then hit a brick wall it seems. Can you give me your thoughts? Please be constructive. I can take constructive criticism, but I've seen a lot of people respond like jerks lately.

Also, several people have told me I need to stop losing weight even though I'm still a fair touch off of my goal. I don't think I see myself clearly in the mirror. Could it be possible that I'm not accurately measuring my body fat %? I'm not ruled by the scale. I track weight as well as measurements. I'm short, but have never been of delicate frame. I have hips and a fair amount of blessing up top.

Could my body be in it's own happy place now? I went from a size 8-6 five pounds ago (140/size8 - 135 size 6).

chorgi · August 2011

You could be at your ideal weight. The number on the scale is just that... a number. If you feel good and your happy with yourself, that's all that matters. You may want to start adding in some strength training. It does burn calories, but more importantly, the most muscle you have the higher your metabolism will be when you're resting. I'm not talking about bulking up (it would take a long time and a lot of heavy lifting to do that). Just toning and maybe adding a little muscle here and there in any areas you'd like to work on. You might want to try kettle bells. I haven't read it, but I've seen quite a few people recommend the books New Rules of Lifting and New Rules of Lifting for Women. You might want to check those out, as well. http://www.thenewrulesoflifting.com/

Javajunkie67 · August 2011

I can only wish I had your stats!

That said--I'd try real hard to cut back on the carbs. My body doesn't do well with them, too much sugar is the same for me. Give it a try for a week, see how you feel. I don't cut all carbs, but I do watch the refined ones carefully.

lgwmab · August 2011

Chorgi makes sense on what he is saying. Food wise it looks better then mine! Are you stressing about the weight? Or other things in your life, stress can play more games with a body then you think.

anastasiaBH · August 2011

BUMP!!! I'm in the EXACT same place. 42 years old, 5' 6", 146-148, and stuck for MONTHS. I really just want to get to 140-ish (I've given up 135-140, for now...) Lost 20 pounds during the past year, but really annoyed / frustrated with the plateau and no additional movement in measurements or scale.....

I've upped my caloires by switching my goal to losing 1/2 pound per week, also trying more carbs, less carbs, more protein, etc. And I drink 10-12 glasses of water a day to help counteract my too-high sodium intake. YES, I know, it's too high. I do more cardio than weights these days (I've done many rounds of P90X, now I intersperse a weight day with running on a treadmill 2-3 times per week, plyo, and core synergistics, which has some weights too.)

So glad you posted this, anxious to read the constructive criticism as well.

Thanks!
anastasiabh

Lleldiranne · August 2011

At your current weight and body fat, you are in the healthy range. And being so close to goal, I wouldn't expect to lose more than 1/2 lb a week anyway. But really, I think you should focus on changing the fat % to where you want and worry less about the numbers on the scale.
Are you measuring yourself? That may give you a more accurate picture of what's going on. If you're building muscle, that will keep the weight there, but you'll be healthier and slimmer.
Make sure you're doing resistance training along with cardio. That will help build muscle and trim fat. Keep yourself around 1400 net calories and see how things go. Don't stress if the scale doesn't change much, pay more attention to the fat% and measurements.

ebkins7 · August 2011

It does sound like a plateau - however if you are close to your goal weight it will be harder to get those pesky lbs off...

Try changing up your workout - maybe your body is just bored OR take a break for a week and only do some light cardio just to give your body a rest! You say you're working out 6 days a week (I hope you're alternating exercises and not working the same areas everyday because that will cause your body to break down - because you're not giving it time to recover properly)

Stength training would probably help you out too - not talking about becoming a bulk-asourus but lifting weights will help you gain muscle mass which will help you burn those pesky lbs faster! Alternate your cardio and strength training days! If you have a gym membership aske them about training tips for proper form and what types of exercises are best for you.

Just keep at it.. You'll get there! Best of luck.

armaretta · August 2011

Thanks for the comments! I thought JM ripped in 30 incorporated a reasonable amount of strength training. It's definitely not easy IMO. It's 3 minutes of pretty tough strength excercise, 2 minutes of cardio, 1 minute of abs, then repeated for about 30 minutes and I do the intermediate or advanced version of all the exercises (does this count as interval training?), then I jog for about 20-30 minutes afterwards for some more cardio bc cardio makes me happy.

I try to watch my carbs. I eat pretty close to a 40/30/30 c/p/f ratio, give or take 5% here or there. Do I need to eat even less carbs?

MrsPhan11 · August 2011

Looking at your food diary, I would suggest to try to cut back on your salt intake. Try to eat more fresh fruits, veggies and meats instead of the processed stuff. That is where alot of your salt intake is coming from. When you eat salt, your body will retain more water and you will feel bloated. Remember to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! When you don't drink enough, your body holds on to the water which will cause you to gain water weight and may be way your scale isn't moving.

Good Luck!

armaretta · August 2011

Looking at your food diary, I would suggest to try to cut back on your salt intake. Try to eat more fresh fruits, veggies and meats instead of the processed stuff. That is where alot of your salt intake is coming from. When you eat salt, your body will retain more water and you will feel bloated. Remember to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! When you don't drink enough, your body holds on to the water which will cause you to gain water weight and may be way your scale isn't moving.

Good Luck!

Thanks for your response! I do realize that much of my salt is from the processed stuff and I've been cutting it out little by little. I mentioned earlier that I was losing more when I was actually eating more salt! Also, I just realized that over 500mg of sodium comes from some of my daily supplements. perhaps I will cut those out too!

Is 2 gallons of water/day not enough? I don't log it because it got to be tedious to log every sip of water, but I definitely drink enough to pee ever 45 minutes. I drink about 4 quarts during the day at work, then just as much if not more when I go home at the end of the day.

dewgirl321 · August 2011

It looks like a lot of your extra sodium is coming from soup. I would try replacing that soup for a few days and see if you notice a change. Have a sandwich on sandwich thins bread or grilled chicken or something instead. Everything else looks pretty good.

I understand not wanting to eat too many carbs, but I think too much fat can be worse, depending on how your body processes it. I personally started doing better when I traded off some fat for carbs, but our bodies all work differently!

MrsPhan11 · August 2011

Yes I would definitely say enough water! LOL...I drink like 9-10 glasses a day and I am running to the bathroom constantly. If you are peeing all the time and your urine is clear or light yellow then you are hydrated.

dewgirl321 · August 2011

Your water intake is great. I think the reason we're focusing on sodium is because you are fluctuating so much, which means you are probably retaining water on the days you go back up. I was just looking into how much sodium one should consume (since I haven't been tracking it!) and I found that your potassium to sodium ratio is actually more important (for heart health) than sodium intake alone. I don't know if that means it also affects the amount of water retention we have due to increased sodium or not. Interesting though.

One of the articles about potassium to sodium ratio: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/11/potassium-salt-diet-dangers_n_895124.html

The crazy thing about being so close to your goal is you are doing so much right that it's hard to find what you are doing wrong!

MrsPhan11 · August 2011

Your water intake is great. I think the reason we're focusing on sodium is because you are fluctuating so much, which means you are probably retaining water on the days you go back up. I was just looking into how much sodium one should consume (since I haven't been tracking it!) and I found that your potassium to sodium ratio is actually more important (for heart health) than sodium intake alone. I don't know if that means it also affects the amount of water retention we have due to increased sodium or not. Interesting though.

One of the articles about potassium to sodium ratio: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/11/potassium-salt-diet-dangers_n_895124.html

The crazy thing about being so close to your goal is you are doing so much right that it's hard to find what you are doing wrong!

Hey I didn't know about the potassium to sodium ratio. So thanks for that info! The frustrating thing is that a lot of foods don't list how much postassium it contains since it is not requried by the FDA. So on MFP, it always looks like I don't get enough!

stephyy4632 · August 2011

I would try to replace the soup with another option to help cut out alittle sodium
change up your work out my guess is that your body is to use to what your currently doing so maybe mix it up abit. You said you used ripped in 30 maybe try getting her 30day shred as something different or in place of jogging try useing an eliptical and switch between them all to keep the body guessing kwim. I know with the videos they have weight training in them what size weights are you currently working with is it time to up them? I only ask because I started doing 30day shred with 2pound weights and now thats way to easy I had to up mine a few times to keep feeling the burn.

armaretta · August 2011

Thanks for the input! I will look into finding a lower sodium soup. I love the soup, and it's packed with salt, that's probably why :laugh: I actually normally make homemade soup, but I've been crunched for time and it's easy to grab going out the door.

I actually eat so much fat because I'm kinda doing my own version of zone that has worked well for me in building muscle. I've thought about finding a nutritionist to help me refine my diet, but I'm also extremely cheap :blushing: I might try reducing the fat and upping the carbs too. It's so hard to know what is right when so many different things say too much of whatever is bad. Everything is bad these days! I might need to just stop being cheap and just pay for a nutritionist.

I have a few more days to finish out the 4 weeks in ripped, then I was going to look for something else like a hybrid for ripped and 30ds, I even tried zumba this week. I still haven't decided how I feel about zumba. I have been using the 8lb weights for pretty much all the exercises. I use 5lbs on maybe two of the moves that make my shoulders go funny (very sensitive and bad shoulders prone to random dislocation from playing softball too hard in my younger days).

I actually weight everyday so that I can keep track of how much water I'm retaining and such and regardless of my sodium, I'm weighing the same and tape measuring the same. that's why I didn't think the stall was from water retention. I could be wrong though! I think my heart is pretty healthy. I have to get a mandatory annual physical with EKGs and blood work because of my occupation. All my tests come out healthy and my resting heart rate is 50-60.

Kayjdicaprio · August 2011

...I know exactly how you feel. Im 5'5.5 151lbs 33-28-40, and my pants size is 10, maybe an 8 on a good day and my bmi is normal. my goal is 140 and it seems the only way im going to reach that is to cut off a leg lol. i guess its harder for us because its that last pesky 10 pounds.

Rae6503 · August 2011

I'd suggest changing your goal to a half pound a week. Making sure your activity level is correct (not many people are truly sedentary). How many calories does it tell you to eat then?

40/30/30 should be fine. That's what I eat. But it doesn't matter too much as long as you are getting enough protein to ensure you keep as much muscle as possible.

Maybe start lifting heavier weights. That is what I am trying next. Just got the book "new rules for weight lifting for women".

chatal36 · August 2011

are you drinking enough water? That can help ....i see you dont track that ... :drinker:

armaretta · August 2011

are you drinking enough water? That can help ....i see you dont track that ... :drinker:

Yes, I explain earlier that I drink about 2 gallons/day. I don't track it because it got to be tedious.

ninerbuff · August 2011

Hi there! I am open to some constructive criticism. Please refrain from being a jerk. I've been bouncing around the same 1-2 pounds for about a month now. I got excited last week when I though I had lost one, but it came back, then went away, then came back, then went away. You get the picture. I have my stats in my signature and I opened my diary to public view. I look like I'm under most the time because I recently changed my goal to increase my calories by 200 or so to see if it would help. It did not. Before I was netting around 1000-1100. Now I net 1200-1400 (1400-1800 total depending on exercise), and was planning to gradually increase that to 1400, but the scale stopped moving completely the past couple weeks. Measurements haven't changed in a couple weeks either. Measurements have been jumping up and down an inch just like the scale.

Am I eating too little? Am I eating too much? I feel like I'm constantly eating. I think I eat pretty well overall. I know the sugar and sodium could stand to be lower, but I have been gradually lowering it as much as I can and most of my sugar is from fruit. I exercise 6 days/week, burning 400-600cals usually (measured with HRM). I've been doing JM Ripped in 30 with additional jogging for some extra cardio. I'm pretty sure its not all just water weight. I drink plenty of water (about 2 gal/day) to flush out most the excess sodium and I actually consume less sodium that when I was losing weight.

Perhaps I'm expecting too much out of my body. I got used to losing consistently 1lb/week, then hit a brick wall it seems. Can you give me your thoughts? Please be constructive. I can take constructive criticism, but I've seen a lot of people respond like jerks lately.

Also, several people have told me I need to stop losing weight even though I'm still a fair touch off of my goal. I don't think I see myself clearly in the mirror. Could it be possible that I'm not accurately measuring my body fat %? I'm not ruled by the scale. I track weight as well as measurements. I'm short, but have never been of delicate frame. I have hips and a fair amount of blessing up top.

Could my body be in it's own happy place now? I went from a size 8-6 five pounds ago (140/size8 - 135 size 6).

When's the last time you changed your exercise? Adaptation to exercise happens in about 8 weeks.

armaretta · August 2011

I'd suggest changing your goal to a half pound a week. Making sure your activity level is correct (not many people are truly sedentary). How many calories does it tell you to eat then?

40/30/30 should be fine. That's what I eat. But it doesn't matter too much as long as you are getting enough protein to ensure you keep as much muscle as possible.

Maybe start lifting heavier weights. That is what I am trying next. Just got the book "new rules for weight lifting for women".

Thanks! I might try looking for some more weights maybe. I thought I was challenging myself using the 8lb weights, but perhaps not! I might try to increase it to 10? I had changed my goal to 1/2 lb per week and I'm netting about 200 more calories that before. I'm set to sedentary, but I have been considering changing that too. I was losing on sedentary before and just eating back my exercise calories. I've been slowly increasing my caloric intake the past month, but maybe it is not enough yet? I feel like I'm constantly eating! I've kept it at sedentary because some days I sit at my desk for at least 6 hours, then some days I am on my feet a lot, but it's nothing strenuous.

armaretta · August 2011

When's the last time you changed your exercise? Adaptation to exercise happens in about 8 weeks.

I was doing power90 for 4 1/2 months, then started JM ripped in 30 about 4 weeks ago. I did an extra week of the "week 2" because I had to take an extra day off besides my normal rest day. I don't think I've gotten used to the exercises since they change every week. I thought JM did the plyometrics thing, so you couldn't get used to it as quickly? I might be wrong. The only thing that has really stayed the same every week on JM is my supplemental jogging in addition to the daily workout.

Rae6503 · August 2011

I'm set at lightly active even though I'm at a desk for 6 hours. When I'm not here, I walk a lot, take care of kids, clean, etc. It just seems to work better for me to be at "lightly active". I'm 5' 9". My NET goal is 1750 and I eat my exercise calories (so yeah 2200 some days). It's been slow but the last few pounds ARE coming off and I seem to be maintaining a good amount of muscle unlike the last time I got this low.

dewgirl321 · August 2011

armaretta, I think you are really on top of it and maybe you are just experiencing a bit of a plateau. Maybe work on tweaking the few little things mentioned here, but I'm guessing you will see some progress soon. Maybe take a few days off of weighing and measuring and worrying about it and try to listen to what your body tells you it needs.

armaretta · August 2011

Thanks for all the great input! I might try changing my activity level to lightly active. I'm considering investing in the bodybugg, but again... I'm so cheap!

Less salt, i'll work on that. Everything has sodium in it! I hate that canned food is so loaded with salt, but it's so convenient!

Water intake is good.

Exercise is going to change-up somehow after this week since I'll have finished the full 4 week cycle of Ripped in 30 by Saturday

De-stress: Girls day out planned for Saturday already! Manicure, Pedicure, good food, maybe a movie. I might use this day of eating out to start the up of my caloric intake some more. A good gorging can shake up your metabolism after all! I'll try to keep it to lower sodium types of foods if possible.

dewgirl321 · August 2011

Sounds good to me! I am really thinking about a bodybugg too. I have heard from trainers that they make a HUGE difference in the success of their clients. Plus I am having issues with the calorie readouts on cardio machines - how can the Arc Trainer say that I burn 350 calories in 30 mins, then two days later I use an Odyssey (and sweat a bunch more!) and it says I burned 150 calories in 30 minutes?! That is a huge difference, and really unsettling when you consider we eat back our exercise calories - we want the count to be right! I have been holding out because of money too but I think I am about to break down and buy one.

Thanks for being my inspiration to finally add sodium to my food tracking - why didn't I click that from the beginning?! Turns out I have something to work on - I have been going over about half the time.

anastasiaBH · August 2011

I'm set at lightly active even though I'm at a desk for 6 hours. When I'm not here, I walk a lot, take care of kids, clean, etc. It just seems to work better for me to be at "lightly active". I'm 5' 9". My NET goal is 1750 and I eat my exercise calories (so yeah 2200 some days). It's been slow but the last few pounds ARE coming off and I seem to be maintaining a good amount of muscle unlike the last time I got this low.

I appreciated this comment in the thread.... I had my settings at sedentary (as I'm working on hour #4 at the pc...), but when I'm not here, I'm active & on my feet. I'm going to give this a try and see what happens..... Glad to read the comments / suggestions!

fbuschur · August 2011

I'm in this boat too. 5'6" and stuck at 153 pounds(size 8 +/-), trapped between 153-156 gaining and losing the same pounds for the last 5 months. I am active (runner) and I have been down at about 1,000 calories, give or take, for a little while now and NOT LOSING A POUND. I am going to try to hit at least 1200 for a while and get my strength training back up and see if that shakes things up.

armaretta · August 2011

Thank you everyone for being so constructive! I'm trying very hard to eat more today. Of course, the large intake will make it even harder to keep the sodium low. I'm starting to wonder how I got fat in the first place. I can't seem to remember eating this much before, but I was inactive too, and it takes a lot of veggies to add up to anything significant in calories.

Kayjdicaprio · August 2011

I'm in this boat too. 5'6" and stuck at 153 pounds(size 8 +/-), trapped between 153-156 gaining and losing the same pounds for the last 5 months. I am active (runner) and I have been down at about 1,000 calories, give or take, for a little while now and NOT LOSING A POUND. I am going to try to hit at least 1200 for a while and get my strength training back up and see if that shakes things up.

Im around the same measurements, and I was stuck for a few months BECAUSE I was eating 1000 calories. I think we are going to have to up the calories especially if we are exercising. Our bodies may be hoarding the fat because it think its starving. Since we dont have much to lose, because my BMI is normal and Im assuming yours is too, its just that much harder.

Plateau or am I expecting too much?

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