How many calories do I eat to break through a plateau?

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I am 5"4 and 137 pounds. I usually work out 5 days a week for 40 mins, and I usually eat 1500 calories. I have been at a plateau for the last few weeks.

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  • xAdrianax
    xAdrianax Posts: 269 Member
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    do you eat your exercise cals? because i didnt but then my weight stayed the same for like 3 weeks.

    So one week i ate all my exercise cals (stayed the same) then the next week i went back to not eating them and i lost 3 pounds int hat week!

    I know it may seem a bit scary to up the cals for a week but its just a week!
  • SpartanTrainer
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    would have to know your diet/exercise routine to be able to figure out what is causing the plateau!
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    Honestly? No one is going to be able to tell you how to break through it. You're going to have to mess around with stuff until you hit on what works. There isn't a secret number that works for everyone.

    Best advice I have? Add 100 calories for a week to ten days and see what happens. Switch up your workout routine - our bodies get used to what we're doing and when they do? They don't burn as many calories anymore. You need to do something to shake things up.

    Good Luck!
  • mem50
    mem50 Posts: 1,384 Member
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    Honestly? No one is going to be able to tell you how to break through it. You're going to have to mess around with stuff until you hit on what works. There isn't a secret number that works for everyone.

    Best advice I have? Add 100 calories for a week to ten days and see what happens. Switch up your workout routine - our bodies get used to what we're doing and when they do? They don't burn as many calories anymore. You need to do something to shake things up.

    Good Luck!

    Agreed.

    Side note....Have you tried zig-zaging your calories? That worked for me a few times.
  • Shalimarmandy
    Shalimarmandy Posts: 409 Member
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    Honestly? No one is going to be able to tell you how to break through it. You're going to have to mess around with stuff until you hit on what works. There isn't a secret number that works for everyone.

    Best advice I have? Add 100 calories for a week to ten days and see what happens. Switch up your workout routine - our bodies get used to what we're doing and when they do? They don't burn as many calories anymore. You need to do something to shake things up.

    Good Luck!

    Agreed.

    Side note....Have you tried zig-zaging your calories? That worked for me a few times.

    /\/\ All This

    Also make sure you are drinking enough water! Good Luck!
  • luppic8
    luppic8 Posts: 580 Member
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    If your target is 1500 you should stick to that amount, however you have to det the right food combinations to lose weight...right amount of carbs, fiber etc...
  • HumboldtHoney1984
    HumboldtHoney1984 Posts: 1 Member
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    what does zig zaging your calories mean?
  • Julesjhj
    Julesjhj Posts: 150 Member
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    Google "Intermittant Fasting".....it's what I use to shake things up a bit. You don't necessarily have to change your calorie intake, just the times that you eat.
  • farmingfool
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    I usually just go off my diet for a few days (like 2) and then get right back on it and that usually helps.
  • reepobob
    reepobob Posts: 1,172 Member
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    I never had a plateau...I achieved my goal weight about 2 weeks ago and I followed a fairly simple plan...My average per week weight loss was 1.7 pounds...

    Good luck!

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/317958-goal-weight-achieved-9-months-and-5-days-of-hard-work-pai
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    what does zig zaging your calories mean?

    Take your total calories for the week (daily calories X 7) and then divide it up over the days. One day be really high, the next really low and the next right in the middle. It confuses your body because it isn't sure how many calories you are going to give it that day.
  • tawnabanana
    tawnabanana Posts: 36 Member
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    I recently read an article in a fitness mag where they asked Jillian Michaels how to break through a plateau and she recommended taking a couple days off from exercise and increasing your calorie intake by 10% on those days. She said that usually kicks things back in to gear. A few years ago while doing Weight Watchers I had hit a plateau and was only losing tenths every week, but one week a couple of days before weigh in we had a large office party and I definitely had more than I thought I should and at weigh in I had lost 4 pounds. Hope this helps. Good Luck!
  • robonidas
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    Plateaus happen because as you lose weight, your caloric needs decrease since you don't need as much energy to move yourself around and perform basic bodily functions. So to compensate, you need to either decrease calorie intake or increase calorie burning.

    What I do is just keep updating my current weight in the "goals" section every 5 pounds or so, and myfitnesspal will automatically update my calorie target for me.

    Despite what a lot of people say about carb ratios and things like that, weight loss is a numbers game. So long as you're expending more calories than you consume, you will lose weight. It really is that simple.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    Plateaus happen because as you lose weight, your caloric needs decrease since you don't need as much energy to move yourself around and perform basic bodily functions. So to compensate, you need to either decrease calorie intake or increase calorie burning.

    What I do is just keep updating my current weight in the "goals" section every 5 pounds or so, and myfitnesspal will automatically update my calorie target for me.

    Despite what a lot of people say about carb ratios and things like that, weight loss is a numbers game. So long as you're expending more calories than you consume, you will lose weight. It really is that simple.


    From someone who consumes a large quantity of calories in order to maintain her weight - decreasing your calories isn't always the way to go to break a plateau. I broke through mine by raising my calories and switching up my workout routines.

    In theory, a smaller body should need less calories - but this is NOT the case for everyone. I currently weigh 143-145lbs (today I was 144) and I consume 2200-2500 NET calories a day. So, less isn't always what you need in order to achieve your goals.

    (Note: I'm not saying that raising your calories is right for everyone - I'm just saying that lowering them isn't what works for everyone... so you have to be willing to experiment and find what works for YOU. Had I listened to everyone else - I would be stuck at 167lbs and would likely have given up since everyone told me to lower my calories when in reality - I needed to RAISE them to lose more weight!)
  • Jess5825
    Jess5825 Posts: 228
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    I broke through my 3 week plateau by doing something I didn't think I would do. I ate more! Iwas doing 1200 calories only, not eating my exercise calories or anything. I got a bodymedia fit and realized days I worked out and went to work (On my feet 10 hour shifts) I had a calorie deficit of close to 2000. Yeah, so I bumped my calories to 1400 and started losing. I may go up to 1500 or more next week. I was so happy that the scale started moving and I now love my body media fit. I've only had it 5 days now, but it is giving me great info.