Working out and eating less but at plateau

40lbs this last month? That math doesn't add up. If you lost 40lbs in one month, your not at any plateau your body is literally in utter and total confusion and probably doing some emergency shut down systems thing because that is not healthy at all.

Indrus wrote: »

Hello!
I've lost 40 lbs this past month through a combination of eating less and working out. For a while I worked out with someone who had me doing cardio mixed with some lifting but now I'm working with a trainer once a week who has be doing only strength training. My weight loss slower way down and now has seemed to almost stop. Is this normal? He's having me do my ore complex lifting, and after last week's workout I gained 5 pounds. Is that also normal? I drink a protein shake every morning for breakfast but the meter still has me gaining body fat %. That is the most frustrating thing. I still have a long way to go. I started at 325 lbs and am now at 285. Recent lowest was at 283 until my last workout. I did biking cardio yesterday and burned 400 calories but the trainer says that since I am protein deficient and am doing cardio I am my body is breaking down muscle.
Thanks in advance for any help or advice!

Your trainer is a goofball for that last inaccurate comment. At the least.

Protein - eaten or from muscle - is not the first desired fuel source. It has to be converted to be useful.
Fat is, and as intensity goes up more and more carb is.

The point where the body is using some protein from normal muscle breakdown would be in some endurance cardio for hours and running out of glucose for intensity being done.
Your 400 cal is no where near that level yet.


Also, your BIA scale with BF% can only be accurate to at best 5% if you presented the exactly the same hydrated body to it.
That isn't going to happen, therefore it'l easily off by 10%. In other words - not trustworthy for a single reading.
If presented about the same hydrated body, it can be useful to see a trend over time.

5 lbs water fluctuations is easy with change of workouts. Frankly, you should have seen some of those up to now merely from differences in sodium levels.


Over 1 lb a day weight loss is either research study level or weight loss Dr supervised level. (not family Doc, specialist)
Even taking off some initial water weight - that's some dangerous levels unless you are being highly monitored.

If concerned with muscle loss - that's the aspect that causes muscle loss - too fast weight loss.
Your body breaks down some muscle everyday anyway, and with adequate protein and nutrient intakes builds it back up.
Too low though, the body will build up the organs and other required systems and let the muscle loss occur.
I'd be more concerned with that effect.


So no you aren't in a plateau, you may have even reached the level where the body is so stressed that cortisol is increasing and retained water from that. Upwards of 20 lbs possible that way.
Use measurements as better indicator than scale weight.
But be concerned that if that is the reason - the body is stressed out and that's not a great state to be in - either to help only fat loss, or to get the best from efforts put into workouts.