Plateau for 6 months
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janeoshep
Posts: 14 Member
Good morning everyone,
Please help me I'm am starting to feel like I'm doing all this for nothing. I have lost 10kg and then hit a plateau for the last 6 months.
I was eating 1200 calories and did a little research and I needed to eat more calories for the workouts I was doing. I now eat 1400-1500 calories a day and I have upped my protein intake, also having a protein shake after a workout. I do all different workouts, some cardio some weights some HIIT stuff some aerobic and I do this 5-6 days a week. I am pretty strict with calorie counting and log everything and check my macros. I can't seem to loose anything, I can tell my body is toning up and a feel good bit I have another 10kg to loose to be in the healthy weight range. I know I am probably building muscle but how long does this go on before the scales move. 6 months seem a long time. Please someone give me some guidance I'm feeling like I put in all this hard work and get nowhere.
Thank you 💚
Please help me I'm am starting to feel like I'm doing all this for nothing. I have lost 10kg and then hit a plateau for the last 6 months.
I was eating 1200 calories and did a little research and I needed to eat more calories for the workouts I was doing. I now eat 1400-1500 calories a day and I have upped my protein intake, also having a protein shake after a workout. I do all different workouts, some cardio some weights some HIIT stuff some aerobic and I do this 5-6 days a week. I am pretty strict with calorie counting and log everything and check my macros. I can't seem to loose anything, I can tell my body is toning up and a feel good bit I have another 10kg to loose to be in the healthy weight range. I know I am probably building muscle but how long does this go on before the scales move. 6 months seem a long time. Please someone give me some guidance I'm feeling like I put in all this hard work and get nowhere.
Thank you 💚
1
Replies
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Would you be okay with opening your food diary?1
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If your weight has not changed in 6 months, then that means you are eating at your maintenance calories.
You say you log everything you eat, but how precise is your logging? Do you use a food scale to weigh your portions? Are you choosing accurate entries in the database?
Do you eat back the calories you earn from your exercise? If you do, how are you estimating your calorie burn?
What is your height and current weight?
As you get closer to your goal weight, you have less room for error in creating your calorie deficit.2 -
Hi, thank you for replying.
I weight everything I eat and scan barcodes when possible, if what myfitness pal has in that Dosnt look right I research it and add it in myself.
I do not eat extra for calories burnt, and I use a fitbit watch to calculate calories burned, but I also know this isn't 100% accurate.
My height is 160cm and weight is fluctuating between 78kg and 79kg my starting weight was 88.8kg
I hope this answers all your questions, I'm open to any information.
Thanks again2 -
I agree that you must be eating at maintenance. Somethings off with your logging and measuring. Not hard to do. My deficit can easily be wiped out with a yogurt cup and a handful of nuts!0
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It does sound like you may be eating more than you think you are, but I do wonder, if you're losing inches and you feel good - what does it matter what the scale is saying? The goal is usually to be slimmer, fitter and stronger and that appears to be happening, how is that getting nowhere?1
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Wow. To work through a 6 month plateau is impressive! I would've given up a long time ago!
I also agree that you must be eating at maintenance.
I disagree with this. You don't have to eat back your exercise calories. It's important to have your macros right, especially protein. But not necessarily add calories. Also you might overestimate the calories you are burning. (see also flow chart below)I was eating 1200 calories and did a little research and I needed to eat more calories for the workouts I was doing.
Also don't try to lose weight through training. It's not going to work. I just read somewhere "you can't outrun the fork" and that is so true.
0 -
Plateaus are actually really rare. Defined as 6 months of no weight movement IF one has been totally consistent with eating, exercise, sleep, etc. If at any time you ate a little more than usual, had a drink or two not in your regular diet, skipped a workout, etc., then it's NOT a plateau because that would make an inconsistency.
People do STALL in weight loss and it's usually because of factors I've mentioned above. But now to assess why you're stalling in weight loss.
Honesty will help to identify the reason as to why this may be happening. I've had clients that stalled and when we honestly go over everything, we find some things that were either inaccurate or overlooked.
Do you really weigh everything you consume? Or are you just confident that the amount your eating looks like amount you've been eating in the past?
How's your rest and recovery? Are you getting enough sleep? Do you feel like you want to take a break from working out instead actually wanting to do it?
Is there anything going on personally? No need to tell, but personal issues can create a stress factor.
Let's start there.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
2 -
Wow. To work through a 6 month plateau is impressive! I would've given up a long time ago!
I also agree that you must be eating at maintenance.
I disagree with this. You don't have to eat back your exercise calories. It's important to have your macros right, especially protein. But not necessarily add calories. Also you might overestimate the calories you are burning. (see also flow chart below)I was eating 1200 calories and did a little research and I needed to eat more calories for the workouts I was doing.
Also don't try to lose weight through training. It's not going to work. I just read somewhere "you can't outrun the fork" and that is so true.
If someone is eating 1200 calories (the minimum recommended amount per day to ensure adequate nutrition) and doesn't eat back those calories, they are netting below the minimum recommended amount. Whilst they "don't have to" it is a recipe for failure and/or brittle nails, hair loss, poor skin condition, etc.
Just as you can't outrun the fork, you can't underfuel your exercise and expect your body to keep running smoothly, much like a car.7 -
Firstly thank you all for taking the time to reply.
I do weigh my food with a digital scale, but sometimes with veg I just do a rough estimate. And I make everything from scratch, sourdough and yoghurt so it's hard to do exact with those things. I do add a recipe in for them and then portion them out so I thought that would have been quiet accurate.
I will keep on going, my next step is going to a professional.
Good luck with all your journeys 💚2 -
tinkerbellang83 wrote: »If someone is eating 1200 calories (the minimum recommended amount per day to ensure adequate nutrition) and doesn't eat back those calories, they are netting below the minimum recommended amount. Whilst they "don't have to" it is a recipe for failure and/or brittle nails, hair loss, poor skin condition, etc.
Just as you can't outrun the fork, you can't underfuel your exercise and expect your body to keep running smoothly, much like a car.
But your car's tank is full when you are overweight.
If you ensure that you get enough protein, vitamins, minerals and trace elements, then there is enough energy in your body in form of fat.
1 -
Given your height/weight and a range of ages I put in, your maintenance calories for your activity level should be over 1900 calories per day. Even at sedentary, and averaging 1450 per day, you should still be losing weight. In fact, 1450 (depending on your age) is close to your BMR and the fact that you are active means you are well above that burn rate.
There are only 3 possibilities:- You are consuming more calories than you think
- Your BMR is lower than estimates, either due to genetics, adaptive thermogenesis or both
- Some combination of the 2 above
There is a very simple way to figure this out quickly and cheaply. Instead of making your own food, buy all pre-packaged food and eat only that for 1 or 2 weeks.1 -
tinkerbellang83 wrote: »If someone is eating 1200 calories (the minimum recommended amount per day to ensure adequate nutrition) and doesn't eat back those calories, they are netting below the minimum recommended amount. Whilst they "don't have to" it is a recipe for failure and/or brittle nails, hair loss, poor skin condition, etc.
Just as you can't outrun the fork, you can't underfuel your exercise and expect your body to keep running smoothly, much like a car.
But your car's tank is full when you are overweight.
If you ensure that you get enough protein, vitamins, minerals and trace elements, then there is enough energy in your body in form of fat.
The body can only metabolise so much body fat at a time, so no it doesn't.5 -
The body ISN'T car. It adapts to lack of food needed. Things like lowering metabolic rate and hormonal fluctuation happen when the body senses a lack of calories it was used to intaking.tinkerbellang83 wrote: »If someone is eating 1200 calories (the minimum recommended amount per day to ensure adequate nutrition) and doesn't eat back those calories, they are netting below the minimum recommended amount. Whilst they "don't have to" it is a recipe for failure and/or brittle nails, hair loss, poor skin condition, etc.
Just as you can't outrun the fork, you can't underfuel your exercise and expect your body to keep running smoothly, much like a car.
But your car's tank is full when you are overweight.
If you ensure that you get enough protein, vitamins, minerals and trace elements, then there is enough energy in your body in form of fat.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
5 -
FitAgainBy55 wrote: »Given your height/weight and a range of ages I put in, your maintenance calories for your activity level should be over 1900 calories per day. Even at sedentary, and averaging 1450 per day, you should still be losing weight. In fact, 1450 (depending on your age) is close to your BMR and the fact that you are active means you are well above that burn rate.
There are only 3 possibilities:- You are consuming more calories than you think
- Your BMR is lower than estimates, either due to genetics, adaptive thermogenesis or both
- Some combination of the 2 above
There is a very simple way to figure this out quickly and cheaply. Instead of making your own food, buy all pre-packaged food and eat only that for 1 or 2 weeks.
Thank you for this, was very helpful. And I am 36 if that helps. I'm buckling down on precise weighing foods, and if this doesn't help I will try the pre packaged.
😃2 -
FitAgainBy55 wrote: »Given your height/weight and a range of ages I put in, your maintenance calories for your activity level should be over 1900 calories per day. Even at sedentary, and averaging 1450 per day, you should still be losing weight. In fact, 1450 (depending on your age) is close to your BMR and the fact that you are active means you are well above that burn rate.
There are only 3 possibilities:- You are consuming more calories than you think
- Your BMR is lower than estimates, either due to genetics, adaptive thermogenesis or both
- Some combination of the 2 above
There is a very simple way to figure this out quickly and cheaply. Instead of making your own food, buy all pre-packaged food and eat only that for 1 or 2 weeks.
Thank you for this, was very helpful. And I am 36 if that helps. I'm buckling down on precise weighing foods, and if this doesn't help I will try the pre packaged.
😃
Watch out for prepackaged foods, they often contain more than is stated on the package 😉4 -
I started training with weights and my resulting plateau lasted significantly longer than 6 months. But I didn’t care much because I felt so much better. But I did eventually get back to losing. Don’t be too distressed, few human undertakings track on a straight line.
2 thoughts. One is, what you are trying to do is difficult. A high level of fitness coupled with weight loss requires a spot on plan. In my mind there’s 2 ways to be at the gym- recreational exercise and training. Things are different once we cross the line into training. The sweet spot where we get enough of the right food to support our training, but can still lose weight is a small target.
Second, the calculators have their limits. All the calculators and gadgets in the world are not the same as being hooked up in a lab. The calculators are based on statistics and averages, but no one is exactly average. Plus, try as we might to avoid it, there are always calorie counting gray areas. Can’t be avoided. Maybe the folks putting together the numbers on the barcode items fudge on the numbers a bit. Who knows?
But just as our bodies are designed to gain weight when we eat excess calories, our bodies lose weight eating in a calorie deficit.
Try a 50 calorie per day cut for a few weeks and see if it gets you anything. If not cut another 25-50. Be sure to give the trial periods enough time for a fair test.
There is a number where you will lose weight. You just have to find it. But keep in mind you will have to live with it too. Good luck.3 -
Edit to say I meant 6 weeks not 6 months.Plateaus are actually really rare. Defined as 6 months of no weight movement IF one has been totally consistent with eating, exercise, sleep, etc. If at any time you ate a little more than usual, had a drink or two not in your regular diet, skipped a workout, etc., then it's NOT a plateau because that would make an inconsistency.
People do STALL in weight loss and it's usually because of factors I've mentioned above. But now to assess why you're stalling in weight loss.
Honesty will help to identify the reason as to why this may be happening. I've had clients that stalled and when we honestly go over everything, we find some things that were either inaccurate or overlooked.
Do you really weigh everything you consume? Or are you just confident that the amount your eating looks like amount you've been eating in the past?
How's your rest and recovery? Are you getting enough sleep? Do you feel like you want to take a break from working out instead actually wanting to do it?
Is there anything going on personally? No need to tell, but personal issues can create a stress factor.
Let's start there.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
4
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