Damn plateau! Feeling so discouraged!
PriZumba
Posts: 7 Member
Hi, everyone! I need a word of kindness, a slap on the head or just some encouragement. I am 42 yo and had lost weight multiple times in my life. Now I was really determined on learning new habits I will carry for the rest of my life and to start doing something I never tried before for the uninformed fear of looking masculine: lifting weights.
I am a Zumba fitness instructor and teach twice a week. I do lifting/strenght training 4 times a week and when I work I am on my feet power walking for the majority of the 20 hours I work as a nurse on a busy unit.
I am currently 130 lbs and lost 7 lbs since February, having a 5 week plateau once in between, and now another 4 week plateau so far. I eat about 1500-1800 calories a day, very healthy food, but I had some clustered days of binge eating, including today. I feel very tired, sleepy, and foggy all of a sudden. I want to weigh 120 lbs and tone.
Am I eating too much? Am I eating too little? Am I exercising too hard? I don't know what to think, seems like there is no win. About 4 days ago I went to one 50 min HIIT class, followed by 40 min weightlifting and another 40 min of Zumba in the evening and that is when I started feeling drained and foggy and seems like I can't recover from that. Today, I binged and I feel like lifting is actually making me gain weight. It has never been this difficult to lose weight. Please, send help!
I am a Zumba fitness instructor and teach twice a week. I do lifting/strenght training 4 times a week and when I work I am on my feet power walking for the majority of the 20 hours I work as a nurse on a busy unit.
I am currently 130 lbs and lost 7 lbs since February, having a 5 week plateau once in between, and now another 4 week plateau so far. I eat about 1500-1800 calories a day, very healthy food, but I had some clustered days of binge eating, including today. I feel very tired, sleepy, and foggy all of a sudden. I want to weigh 120 lbs and tone.
Am I eating too much? Am I eating too little? Am I exercising too hard? I don't know what to think, seems like there is no win. About 4 days ago I went to one 50 min HIIT class, followed by 40 min weightlifting and another 40 min of Zumba in the evening and that is when I started feeling drained and foggy and seems like I can't recover from that. Today, I binged and I feel like lifting is actually making me gain weight. It has never been this difficult to lose weight. Please, send help!
3
Replies
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Lifting can lead to water retention for muscle repair, the scale might not be the best measure of progress. Perhaps take measurements and pictures?
Being tired and 'foggy' sounds like you're not eating enough. And 1500 to 1800 calories does sound low for someone with your activity level.3 -
There is no height given to evaluate how low you're trying to go within your weight range. Is your goal to build muscle? Is your goal to just lose weight? Tone?
It sounds like you're extremely active and that your calories are suitable for someone who is sedentary.
That doesn't sound like a great plan to me.3 -
I agree with @Lietchi. May I suggest two additional things? Here, we are having another pollen cycle and mild allergies can make us feel a little foggy, too. Maybe take the week off of the extra exercise to give your body a chance to recover a bit and to see if outside things besides diet and exercise might be trying to rear their head.
You do not say how tall you are, but I am a 5'-5" 60yo female @ 168 lbs and pretty near total sedentary lifestyle. I eat the same range of calories you are eating. While we are all different, this comparison would lead me to the immediate thought that you need more calories. How are your macros?
On weights: 4x week:general wisdom is to allow a full day rest between muscle groups. With Zumba, too, are you getting enough rest? It is difficult to get enough rest just in general in a medical field. Sleep is an important part of life and plays an important role in losing weight:-).
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Thank you all for the insightful responses!
I am only 5'2", and now I have 10 lbs to lose to get to my ideal weight of 120 lbs. And I want to tone and have strong legs because I have bad knees.
I went to a dietitian and she said I should eat between 1800-2200 cal per day, but I could not push myself to do that yet, as I am afraid of gaining. I think it is a psychological thing, really.
I want to lose about 0.5 to 1 lb per week.
Maybe I should try to up my calories and see what happens and go from there.4 -
Hi, everyone! I need a word of kindness, a slap on the head or just some encouragement. I am 42 yo and had lost weight multiple times in my life. Now I was really determined on learning new habits I will carry for the rest of my life and to start doing something I never tried before for the uninformed fear of looking masculine: lifting weights.
I am a Zumba fitness instructor and teach twice a week. I do lifting/strenght training 4 times a week and when I work I am on my feet power walking for the majority of the 20 hours I work as a nurse on a busy unit.
I am currently 130 lbs and lost 7 lbs since February, having a 5 week plateau once in between, and now another 4 week plateau so far. I eat about 1500-1800 calories a day, very healthy food, but I had some clustered days of binge eating, including today. I feel very tired, sleepy, and foggy all of a sudden. I want to weigh 120 lbs and tone.
Am I eating too much? Am I eating too little? Am I exercising too hard? I don't know what to think, seems like there is no win. About 4 days ago I went to one 50 min HIIT class, followed by 40 min weightlifting and another 40 min of Zumba in the evening and that is when I started feeling drained and foggy and seems like I can't recover from that. Today, I binged and I feel like lifting is actually making me gain weight. It has never been this difficult to lose weight. Please, send help!
Um, yeah, to the bolded, if that's not usual for you. Physical stress is cumulative from varied sources, and it's also cumulative with psychological stress (betting your job has some of that!). I'm not sure what your HIIT class was (so many things called that these days), but if it was one of those high-speed/high-rep things with relatively light weights or calisthenics, that's quite a bit of strength-intensity to be doing on top of 4 days/week of strength training plus your routine Zumba that can be cardio-intense. That could push you past an edge that's previously been only on the horizon.
Stuff like sleep and nutrition (if sub-ideal) can add to the physical stress, and of course a calorie deficit is a stress. (I see that you mention "healthy food", but what does that mean to you? Enough protein? Healthy fats? Plenty of varied, colorful veggies/fruits?) How is your sleep, quality and quantity, routinely?
Do you have any recovery days built into your schedule (little or no exercise, maybe a casual walk or some yoga/stretching, but no intensity? Recovery is when some of the magic happens. Right now, it sounds like you need an immediate recovery day or two, with attention to sleep and nutrition.
Is February when you added the weight training and the calorie deficit? One to two months out is about where people seem to experience consequences of a cumulative "too-much-ness". Perhaps that really big exercise was a trigger, added onto other stress factors. If your plateaus were not related to other binging incidents, they could involve some stress-related water retention . . . and binging itself can be a sign of overdoing/overstress, especially if you don't have a history of that. (P.S. Lifting can increase water retention, too, for muscle repair . . . but it's not fat, so nothing to worry over. It'll sort out eventually.)
I think you'd do yourself a favor to consider your all-source stress, and manage the total; and (if you don't already) include some planned recovery days in your schedule routinely.Thank you all for the insightful responses!
I am only 5'2", and now I have 10 lbs to lose to get to my ideal weight of 120 lbs. And I want to tone and have strong legs because I have bad knees.
I went to a dietitian and she said I should eat between 1800-2200 cal per day, but I could not push myself to do that yet, as I am afraid of gaining. I think it is a psychological thing, really.
I want to lose about 0.5 to 1 lb per week.
Maybe I should try to up my calories and see what happens and go from there.
That would be a better plan, along with some recovery days in the short term. Keep in mind that 0.5 pounds per week will show up on the scale very, very slowly and unclearly. Most of us find we fluctuate 2-5 pounds from day to day, totally at random. Against that random fluctuation, loss of a half pound (even a pound) of fat may not be clear for several weeks. But if the calories are right, the fat loss *is* happening, and will show up in the long term trend.
If it's any reassurance, I'm 5'5" and about 125, and have been losing (slowly) on 1850 calories plus all exercise calories, so 2100-2500+ most days . . . at age 65, while *not* working as a nurse (in fact, retired, sedentary). I grant that I'm a mysteriously good li'l ol' calorie burner for some reason, but you're younger and *much* more active. I don't think 1800-2200 is crazy, and slow loss will be a better complement to your strengthening/toning goals besides.
Wishing you success in all your goals!2 -
Hi, everyone! I need a word of kindness, a slap on the head or just some encouragement. I am 42 yo and had lost weight multiple times in my life. Now I was really determined on learning new habits I will carry for the rest of my life and to start doing something I never tried before for the uninformed fear of looking masculine: lifting weights.
I am a Zumba fitness instructor and teach twice a week. I do lifting/strenght training 4 times a week and when I work I am on my feet power walking for the majority of the 20 hours I work as a nurse on a busy unit.
I am currently 130 lbs and lost 7 lbs since February, having a 5 week plateau once in between, and now another 4 week plateau so far. I eat about 1500-1800 calories a day, very healthy food, but I had some clustered days of binge eating, including today. I feel very tired, sleepy, and foggy all of a sudden. I want to weigh 120 lbs and tone.
Am I eating too much? Am I eating too little? Am I exercising too hard? I don't know what to think, seems like there is no win. About 4 days ago I went to one 50 min HIIT class, followed by 40 min weightlifting and another 40 min of Zumba in the evening and that is when I started feeling drained and foggy and seems like I can't recover from that. Today, I binged and I feel like lifting is actually making me gain weight. It has never been this difficult to lose weight. Please, send help!
Um, yeah, to the bolded, if that's not usual for you. Physical stress is cumulative from varied sources, and it's also cumulative with psychological stress (betting your job has some of that!). I'm not sure what your HIIT class was (so many things called that these days), but if it was one of those high-speed/high-rep things with relatively light weights or calisthenics, that's quite a bit of strength-intensity to be doing on top of 4 days/week of strength training plus your routine Zumba that can be cardio-intense. That could push you past an edge that's previously been only on the horizon.
Stuff like sleep and nutrition (if sub-ideal) can add to the physical stress, and of course a calorie deficit is a stress. (I see that you mention "healthy food", but what does that mean to you? Enough protein? Healthy fats? Plenty of varied, colorful veggies/fruits?) How is your sleep, quality and quantity, routinely?
Do you have any recovery days built into your schedule (little or no exercise, maybe a casual walk or some yoga/stretching, but no intensity? Recovery is when some of the magic happens. Right now, it sounds like you need an immediate recovery day or two, with attention to sleep and nutrition.
Is February when you added the weight training and the calorie deficit? One to two months out is about where people seem to experience consequences of a cumulative "too-much-ness". Perhaps that really big exercise was a trigger, added onto other stress factors. If your plateaus were not related to other binging incidents, they could involve some stress-related water retention . . . and binging itself can be a sign of overdoing/overstress, especially if you don't have a history of that. (P.S. Lifting can increase water retention, too, for muscle repair . . . but it's not fat, so nothing to worry over. It'll sort out eventually.)
I think you'd do yourself a favor to consider your all-source stress, and manage the total; and (if you don't already) include some planned recovery days in your schedule routinely.Thank you all for the insightful responses!
I am only 5'2", and now I have 10 lbs to lose to get to my ideal weight of 120 lbs. And I want to tone and have strong legs because I have bad knees.
I went to a dietitian and she said I should eat between 1800-2200 cal per day, but I could not push myself to do that yet, as I am afraid of gaining. I think it is a psychological thing, really.
I want to lose about 0.5 to 1 lb per week.
Maybe I should try to up my calories and see what happens and go from there.
That would be a better plan, along with some recovery days in the short term. Keep in mind that 0.5 pounds per week will show up on the scale very, very slowly and unclearly. Most of us find we fluctuate 2-5 pounds from day to day, totally at random. Against that random fluctuation, loss of a half pound (even a pound) of fat may not be clear for several weeks. But if the calories are right, the fat loss *is* happening, and will show up in the long term trend.
If it's any reassurance, I'm 5'5" and about 125, and have been losing (slowly) on 1850 calories plus all exercise calories, so 2100-2500+ most days . . . at age 65, while *not* working as a nurse (in fact, retired, sedentary). I grant that I'm a mysteriously good li'l ol' calorie burner for some reason, but you're younger and *much* more active. I don't think 1800-2200 is crazy, and slow loss will be a better complement to your strengthening/toning goals besides.
Wishing you success in all your goals!
This was an amazing response!! It is the big reality check I needed in the kindest possible way!
I am lying in bed since 5pm. Did not have any strenght to exercise of even to do my homework due tomorrow, and I will have to work all day at the hospital, so not good. I feel like I really hurt myself pushing to the point of extreme exhaustion. I feel truly sick right now, but I can tell it is purely metabolic. I never want to feel like this again.
Luckly, I do eat well. Fruits, veggies, whole grains,, plenty of lean proteins such as chicken, fish, and eggs and sometimes lean red meat. I just really think I am not eating enough and sometimes I am working out more than necessary. Should I limit cardio to my two Zumba days and do strict lifting the other days? I usually consider my work days as my rest days, even though they are pretty insane, but at least not lifting. Is it ok to lift during one of my Zumba days? I was thinking that I should do Lifting with Zumba one day, then work, lifting, work, Zumba, lifting, light zumba prectice/yoga.
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I eat about 1500-1800 calories a day, very healthy food, but I had some clustered days of binge eating, including today.
This is a clear sign that you are not eating enough. You are most likely not losing weight because you are wiping out any deficit with the binges, not because of the lifting.
To be honest, HIIT, followed by lifting, followed by Zumba sounds brutal, and not at all fun. Since Zumba obviously is pleasurable for you, why do the HIIT at all? Seems unnecessary and it is probably making it near impossible for your body to recover.
At a near normal weight for your height, slow and steady is what will work!
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pismodiver wrote: »I eat about 1500-1800 calories a day, very healthy food, but I had some clustered days of binge eating, including today.
This is a clear sign that you are not eating enough. You are most likely not losing weight because you are wiping out any deficit with the binges, not because of the lifting.
To be honest, HIIT, followed by lifting, followed by Zumba sounds brutal, and not at all fun. Since Zumba obviously is pleasurable for you, why do the HIIT at all? Seems unnecessary and it is probably making it near impossible for your body to recover.
At a near normal weight for your height, slow and steady is what will work!
Thank you, dear!
I was actually going to do "only" the HIIT class and weights, but someone needed a sub teacher that day and I accidentally accepted a request thinking it was next week. (argh, stupid, I know. I saw the wrong date).
I tried the HIIT class because it has more strenght training components than Zumba, and I though it would be more efficient to build strenght.
Living and learning. Not doing that to myself again. 2 -
You do not say how tall you are, but I am a 5'-5" 60yo female @ 168 lbs and pretty near total sedentary lifestyle. I eat the same range of calories you are eating. While we are all different, this comparison would lead me to the immediate thought that you need more calories. How are your macros?
[/quote]
I am 5'2" only. Macros are 50% carbs, 20% protein, 30% fat.
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Hi, everyone! I need a word of kindness, a slap on the head or just some encouragement. I am 42 yo and had lost weight multiple times in my life. Now I was really determined on learning new habits I will carry for the rest of my life and to start doing something I never tried before for the uninformed fear of looking masculine: lifting weights.
I am a Zumba fitness instructor and teach twice a week. I do lifting/strenght training 4 times a week and when I work I am on my feet power walking for the majority of the 20 hours I work as a nurse on a busy unit.
I am currently 130 lbs and lost 7 lbs since February, having a 5 week plateau once in between, and now another 4 week plateau so far. I eat about 1500-1800 calories a day, very healthy food, but I had some clustered days of binge eating, including today. I feel very tired, sleepy, and foggy all of a sudden. I want to weigh 120 lbs and tone.
Am I eating too much? Am I eating too little? Am I exercising too hard? I don't know what to think, seems like there is no win. About 4 days ago I went to one 50 min HIIT class, followed by 40 min weightlifting and another 40 min of Zumba in the evening and that is when I started feeling drained and foggy and seems like I can't recover from that. Today, I binged and I feel like lifting is actually making me gain weight. It has never been this difficult to lose weight. Please, send help!
Um, yeah, to the bolded, if that's not usual for you. Physical stress is cumulative from varied sources, and it's also cumulative with psychological stress (betting your job has some of that!). I'm not sure what your HIIT class was (so many things called that these days), but if it was one of those high-speed/high-rep things with relatively light weights or calisthenics, that's quite a bit of strength-intensity to be doing on top of 4 days/week of strength training plus your routine Zumba that can be cardio-intense. That could push you past an edge that's previously been only on the horizon.
Stuff like sleep and nutrition (if sub-ideal) can add to the physical stress, and of course a calorie deficit is a stress. (I see that you mention "healthy food", but what does that mean to you? Enough protein? Healthy fats? Plenty of varied, colorful veggies/fruits?) How is your sleep, quality and quantity, routinely?
Do you have any recovery days built into your schedule (little or no exercise, maybe a casual walk or some yoga/stretching, but no intensity? Recovery is when some of the magic happens. Right now, it sounds like you need an immediate recovery day or two, with attention to sleep and nutrition.
Is February when you added the weight training and the calorie deficit? One to two months out is about where people seem to experience consequences of a cumulative "too-much-ness". Perhaps that really big exercise was a trigger, added onto other stress factors. If your plateaus were not related to other binging incidents, they could involve some stress-related water retention . . . and binging itself can be a sign of overdoing/overstress, especially if you don't have a history of that. (P.S. Lifting can increase water retention, too, for muscle repair . . . but it's not fat, so nothing to worry over. It'll sort out eventually.)
I think you'd do yourself a favor to consider your all-source stress, and manage the total; and (if you don't already) include some planned recovery days in your schedule routinely.Thank you all for the insightful responses!
I am only 5'2", and now I have 10 lbs to lose to get to my ideal weight of 120 lbs. And I want to tone and have strong legs because I have bad knees.
I went to a dietitian and she said I should eat between 1800-2200 cal per day, but I could not push myself to do that yet, as I am afraid of gaining. I think it is a psychological thing, really.
I want to lose about 0.5 to 1 lb per week.
Maybe I should try to up my calories and see what happens and go from there.
That would be a better plan, along with some recovery days in the short term. Keep in mind that 0.5 pounds per week will show up on the scale very, very slowly and unclearly. Most of us find we fluctuate 2-5 pounds from day to day, totally at random. Against that random fluctuation, loss of a half pound (even a pound) of fat may not be clear for several weeks. But if the calories are right, the fat loss *is* happening, and will show up in the long term trend.
If it's any reassurance, I'm 5'5" and about 125, and have been losing (slowly) on 1850 calories plus all exercise calories, so 2100-2500+ most days . . . at age 65, while *not* working as a nurse (in fact, retired, sedentary). I grant that I'm a mysteriously good li'l ol' calorie burner for some reason, but you're younger and *much* more active. I don't think 1800-2200 is crazy, and slow loss will be a better complement to your strengthening/toning goals besides.
Wishing you success in all your goals!
This was an amazing response!! It is the big reality check I needed in the kindest possible way!
I am lying in bed since 5pm. Did not have any strenght to exercise of even to do my homework due tomorrow, and I will have to work all day at the hospital, so not good. I feel like I really hurt myself pushing to the point of extreme exhaustion. I feel truly sick right now, but I can tell it is purely metabolic. I never want to feel like this again.
Luckly, I do eat well. Fruits, veggies, whole grains,, plenty of lean proteins such as chicken, fish, and eggs and sometimes lean red meat. I just really think I am not eating enough and sometimes I am working out more than necessary. Should I limit cardio to my two Zumba days and do strict lifting the other days? I usually consider my work days as my rest days, even though they are pretty insane, but at least not lifting. Is it ok to lift during one of my Zumba days? I was thinking that I should do Lifting with Zumba one day, then work, lifting, work, Zumba, lifting, light zumba prectice/yoga.
I can't tell you how much to exercise, but would suggest increasing gradually, and thinking as you do so of balancing intensity, duration and frequency so that you're not stressing the same body systems intensely (via very long duration, or short high intensity) every single day. Personally, I wouldn't do strength-y HIIT (high rep weight circuits or bodyweight exercise) *and* weight training: Each will impair recovery from the other. High intensity *anything* is extra fatiguing, so I wouldn't do it day in & day out; better to mix some longer but light work some days, with high intensity once or twice a week. However, if you're very very fit . . . . the definition of "intense" or "long duration" changes.
Is there any day that you can take off from work, Zumba, strength training? That would be ideal IMO, but the alternative is to space out the activities to balance the stresses, not stress the same systems as much. Your proposed schedule doesn't sound too bad if your current fitness level supports it without excess fatigue, but I don't have much opinion about Zumba+lift (I don't know your lifting program, and am not a lifting expert anyway.)You do not say how tall you are, but I am a 5'-5" 60yo female @ 168 lbs and pretty near total sedentary lifestyle. I eat the same range of calories you are eating. While we are all different, this comparison would lead me to the immediate thought that you need more calories. How are your macros?
I am 5'2" only. Macros are 50% carbs, 20% protein, 30% fat.
IMO, 20% protein could be on the low side of adequate, for someone your size serious about a strength program, when at 1500 calories (72g), probably OK at 1800 (90g). Personally, I like macro goals in terms of grams, rather than percents, for that kind of reason. I like 0.6-0.8g per pound of healthy goal weight, for protein, while losing weight, and the high end is better with strength goals (it's roughly equivalent to 0.8-1g per pound of lean body mass, for many people, but most people don't know their lean mass). (Some people would even say 1g per pound bodyweight for protein, BTW.) For fats, I like 0.35-0.45g/pound, for women like myself. I use carbs to balance, more or less.
I know MFP uses percents as a convenience, and that can work out OK . . . at adequate calories, and average goals. I set my percents to get close to my gram goals, but really eat to the gram goals. (If I get a mix of red & green totals, I just pretend it's Christmas. 😆)
Just my opinions, though.3 -
It sounds like you're off to a sound start! Everyone hits plateaus and rough patches. The important thing is to not give up--you've made such fantastic progress so far!
What are your "Net" calories at the end of the day? (What you eat minus your exercise.) It sounds like you might be under-eating a little for three hours of exercise. Everyone has a few skimpy food days, but having them consistently can hurt your body and your progress over time. And it's one of those things that creeps up on you and you don't realize it until BAM--it's a problem.
Weights and HIIT are not a good combo to do in sequence (one right after the other). You'll short yourself on the results for whichever one you do second. Weight-lifting (heavy as you can) will likely yield far better results than light weights wielded during a HIIT class.
I set my ratios at 30%f, 30%p, and 40%c. And that works well for me. Helps keep me feeling full and supports my fitness goals. But it took time to figure that out. And while I hit close to it most days, I don't beat myself up for missing it by a little (or a lot).
Though I did, for a long time. 2 -
As someone in recovery from binge eating disorder I can tell you my experience is that, now I have broken the ED cycle and developed a healthy relationship with food, I only ever binge or seriously overeat (unplanned) when I have been unintentionally under eating.4
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Have you considered that you are chasing 120 and your body is telling you something else?
Have you considered relying on bodyfat or body measurements as a reliable means of measuring progress?
Have you considered building a friendship with your body by taking time to listen to it? Your body will help you set goals that work for you.
Why are you wanting this number 120 so badly?
Have you considered the effects to your adrenal system and to your metabolism if you continue to work out to this same degree at this caloric intake?
Have you considered getting input from an objective medical and/or training professional? Are you telling your doctor how you have been feeling?
Wishing you healthy, harmony, and happiness on your journey
Love, from a sister 5 foot 2 person
4 -
ok first of all. you should give yourself a break.
second of all. you are extremely active which is great but it appears you are complicating things a little for yourself so im hoping i can clarify some stuff for you.
1. put exercise and food into two different catagories.
2. if you want to lose body fat (not weight) then focus on calories only.
3. while exercise burns calories forget about it. honestly, see exercise as something you do to keep you strong and healthy and not a fatloss tool. you could literally sit and do nothing all day and still lose fat in a deficit.
if i was training you i would limit your exercise. what are your goals? want to get strong? want to run faster? you can't do it all and you shouldn't.
my advice limit your exercise to no more than 1 hour, 6 days a week. (to me thats still too much)
i train 3x per week thats it. i just lift weights.
Then look at your calories. see your calories as a weekly total amount not daily. when you have that weekly calorie goal then you can move and juggle those calories over 7 days as you please but dont go over that weekly caloric limit. You will be able to eat more on some days than others,especially if you are feeling tired.
be kind to yourself.1 -
My first question is: HOW MUCH SLEEP AND REST are you getting?
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 -
what you're doing isn't working..and you're tired..so your body doesn't like it either. So listen to your body... back off on the extreme exercise. Eat at the 1800 ..give it a few weeks.. and see what happens. If the scale doesn't move.. eat at 1500. I bet it works.1
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When you dig yourself into a hole of over-reaching / over-training / under-recovering you really need to stop digging. The longer you try to push through the deeper the hole you dig and the longer it takes to climb out of.
If your food intake is remotely accurate you are seriously under-fuelling the extensive physical demands of exercise and work.
Time to rethink and reset, please put your health first.
4
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