2 MONTH PLATEAU HELP!!!

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Replies

  • JEWEL776
    JEWEL776 Posts: 30 Member
    Maybe try to cut out some of the processed foods you are eating. To much sodium will retain water and you are not drinking enough water to flush your system. Lean meats like chicken breasts and fish are good for protein and good fats. :happy: Good luck!
  • amanda07425
    amanda07425 Posts: 105 Member
    One more thing - I looked at your diary - even though you are under calories I think that you are eating a lot of fast food. Have you heard about eating Clean? Our bodies don't process toxins and high fat very well - I think that if you shook up your diet with a lot of lean protein, veggies and fruit you would see a change.

    yeh, i traveled a lot this weekend so i ate out alot which sucked but during the week i never eat out and try to eating pretty well.. especially dinners. i do though eat sandwiches everyday at work for lunch b/c its the quickest and easiest thing to take with me.
  • amanda07425
    amanda07425 Posts: 105 Member
    thanks, i eat a lot of chicken but it gets very boring if you have any other ideas for dinner meals!
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    One more thing - I looked at your diary - even though you are under calories I think that you are eating a lot of fast food. Have you heard about eating Clean? Our bodies don't process toxins and high fat very well - I think that if you shook up your diet with a lot of lean protein, veggies and fruit you would see a change.

    for body composition, assuming identical macronutrients, food choices make little or no difference
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,985 Member
    So I have lost ZERO lbs in over 2 months!!! I started MFP in April and from April 12th to July 15th I lost 14 lbs which I was soooo excited about!!! During this time I was doing the 30 day shred and walking. After completed the 30 day shred I was looking into a new exercise to do so I decided on doing the C25K. I figured that a good way to lose weight would be to run.. or so I thought. I am going on week 7 of the program this week and I have lost absolutely NOTHING! I've been eating well except for a few slip ups on the weekends but for the most part I still remain under or near my calorie goal. I used to have my calorie goal at 1200 but I was told I wasn't eating enough for how much I was working out so for awhile I had my calories set at 1350 until recently someone told me to increse my calories to help me get through this plateau. So last Tuesday I increased to 1420 and I still have zero results. I run 3 days a week and on the other days I go on walks because the program says to use those days as "rest" days so I dont want kill myself and not be able to do my runs. I'm just really frustrated and ready to break down and cry because I really want to lose these lbs! I'm 5'7 & 22 years old and i thought it was a lot easier to lose weight while your young. I started at 177 and I'm down to 164 lbs but my goal is 145! So as you can see I still have awhile to go, I know my body isnt done losing weight, so how can I get this weight off!!!!! HELP!!
    Hate to say it, but just cardio alone and not enough protein can accelerate usage of lean muscle tissue and slow down your metabolism. Strength training helps you to retain lean muscle. Somewhere in your program you should put it back in.
  • NovemberJune
    NovemberJune Posts: 2,525 Member
    what's your source for this? i mean where did you get this information, or what led you to believe this, or where did you get these cut offs? lol. i am not trying to attack you at all! just curious :) i actually like this better than what some people say. it irritates me so much when someone will act like no one should have a huge deficit, no matter if their BMR is 1400 or 3400! kwim?

    thanks!

    to the OP, i'm not going to give you advice but just say sorry and i can see why you're frustrated! it's so true that half of people will say eat more and half of people will say eat less. good luck figuring out what works for you!!!! I'm really worried about getting stuck once i'm close to my goal weight.


    p.s. you're not the only one with sodium problems ;) (*guilty*!)

    I think you may need to eat more -When you exercise this puts you at a deficit. It seems like a lot of people do better when they eat their recommended allowance PLUS their exercise calories.

    So now we can figure out where your goal should be.
    Go to the tools section and figure out your BMI:

    Generally someone with a BMI over 32 can do a 1000 calorie a day (2 lbs a week) deficit
    With a BMI of 30 to 32 a deficit of 750 calories is generally correct (about 1.5 lbs a week)
    With a BMI of 28 to 30 a deficit of 500 calories is about right (about 1 lb a week)
    With a BMI of 26 to 28 a deficit of about 300 calories is perfect (about 1/2 lb a week)
    and below 26... well this is where we get fuzzy. See now you're no longer talking about being overweight, so while it's still ok to have a small deficit, you really should shift your focus more towards muscle building, and reducing fat. This means it is EXTRA important to eat your exercise calories as your body needs to KNOW it's ok to burn fat stores, and the only way it will know is if you keep giving it the calories it needs to not enter the famine response (starvation mode).


    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo
  • Rachaelluvszipped
    Rachaelluvszipped Posts: 768 Member
    Ah, the dreaded plateau.... I've been there MANY times. I found zig-zagging to really help. You can get a profile at freedieting.com. You have some really high caloric days, along w/ some low and medium ones. You most likely are netting enough. And, as you get closer to goal it gets harder. My base is 1500, and I always have at least one day of the weekend I go quite a bit over. If you are really active, you really need more calories. Sometimes the increase or zig-zag might take a couple weeks to register, but you WILL lose doing that.... it shakes up the metabolism really well! GOOD LUCK!!!!

    Yes, I totally agree..here's the site...

    http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    Some people lose with running, but when I trained for my marathon, I only maintained (scale wise). However, my body shape changed and I looked more toned. I think running is excellent for building endurance, and for me it is a fantastic way to de-stress. But for weightloss, it might help for you to mix it up a bit. Maybe on your rest days, do a bodysculpt class or Ashtanga or Vinyasa yoga. Or try another form of cardio like Zumba or the elliptical trainer on your rest days. Stick with it!
    I can totally relate to this one. I have not been losing even on 1oz for over 2 months after I increased my exercise, but my body looks different. My husband and my friends can still see it even with all the clothes on. :)
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    pretty sure you could cut at 1600ish cals a day, but that's just my opinion.

    so you think i should eat 1600 calories a day? that seems like a lot to me! what's your reasoning behind this?

    I'm with this guy. It seems that for some people (myself included but not for everyone) your body will NOT release it's last fat stores unless it is really sure it won't be starving anytime soon. To convince it of this, you have to feed it. Your calorie deficits should be small (250 a day) and you should replace all calories burned with exercise in order to maintain this small deficit.

    I'm 5'9" 150lbs. I eat 1860 plus ALL of my exercise calories. I've been losing at about a half pound a week (which is best for those with little to lose).
  • amanda07425
    amanda07425 Posts: 105 Member
    pretty sure you could cut at 1600ish cals a day, but that's just my opinion.

    so you think i should eat 1600 calories a day? that seems like a lot to me! what's your reasoning behind this?

    I'm with this guy. It seems that for some people (myself included but not for everyone) your body will NOT release it's last fat stores unless it is really sure it won't be starving anytime soon. To convince it of this, you have to feed it. Your calorie deficits should be small (250 a day) and you should replace all calories burned with exercise in order to maintain this small deficit.

    I'm 5'9" 150lbs. I eat 1860 plus ALL of my exercise calories. I've been losing at about a half pound a week (which is best for those with little to lose).

    wow that's awesome.. I would never think eating more would help
  • lrs40708
    lrs40708 Posts: 2
    You probably should try breaking up your meals during the day if you are eating only 3 times a day. This ensures your metabolism continues running at high rpm otherwise you experience a slow down. This means you should eat within 500 calories below or at
    your recommended minimum.The other thing to consider is if you aren't getting enough carbs your body will start cannibalizing
    your muscle mass (if you do a lot of cardio for example). With less muscle mass (even if less fat mass) you will burn fat even more slowly. Your body will extract the energy it needs in the order of least difficult to most, starting with sugar (glycogen) stored in your muscle to fat. Get plenty of fluids too. Everybody is different, proceed with caution.
  • ljbhill
    ljbhill Posts: 276 Member
    I had the exact same thing. To break through it there are a few options. Seeing as this is the first plateau I would recommend changing your macros.

    I've changed mine to 35% Carb 35% Protein 30% Fat. Look at how much sugar/carb you are consuming and try to cut down on them. I also reduced my carb intake after 5pm and swapped whites for brown (rice, bread potato to sweet potato.) It helped me to go from 154Ib to 121Ib.

    Try that for a month and if that still doesn't work, I would suggest trying a detox. That way your body can be cleaned out and work better at processing the foods you are eating.

    Good luck!
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    You probably should try breaking up your meals during the day if you are eating only 3 times a day. This ensures your metabolism continues running at high rpm otherwise you experience a slow down. This means you should eat within 500 calories below or at
    your recommended minimum.The other thing to consider is if you aren't getting enough carbs your body will start cannibalizing
    your muscle mass (if you do a lot of cardio for example). With less muscle mass (even if less fat mass) you will burn fat even more slowly. Your body will extract the energy it needs in the order of least difficult to most, starting with sugar (glycogen) stored in your muscle to fat. Get plenty of fluids too. Everybody is different, proceed with caution.

    eating more then 3 times a day has no added benefit in weight loss

    your body will start to break down muscle when protein is inadequate, not CHO, CHO isn't even truly necessary, see ketogenic diets
  • amanda07425
    amanda07425 Posts: 105 Member
    You probably should try breaking up your meals during the day if you are eating only 3 times a day. This ensures your metabolism continues running at high rpm otherwise you experience a slow down. This means you should eat within 500 calories below or at
    your recommended minimum.The other thing to consider is if you aren't getting enough carbs your body will start cannibalizing
    your muscle mass (if you do a lot of cardio for example). With less muscle mass (even if less fat mass) you will burn fat even more slowly. Your body will extract the energy it needs in the order of least difficult to most, starting with sugar (glycogen) stored in your muscle to fat. Get plenty of fluids too. Everybody is different, proceed with caution.

    eating more then 3 times a day has no added benefit in weight loss

    your body will start to break down muscle when protein is inadequate, not CHO, CHO isn't even truly necessary, see ketogenic diets


    so do i need more protein or carbs?
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    i would shoot for a minimum of around 1g per lb of lean body mass, just to prevent or limit muscle loss while dieting. Also incorporating a strength training routine into your workouts would be a good idea to improve body composition and prevent you from coming the dreaded skinny fat
  • amanda07425
    amanda07425 Posts: 105 Member
    i would shoot for a minimum of around 1g per lb of lean body mass, just to prevent or limit muscle loss while dieting. Also incorporating a strength training routine into your workouts would be a good idea to improve body composition and prevent you from coming the dreaded skinny fat

    what kind of strength training exercises do you recommend? I never know what exercises to do or whats most effective.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    i would shoot for a minimum of around 1g per lb of lean body mass, just to prevent or limit muscle loss while dieting. Also incorporating a strength training routine into your workouts would be a good idea to improve body composition and prevent you from coming the dreaded skinny fat

    what kind of strength training exercises do you recommend? I never know what exercises to do or whats most effective.

    you can check out the new rules for lifting for women support thread in the fitness section, or look into a beginners program like Ripptoe's Starting Strength
  • ljbhill
    ljbhill Posts: 276 Member
    so do i need more protein or carbs?

    You need to watch both but I would definately go for more protein over carbs. We get plenty of carbs from most the foods we eat, they are not the issue! Protein keeps us full for longer AND our body can use it for energy.

    Carbs are processed into sugars that your body than uses for energy. Simple carbs are turned into sugars that the body uses quickly while comple carbs are burned slower. This means that you feel hungry more quickly when you eat simple carbs over complex carbs. Therefore carbs that you do eat, make sure they are complex. Foods such as: sweet potato, brown rice, quinoa, wholemeal bread/pasta and agave. Check packaged foods for sugar content. Anything over 6g per serve try and steer clear of.

    Good luck!
  • dustyhockeymom
    dustyhockeymom Posts: 537 Member
    I am going to have to spend some time pouring over all this infomation because I have been stuck for a few weeks too and want to get proactive.
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