Is the scale broke?

ScoutMomAng
ScoutMomAng Posts: 43
edited October 3 in Health and Weight Loss
I can't seem to get the scale to budge anymore. I'm staying within my calorie goals and I'm walking as much as I can but I can't seem to get the scale to drop even a point!

It is frustrating! How do you break this plateau? I don't want to add more calories for a few days because that doesn't seem to help. I've heard/read so much that even coffee, tea and other beverages count as your water intake. I started counting them as my water intake and stopped drinking JUST water. Is it possible that JUST water is what I really need? In the summer time, when it was hot, I was drinking nearly a gallon of water a day (in about an 18 hour day). I know it sounds like a lot but it wasn't making me feel sick, like if I had it all at one time. Now that the weather is cooler, I have a hard time getting even the 64 ounces of water in a day. Is it possible that's the cause of this plateau? It's been going on for about 2 or 3 weeks now.

Replies

  • bride2b520
    bride2b520 Posts: 8
    you should try calorie zig-zagging and keep your body guessing... it's what i've heard is best for plateaus, but i'd recommend only counting plain water as well...
  • jridgway49
    jridgway49 Posts: 79
    I'm in the same boat as u tried everything so guess what scale is broke I threw it out the door lol
  • ScoutMomAng
    ScoutMomAng Posts: 43
    I thought about jumping up and down on mine!
  • ScoutMomAng
    ScoutMomAng Posts: 43
    maybe instead of looking at the big picture, I should go back to my 10 pound increments. That seemed to work well too,
  • ltlane
    ltlane Posts: 120
    maybe try to lower the sodium and drink more water... you have arthiritis so i dont want to touch the exercise since i dont know if you have extreme pain and exercise is restrictive... i agree with the zig zagging... i did zig zagging, increased exercise intensity, and lowered sodium and 3lbs fell off 2 days later.
  • ScoutMomAng
    ScoutMomAng Posts: 43
    I try not to let the arthritis beat me. At least I tell myself that everyday, but the pain in my knees does prevent me from doing vigorous exercise so for now I mostly just walk and pick up my pace when I need to push it.

    What is zig zagging? I've never heard of that. I was drinking a gallon of water everyday but now I struggle to get even the 64 ounces in a day but I am going to make a very conscious effort to do so tomorrow (Monday).
  • kendf60
    kendf60 Posts: 234 Member
    I've hit a few plateaus that lasted about 3 weeks. I always tried to change my exercise up to help break through it. Alot of people try the calorie zig zagging (varying your calorie intake so your body doesn't get used to a specific # of calories) but that never seemed to work for me. Keep eating healthy and exercising and the scale will catch up soon.
  • AsLiteAsAFeather
    AsLiteAsAFeather Posts: 10
    Sodium intake usually keeps me at plateaus. I retain a lot of water sometimes. So I need to drink a lot of water to detox and take out my soda completely.

    Try updating your tracker to see which repeat foods have high sodium content. You might find some foods which are moderate in calories but high on sodium.

    Also try sticking to your target calorie intake without adding the exercise calorie earnings
    - e.g. if your daily goal is 1200 calories and you've exercised 300 calories worth still stick to the 1200 calorie per day instead of 1500 calories.

    Try it for a few days hopefully that helps.

    You're doing great btw ... 33 pounds lost ... whohoo!!! ;)
  • kayleeblue
    kayleeblue Posts: 273
    I just came off a 6 week plateau!! I had to increase my cals by at least 300-500 per day. I also increased by exercise. I went from walking 6-10 miles per week to 10 -20. Now I have to get back on the weights and drop my cals back again and hope to keep losing. Everyone is different. You will have to see what works for you . Don't get discouraged by it though..You can do this. Just takes time. Good Luck!
  • ScoutMomAng
    ScoutMomAng Posts: 43
    Thanks everybody for the help. So let me update on this:

    1. I take a water pill everyday because even if I maintain my sodium level I still retain water in my legs and have pitting edema. Doctor not too worried about it just gives me the pills to eliminate the discomfort. (I will worry about it after I get to the goal I want or if my blood pressure goes out of typical text book range)

    2. I changed my settings on MFP to set it for maintaining my weight. I did it for 2 days but still did not even get near that range at all, so I switched it back to the 2 lbs per week. Calories dropped 40 from 2 days prior with the same weight??? Not sure what the deal is with that but not worried about it.

    3. Have not been entering in exercise so that I will stay at the 1200 mark without compensating for the calories burned.

    4. Will be switching back to only water starting Wednesday 28 September 2011. There will be no diet pop, no coffee or anything, at least not until I get my 64 oz of water in.

    With all that said, lets see what happens tomorrow with the scale.
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