Weight loss plateau help

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teedoff40
teedoff40 Posts: 3
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok I dont know what I'm doing wrong! I've been dieting since feb. I didnt enter my weight here until I had already lost some weight. I'm a man, age 45, 5'10", and my beginning weight was 240. I now weight 215, but the problem is I've been stuck right here for over 3 months!! I work out HARD at least 4 days a week every week. By hard I mean Insanity or P90x type workouts. If anyone has heard of 9 Rounds gym, then you know how intense it is.

I'm pretty good about staying on my diet. This site's weight loss tool says I should eat no more than 1350 calories a day. I think thats a little low, but even if I do go over, I'm still always well below 2500 calories. I just dont understand why I'm not losing anymore weight! I know people reach weight loss plateaus, but how long do they last? I mean its very disappointing when you go so long and not lose anything. And following a fairly strict diet makes it even worse! Any tips? or advice? Thanks in advance.

Replies

  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
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    1350 is way too low for a man who works out. Change your weight loss goal to 0.5lbs per week. Eat your exercise calories and make sure your activity level is correct. Make sure you are eating about 180 grams of protein a day.
  • klfazio
    klfazio Posts: 48 Member
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    Your calories are WAY too low for a man and especially one that does intense workouts. Change your exercise setting to the highest level, or at least next highest. My husband had this happen once and eating more worked like a charm......same thing has happened to me twice. Its sometimes a hard concept to learn but you really have to eat to lose. Watch sugar intake.....up your fiber and protein and drink AT LEAST half your body weight in ounces per day.....water that is. And if you don't already, add some weight training to your workouts, at least 2 times per week. Doesn't have to be more than 20 minutes. If you do all this I guarentee you will start losing again. : )
  • nmaltz3
    nmaltz3 Posts: 7
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    Hey,

    I know how you feel, plateaus are definitely frustrating. Here are some common reasons that people plateau:

    1. water retention. Drink lots of water and pay attention to the sodium content in the foods you eat. Anything over 10% is high. If you are consuming a high sodium or high fiber food make sure to drink one to two cups of water after. This way your body wont hold on to water weight

    2. not eating enough. Eat every 2.5-3 hours. On this note...make sure you eat a substantial breakfast. Dont forget to refuel after your workouts with a protein+carb snack (peanut butter and an apple, milk, cottage cheese and fruit etc.)

    3. evaluate what you mean when you say "eat healthy". Are you having one candy here, a handful of cereal there? If so, that could be contributing to extra calorie consumption.

    hope this helps
  • Bluejay789
    Bluejay789 Posts: 176
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    I would also have someone measure you. Then get measured in 30 days. I bet you are losing inches but gaining muscle and muscle weighs more.

    Review and update your profile. Sounds like it needs some adjusting.
  • Anise6789
    Anise6789 Posts: 100 Member
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    Yep, way too low especially if your working out that hard. Muscle needs more food. Check some of the mens diets.
  • klfazio
    klfazio Posts: 48 Member
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    Oh meant to mention.......if one day you eat 1350 cals and more like 2500 the next day then your deficit at the end of the week isn't as big as you might think it would be. After changing your settings, try hard to stick to that amount of cals and if you go over try to not make it anymore than 100-150 cals. All the best to ya!!
  • teedoff40
    teedoff40 Posts: 3
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    OK wow thanks for all the comments and tips! I went back and adjusted my profile. I had forgotten that I selected 2lbs a week weight loss initially. I guess with my quick weight loss in the beginning, I never thought about how off my goals could be. So now, with my goal of 1lb a week(I'm greedy, so .5lb seem too little lol), I'm now supposedly to eat 1890 calories a day.

    @bluejay Yes I should have been measured. I know I've lost inches because my older clothes almost fall off of me..lol but again, thats not changed either since I reached this plateau.

    Anyway, again thanks for all the help. I'll try this out and see how it goes. I'm tired of dieting with NO results! lol

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