I think I hit my plateau.

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amontroy1
amontroy1 Posts: 14
in Introduce Yourself
I've been using MFP and working out since the end of June. In 8 weeks I lost 15lbs...my husband came home for R&R from Iraq at the end of September and I took two weeks off and didn't exercise or count calories then i was a little depressed after he left and had a hard time getting back to the gym until school started up again. So i actually took about a month off from counting calories and working out. I didn't gain any weight that showed up on the scale but i know i lost muscle and my stomach felt more jiggly than it did before. In the 8 weeks that I lost the 15lbs I used the elliptical for 30mins a day mon-thurs and counted calories. When school started up i increased my time on the elliptical to 45 mins a day and now mon-fri plus i use the machines in the gym to tone my arms mon/weds/fri. I don't know what to do to continue losing weight and i'm stressing out. My goal was to lose another 15lbs by December and i'm starting to think that's never going to happen. Help!!

Replies

  • kcwonder
    kcwonder Posts: 57 Member
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    Are you also watching your caloric intake again? I read you need to create a calorie deficit based on your current caloric intake to lose weight. In your original post, you did not state whether you started counting calories.

    Also, a possible reason for no weight loss at the beginning could be that you are building muscle while losing fat so weight loss won't occur immediately.

    I am not sure. Best wishes. Stay dedicated!
  • amontroy1
    amontroy1 Posts: 14
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    I am counting calories again! Sorry, I forgot to mention that I guess. :) I stay under the limit daily. I have heard that muscle weighs more than fat but I dont see any muscle building up so I guess I don't think of it as that being the reason. I'm just so frustrated and I guess it seemed like the first 15lbs fell off and now I'm at some standstill going nowhere. I've heard you should switch up your workout and I thought the increase in time and number of days per week on the elliptical that it would increase weight loss. Grr :(
  • muitobem
    muitobem Posts: 436 Member
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    Don't stay under your daily limit of calories! And eat some if not all of your exercise calories back....You will not lose weight unless you are getting enough calories for your body to work efficiently.....and it won't when you're not eating enough calories....
  • amontroy1
    amontroy1 Posts: 14
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    I normally eat all my calories for the day I very rarely am under (today is one of the days that I am under lol) If anything I might have like 100 or 50 calories left and its the end of the day at like 9pm and I try not to eat at night because then I'm starving in the morning and for the rest of the day. Is there something else I should be doing workout wise? I've heard you should switch up your routine but I THOUGHT I was doing that by increasing time/days.
  • barbarabo
    barbarabo Posts: 16
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    I am going through a plateau as well, and got some good advice from on here. Today I was talking to some people at the nutrition center I go to sometimes and what they said made sense and made me feel a lot better... I had a great weight loss---20 lbs over about 8 weeks. Then I just stopped. Haven't gained it back, but haven't lost any. But today, they asked me if I was losing INCHES, that because muscle weighs more than fat and I am building lean muscle that I may not be losing weight currently, but that does not mean I am not losing, and not getting healthier. And the fact is, I have lost a little measurement-wise, and even though I have not lost any weight now in 2-3 weeks, the new jeans I bought 2 weeks ago that were a size smaller than what I was wearing before are now a little looser on me than when I first got them. I need to wear a belt with them and 10 weeks ago I was not even in that size! So look at not just what they scale says, but how you feel, and how your clothes are fitting. Try keeping measurements occasionally like the ones that are on here. They also reminded me not to get so caught up in the weekly weigh-ins, but how I am feeling overall, and also the weight loss that will occur over extended periods of time. I hope this will help you a little to keep going forward. The scale says the same thing for me as it did two weeks ago, but I am looking forward to the fact that in another week or so, I may need to get another pair of jeans another size smaller!!! Best wishes to you!
  • muitobem
    muitobem Posts: 436 Member
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    You could also try some calorie cycling...I did it and within about 2 1/2 weeks I started dropping the weight again...I was stuck on a plateau for almost 5 weeks when I tried it...I had even switched up my exercise and it wasn't working....but the calorie cycling did....
  • barbarabo
    barbarabo Posts: 16
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    Also, make sure you are eating atleast 1200 calories everyday no matter what. Less than that is bad for your body.
  • barbarabo
    barbarabo Posts: 16
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    You could also try some calorie cycling...I did it and within about 2 1/2 weeks I started dropping the weight again...I was stuck on a plateau for almost 5 weeks when I tried it...I had even switched up my exercise and it wasn't working....but the calorie cycling did....


    What is Calorie Cycling??
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,708 Member
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    Also, a possible reason for no weight loss at the beginning could be that you are building muscle while losing fat so weight loss won't occur immediately.
    Practically impossible to build any muscle from cardio only workouts unless those workouts are HIIT or Tabata.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,708 Member
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    I've been using MFP and working out since the end of June. In 8 weeks I lost 15lbs...my husband came home for R&R from Iraq at the end of September and I took two weeks off and didn't exercise or count calories then i was a little depressed after he left and had a hard time getting back to the gym until school started up again. So i actually took about a month off from counting calories and working out. I didn't gain any weight that showed up on the scale but i know i lost muscle and my stomach felt more jiggly than it did before. In the 8 weeks that I lost the 15lbs I used the elliptical for 30mins a day mon-thurs and counted calories. When school started up i increased my time on the elliptical to 45 mins a day and now mon-fri plus i use the machines in the gym to tone my arms mon/weds/fri. I don't know what to do to continue losing weight and i'm stressing out. My goal was to lose another 15lbs by December and i'm starting to think that's never going to happen. Help!!
    You took time off and now going back to exercise you're going through the whole water retention/glycogen load phase again. It's like starting from scratch.
  • kcwonder
    kcwonder Posts: 57 Member
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    You could also try some calorie cycling...

    After reading the post, I checked the internet for additional information. It seems valid on the surface when I hit a plateau I will definitely try it.

    The basic strategy is to vary caloric intake every day based on the person's BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) daily caloric intake.

    Example:

    Monday - Low caloric intake

    Tuesday - High caloric intake

    Wednesday - Low caloric intake

    Thursday - Medium caloric intake

    Friday - Medium caloric intake

    Saturday - High caloric intake

    Sunday - Medium caloric intake

    After a complete cycle, take 1-2 days of regular caloric intake. I am not too clear on how to calculate low, medium, or high caloric intake based on BMR caloric intake.

    All this information I retrieved from the internet. I am not sure how accurate I am representing calorie cycling.

    http://burton18.hubpages.com/hub/Calorie-Cycling-Diet

    I found another website that has calorie cycling based on weeks rather than days.

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/hugo19.htm
  • muitobem
    muitobem Posts: 436 Member
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    I'll send you a msg to explain it and show you an example of mine and the website that calculates it for you
    ..

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