I seriously need help...please!

staclo
staclo Posts: 511 Member
edited September 19 in Health and Weight Loss
I've been doing MFP strictly for about 8 weeks. Since that time, I've lost 6 pounds and about 7 inches. I'm working out (burning between 200-500 calories) about 5-6 days a week, and I'm adding strength training to that. For the past 3 weeks, my scale hasn't moved at all (except that it went up one week by a little bit...my scale is not completely accurate). I drink more than 8 glasses of water a day, I'm staying below my allotted amounts on a regular basis, except for protein, fiber, and sometimes sugar. My net calorie average for the week was 1168. I guess that could be the problem, b/c my goal is a net of 1220, so I'm below that, which I didn't really realize until I averaged it this morning. I need someone with a good idea of how this works to look at what I'm doing and give me good advice. I'll take it, b/c I'm absolutely determined to lose this weight!!!
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Replies

  • ravennati1
    ravennati1 Posts: 2
    Your losing weight at a nice pace, sounds as if you are doing it the right way. A pound or two a week is the best way to long term results. I am no expert but that's the way I have always been told to lose weight. Any time I have dropped weight too quickly it came right back. With lifestyle changes that you are making you should have permanent and not temporary results. Keep going strong !
  • staclo
    staclo Posts: 511 Member
    My average weight loss is .75 lbs per week, but the scale hasn't moved in three weeks. The other 2 lbs were lost between Jan and April before I got serious about this.
  • czewwhat
    czewwhat Posts: 8,715
    I am stuck on a plateau also, two months here 18 pounds down, nothing for over two weeks, you are not alone, I am watching your thread, hoping for the same answer! If I starve myself any more, my dog will hate me! I have 15 more pounds to reach my goal. If you get any answers, PM them to me just in case I miss them, please!
  • mfinney
    mfinney Posts: 314
    Well, IMO, it's like this -- you either need to up your calorie intake. I really don't think you're eating enough. Secondly, if you're adding weight training to your regimen of exercise, what you should really do is alternate between days and i would recommend at least a couple days off during the week, or some other kind of split.

    Perhaps you do cardio day 1, weights day 2, off day 3, and then repeat that cycle.

    or do cardio day 1, 3, 5, weights day 2 and 4 and take two days straight off. your body does need some down time for recovery. you don't want to overtrain, and working out too much and not eating enough is not going to assist you in any way -- without enough calories, you will put your body in fat-storing mode instead of fat-burning mode.

    if you'd like to get down to more specifics, you can PM me and i'll try to help the best i can.

    good luck!
  • themetra
    themetra Posts: 174 Member
    I personally wouldn't stress about it too much, it sounds to me like you're losing at a healthy pace. My scale hasn't moved in a little while, but I can see my body is getting tighter and my close are fitting better! I try to base it on that instead of what the scale says!

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  • debnu1
    debnu1 Posts: 1,568 Member
    It sounds like you are on the right track. All the information I hear about plateaus is that you just need to change things up a little bit. I would add in that extra 80 or so calories to get your net intake up above 1200 and also adding strength training will help a lot. Be sure to give yourself a rest day, but if you just up your intensity that will help. As you lose weight your body gets used to what you are doing and you have to keep it guessing. Good luck you are doing great--don't give up!
  • sbennett23
    sbennett23 Posts: 35 Member
    This happened to me recently. I hit a 3 week plateau, was eating around 1200 calories and burning off 345. I don't think I was eating enough. Now I'm eating around 1400 calories and I've added strength training to my cardiovascular. I lost a pound last week and another this week. I have PCOS so it's really hard to lose but I'm slowly progressing! You may want to increase your calories a little.
  • msujdak
    msujdak Posts: 141
    Have you taken your measurments lately? Try upping your calories every other day or two to give your body a metabolic boost.
  • LiMer
    LiMer Posts: 112 Member
    That happened to me 3 weeks in a row as well. Then finally, last week the scale went down over 6 pounds in one week. What I did was ate more then I was allow for one day (1800 net calories), I even went over on my fat intake then the very next day, went back down to 1200 calories. For some reason, by doing that and taking an easy on my workouts, help me. I think alot of that is water weight. I wonder if you can just take a water pill and see what happens.
  • firetuck
    firetuck Posts: 87 Member
    I've hit a plateau as well. Both in pounds and inches. I finally got a Polar heart monitor so I could track my calories better. I'm burning 500-750 a day - lifting twice a week and a mix of cardio on 4 others. I did just check after reading these posts and saw that my net calories were below 1200 so I guess I need to up my calories every day - but I'm scared!
  • staclo
    staclo Posts: 511 Member
    Have you taken your measurments lately? Try upping your calories every other day or two to give your body a metabolic boost.

    Yes, I took them this morning. I lost 2.5-3 inches last week. I knew that I must have lost some inches, b/c I'm down a size.
  • fjtcjt
    fjtcjt Posts: 199
    I posted this link a couple of days ago, and not very many people took the time to read it. I think you will find it very informative and it might give you some good ideas of how you might be able change up how you are consuming food and what and when to consume.

    http://www.supplecity.com/articles/howcaloriesbecomefat.htm

    When things like this happen, it is usually related to your diet. Give this a read and let me know if it gives you any good recommendations.
  • staclo
    staclo Posts: 511 Member
    I've hit a plateau as well. Both in pounds and inches. I finally got a Polar heart monitor so I could track my calories better. I'm burning 500-750 a day - lifting twice a week and a mix of cardio on 4 others. I did just check after reading these posts and saw that my net calories were below 1200 so I guess I need to up my calories every day - but I'm scared!

    Yeah, me too. I don't understand how the metabolism works enough, I guess.
  • fjtcjt
    fjtcjt Posts: 199
    [/quote]

    Yes, I took them this morning. I lost 2.5-3 inches last week. I knew that I must have lost some inches, b/c I'm down a size.
    [/quote]

    And this is another excellent point. Just because the scale isn't moving doesn't mean you aren't making progress. The closer you get to your goal weight, the less you can count on your scale for real progress!
  • mrsyac2
    mrsyac2 Posts: 2,784 Member
    my scale hasn't budged in 4 weeks i am not stressing it though it will start moving again but body just has to regulate- don't get discouraged if anything do more intense workouts- try something different don't do the same workouts your body will get bored
  • ABELL
    ABELL Posts: 16
    I am on my second week. The first week I lost a quick 10 lbs which I am assuming part of was water weight. Anyhow I have been diligent in doing everything perfectly and not straying from the allotted calories and sometimes I am under. This week I have gained 1/2 lb so far but trying not to focus on that until Sunday my weigh in day rolls around. I would say just keep doing what you are doing and not to get discouraged. I have heard that sometimes you need to eat a bit more than your calories to get your metabolism back up. Good luck and I will be thinking about you. Let us know when you break the plateau.
  • staclo
    staclo Posts: 511 Member
    my scale hasn't budged in 4 weeks i am not stressing it though it will start moving again but body just has to regulate- don't get discouraged if anything do more intense workouts- try something different don't do the same workouts your body will get bored

    Thanks. I just want to make sure that I'm doing everything that I should do with the diet aspect. I'm up for increasing the intensity of my workouts. I also know, however, that 80-85% of weight-loss is diet.
  • staclo
    staclo Posts: 511 Member
    I am on my second week. The first week I lost a quick 10 lbs which I am assuming part of was water weight. Anyhow I have been diligent in doing everything perfectly and not straying from the allotted calories and sometimes I am under. This week I have gained 1/2 lb so far but trying not to focus on that until Sunday my weigh in day rolls around. I would say just keep doing what you are doing and not to get discouraged. I have heard that sometimes you need to eat a bit more than your calories to get your metabolism back up. Good luck and I will be thinking about you. Let us know when you break the plateau.

    Thanks for the encouragement. It's frustrating to work hard and not see the numbers once or twice, but by the third week, it's discouraging. I'm trying to stay focused, though. Seeing inches drop is good, so I'm glad about that at least.
  • staclo
    staclo Posts: 511 Member

    Yes, I took them this morning. I lost 2.5-3 inches last week. I knew that I must have lost some inches, b/c I'm down a size.
    [/quote]

    And this is another excellent point. Just because the scale isn't moving doesn't mean you aren't making progress. The closer you get to your goal weight, the less you can count on your scale for real progress!
    [/quote]

    I feel pretty far from my goal. I have 30 lbs or so to go...ugh! :ohwell:
  • fjtcjt
    fjtcjt Posts: 199
    I feel pretty far from my goal. I have 30 lbs or so to go...ugh! :ohwell:

    Seriously, go to the link I sent and read it. It will give you some very good information. It isn't very long either.
  • staclo
    staclo Posts: 511 Member
    I feel pretty far from my goal. I have 30 lbs or so to go...ugh! :ohwell:

    Seriously, go to the link I sent and read it. It will give you some very good information. It isn't very long either.

    I did skim through it. I'm familiar with eating low-glycemic foods. I'm not following a strictly low-glycemic diet, but I'm staying away from processed foods as much as possible. I'm eating pretty well, and I'm rarely hungry. The only thing that it suggested that I know I don't do is eat 6 small meals a day. I have 3 main meals and about 3 snacks. I might have missed something, though, so I'll take another look at it. Thanks!
  • fjtcjt
    fjtcjt Posts: 199
    That is the key to the whole article, having the six meals instead of 3. Now I have no idea how large your meals are, but that is the biggest takeaway from the article. I have known for a long time it is better to eat six small meals than 3 large meals, but I wasn't sure why. This article explains why and it is more than just increasing your metabolism.
  • staclo
    staclo Posts: 511 Member
    That is the key to the whole article, having the six meals instead of 3. Now I have no idea how large your meals are, but that is the biggest takeaway from the article. I have known for a long time it is better to eat six small meals than 3 large meals, but I wasn't sure why. This article explains why and it is more than just increasing your metabolism.

    My meals are between 300-400 calories, and my snacks are between 100-200 calories.
  • kellch
    kellch Posts: 7,849 Member
    This one helped me and alot of others:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/20343-how-i-have-avoided-plateauing-length-warning

    :flowerforyou:
  • staclo
    staclo Posts: 511 Member
    This one helped me and alot of others:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/20343-how-i-have-avoided-plateauing-length-warning

    :flowerforyou:

    Thanks! I have run across this before, and was looking for it this morning. I'm going to read it again now!:happy:
  • kellch
    kellch Posts: 7,849 Member
    Oh and this:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing


    Also if you go to the Community then General weight loss there are some links in there that have pushpins beside them for Newbies to read. Very good info in there for all the newbies. Read them and use them. Very helpful stuff :flowerforyou:
  • staclo
    staclo Posts: 511 Member
    Oh and this:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing


    Also if you go to the Community then General weight loss there are some links in there that have pushpins beside them for Newbies to read. Very good info in there for all the newbies. Read them and use them. Very helpful stuff :flowerforyou:

    I've read most of the threads. I'm seriously doing my best. I realize now that I went back through my food diary that I need to up my calories to allow for the exercise. Other than that (and tweaking things based on the plateau thread), I am at a loss.
  • msarro
    msarro Posts: 2,748 Member
    OP, are you eating your exercise calories? Also, you should *never* eat less than 1200 calories a day for an extended period of time. Given the amount of exercise you do, you should be feeding yourself more. When you exercise you actually damage your muscles, and damaged muscles need food to repair themselves.

    If you're eating 1100 calories, and then burning 600 calories exercising, that means you've only actually taken in about 500 calories for the day. That's bad - it means your metabolism thinks you're starving, so its slowing itself down to compensate and keep you alive. It's scary to eat more, I know, but in your case you really need to do it. If you have your plan set to lose 2lbs a week, change it to 1lb a week, even 1.5. You need food. When you start eating more, you will most likely gain a few pounds, don't be shocked by this. Your body will take awhile to realize that its not in a famine anymore, and until it does it will try to horde as much as it can as fat, and save all the carbs it can to feed your brain. However that should only last a week or two... afterwards you should notice the weight loss start again.
  • kellch
    kellch Posts: 7,849 Member
    Oh and this:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing


    Also if you go to the Community then General weight loss there are some links in there that have pushpins beside them for Newbies to read. Very good info in there for all the newbies. Read them and use them. Very helpful stuff :flowerforyou:

    I've read most of the threads. I'm seriously doing my best. I realize now that I went back through my food diary that I need to up my calories to allow for the exercise. Other than that (and tweaking things based on the plateau thread), I am at a loss.

    Good. I'm sure you'll do fine. This is a process and it takes time and patience. Just keep at it. Try new things and when you find something that works for you stick to it. :flowerforyou: Congrats on the weightloss thus far:flowerforyou:
  • idobepity
    idobepity Posts: 4
    Cut your sugar down to <30g. It plays a huge role in metabolism and weight loss.

    :flowerforyou:

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