Advice wanted, anyone with similar experiences??

firesoforion
firesoforion Posts: 1,017 Member
edited November 8 in Health and Weight Loss
Ok so I just posted this but got no responses, so I'm trying the same post with a different subject title to try to get some feedback. :)

Alright. Here it goes. I've read all about plateaus and why we have them, and I've adjusted accordingly, but a lot of what I read talks about plateaus at your last 10 pounds, or, at least 20 to 30 pounds in. I was at 163 ish before I joined MFP, and came down to about 158 around the time I joined, and called it 160 because it was hovering around there. Then I managed to get down to 156, and I just stayed there. December 23 I finally came down to 155, but then it was Christmas, and Christmas to New Years I gained about 4 pounds back. I quickly lost to get back down to ... 156! I've bumped up my exercise levels, added some strength training (not a whole ton, but really going for it when I do), done a lot of running (more than I ever have in my life), and here I am. I know that there are some ways where I don't eat the absolute healthiest, but should I just be stagnated here? Repeatedly? General info I'm 5'4", so am looking to get down to about 110ish (though the number was a generic one I chose which is not as important to me as much as size and general fitness). I only recently started tracking my water, because I was confident I was meeting or exceeding the recommendation every day, and I am and have been.

ETA, if you're looking at my exercise log, I want to clarify that I've been doing my mile in intervals of increasing intensity (actually that's one thing I'm very pleased with is how much better I can do now than even January 1), but I chose the generic one that I log as the closest approximation to distance and calories burned, to make logging easier.

I was just wondering if someone else had encountered this, and what you did to get over it.

Replies

  • MinaAriel
    MinaAriel Posts: 138 Member
    When I hit a plateu, I went out and bought a HRM, determined to exercise more. Using the HRM, I realized that I was really overestimating calories burned, sometimes by a third. If you eat all your exercise calories back, that could trip you up. If you aren't really sure how much you are burning, maybe change it up to eat back only 75% of your exercise calories. Your exercise diary has you running the same mile everyday at the same speed. If you are building your endurance, your calorie burn for the mile will start to drop because it will be easier for your body to run the mile. Could you maybe go beyond a mile or start doing two since you are now doing them more quickly?

    I dunno, I'm slowly working my way down and so far I've been lucky to only have a couple of plateaus that lasted less than 2 weeks. Everytime I feel like I'm not getting the results I should, I change it up and try something different. Maybe that's all you need?
  • firesoforion
    firesoforion Posts: 1,017 Member
    Well each mile is done in intervals of increasing intensity, and I always am breathless at the end of it. The speed thing is just because I can just click it, instead of logging "1 minute, 1mph, 2 minutes, 4mph, 1 minute, 2mph, 2 minutes, 5mph 5 incline, ..." But yeah, maybe I should change things up. It's largely an issue of space that's why I haven't, but I should be able to figure something out. Thanks!
  • breeanreyes
    breeanreyes Posts: 228 Member
    i noticed you don't track your sodium, excess sodium in your diet can really affect your weight loss, both in water weight and strain on your organs. Also, measure yourself every week, i do my arms, chest, thinnest and thickest part of my waist, hips, thigh and calf. Last year i actually managed to gain 10 lbs but lose 16 inches due to massive amounts of muscle.
  • sailorsiren13
    sailorsiren13 Posts: 460
    I have had similar experiences and am 5' 4" and just this week had a breakthrough and hit below 158 i'm losing inches not pounds right now. I have cut out most processed foods and dairy (lactose intolerant and hate it) i have really hard exercise days and then will take a day off. I'm also starting weightlifting but i just won a month unlimited classes to a studio so will be doing some crazy workouts so weights will be on hold. Just don't give up you may just need to switch things up you can add me if you want to see what i'm doing and we can support each other.
  • JODDY13
    JODDY13 Posts: 12
    im new to the site, but do have lots of past experience with exercise. r u switching up your routine regularly? ive found in the past working different muscles everyday and switching the ways you get your cardio in can help plateous. Also, if your not weight training i would suggest picking it up, adding muscle to your body burns lots of calories, even while resting! some quick fixes can also include drinking lots and lots of water and cutting out some carbs and sodium. but sounds like your on the right track and with a little bit of a push and time you'll get there!
  • firesoforion
    firesoforion Posts: 1,017 Member
    Thanks all!

    On the sodium, I was tracking it but I wasn't going over so I decided to track fiber to see how I was doing on that (I was just going to add it but you can only have a certain number of columns).

    And I definitely drink a lot of water, and weight lift though I could definitely be better on the regularity part (I did body weight exercises yesterday, but didn't get sore like I thought I would, did some weights a little over a week ago and it took me a full week to fully recover. LOL.). I'll definitely start really diversifying my exercise routine, that'll probably be a good start.

    Nice on the unlimited studio classes! Sounds like that'll be great!

    I like the measuring idea, too. At least then I'll be getting the whole picture!
  • dovesgate
    dovesgate Posts: 894 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

    You have your weight loss goal set to 2lbs per week - your BMI (at 5' 4" and 154lbs) is 26.8 which really isn't that far from a normal BMI. Therefore, your body can't support that 2lbs per week loss.

    If you read the link above, you'll see that generally you should only be looking to lose .5lbs per week. The less you have to lose, the more you have to eat. I know you want to get to 110lbs but that is at the lower range of normal (107 is underweight BMI) and so it will take lots of time to accomplish healthily.

    Also explained in the top link is the fact that you may gain some initial weight if you drop from 2lbs per week to .5lbs. It is perfectly normal and your body is just recovering from having such a large deficit.
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