Plateau help

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LauraSmyth28
LauraSmyth28 Posts: 399 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
How do I shake things up to get out of this plateau? Cals set to 1200, I burn 200-500 per day and eat around half of my exercise cals.

This is my second time to gain this month. Gained 2lbs, lost 3.5lbs, gained 2lbs. It's frustrating so if anyone has some advice is be so grateful.

My sodium is always way under before anyone asks.

Replies

  • cwalters1540
    cwalters1540 Posts: 39 Member
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    I was eating 1250 calories net for 8 weeks and lost 14 pounds then I hit the dreaded plateau. After 4 weeks I dropped down to 1250 calories and stopped eating back my exercise calories so I was netting about 850 cals. I didn't lose an ounce. I increased my calories to a net of 1400 this week and have lost 2.8 pounds!

    You really shouldn't reduce your calories any further. I would suggest adding calories since that's what worked for me. At the very least you should probably eat back ALL of the exercise calories so you're netting at least 1200 cals.
  • AdrienneinTO
    AdrienneinTO Posts: 111 Member
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    Check what your BMR is. (Mine is approx. 1300 calories.) Don't eat less than that because it will slow down your metabolism. If you are within 20-30 lbs of your goal weight, you should probably set your MFP goal to 1 lb a week (or even 0.5 lb), and eat most of what MFP tells you, even the exercise calories. (Assuming that your exercise calories are being measured reliably, with a proper HRM).

    It can be scary to eat more calories if you are struggling to lose weight. But have faith. I lost 31 lbs (from 164 lb to 133 lb), no plateaus, at slightly less than 1 lb per week. I rarely ate less than 1500-1600 calories a day, and did pretty intense cardio and some strength training. I often ate 1800-1900 calories per day, with a burn of 500-600 calories.
  • lambertj
    lambertj Posts: 675 Member
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    Just a quick peek at your diary and "holy carbs", you are eating a ton of carbs and not nearly enough protein. Try to balance them out better and I bet the weight will come off - good luck
  • lizard053
    lizard053 Posts: 2,344 Member
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    Sounds like you are trending downward in weight. That's the overall goal, right?

    A few thoughts, might or might not make a difference.
    1. More water
    2. More calories (sounds like more protein is in order)
    3. Change up your exercise routine.

    You're making good progress so far. Keep at it!
  • countryclubber
    countryclubber Posts: 46
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    i did the same thing...first 3 weeks 15 lbs dropped off..then 2 week plateau...sooooo "shocked" my system by eating 300-400 more calories than mfp recommended 2 days in a row and woke up to 1 lb lost...it happened just ths wknd

    before i was eating at or 200 below...and it stopped my metabolism....

    and change up ur workouts...it's a good "shock" too :)

    good luck and God bless :)
  • carrie_eggo
    carrie_eggo Posts: 1,396 Member
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    Without going into detail, this is what I would do:

    Eat at maintenance for a week.
    After a week, drop your calories back down.
    Every 7-10 days have a cheat/spike/re-feed day-->go above your maintenance calories 1 day.
    Increase your protein to at least 100g daily.
    Change up your workouts and hit the weights.

    ETA: Make sure you are hitting your NET calories too.
  • free2live72003
    free2live72003 Posts: 186
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    Your plateau sounds really familiar. In the 2 1/2 months before Christmas I had a plateau that kept me bouncing around between 172-177 lbs (original weight was 325lbs/ goal is 150lbs). I was eating 1000-1200cals most days and eating back some of my exerecise cals. I exercised about 200-240 min./wk.

    I was very frustrated with the stall. I decided to increase my cals to 1200-1400 and increase my exercise to 300-360min/wk. From Christmas to Feb 1st I lost 12 lbs and went from a size 14 to a size 10 completely skipping over size 12.

    I started more strength training in the last few months of 2011 and think that I was gaining muscle and not eating enough cals so, weight loss did not show even though I still lost some inches.

    I don't know that anything I've shared will help you, but I can really sympathize with you. It is hard to feel like you are doing all the right things and not seeing any change in weight.

    Hang in there.
  • LauraSmyth28
    LauraSmyth28 Posts: 399 Member
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    Thank you for every post here, I'll be using a lot of the advice.

    Lol, I'm addicted to carbs. And I kind of thought I could eat carbs so long as it came in under my net cals?

    Maybe my morning cereal should be replaced by a boiled egg and some fruit. Thanks again people xx

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