please help! plateau going on for too long! :-(

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  • ingfit
    ingfit Posts: 180 Member
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    Here is an interesting thread about breaking a plateau. Good luck


    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/501511-great-read-on-plateau-ing
  • amymrls
    amymrls Posts: 1,673 Member
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    Good Job for how much you have lost! The best way for me to break my platue was to change something up or take a mini break both of those always worked for me =)
  • jcstanton
    jcstanton Posts: 1,849 Member
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    There's not really much I can add to this that the other posters haven't already said. The only thing that comes to mind for me, I would advise you to work on changing your mentality about the whole reason for why you're eating right and exercising. From what I read in your original post, I gather that it seems to be all about weight loss for you. It shouldn't be about numbers on a scale. Your journey should be about getting HEALTHY. One thing I've had to learn is that, even if the scale isn't moving, the healthy eating habits and daily exercise ARE GOOD FOR MY BODY. My lipids have improved, my energy level has improved, my heart, lungs, and other internal organs are healthier, my muscles are stronger, and my body is leaner. If I start going back to my old habits just because it's "easier" than pushing myself to eat right and exercise, within six months to one year, I'll be right back where I started last May at 297lbs...and I'll be MISERABLE. So I remind myself EVERY DAY that this journey on which I've embarked is NOT about weightloss, it's about being HEALTHY. Any weightloss that happens is simply a positive side effect of a healthy lifestyle. Even after I reach a healthy weight, I will still have to maintain healthy habits or I will gain the weight back. It's a lifelong commitment. Don't give up. Keep pushing. You'll get there.
  • carramel0705
    carramel0705 Posts: 250 Member
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    i was stuck for 2 weeks I upped my calories from 1200 to 1500 and lost 5 lbs this week .
  • RaniMerryman
    RaniMerryman Posts: 19 Member
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    There is a really good article at the Mayo Clinic site regarding this subject here.
    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss-plateau/MY01152
    From everything I have read and my own experience, I have to eat the extra calories I burn doing exercise in order to lose weight. I am much more successful tht way. I have had days where my cal intake is over 1200, but far below my burn because it was an exercise day and I lose more weight. The days I have eaten calories that = 1200+ the calories I have burned working out I lose more weight. GL and congrats on the weight you HAVE lost!
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
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    Take a dietary break and eat 2000 cals a day for 2 weeks.

    Its probably still well below yout TDEE but will adjust certain hormones to allow the body to move on.

    BTW, eating 1k to 1200 daily will only result in you becoming skinny fat.
    Reevaluate your diet and start over after the break.
    Look to eat at least 1600 daily to 2k daily for simple fat loss.
    This spares the lean mass due to a better hormonal state.

    PM me for details.
  • LittleElephant
    LittleElephant Posts: 106 Member
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    Bump
  • laura1327
    laura1327 Posts: 10
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    WOW!!!! Thank you SOO much to everyone that replied to my post! I have read every single one and looked at the links suggested. Thank you so much.
    You have all given me motivation to keep going. I was on a bit of a downer today, I just got to my mums and ate 2 chocolate biscuits! Then I read your posts and I feel much better and have decided tomorrow I will increase my calories. I'll try 1400 first. i'm a bit afraid to go too high because when I see an increase on the scales it gets me down! I will have to think about what I can do to change my exercise because all i have is the cross trainer and walking outside. I dont have any other exercise equipment, I can't afford to go to the gym and I really don't have annnnny time child free! I'm pretty much home alone with kids from 6am to 8pm! so any suggestions of what else I could do to change my exercise???? maybe I could look at the fitness channel on the tv!

    I haven't really been logging properly on my diary. I don't log my exercise because I didnt want to eat into the calories that I have burnt. some ppl say to eat into the burnt calories, some say dont! so i didnt know which i should do!

    You guys have really really helped me out here. I will try change a few things, i dont know how at the moment. I think for now i will increase my calories and look into a different exercise.

    love you guys!! xxxxxx
  • doornumber03
    doornumber03 Posts: 221 Member
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    what is really helpful to some is to set MFP to maintain, and then the calories burned is the deficit. It works fairly well if you are very active. If you want, you can log the exercise minutes, but just log 1 calorie burned so you don't get confused. Upping the calories is a great way to break the plateau as well!. It worked for me.
  • atjays
    atjays Posts: 798 Member
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    Eat more, your metabolsim is running at a snails pace because you're starving yourself. Add 300 calories, keep up the exercise and it will fall off.
  • maruxf
    maruxf Posts: 39
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    I know this might sound weird, but stressing about losing weight makes my weightloss stop in its tracks.

    So, I switched one of my cardio days (sundays) to a mental wellness day. Instead of my spinning class, I take a vipassana meditation class or hot Vinyasa yoga class.

    It was almost automatic...the week after my first MHS (Mental Health Sunday), I went back to losing my 1 to 1.5 pounds a week.

    MHS also includes a "real treat" (i.e. After class I go to my favorite diner and treat myself to some challah bread french toast and a latte). I know that they are terrible, but for that ONE meal a week, I don't stress about the calories I'm eating.
  • jomiley23
    jomiley23 Posts: 76
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    If you don't already measure yourself, you need to. The scale does not show all your progress. I exercised more this week and ate less, and gained 2lb, but I lost two inches in my waist and one in my hips.

    I plateaued early, which was discouraging. THen I had a weekend vacation where I went off the diet. I initially gained a couple pounds that weekend, but when I got back on board the following week, the weight started dripping off, and I busted through another six pounds like it was nothing.

    Now, I am stuck according to the scale, but my body is changing shape in noticeable ways.

    Another thing I realized is I am at my smallest weight in eight years right now. Anything I lose at this point has been hanging around like a sucky exboyfriend who didn't get the memo that you just aren't that into him anymore. It's not going to go away easy because it has been here for so long. It will take more work. I have weighed over 200lb since I was 14, with a few exceptions when I got into the 190's. I'm 35 now. I just had to come to the realization that this is not for sissies.

    Hang in there!
  • Melanie12081
    Melanie12081 Posts: 62
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    I plateaued, tried everything that everyone has mentioned here and nothing worked. I started weight training more heavily, halfed my cardio sessions and my body started changing but not weight (which I was ok with). Then I started intermittent fasting, and the weight start falling off.

    Be patient, try ONE change at a time until you see what works for you - and if you're not hungry at 1000 calories, you're probably fine. Once you get down very close to your goal weight, then the calories start to mean more.
  • mammothdoll
    mammothdoll Posts: 58
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    I know this will sound strange but it would be a good idea to eat more. Also make sure to drink plenty of water and train with weights to try to boost your metabolism.
  • monalissanne
    monalissanne Posts: 159 Member
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    My plateaus last for weeks sometimes. I can usually get out of them by having a "bad" week or few days and then getting back to [my new] normal. I too have lost and gained multiple times in the past so there are certain weights that I know that when I get to them I'm going to be there for awhile.

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