5 months, no weightloss

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ChristyP0303
ChristyP0303 Posts: 212 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Sick and tired of being sick and tired, I decided it was time for a change. This was in February 2011 at my heaviest of 310 pounds. I had zero exercise and ate whatever I wanted. I joined a gym, began working out 6 days a week....working with a personal trainer 2 days a week. Changed what I was eating. I lost weight (85 pounds) pretty steadily up until November. Since then, I have been losing and gaining the same 2 pounds. Yes, I have lost some inches but not much. Being that I still weigh 225 pounds, it seems the weight should still be falling off as I still have a lot to lose. So I upped my calories to 1900-2000 per day. After a few months of that...still nothing. I have gained a lot of muscle over the last year. The amount I can lift has increased so much. So my common sense is telling me that it takes more food to feed that muscle. Am I right here? Should I be eating more than 2000 calories? 2000 calories already seems so high.

MFP has me set to eat 1600 calories per day to lose 1 pound per week. I have my settings to sedentary since I sit at a desk all day. Plus my exercise calories, I usually burn 300-400 per day at the gym per my heart rate monitor. Also, I do change up my exercise routine doing different things, different days of the week. Tell me what I'm doing wrong!! Thanks

Replies

  • shiseido_faerie
    shiseido_faerie Posts: 771 Member
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    I'm new to the upping calories so I can't offer advice there.

    First glance i'd say be sure you're eating back your exercise calories and also that you're drinking enough water, I don't see any logged there.
  • mrsmangomum
    mrsmangomum Posts: 62
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    This might not be a popular suggestion, but maybe your body needs an additional rest day? I've read somewhere that sometimes your body is working so hard hat it holds onto everything it can.
  • DarleneT22
    DarleneT22 Posts: 224 Member
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    Plateaus suck. Read this and see if it helps at all. Good luck!

    http://fitnesswithnatalie.blogspot.com/2011/05/most-dreaded-word-in-weight-loss.html
  • embersfallen
    embersfallen Posts: 534 Member
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    bump
  • AthenaErr
    AthenaErr Posts: 282 Member
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    dunno, are you logging accurately - no underestimating cals or overestimating exercise? I dont know about cals at your size etc but i think sustained low cal should = weight loss. Have you had your thyroid re-checked more recently/since losing weight?

    PS does your username reference a certain spikey someone?
  • JadeRabbit08
    JadeRabbit08 Posts: 551 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/512956-tdee-what-is-it-and-why-you-should-not-eat-below-your-bmr

    Have a read of this post and calculate your BMR and TDEE. There is no point just guessing what you need.
  • luv2scrapbook
    luv2scrapbook Posts: 29
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    i weight 233 and i eat 1300-1400 calories a day. sometimes more when i exercise. i saw a nutritionist yesterday and she said i was doing everything right and NOT to eat back all of your exercise calories. she also said that if your body needs 2000 calories a day to maintain your current weight then you should eat 500 less calories to lose weight and you could even go as far as 1000 less. i am on a roll but i just started 4 1/2 wks ago. i hope i dont run into a problem like this, working to hard. however if you want to friend me, and wouldnt mind me checking out your food diary, maybe i could help further. good luck to you, in any case.
  • iam_thatdude
    iam_thatdude Posts: 1,279 Member
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    Whenever I hit a plateau I just double down and put in extra work in the gym and it doesn't always come off right away, but boom like a day or two later it drops and I just keep working the plan.
  • nwg74
    nwg74 Posts: 360 Member
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    Take a rest from exercise for a week and see if diet only kick starts starts the weight loss. Otherwise I would up the calories to 1900-2000 if you are burning 400 calories from exercise.
  • lizard053
    lizard053 Posts: 2,344 Member
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    What a wicked plateau! Yikes!

    How much water are you drinking? Make sure you're getting plenty, especially before, during and after a workout! I'd recommend at least 100 ounces a day!

    Are you doing any interval training? Changing intensity can help a lot. High intensity interval training, or HIIT, can really pack a punch in a short amount of time.

    Try cycling your calories. Higher some days, lower others. Try to average your goal range over time. Just gets your body confused, sometimes that helps with weight loss.
  • ChristyP0303
    ChristyP0303 Posts: 212 Member
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    I'm new to the upping calories so I can't offer advice there.

    First glance i'd say be sure you're eating back your exercise calories and also that you're drinking enough water, I don't see any logged there.

    I do drink my water, I just don't log it since it doesn't contribute to my calorie intake. Water and milk are the only two things I drink.
  • c8linmarie
    c8linmarie Posts: 358 Member
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    Don't know if you've seen this thread yet, but you might find it helpful:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/501511-great-read-on-plateau-ing
  • Errica32
    Errica32 Posts: 40
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    Have you tried detoxing? It usually helps with excess water weight in the body and tissues. I drink plenty of lemon water. The 100% lemon juice is a natural diurectic and it rids your body of toxins.
  • ChristyP0303
    ChristyP0303 Posts: 212 Member
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    dunno, are you logging accurately - no underestimating cals or overestimating exercise? I dont know about cals at your size etc but i think sustained low cal should = weight loss. Have you had your thyroid re-checked more recently/since losing weight?

    PS does your username reference a certain spikey someone?

    I do log accurately. I weigh and measure my foods. I haven't had my thyroid checked since September. I went in complaining that I was tired. My levels then were on the high side of normal and I was missing pills here and there. Doctor said I needed to make sure I got 30 pills in every 30 days. I have been taking them, rarely missing them since. I do have an appt next week to have my levels checked again. I'm hoping I can have the meds lowered some. See if that makes any difference.
  • ChristyP0303
    ChristyP0303 Posts: 212 Member
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    Take a rest from exercise for a week and see if diet only kick starts starts the weight loss. Otherwise I would up the calories to 1900-2000 if you are burning 400 calories from exercise.

    That's what I have been eating for months now....
  • AthenaErr
    AthenaErr Posts: 282 Member
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    I would suspect that 4 months is so long (and seeing as you are doing this accurately) that this has something to do with your thyroid. But I dont have much experience/expertise. Can you get things checked out by a dietician, have your doctor check levels etc
  • ahubbard134
    ahubbard134 Posts: 61 Member
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    Just change one variable for a month and then look at it? Either up calories, or add a rest day, or up the workouts, or try cycling. If it doesn't work by next month, try a different change. When I read the stuff on plateaus, it seems people had to do lots of experimentation with their own bodies once they hit plateaus.
  • iam_thatdude
    iam_thatdude Posts: 1,279 Member
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    I'm new to the upping calories so I can't offer advice there.

    First glance i'd say be sure you're eating back your exercise calories and also that you're drinking enough water, I don't see any logged there.

    I do drink my water, I just don't log it since it doesn't contribute to my calorie intake. Water and milk are the only two things I drink.

    cut out milk...i drink two gallons of water a day, makes a HUGE difference.

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