5 week plateau, tears, sweat and calories. Oh my.

btb079
btb079 Posts: 56 Member
in Motivation and Support
I have been on this journey since mid January, I was losing at a decent clip until 6 weeks ago. MFP suggested I drop my calories to just over 1300, I work out (run about 3 miles each time and yoga) 3-5 times a week and I started to have a stand still and I was uber cranky because I was so hungry. I did a ton of research and discovered by most accounts I was eating far too little. So I upped the calories to 1600 last week and still nothing. I totally understand that this is not am immediate gratification thing, but gaining and losing the same 2 lbs is starting to make me crazy. I am willing to listen to all advice and tips. Would also like to hear a similar story so I know that I am not destined to be 188# the rest of my life!

Sara

Replies

  • EmiVReyes
    EmiVReyes Posts: 118 Member
    Sara- First of all congrats on the weight already lost!!

    Plateus are extremely frustrating...i'm on another one myself. It seems like i'm about to finally get out of the 170's and the next day i weigh myself and i jumped back up a couple pounds...It can be EXTREMELY frustrating!!! I platued for awhile at 20 lbs lost, 30 lbs lost, and 50 lbs lost. My advice would be switch up the work out. muscle confusion does really work. I was doing the elliptical and bike, i switched to running and lifting and started losing again...when i hit my next plateu i went back to elliptical and lost a few more lbs.

    Switch things up. Muscle confusion helped me :)
  • curlygirly80
    curlygirly80 Posts: 176
    GO INTO MESSAGE BOARD "GENERAL DIET AND WEIGH LOSS HELP" AND LOOK FOR THE THREAD "IF YOU ARE SCARED TO INCREASE CALORIES". IT WAS QUITE HELPFUL FROM WHAT I READ, BUT I DIDN'T FINISH IT. I PLAN ON TAKING THIS PERSONS ADVICE BECAUSE I HAVE ALSO BEEN STUCK AROUND THE SAME WEIGHT AND I HAVE BEEN EATING 1350 CALORIES. HOPEFULLY THIS HELPS YOU!

    **SORRY FOR THE CAP LOCK BUT I AM AT WORK AND ITS JUST EASIER FOR ME TO TOGGLE BETWEEN MY WORK PAGES AND MFP.
  • EMagineBeingEMazing
    EMagineBeingEMazing Posts: 76
    I kept leveling out too (frustrating!) and finally joined the "eat more, weigh less" group and upped my cals. Be sure you are eating back your exercise calories (your NET is what should be increased). I see you've been staying a little under that mostly. It was kinda hard to start eating more cals without eating crap, but I've adjusted by reading more labels and paying attention to my macros.
    If you go to that group page, even if you don't join it, they have several informative posts there about what to expect when upping cals - number one being PRACTICE PATIENCE. It may take 4-6 weeks to see the change. That certainly aids in the frustration, but is sure to pay off.
    Hope this helps. Don't forget how far you've already come! :)
  • BAtobe
    BAtobe Posts: 93 Member
    We are not too far off of spec's and I am eating 1850, I bet you should try eating more than 1600. :smile:
  • btb079
    btb079 Posts: 56 Member
    I bumped it up to 1750 this morning.
  • WandaWoman41
    WandaWoman41 Posts: 153 Member
    Congrats on your weight loss. I started at 188. I am at 160 due to increased cardio and juicing. I think I should reduce carbs and recommended calories. Still trying to figure it out. Different posts offer different advice. I am willing to try it all.
  • em9371
    em9371 Posts: 1,047 Member
    i vote for eating more too, a week at maintenance will generally shift a plateau.
    Work out your cals using helloitsdans post 'in place of a roadmap'

    What is your loss goal set to for you to be put on 1300?
    I eat 2000 / 1550 net @ 201lbs and lose 1.5 a week , My friend eats 1900/1500 net @ 189lbs and loses 1lb a week.
  • em9371
    em9371 Posts: 1,047 Member
    ps just had a look at your diary, you are always over on fat and under on protein, and not many veggies.
    It takes more cals for your body to burn off a gram of fat than a gram of protein, so trying to stick to your macros and adding some more veggies might help you as well as finding the correct cal level.
  • riley4tt
    riley4tt Posts: 1
    When I iht my last lateau I upped my calories for 2 or three days then went back to weight loss calories and it seemed to help.
  • btb079
    btb079 Posts: 56 Member
    @em9371, my diary is pretty ugly the last week and a half, we were on vacation at a water park. Not many veggies to be found :-) The fat thing is tough for me, I know that I am always over, but it's also not like the fat is coming from chips and cookies (besides today). As for what my weight loss goal is set at it was 1.4 lbs per week and they had me at 1310.

    Thank you all for the support, just one of those pity party days I guess.
  • fitnfab_meyer
    fitnfab_meyer Posts: 11 Member
    Its not a pity party, its a REAL frustration that pretty much happens to everyone on this journey. Allow yourself to be frustrated because you can use that to over come this darn plateau! For me its so much easier to stay on the wagon when I see consistent progress. When I stall out, I find myself slipping a bit. So try some of the tips you've gotten here and use that frustration to kick that plateau to the curb baby!
  • skinnyeascolady
    skinnyeascolady Posts: 287 Member
    Have you looked at what you are eating? Have you slowly started increasing your salt intake. Salt is in everything it seems. What about fat creeping in as well? Make sure you read all your labels. High carb counts don't often help at certain points either.

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