I think it's over..

JaimeBrown5
JaimeBrown5 Posts: 324
in Motivation and Support
From September til February I lost 25 lbs. From February to now, I've lost 2 more, and one of them comes and goes all the time. I think my body has decided that even though I don't want the extra 30 lbs, IT does. Ugh.

I know I could eat cleaner, but I can't live like that forever. I love sugar.

I work out 3-4 times a week, I eat back my calories. If I have a massive overage day, I usually have it balanced out through the week with extra calories and it's fairly rare that even when I am over, I'm over my maintenance level.

I strength train usually twice a week, I run a couple days a week too. I'm an active person despite a desk job. I just want the scale to move again!

And yes, I've been measuring. That's stopped moving too.
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Replies

  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    I've read a lot recently that a great way to break a plateau is a 2 week diet break (eat at maintenance) and a 1 week deload (lifting break).
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,416 Member
    Set your Goals at "Lose 1/2 lb a week"....and try that for a while - like a month.
  • thriftycupl
    thriftycupl Posts: 310 Member
    Have you done a search on plateaus here on MFP? There is tons of great information already posted. I had a 7-8 week plateau. Now I'm trying different exercise and a different way of eating. Search out the forums on here. Again, great information is posted.
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,300 Member
    Open your diary.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    Open your diary.

    This

    and give us an idea of what your BMR and TDEE are please?
  • JaimeBrown5
    JaimeBrown5 Posts: 324
    Hm, I thought it WAS open. TDEE is about 1850, BMR is 1540.

    Rae - I DID take a deload break, remember my meltdown after my 4 weeks of SL5x5 when nothing moved then either?

    I'll get it opened.. hold on...
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
    Have you reassessed your goals? As you lose weight, MFP slowly takes calories away from you.

    Alternatively, are you set at 2 pounds a week for weight loss? You may need to back that off, because the closer you get to your goal the slower it's going to get.
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    Hm, I thought it WAS open. TDEE is about 1850, BMR is 1540.

    Rae - I DID take a deload break, remember my meltdown after my 4 weeks of SL5x5 when nothing moved then either?

    I'll get it opened.. hold on...

    K. What about two weeks of eating at maintenance?

    I can see your diary. Maybe it's only open to friends.
  • lifestyle50
    lifestyle50 Posts: 8 Member
    I think all of us who have had a lot to lose have gone through this. I certainly know your pain, I'm just trying to get back on track after about 3 weeks of depression. For me, it was a major accomplishment not to have gained over the past 3 weeks, and I think that a plateau instead of a mountain for you is nothing to ignore, well done for keeping the weight off.

    I find for me after a long period of weight loss I tend to get sloppy with my measuring. I think I can just spoon it out to the right portion, but I now realize that without the discipline of a measuring cup and scale my portion sizes grow and I'm getting more calories than I am tracking, so the weight doesn't come off. Make sure you are measuring carefully and logging every single thing you eat.

    Someone else commented on changing your routine, a good idea. For your strength training, I've been told over and over that your body learns how to the routine more efficiently and you get less of a workout after a while doing the same thing. You need to change it up, change the pace of the reps (slower is better), or do more reps with less weight or less reps with more weight. Try different excercises that hit the same muscle groups. I'm no trainer, but knowledgable people tell me you need to do this to keep burning the same number of calories per workout.
  • lmelangley
    lmelangley Posts: 1,039 Member
    Set your Goals at "Lose 1/2 lb a week"....and try that for a while - like a month.


    Agree with this. MFP wants me to eat 1200 calories a day, but I plateau if I don't eat at least 1325.
  • onikonor
    onikonor Posts: 473 Member
    How are your settings for TDEE? Is it set to sedentary then you add exercise?
  • JaimeBrown5
    JaimeBrown5 Posts: 324
    I'm eating at 1500.. I had it at 1400 for a 100 calorie window for overages that I may have missed or for things like ketchup, but I found that I was going over and once I was over by 100 (which was fine) I was just continuing to go over cuz I had failed for the day. So I put it back at 1500 and other than weekends when I can blow it out of the water, I'm not too far off.

    Also, I should add that in my exercise calories, I use a HRM for cardio, and I do 4xnumber of minutes training to calculate my lifting calories.

    I have a scale and measure when I'm at home and the stuff I eat at lunch has always been the same stuff...

    For the last 2 weeks or so I've been varying my workouts as much as I can. I switched up which lifts I've been doing, I deloaded, I reloaded, I added hot yoga back in, I threw some elliptical in, some incline, varying running speeds.

    I feel GREAT after a good run or lifting session, my body FEELS good, but the numbers are just. There.
  • vonnywaft
    vonnywaft Posts: 182
    I feel your pain. You've done really well. I lost 14lb, 2 of which keep coming and going, and I have 10lbs still to lose but I've been stuck since October! I don't know what else to try. I've e tried eating more, eating less, exercising, not exercising. I know I have been lighter than this and not just as a child! I just don't get it.
  • JaimeBrown5
    JaimeBrown5 Posts: 324
    How are your settings for TDEE? Is it set to sedentary then you add exercise?

    Yup. I work a deskjob and I didn't want it to use exercise calories that I may not earn, cuz if I skip a day at the gym, the calorie-guilt would kill me.

    I've put in my info INCLUDING exercise in a variety of calculators - they all say the same, around 1800.
  • _HeathBar_
    _HeathBar_ Posts: 902 Member
    How are you measuring your serving sizes? Do you have a food scale, are you using it?

    edit: never mind I saw your above reply.
  • davidmcgowan1987
    davidmcgowan1987 Posts: 111
    Someone else commented on changing your routine, a good idea. For your strength training, I've been told over and over that your body learns how to the routine more efficiently and you get less of a workout after a while doing the same thing. You need to change it up, change the pace of the reps (slower is better), or do more reps with less weight or less reps with more weight. Try different excercises that hit the same muscle groups. I'm no trainer, but knowledgable people tell me you need to do this to keep burning the same number of calories per workout.

    qft

    Your body, same as any organic machine is hard wired for efficiency... tell it you want to run 40 miles a day everyday and you will lean right down to a rake, tell it you want to run 20mph for half a mile twice a day you will bulk out like a sprinter.

    tell it you want to lift X amount of weight X amount of times X often and it will adjust itself so that you can accomplish that goal as efficiently as possible.

    my recommendation would be to hit different muscle groups on your strength days hard, put in a few maintenance reps on your current muscles, but really work the rest hard, force your body to adapt...

    the other option would be to introduce high intensity interval training and long anaerobic cardio sessions to confuse your "efficiency engine" and then after a few weeks switch back to confuse it again.

    look up p90x as thats designed specifically to breakthrough plateus but be warned its a hell of a workout
  • onikonor
    onikonor Posts: 473 Member
    Your diary looks good, maybe a bit heavy on the carbs.

    Maybe you just hit a plateau and need to take up your system a bit. Have you tried alternative carb days then low carb days for a couple of weeks? Increasing exercise might do it also.

    There a lot of great topics on plateaus if you search.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    You seem educated so you probably already know this, but your diary is very carb-heavy, low on protein, and sodium is often over. Sodium is killer unless your potassium is really great.

    If you're lifting and plateau'ed at weight loss, you really need to focus on increasing protein and fat, while decreasing carbs.

    Your exercise has nothing to do with why you're not losing weight - It's all about your diet
  • NostalgicMuse
    NostalgicMuse Posts: 340 Member
    Open your diary.

    This

    and give us an idea of what your BMR and TDEE are please?

    Just have to say... THIS is lovely. People with problems reach out and say-- OMG I'm FALLING -- and others reach back to pull you up! Thankful for this community of motivators and people with similar goals.
  • jetabear10
    jetabear10 Posts: 375 Member
    Eat less calories, more protein, way less sugar, less carbs and try mixing up your exercise routine. Circuit training type stuff where you jump your HR quickly with short rests in between are great for kicking your butt into weight loss.

    Do you run? You might want to give the Couch to 5K program a try...the weight will fall off!

    Cheers and good luck!
  • JaimeBrown5
    JaimeBrown5 Posts: 324
    I love carbs. I could eat a bag of pasta if I was left alone long enough. :frown:
  • JaimeBrown5
    JaimeBrown5 Posts: 324
    I try on protein really hard! I swear to god! I eat greek yogurt, loads of chicken, I have protein shakes (allbeit with chocolate frozen yogurt) I feel like I eat protein all day and STILL I'm low!

    As for carbs and sugar, I honestly dont know how I'll lower my sugar. Even when I was trying really hard to eat less refined sugar, I was still way over. Carbs too... I can try harder, but I honestly have no idea how long I can maintain that for, especially since I've been eating it all along. Maybe smaller portions.. I'll still be over, but I can try harder at that. You're right.

    I do run - I used to NEVER. But last week I hit the half-hour mark TWICE at 5mph! That was a huge deal to me. I either do a flat out maintained-pace run, or I'll run for a shorter time with different speed intervals.

    I do squats at least once or twice a week (95lb warmup and working weight at 120) along with benchpress (70) overhead press, barbell lunges (50lbs) barbell rows (65lbs) so I feel like I am pushing myself there. I up my weights usually every other week, and I take a week off here and there and just do the circuit machines and some other free weight stuff...
  • onikonor
    onikonor Posts: 473 Member
    I love carbs. I could eat a bag of pasta if I was left alone long enough. :frown:

    Yeah carbs make you feel good. I had to cut them out cold turkey for 2 weeks! I found that helped a lot with cravings (carb withdrawal lol)

    Reducing carbs and sugars will help you trim fat. I shed a lot in my mid-section by doing this. However you still need slow burning carbs to feel energetic.

    Here is what you can do to reduce carbs:
    - you are already eating a lot of good lean meats for protein which is good
    - avoid carbs for dinner, have a slice of toast for snack or for breakfast
    - substitute for vegetables or whole grain crabs to get your carbs instead of pure carbs like potatoes or rice
    - try to pick vegetables lower in sugar content like cucumber, cauliflower, zuchini, eggplant, esperigas
    - fruit is loaded with sugar so eat in moderation, substitute with vegetables where possible
    - eat avocado, nuts, olive oil (or nut butters without sugar) to fill you up
  • therealangd
    therealangd Posts: 1,861 Member
    Are you using an HRM for your exercise? Some of your numbers look awfully high.

    If I had to guess, I'd say that you are eating and working out at maintenance now. I think that you are over estimating your exercise calories and not realizing how far over you have been and how often you have been.

    Also, your sodium is through the roof a lot of days. That's going to mask the very minimal loss that you may be having. You are netting 1500 from a TDEE of 1800. It would take you over 10 days of perfect eating to lose 1lb. If you are not counting accurately that 10 days is going to extend to 15 or 20.

    On the plus side, you are doing a fair bit of weight training too, so you may be experiencing a drop in size rather than weight.
  • JaimeBrown5
    JaimeBrown5 Posts: 324
    I love carbs. I could eat a bag of pasta if I was left alone long enough. :frown:

    Yeah carbs make you feel good. I had to cut them out cold turkey for 2 weeks! I found that helped a lot with cravings (carb withdrawal lol)

    Reducing carbs and sugars will help you trim fat. I shed a lot in my mid-section by doing this. However you still need slow burning carbs to feel energetic.

    What do you eat for slow burning carbs?
  • itsuki
    itsuki Posts: 520 Member
    Are we twins?

    I started in December, lost 20lbs between then and March, and have been going up and down the same 5lb range ever since. I'm a desk job person who does strength training and cardio 4-5 times a week. I'm even lifting similar weight amounts as you.

    SPOOKY.

    Seriously though, I've tried eating more, I've tried eating less, I've tried just eating when I'm hungry and not counting at all. I've tried cutting carbs, I've tried cutting booze, I've changed up my exercise, you name it. Still stuck in this same 5lb black hole of sadness.

    So yeah, if you find some magical way out, do me a favour and let me in on the secret. :P
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
    I've read a lot recently that a great way to break a plateau is a 2 week diet break (eat at maintenance) and a 1 week deload (lifting break).

    Sometimes I'll go through phases where I'll just splurge for a few days eating some of the crappiest foods you can imagine and when I pick up again progress picks right back up.
  • amvandehey
    amvandehey Posts: 6
    Don't give up! I have gone through several plateau's over the past 2 years fight through it and it will come. I was at a stand still for 8 months once I lost 50 and now down 88! Try changing things up and doing extra cardio. Keep going it is worth it!
  • JaimeBrown5
    JaimeBrown5 Posts: 324
    Are you using an HRM for your exercise? Some of your numbers look awfully high.

    If I had to guess, I'd say that you are eating and working out at maintenance now. I think that you are over estimating your exercise calories and not realizing how far over you have been and how often you have been.

    Also, your sodium is through the roof a lot of days. That's going to mask the very minimal loss that you may be having. You are netting 1500 from a TDEE of 1800. It would take you over 10 days of perfect eating to lose 1lb. If you are not counting accurately that 10 days is going to extend to 15 or 20.

    On the plus side, you are doing a fair bit of weight training too, so you may be experiencing a drop in size rather than weight.

    Um, well I use a HRM for all my cardio and I usually deduct calories from the final number to account for calories I'm burning being alive, and I use 4 calories per minute of strength training I do, and I knock 10 minutes off the overall time I spent lifting to account for rests between sets. So if anything I think my exercise calories are under what I really do...

    I have been noticing my sodium. I'm working on that. However, there are lots of occasions where the things I'm eating arent the exact brand I'm logging, they're just the closest that I can find, so it may not be exactly accurate. But yes, I'll try harder on the sodium.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    Yup, protein is hard especially when you're a carb lover. I used to love pasta too (still do) but I had to move it into the category of foods I eat on rare occasions because I can't eat one tiny serving of pasta, and the calories are just not worth it...

    On the plus side (lol I accidentally typed "plus size"), since I cut back on pasta and grains, I don't have a problem with a rampant appetite and bloating. I'm not saying "go on a low carb diet" - I'm saying your protein and carbs are opposite from what they should be. Avocados, nuts, beef jerky, and cottage cheese (which are carby but worth it if you're not eating a lot of grain) are things I always keep available. Most of these are high in potassium too, which counters the water retention from high sodium.

    But yeah. Focus on replacing some carbs with protein (and fat), being really careful about sodium, and see if that doesn't help. Eating at maintenance for two weeks isn't a bad idea either. But I really think that now you're closer to your goal weight, your macros are going to have a lot more significance.

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