Help....Weightloss has come to a grinding halt

BifConif
BifConif Posts: 9
edited December 22 in Motivation and Support
looking for some guidance from my fellow MFP members.

For the last 4 weeks, my weightloss has grinded to a complete halt.

I have been using MFP for almost a year (July 1st is Anniversary). I'm a 37 year old male standing around 6'3 and when I started..I weighed 417lbs. Needless to say, it was time to get life back on track.

4 weeks ago I hit a major milestone of weighing in at 267 lbs for a total loss of 150lbs. I've been riding a good high previous to that as I seemed to have a fairly consistent loss track over a week to week, month to month schedule.

To give background on what I have been doing to acheive this. I went old school and just removed all the unhealthy eating habits from the past and stuck to nothing but lean protein (Tuna, Chicken, turkey, beef once a week), whole grains, fruits and veggies...while basically drinking nothing but water..and a couple of cups of coffee. Averaging 1800-2000 cals per day

From a workout perspective..I'm usually at the gym 4-5 tines a week for about 1.5 hours each time. Split between weight training and cardio.

So I was feeling good about my approach (although it may not be perfect, it was working for me)...until this halt.

I have tried various things over the 4 weeks from upping calories, to reducing calories, changing workout routine...increasing weights...increasing cardio...

And nothing...I even took a break for a week where I didn't workout much and let the diet slide a little.

I've been back at it this week..and still no change.

What else am I missing in trying to get things moving along...I'm thinking another 37 lbs or so to go to get to where I want to be.

Any insight is greatly appreciated

Replies

  • danachaf
    danachaf Posts: 1
    cut out carbs.
    for a week or two.
    That should fix it!
  • IveLanded
    IveLanded Posts: 797 Member
    First off WOW!!!!!!!!! You're a total inspiration!!!!!!!!

    Second......I would try something for longer than a week. If you tried all those different things and nothing worked, but guess is that you need to try something longer. Like the above poster said.........if you want to try cutting carbs, try it for 10 days to 2 weeks and give it time to see if it does anything for you. As long as you're not gaining, giving it a little time can't really hurt, right? :)

    My advice would be to up your calories AND your work outs, and maybe change up the focus of your work outs for a few weeks.
  • Krys_140
    Krys_140 Posts: 648 Member
    Congratulations on the weight loss milestone! 150 lbs is fantastic!!!!

    As for the plateau - are you tracking your measurements? Have you noticed any changes over the past 4 weeks in your measurements? Perhaps your body is making changes in "size" rather than "weight".

    I agree with both of the previous responses, as well - try changing one thing for a longer period of time. Remember, you've lost the weight over the course of a full year, so any additional changes you make now may take some time to adjust to. I'm sure it's frustrating after seeing results consistently for a year!

    Congrats again - and good luck to you!!!
  • BifConif
    BifConif Posts: 9
    Thanks for the tips. I certainly will try those suggestions and make sure I stick to them a little longer than a week to see if things start moving again.

    I also appreciate the support
  • BifConif
    BifConif Posts: 9
    Thank you all again for your feedback. I decided to cut back on some carbs at dinner and that seems to have broken the back of the plateau and the weightloss is moving again. Thank Goodness.
  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
    150 pounds! That's amazing! It's okay to take a brief respite from weight loss and just maintain for a few months. What kind of exercise are you doing? If you do resistance training, perhaps take a couple of months to work on getting stronger and building muscle, and then start cutting again. Likewise, if you're a runner/biker, sing up for a few fall races and focus on your speed/endurance. Then go back to dieting again.
  • BifConif
    BifConif Posts: 9
    I certainly have been doing resistance training through the whole process.I have added some muscle, but my program is designed to not add massive bulk as I am looking to go lean. I do know I have added some additional muscle already to help the body be more efficient in buring calories. I guess the one benefit of being severely obese..and at that time still playing sports meant by body was already pretty strong to begin with and all I am trying to do is not lose that muscle and just strip the fat away.

    I do throw the odd cheat day every 3-4 weeks to shake things up...so this was really my first real plateau and just wasn't sure what I needed to do to get past it.

    Thank you all for your support
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