Wife stuck at weight loss plateau for 4 months!!

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freemoney45
freemoney45 Posts: 8 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
My wife started out this year weighing about 230 lbs. She lost 35lbs within the first 3 months and since then has not loss an ounce but has maintained. Her ultimate goal was to be 160lbs and she is 35lbs shy of her goal. She has been eating 1200 calories/day and splurging one day out of the week taking in roughly 3k calories. She is doing step classes 5 times/week and power class 2 times/week. Her TDEE is 2600cal/day and according to her calorie intake she has an 8k calorie deficit each week. She is about to go crazy because she is only to her halfway mark and for the past 4 months she has maintained 195lbs. I'm not sure if her body has entered so called "starvation mode" due to her low calorie intake or what. Any help?
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Replies

  • Melanie_RS
    Melanie_RS Posts: 417 Member
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    well how sweet you are taking such control of your wife's dietary issues --- perhaps she should eat more.
    perhaps you could cook for her.

    1200 calories isn't enough. end of story. she can eat more clean calories and lose weight. it's an amazing concept.
  • d0gma
    d0gma Posts: 3,966 Member
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    She's not eating enough.
  • JBHawaii
    JBHawaii Posts: 94
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    Exercise more... The end
  • Freyja2023
    Freyja2023 Posts: 158 Member
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    first congrats to your wife:) 35 pounds is amazing! I started my weight loss 3 years ago weighing in at 240, now a 150 and I hit a few plateau along the way too. I zig-zagged my calories after the first 40 pounds dropped and I hit my first plateau. I switched between 1200 and 1500 calories all the time. On my cheat night I let myself have 1800-2000 cals but no more then that. Maybe she could try zig-zagging her cal that may help. Also too she could now be at the point where her body still wants all that cardio but it also wants muscle. She could start a good strength routine. Muscle burns more cal then fat and you can shape muscle. Even if the scale isn't moving the measuring tape will show her inches lost when she is strength training and that can be great motivation. And of course I hate to sound like a parrot but water is the real key. Keep drinking the water, it flushes all the bad out and makes you feel so much better as well as helps with plateau's and weight. Tell her good luck and she is doing amazing!
  • aclark316
    aclark316 Posts: 66
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    I read from someone once that sometimes your weight is going to change, but your overall shape will. with the exercising maybe the muscle is what is weighing her down. has she been watching her measurements too? maybe she'll notice the difference that way!
  • aclark316
    aclark316 Posts: 66
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    *isn't
  • simba01
    simba01 Posts: 19 Member
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    She may need to eat more or try zigzag her calories as someone else suggested. Also, have her check her sugar & carb intake.
  • freemoney45
    freemoney45 Posts: 8 Member
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    She spoke wih a personal trainer at the gym who told her to eat 6 times a day and to mix up her routines and to cut out starches for a week to boost fat loss.
    Would it be better to not care about my wife's dietary needs?? What a moron.
  • mdtolen
    mdtolen Posts: 14 Member
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    P.S. I am his wife and my input about my dietary issues, which is all that matters, is that he is not taking "control". He simply saw that I was frustrated and was reaching out to see if anyone had any advise or suggestions. He does cook for me, he grills whatever meat we eat almost every day ;) just a little fyi for you
  • mdtolen
    mdtolen Posts: 14 Member
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    and Freyja2023 thanks!!! That gives me some hope and motivation.
  • otrlynn
    otrlynn Posts: 278 Member
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    You are lucky to have a supportive spouse. Hang in there!
  • Rambo313
    Rambo313 Posts: 179 Member
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    With all that exercising it may be that you are not eating enough.

    Do you take your measurements as the scale should be the last indicator of your success, go by how you feel, your improved endurance, how your clothes fit, your confidence, etc.

    Perhaps if you open up your diary we can see what you are eating and give you more information. I have not lost any weight in 3-4 months as well I actually gained about 5lb back, however I am fitting into clothes I never did before.
  • fiveohmike
    fiveohmike Posts: 1,297 Member
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    For the amount you are exercising, 1200 calories is not enough.
  • emgel9
    emgel9 Posts: 218 Member
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    I would try upping your calories because it sounds like you have been netting below your BMR for quite a while. Increasing protein and decreasing carbs can also help. I strongly recommend you start weight training, your body can become very complacent with too much cardio (and I am a marathon runner!). With a TDEE of 2600cals/day you should aim to consume 2000 cals or so a day
  • Linkedkube
    Linkedkube Posts: 53
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    I hit a plateau myself after 30 lbs. I had to cut my refined sugars and carbs completely out of my diet. No red meat. Also got rid of that cheat day. Pounds are melting off now.
  • iWaffle
    iWaffle Posts: 2,208 Member
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    She has been eating 1200 calories/day and splurging one day out of the week taking in roughly 3k calories.
    What's her goal set as? I wouldn't try to lose 2 lbs. a week. Just set it as 1 and it will allow you to have a more normal life calorie wise. A 3k calorie splurge day is a big excessive IMO. Try just having a splurge meal here or there. Don't blow out an entire day.
    I'm not sure if her body has entered so called "starvation mode" due to her low calorie intake or what. Any help?
    That's possible but I don't know that it's likely. Take a really hard look at the calories you're logging as exercise calories. How many calories a minute are you logging for your cardio? I wouldn't push it past 10 because that's not a realistic number for most people.

    Is she doing any kind of serious strength conditioning? That really helps boost the metabolism and it's pretty hard to go into some type of starvation mode if your muscles are getting pushed to the limit several times a week. You can get conditioned to use less and less calories with cardio (aerobic) but your body won't ever tell your muscles "NO" on calories (anaerobic) if you ask for it. If muscles ask for energy for work they can't be denied no matter what your current metabolism level is.

    Keep your diet as clean as possible and be strict about logging calories in and out. Kick up the strength training, keep doing some sort of interval cardio or varied routine that your body won't adjust to. The MFP calorie count for what you need is fairly accurate so stick with it.


    EDIT: You might try intermittent fasting. You still get your calories for the day but you take big breaks between food intake. That's pretty effective for some people.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    She may need to eat more or try zigzag her calories as someone else suggested. Also, have her check her sugar & carb intake.

    She's doing very well, first of all. Second, her exercise is building muscle, which is denser than fat so I bet she looks better than those 35 pounds. Third, people are right when they say all that exercise and 1200 calories at her weight is too little.

    MOST importantly, that splurge is really bad for her. Her insulin levels are going to spike and that locks all those calories into storage (to get her blood sugar down). And it will make her hungrier. She doesn't want to get locked into that cycle.

    Finally, research suggests most 'plateus' come from eating more and exercising less than you think you are. It's so easy to do (and don't I know it).

    Higher calories every day and drop the 'treat' day. It's a bad habit and is counterproductive.
  • Improvised
    Improvised Posts: 925 Member
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    This sounds a lot like me. I'm going to try lowering my calories (nothing too crazy, though), and lower the amount of carbs I eat.
  • Leahbyers78
    Leahbyers78 Posts: 1
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    When I tried a "weight loss program" they told me to eat more protein for a few days...like double my protein intake. It helped! Good luck to you! 35 pounds is something to be proud of!! Remember to measure too!
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
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    I would try eating closer to 1,600 -1,800 calories and start some weight training and see where that takes you.

    ETA: I am telling you that cause it worked for me. And also measure yourself and worry about the scale less. Hard to do, I know -- but seriously I lost 19.25 inches over my whole body (a dress size!) doing 30 Day Shred but only lost 2 pounds.

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