stall! I need help
 

When it comes to weight loss, I am on the home stretch (as it were), but I have stalled. I cannot seem to get below 174.4lbs.

I am eating between 1300-1700 cals per day. Eating 1300 if I don't go to the gym (I still walk to work and/or do 30 mins of tae bo), and increasing my intake when I do go to the gym or my fitness classes (I usually burn between 450-600 cals per session)

I am eating a high fibre cereal for breakfast, lots of veggies, fruit, I do have a small amount of chocolate a day but I work it into my allowance. I do go over every so often but its never more than once every 2 weeks and never by very much. I also record what I eat using Myfitnesspal.com.

Any idea's? All advice is very welcome :)

I am just getting started on this round of weightloss attempt. So, many others on here should be able to give much better advice. I did have a stall period the last time I was able to really lose some weight. This was in 2009 and 2010. I was 186 lbs and started to lift weights and exercise more consistently. I didn't count calories at that time, but was strict on the foods I ate. I had to eat at least 4 servings of fruits and 8 serving of veggies everyday. And I ate no sugar and no processed junk food (of course I cheated some but overall followed that plan). I lost all the way down to 168 and then stalled. My stall lasted about two weeks at which time I kinda gave up and became more lax on what I ate. But I was eating mostly healthy and ended up staying right around 170-172 for a whole year.

Doing the same thing I had been doing wasn't working to break through that stall. But getting discouraged and giving up only resulted in me back where I started a few years later.

From being on here I see that so many people hit stalls, and some people stay plateaued for months. But it seems eventually people who stick it out break through. I'd imagine changing things up somehow is a good way to shake tings up and break though? Some people seem to have luck adding some calories back, its like their body realizes that foods isnt so restricted and then lets go of some fat. Also changing the types of workouts you do may help. I dont know if you lift weights or not, I assume you do. Maybe find another program to follow or lift heavier weights less reps. Again I am not speaking from my own experience. I am just regurgitating things I have read on 3fc.

Here is the only advice I can give that I know to be true. DO NOT GIVE UP. When I plateaued thats what I ended up doing. And honestly it was easy to do, being 18lbs thinner I felt "good enough" with myself to be ok at that weight. But quitting eventually lead to regaining. This time around, even if I plateau at something higher than goal, and even if I decide that I would be ok staying there awhile or indefinitely, I am not throwing in the towel. If I need a break from losing when I hit a plateau I WILL work hard at maintaining. Because the thing you really dont want to do is stop paying attention and go back to old habits.

Good luck and I hope you bust through the plateau quickly. And I hope veterans who have been successful can give you lots of good advice. :)

Just try changing up one thing and see where it gets you! Trade one weekly yoga session for a boxing class, do one low calorie vegetarian day a week, add more movement OUTSIDE of the gym (Called NEAT), try some new healthy foods.

Just start small and change one or two little things. Sometimes that's all you need to bust out of a rut. Good luck!

Double check that you're actually at a deficit. Your metabolism drops the more weight you lose, make sure to use your new weight. If you're still sure your'e running at at deficit, then it's just water retention and will flush out eventually.

shapedself- maybe she's eating at to high of a deficit? I'm only three inches taller and on 1300 I feel starved 0.o I need at 1800 to lose weight steadily, even on days without a workout

And I agree with switching things up. I recently started backing down on my workouts because of injuries to my ankles, but i'm walking alot more and doing other things. I was stuck at a plateau of 184 for 6+ weeks. After I started changing up things, my weight dropped 5 pounds over the course of three weeks(which towards the end of us is a freaking miracle xD

So bacially make sure your eating enough, and switch up your excerise..:) GOod luck. Can't wait to see your goal board

Thanks for the advice guys, its much appreciated :) I'll definitely be trying some of the tips you've given me.

I'll let you know how I get on xxxxxxxxxx

Are you getting enough protein in your diet? I would maybe swap out some of the carbs in favor of some lean protein and healthy fats.

Also, I see that you're a member of a gym and go to exercise classes. Have you considered using some of the strength training machines at the gym? I've had better luck cutting back on cardio and adding in more weight training when it comes to losing weight. Muscle requires more calories to function throughout the day so the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism. And don't worry about bulking up, I promise you won't!