[Smiling_Sara]

I'm at wits end over this plateau I've been in. I work out 4 days a week at 75minutes each. I eat around 1500-1700 calories a day. I eat right. I can't say I NEVER eat a dessert or treat, but they are few and far between, and when I do, I just excersize a little more. Now, in Feb I weighed 202-this morning I weighed in at 195. My lowest between this time was 193.4 What am I doing WRONG that I can't seem to move the scale? If I'm stuck here in Feb 2010 still, I would of lost 5-8 pounds for the WHOLE YEAR? NOT ACCEPTABLE!! I'm actually kind of depressed about this. I will continue to work out and eat right, but it's very dishearting when I am trying so damn hard and not getting any results. I am so happy for how far I've come, but I still have a ways to go, and should be able to lose a pound a week with what I"m doing, so WHY has it been 1 pound a month?

Please help me with this my sisters and brothers of 3FC. I NEED to break this plateau, for my physical health as well as my mental health, cause I"m seriously stuck in a rut and feeling like it isn't gonna happen at this moment, when I seem to be doing things right


Please offer any advice, comments, own struggles you broke through and how you did it, what worked, what didn't work.....I need to hear from you all that this will start to take a upward spin, or downward spin ( scalewise )


Thanks everyone.

[nelie]

What about switching up your exercise routine? Are you doing weights at all? If you've been doing the same exercise routine, it is possible that your body has become very efficient with it. Have you also tried dropping your calories for a few weeks to see what happens?

[Trazey34]

This might sound flippant, but i don't mean it to -- just wait and see! I mean, when I was eating 4000 cals a day, some weeks the scales didn't move either. But over the course of time, they sure went UP UP and UP. I noticed the same with the down course too. As long as I know that X amount of calories is LESS than I need to keep myself going, I WILL be in a deficit and physics will prevail !! It's not maybe as immediate as you'd like, but it WILL move!

[Mango30]

I would try two things:
a) try interval training, your body may be so used to your work out routine that it isn't challenged by it and thus, physiologically, has adapted to just do it with the least expenditure of energy.
b) calorie cycling, if you eat the same amount of calories a day your body will adjust its energy expenditure to meet the intake. I know there is more information on here about that somewhere.

You can also throw in some strenghth training to build muscle so that you burn more calories. Muscle = energy burn. I have my 57 year old mother lifting weights with a trainer 2 times a week and she is loving it, and the attention she gets at the gym

[rockinrobin]

I would stay on the lower end of your calorie range - 1500, for a few weeks. And I would track those calories faithfully - every bite, lick, taste and crumb, making certain not to go over.

I know lots would not agree. They'll be people here that will tell you to up your calories, but I personally would not. But again, that's just me.

In the meantime, take comfort that you are doing *right* by your body, even if you're not losing the pounds. I know how difficult that must be. I'm certain that you will break through this. I admire your determination. Hang tough.

[beerab]

At 193 I'd try the lower end of your calorie range.

I know for me I was stuck for months- I finally started low carbing it and the weights coming off again- but that's just me.

[JayEll]

Try exercising 5 or 6 days a week instead of 4. Or try going for a walk in the mornings if you exercise in the afternoon.

Try taking a workout class like step class or Zumba.

Stick with the lower end of your calories for a few days running, e.g., right around 1500.

Switch your calories toward more protein and less carb.

Good luck!
Jay

[TJFitnessDiva]

I also agree with trying to stick with the lower range of 1500....everyone has already given you great advice!

[Alana in Canada]

I have been reading and learning a lot about the effect stress and sleep has on our weight.

First, relax. Stressing out may cause your bodyto produce more cortisol, retain water--and bang, the scales don't show a loss.

Secondly, a lack of adequate sleep--or even poor sleep can also cause your body to produce too much cortisol.

So, take what food and exercise advice feels seems right to you--and then, if you can, do something relaxing for 15 minutes or 1/2 hour/day, whatever you can before bed.

Hang in there. It will eventually whoosh right off.

[cfmama]

I'd drop calories for a month... faithfully and see what happens. Journal EVERY SINGLE BITE. Check your supplements (cough candies, gum, vites etc) for hidden calories. Really LOOK at each and every singe thing that you put in your mouth.

You can do this. I know you can.

[Mango30]

Originally Posted by thisisnotatest

Instead of focusing on the negative and thinking that you are failing to lose, what you have successfully done is failed to gain for several months.
Chaulk it up to practicing maintenence and move on.

*nods* so true.

[Arctic Mama]

This is just me - but I weigh a good deal more than you and my calorie range to lose in is down to 1490 or so, for about 1.5-2 pounds per week. I think you may just be taking in too many calories for what your metabolism requires and it is causing you to be weight-stable. Beyond a few weeks of your body adjusting to a new weight set point you should not mathematically be ABLE to stay at a higher weight than your caloric expenditure would indicate - it isn't physically possible, unless a hormone like cortisol is REALLY interfering with your chemical signals or you are taking in more than you think you are.

Journal your food as closely as you can - make sure you are not *hungry*, don't starve yourself, but fill a lower calorie quota with quality nutrients. I wouldn't recommend upping your exercise unless you want to - the biggest side of the weight equation is the calories you are intaking, not what you can expend through exercise.

Other than that - GOOD LUCK! I really hope this breaks your plateau for you, it can be so rough to see no change.

[Mango30]

When you say you count your calories, do you use a food scale to measure your food? I only ask because, especially with high calorie density foods, you can really screw the pooch with just a dollop too much. Maybe invest in a good food scale and measure your foods for a month and see if that helps. Underestimating calories in foods could be part of the problem.

[WildThings]

I would also consider looking at what calories your are consuming. If you are eating a lot of sugars (real and artificial), starches, fats, etc. These things can bog down your metabolism. I don't know what kinds of food you eat, or if you are on a particular plan, but maybe focus as much as you can on lean meats, veggies and legumes...stuff that will help energize your body. If you eat stuff that is making you have sluggish spells throughout the day, this just isn't in your mind, your whole body becomes sluggish. I eat 1600 calories a day and am loosing still, but if I ate 1600 calories of cake (not saying this is what you are doing, just an extreme example) I would not loose anything. My body does not react well to sugar and wheat.

[nineoceansaway]

I would try to eat between 1200-1500 calories. Try that for a week and see where you are. Again track every bite!