[modemama]

I am confused, I've done everything right this week, but the weight isn't moving. I know I'm due to ovulate today or tomorrow, but I thought weight stalled when aunt flo was around.

I'm just whining. lol

What weeks does your weight loss stall?

[tipsygypsy]

Whenever the heck it pleases. *sigh*

Or when I eat salty foods.

[LLV]

Don't worry, it happens. It's probably your typical plateau, I hit them all the time. However, keep in mind your weight won't drop every single week. I read an article once where plateaus are actually a good thing. Your body knows what it's doing. It's stalling for a reason, attempting to get used to calorie changes and shifts in weight. Eventually it will start moving again, as long as you're doing all the right things

[GonnaLooseitagain]

LLV-thats nice to know, I have been on a stall/plateau for a couple weeks now...man are they discouraging!!!!

[jillybean720]

I wouldn't worry about a single week of not losing. That could be due to lots of factors (hormones, water retention, muscle, etc.). Honestly, I don't even worry about 2-3 weeks of staying the same. When it reaches a month or more is when I consider myself ot be on a plateau. Most people suggest that to shake a plateau, you shake up your routine! You don't have to add more exercise, but maybe try different exercises. Try messing with your carb/protein/fat levels without changing your calories too much. Or even try changing or cycling your calories. To shake my last 3-month long plateau, I increased my daily calorie average by almost 400, and I lost another 10 pounds in the following 3 weeks. Sometimes, your body just settles into routine and no longer feels the need to lose weight because what you've been doing becomes the norm, ya know?

[LLV]

Jill's right, I don't worry about 2-3 weeks at the same weight either. In fact, I've been at 143 for about 2 weeks now. I'm not worried about it, it will start moving again. It's simply a period where your body takes a break from the weight loss to adjust to everything, that's all.

I weighed myself this morning for the first time in a couple of weeks and was shocked to still see 143. No, I wasn't expecting it to be lower, I was expecting it to be higher because I've been munching on more junk than usual lately, lol.

[LLV]

Originally Posted by GonnaLooseitagain

LLV-thats nice to know, I have been on a stall/plateau for a couple weeks now...man are they discouraging!!!!

Yes, they're discouraging, but it will start moving again, as long as you continue to do all the right things. I used to consider myself the Plateau Queen because I hit so many brick walls it wasn't funny. I would get at a certain weight and just stay there for a few weeks at a time. But eventually it would start moving again and I learned to handle the plateaus a little better after reading that article about it being your body putting everything on hold for a spell to adjust to new routines, new calorie levels, things like that. But eventually it will allow things to move downward again

The worst thing you can do is get discouraged, assuming your weight loss has stopped, and give up. Just keep on doing what you've been doing to lose the weight you've lost so far. Maybe even increase your foods just a tad. I'm not sure how much I agree with the "up your calories to break the plateau" theory, but sometimes I did that if I ate more than usual, I'd start losing again. I don't know if that was coincidence or that theory really works, but they say that giving your body a little bit more food apparently gets your metabolism to release its hold on everything because it no longer thinks it's going to 'starve'. It's like it says, "Yay! Food! Okay, I'll start pumping again," and it burns off the extra you've eaten, plus the rest of it as well.

Maybe not a good description of that theory, lol. But you can look it up online just about anywhere. Some people 'shift' or 'stagger' their calories. They eat 1300 one day, 1500 the next, etc. I tried that and it didn't really work for me, but hey, what works for one person may not work for another

[jillybean720]

Originally Posted by LLV

Some people 'shift' or 'stagger' their calories. They eat 1300 one day, 1500 the next, etc. I tried that and it didn't really work for me, but hey, what works for one person may not work for another

Yup, this is calorie cycling, and it's basically what I do. I don't set a certain limit for every day like a lot of people. Instead, I set a daily average for the week. I average about 1800 calories daily. That does not mean I eat 1800 calories a day, though. It's usually more like 1400 Monday, 1200 Tuesday, 1600 Wednesday, 1200 Thursday, 2300 Friday, 2600 Saturday, 2500 Sunday...that way, my body doesn't settle on the same number of calories every day, plus I get the added benefit of extra calories on the weekends, which is when it was hardest for me to stick to my plan when I tried to keep myself at 1600 calories every day. It's expected that the scale won't be as friendly on Monday morning, but my official weigh-in is at my Thursday evening TOPS meetings.

[LLV]

Originally Posted by jillybean720

plus I get the added benefit of extra calories on the weekends, which is when it was hardest for me to stick to my plan when I tried to keep myself at 1600 calories every day.

Yeah, me too. I always get more calories on the weekends, especially Sunday, because Sunday dinner is my one meal of the week where I eat what I want and don't worry about the calories. I take a break from calorie-counting on Sunday's. I still watch what I eat throughout the day, but when it comes time for Sunday dinner, I EAT! My mother-in-law is here every Sunday for dinner and we fix just whatever we're all in the mood for. We always have a nice sizeable meal. I even eat dessert

Having these Sunday meals is one of the things that has gotten me through this. If I have days during the week where I feel like pigging out, I tell myself no, I can do that Sunday, and it gives me something to look forward to.

[Heather]

My weight loss seems to have stalled a bit, too (nothing for 2 weeks), and while I'm not thrilled about it, the info I've learned on this board has helped me see it's normal, so I'm not worried about it like I would have been in the past...

[LLV]

It's perfectly normal

Here's one of the clips I've read about plateaus.

Almost everyone reaches a weight loss plateau at some point in their fitness lives. The reason is that the human body works hard to keep energy intake and output in balance. In other words, your body does not like to lose weight (not a revelation, huh?). After your initial weight loss, your progress will slow down and eventually stop even though your exercise and food intake is consistent. The bottom line is that the very efforts you make to burn more calories may eventually slow it down.

Problem 1. Lowering your calories too much
Fact: It takes calories to burn calories. When you decrease your food intake, your body simply lowers its metabolic rate in response. This still allows the body to function properly, but ultimately your body requires fewer calories which creates hunger and prevents you from losing fat.

Solution:
Keep your calories slightly below your maintenance calories so that your energy and metabolism remain high. A deficit greater than 500-700 calories makes it much more difficult to maintain your lean body mass.

[penpal]

I've been stalled for about a month now. In the past, this might have caused me to "give up" but I have learnt a lot from others here - they also have stalls and eventually come out of them.

I had a pretty stressful month, so maybe that had something to do with it. Things have evened out a bit now, so maybe my body will now be willing to let go of a few pounds!

I'm just keeping on doing what I've been doing and I feel as though I'm going to start losing again soon, in fact, I'm down .5 lb. this morning

Keep on track - you WILL start losing again!

[LLV]

Yeah, stress can do crazy things to your body. Not to mention your mindset. Sometimes when I'm really stressed out, I want to eat more. I'll say, "Oh to heck with it, I'm gonna go get me a big fat sub."

lol

[penpal]

A 'big fat sub' sounds good about now! Actually, subs really aren't so bad - they have a bit of a bad rap . I looked up Subway on Nutridiary and here's one: Subway, Deli-Style Roast Beef Sandwich sliced roast beef, lettuce, tomato, green peppers, onion, olives and pickles on a deli-style roll - 220 calories. Not bad at all!

About stress -- my girlfriend has diabetes and lately she's been under a lot of stress and has had trouble controlling her glucose levels. She's not eating anything different - she believes it's just the stress that has caused her blood sugar to go up. It's easier said than done to lower our stress levels, but I think we have to do everything we can to keep our emotions on an even keel for the sake of our health.

[LLV]

Originally Posted by penpal

A 'big fat sub' sounds good about now! Actually, subs really aren't so bad - they have a bit of a bad rap . I looked up Subway on Nutridiary and here's one: Subway, Deli-Style Roast Beef Sandwich sliced roast beef, lettuce, tomato, green peppers, onion, olives and pickles on a deli-style roll - 220 calories. Not bad at all!

Oh, I eat Subway all the time.

I'm talking a REAL sub. Ham, pastrami, Italian dressing, cheese, hot cooked in the oven, juicy, fattening and awesome.

lol!