I've hit this point for the last couple YEARS where my body just seems to be fighting with me .

Last summer I got down to a low point of 161... unfortunately there was a lot of stress and not eating involved. I can't live like that. I KNOW it's not healthy.

Currently I eat a 100% clean diet. No dairy, No grain, No sugar, No beans or legumes, no packaged or processed foods... Nearly all my calories come from produce, lean proteins, nuts and coconut products. I work out intensely for an hour 3x a week. The scale is not budging. I am so frustrated I could cry... scratch that, I do cry.

What gives? I'm the person out to lunch with friends ordering dry salad and water. They're eating fries and losing weight. I have been doing this for a LONG time... I feel like I should know how this works... but nothing short of total starvation is working anymore .

I was listening to a podcast not too long ago about set points with weight and how your body will get to a certain weight and just stay there. You can breakthrough set points apparently but it requires you to maintain that weight for months and then try to start losing again.

I'm definitely no expert but that might be where you're at. Maybe keep up with what you're doing to maintain the weight you're at now for a while? I know that's not the answer you're looking for but you've done an amazing job so far! Sometimes are bodies just dont get the memo that we're trying to lose weight! Good luck!

Are you eating enough though? I know if your exercising (ESP lifting) then you need the calories to fuel what you are doing and it messes with your metabolism if you don't get enough. I've also read our bodies adjust to the calorie intake we are at and can stall. So cycling calories can sometimes help keep the metabolism guessing (higher one day lower the next). Maybe that would help?

I just got started losing again after being on a diet "plateau" for almost 2 months. It's a relief to have my weight loss restarted. Don't give up!
It sounds like you're really being diligent, so maybe like another poster said, your body wants to hang out at this weight for a bit. It really sucks that you're having to not eat the way you want, but not reaping the benefit.

Everyone's different, so I can't say what's going on with you, but for me when I looked deeper into the issue I did see some problems.

For myself when I sat down and analyzed my "plateau" behavior:

- when I really strictly added up the calories, even healthy foods were adding up to a "maintenance" level of calories. Potatoes seem good, but whoa they're a killer for me. Salad seems good, til you add in dressing.

- I was eating sparingly, was feeling some stress, and as a consequence, when I got home I felt sluggish and wasn't doing my usual walking. I lost a lot of calorie burn.
To get myself back on track I started logging in to check my fitbit goals, and set up little rewards for myself for reaching them.

- I had stopped using a food delivery service (healthy chef creations) that was really yummy and working for me (albeit expensive), but I went on vacation and got lazy about renewing. That was a mistake, and I'm back to receiving meals.

- Our metabolism drops as we age. When my doctor checked my thyroid levels, it was borderline "slow". It's not bad enough to require medication according to the latest guidelines, but I have to realize I'm fighting against a struggling organ and be patient. I read about what's needed for thyroid health (vitamins, being careful to minimize goitrogenic foods like soy, kale, etc...) and made some changes.

I dont have any advice but i know that what your going through sucks there have been times where my frustration makes me cry about it too ...

all i can offer is :hugs:

How many calories are you eating? And how long since the scale moved?

Thanks for the responses, guys!

It's been over a year since the scale has been bouncing the same 5-10 lbs.

I eat around 1500 calories on the days I don't work out/lift and a bit more on the days I do. I have dropped it down closer to 1200 for a couple weeks with no budge... and upped it to around 2000 for a couple weeks with a measurable gain. I lost 2 lbs last week but I was not eating nearly enough. I'm under a lot of stress right now and eating is not appealing... but I'm forcing it.

*sigh* I was feeling ok about it... until I went shopping for clothes again. I'm having a bummer year, for reals!

Hmm your calorie intake looks good. You're working out, you're semi cycling (with higher calories on workout days).

Are you lifting? Could you be putting on muscle and losing fat? Do you take measurements? Maybe you're body is getting used to the type of exercise you are doing?

Stress is definitely a hinderance to weight loss, so that could be part of it. I read an article about plateau's on burnthefatblog.com and it said that most likely when a plateau occurs we are not being on plan as faithful as we think we are, and that we should reset for a week and be extremely diligent about what we are eating and see what happens. But you eat very cleanly already, so unless you are sometimes underestimating your calories, I'm not sure what's going on.

Sorry one more question How much cardio are you doing?

I'm actually going through the same thing. It's really frustrating. The only way I lost anything in the past few months is when I got sick and ate basically nothing for a week. I lost 8 lb. That can't be what I need to do for the rest of my life?!

A few years ago when I reached a plateau I did something crazy and did a 30-day hot yoga challenge. FINALLY the scale moved.

You may have to do something completely different with your workout. Either find a completely new workout, or run a half marathon, just something you have never done before.

Alternatively, have you tried taking a 2-week break from hard core exercise altogether? I don't know why, but sometimes when I quit exercising for about 2 weeks I lose?

Thanks guys...

Not lifting very often, per say but I do a LOT of bodyweight/resistant band exercises. I'm looking forward to getting back to heavy lifting when both my kids are in school next fall. I don't have any reliable childcare right now, aside from my MWF bootcamp class. My workout is bootcamp style and involves running, high intensity agility course cardio, and resistance training. I walk/hike/swim on off days.

I did recently take a break from the Bootcamp classes for two weeks and noticed a slight scale dip... but when I went back to class it came right back on.

I'm just concerned... how clean do I need to keep my diet to even maintain this weight? I'm not ok with gaining AT ALL... but my quality of life is starting to suffer, just to maintain my current weight. What do I need to do to get to goal... kwim? *sigh*

It isn't something I've tried but I've read a lot about breaking through plateaus as mine's gone on for more than a month (I know nothing compared to yours). Something that I keep reading is having a metabolism reset day or weekend. I know you're trying to eat really healthy and clean however from what I've read it appears our body's can become used to our diets especially after a lengthy period of eating the same, even if you are calorie cycling. What it basically is is eating way above maintenance for a day or two and hopefully reseting your metabolism so once you get back to eating lower amounts your body will adjust and start losing again.

Again I've never tried it, though I am going home in 6 weeks for 2 weeks so I'm hoping if I haven't lost between then and now that'll be my diet reset, but it seems like it works for some people.

Ahh yes, Changergirl that reminds me of calorie cycling (or in WW we like to call it the Wendie Plan).

Basically, you change up your calories every day. So one day you will go high (1800-2000) and then the next normal (1500) and then the next low (1200). Something like that.

I'm very sorry you're going through this. I can empathize with your frustration as I am going through something similar. **HUGS**

I'm hopeful you'll find a way to break through this.

Ross111104 you'll get there took me forever to get out the 180s...Turtle great progress as well. I'm at 177 now. Hoping to not pig out during a corporate dinner tonight. Crossing fingers.

Opps my bad posted to the wrong thread