[Heather]

Working hard and not losing weight is frustrating to say the least. It could be a lot of things. Have you ever had your thyroid checked? Have you talked to your doctor? Being 48 and post-menopausal many women find it harder to lose weight. If that's the case, adding more calories won't really help...

Patience and diligence may be your best friends...

[Bethafina]

I agree with (and will benefit from) the suggestions you've inspired here. I'm also so completely impressed by your dedication and thoroughness.

The only thing I've been able to figure out when encountering the same sort of plateau for months at a time, is that my system is re-establishing a baseline comfort zone and "hunkering down" for the winter. I've also noticed that two weeks of the month I can really see progress (just after my cycle) and the other two weeks are just plain plateau, so I count my blessings when they come... and they WILL come again.

Also, for me I find that stress (work, home, or thinking about my health/weight) and too little sleep both play a surprisingly insidious role in my efforts to get to my healthiest weight. And as many folks have said here, keep focusing on the positive changes you've made that will guide you for the rest of your life.

[mandalinn82]

Smurf - RMR and BMR calculators you find on the internet are truly just estimates of what an average person your size/weight/height/age might burn. No one's body is a machine...even if a calculator says you should be eating 1800 calories a day, your body might disagree!

If I run a typical BMR calculation for myself, it says I burn 1571 calories at rest. That may be an accurate AVERAGE...it is NOT accurate for my body. If I eat that many calories a day without exercising, I gain. It takes 1400 calories a day at rest, or about 1600-1700 calories a day with my typical amount of exercise, to maintain my weight.

The formulas may be accurate for some, but they cannot be used to definitively state whether you need more or fewer calories. Only good old-fashioned trial and error will help you figure out what YOUR unique body needs.

Remember - no human body is a machine, and we're all different, so if a formula seems like it isn't working for you, trust your body, not the math.

Kris - sometimes, our bodies just don't cooperate. Keep mixing things up, trying different calorie levels, varying your exercise routines...most importantly, stay ON PLAN and keep going. The scale will eventually catch up.

[Mel]

Just to echo Mandalinn's advice, don't believe everything you read about calculators and how many calories are burned by a particular exercise. Those are averages, and no one person is average. If I calculate my BMR (1215) and add calories for all the exercise I do, I should be able to maintain on about 1900 calories. Uh, nope! That would be wonderful, but in the real world my body maintains on about 1450 and I have to go to about 1300 to start to lose. 53 and post-menopausal here. Theoretically, I'm in minus calories and should have disappeared years ago, but I can assure you, there is plenty of me here.

Just keep working hard and . Those inches lost are not insignificant! How long have you been lifting? If it's only a few months, you may still be in that golden period where muscle growth is equal to fat loss. That's a good thing!

But above all, make sure that you really know what you are eating. Eyeballing or estimating portions is usually dangerous and teaspoons tend to grow in my experience if you aren't being really careful.

One more caution- I'd suggest ignoring the calories burned by exercise part of fitday. The estimates tend to be really high. Unless you are running at a fairly good pace, 1/2 and hour of cardio doesn't burn 345 calories and an hour of pilates most likely doesn't burn 585.

I really don't think you are starving. At your current weight, age and hormonal status, I would have suggested you start at about 1700 calories, but you aren't just starting. I think you could probably eat a little more, but 1500-1600 is certainly not starving. There are plenty of us here about your age who successfully lost at that level or a little lower. Remember, it's all about YOU, not an average.

Keep on pluggin

Mel

[KrisR]

Thanks again everyone.
Smurf-how exciting for you and your mother! Prior to dropping to 1600 calories, I was at 1800 and 2000 respectively and still wasn't losing so that is why I dropped to 1600. I was at each level for about 4 weeks each time. Yesterday I upped my calories and did find out how relatively easy it is to bump up. And yes, I really do eat lamb for breakfast! Typically, I'm up at about 5am and about 6am I have 2-3 ounces of whatever protein we ate for dinner the night before which carries me through until I have a proper breakfast. Rather weird of me, eh?

Heather - I'm pretty sure my doc did a thyroid check about 4 months ago but when I go in for my checkup in 2 weeks, I'll follow-up on it. I don't have any typical thyroid symptoms, but if he didn't do a test, I'll have one done.

Bethafina - thank you for your kind words!

Mandalinn82- I know what you mean. For every calculator, there is a different number. You're right....we each need to find what works for us...it's just been so bloody frustrating trying to figure that out!

Mel-I've been lifting since early October. Swimming and doing cardio 3-5 times a week since mid-2007. Yeah, I know what you mean about the calories for exercise.....that's another spot where there is so much room for interpretation on how many calories are burned. I try not to get into the specifics....I figure time and intensity are better benchmarks for me than how many calories burned.

So, I've taken all you have said under advisement AND I'm printing this thread out to refer back to. What I've decided to do is stick with my original calorie plan of 1600 average but do the calorie cycling from 1200 to 2000. I'm going to do this for 2 more weeks. I'm going to diligently weigh and measure just to make sure I'm being honest with myself. I'm going to keep with my 1.5 to 2L of h2o each day. Stick to my exercise program of 3 ST, 5 HIIT cardio and 4-5 yoga/pilates per week.

In two weeks I'll re-measure, take new pictures and weigh and see where I'm at. I just have to believe what you all are saying and the weight will start to drop off at some point! I believe, I believe, I believe!

[Heather]

Kris -- Sounds like a plan!!!! Paying attention to things like measurement and how your clothes fit is important, especially when you're lifting. When I started lifting seriously I went through a period of several months where I didn't lose any weight, but went down a clothing size. Essentially I lost X fat and gained X muscle. Overall my WEIGHT stayed the same, but I lost fat and gained muscle. Muscle takes up less space than fat, so I was smaller! Point is, the scale is not our best tool!

Let us know how it goes!

[stayincalm]

Oh Honey: How frustrating! Someone recently posted an inspirational video here that you can find on YouTube done by this guy named Adam Waters. He completely changed his body. I loved that video so much that I went to his blog. I read through it and it looks like he alternated his eating plan every few weeks between low fat, low carb and balanced eating to keep his body kind of fooled. Dang. It sure worked for him. I'm such a moron I could not keep on top of that but you might want to take a look at the video and read his blog if you end up feeling like you just need to try something (as opposed to throwin' in the towel).