Need some advice..
 

Hey everyone! So since my little slip up, I've been following the program to a T. I've been drinking more water, and lost inches (went down a dress size!). But the number on the scale still says I've gained since I reached half-way to my goal weight, and no matter what I do (add more water, exercise more, etc. etc.) The number isn't going down. For every weight loss program/diet I've tried, this is always where there seems to be a stall and then I end up failing. Could anyone help me?? Thanks.

It's a plateau and you just have to plow through it ... it's always frustrating, but you will be rewarded in the end if you just hang in there. Your body is just catching up. You're doing great -- hang in there.

I was stuck at a plateau for almost a month.. It's frustrating. One of the things that helped me was actually looking at what food I ate. I realized that I ate a lot more processed stuff that I thought. Stuff with spices/pre-packaged stuff.. I cut all that out and started eating a lot more fish. I eat fish when I go out almost exclusivly. The bites/licks/tastes were also there.. I kept telling myself that I was 100% on program, but I really wasn't. That's just my story..

I finally broke it and lost 5 lbs in one week. Good Luck! You'll get there.. Just keep doing the program.. It works...

Hi Mtgal, I'm afraid I have to agree with everyone else.

I've have a 2 week plateau about every 15 lbs so far and yes, they suck. But, just keep on and you'll just start losing again as quickly as you were originally. It's almost like your body is tricking you into giving up, so persevere and you will win.

Also, if you've been working out a lot, you may have gained a little muscle too. Also, part of getting a lower bmi includes getting a higher % of water, which seems inverse to your goal but does help.

When was the last time you did the tanita print out? Since you're somewhat new, I'm assuming you did one when you started, then at 2 weeks and your next one will be at week 6. You can always request one just to see if any percentages have shifted around and I can pretty much assure you, when you look at that print out, you'll see you have not gained fat.

Good luck, hang in there.

We all have a weight that our body is most comfortable at and it is typically the weight we were at for a long time before we reached our heaviest. The best way I have heard it put to explain it in a non scientific term is that it's really old fat that your body has to let go of. So it sounds like to me since this is where you always get stuck this may be your number. Also remember one bite (taste, lick, etc) cause your body to take 3 days to go back into fat burning mode so always remember that to. Keep pushing through, I know it sucks but u can do it girl!!!!!

I talked to my center yesterday b/c I was losing at a painfully slow place. Have you tried the ketosis strips? You urinate on them and they let you know if you're in ketosis (which is where your big losses will be). I was not. We determined that I was eating the highest carb foods allowed in each group - apples, bread, etc. I was also chewing a few sticks of gum every day - looked at the packaging...who would have thought SUGAR FREE gum had 2g carbs in each stick!? ARGH! So, I was kind of at the threshold and was out of ketosis. I am switching to more citrusey fruits, back to the low carb and low cal bread (the one before was 50 cal, but had more carbs than the low-carb tortilla), and dropping the gum. I was also using a bit of the balsamic vinegarette on my McD's salad and I'm positive that has sugar in it.
Hope this helps!

Thanks for the advice everyone. I went to my center on Tuesday, and after talking with one another, they decided to put me on the Meta-balance program because of the amount of working out i'm doing. On average, I'm working out around 10 hours a week (because I'm a musical theatre major, a majority of this is intense dance classes...). My consultant came to consensus that my body was running out of energy quickly, and therefore holding on to water and the food I ate for energy. I was in "life-saving" mode. I've been on Meta-balance for a couple days, and can already feel the difference. I have so much more energy, and I imagine my metabolism has more energy too.