Hey all...

So I've been trying to lose weight for quite a while and it has worked (I lost 50lbs yay!)... then I hit the dreaded plateau which lasted quite a few months which I found unusual. I'm pretty active (I have a personal trainer, I go to the gym 3+ times a week) and I think I eat pretty healthy. But I haven't lost a pound in 5-6 months and lately I've been gaining! I packed on 10 pounds I had previously lost and I'm afraid of my weigh in tomorrow because I haven't been to the gym in 2 weeks (sick)

It's discouraging and frustrating and some days I would very much like to pull out my hair, but I don't. I keep trying but I'm starting to think my efforts are fruitless. My trainer doesn't understand it either. She keeps suggesting that I see a nutritionist or dietician but I don't have the money.

I guess what I'm asking for here is, what do you guys eat? Could you suggest a meal plan or point me in the direction of where to find one myself? I've scoured the internet and there's no shortage of 1500-2000 calorie diet plans but unfortunately I need more. And it's hard to meet my target (somewhere between 2500-2800) on a low-carb diet. I think my body doesn't like the carbs.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I know I can do this... I just need a little boost. Something to jump start the weight loss again. I would like to see the scale go in the opposite direction.

I would take a 2000 calorie diet from online and just add in a few foods to bring it into your target range. I know I always lose best when I lead LOTS of vegetables so that is what I would add. (I mean cups and cups of veggies lol)Also, I would add lean meats and healthy fats like extra virgin olive oil.

About three years ago I set out to finally achieve optimum health, and as a result lost 40 lbs. within about a year. And then I hit the mother of all plateaus. It's lasted two years, and more recently, the weight has started to creep up a little again. I'm not at all comfortable with this state. I've been talking to a variety of people, like you, tried different things, gave up, tried again, etc. I even went on Medifast and cut my calories down to 1200 and ended up gaining weight. It turns out I have an intolerance to soy.

Eventually I ended up at my doctor's office to see if there was anything new going on. I'm a type 2 diabetic, and I'm managing it with diet and exercise. I was doing really well with that, tracking what I ate, exercising after I ate more carbs than usual, drinking plenty of water, lots of veggies, all organic and grass fed beef and chicken, lots of fish. I'm like the poster child for healthy eating. But I've had a really stressful couple of years due to personal issues at home. Both my doctor and I feel that the stress has affected my physically, my blood pressure is up and I'm now on medication for that. And just this week, she's ordered new blood work to check my A1c, to see if I may need Metformin. We are both suspecting that my insulin-resistant nature is a bigger problem than we once thought.

I wish you luck. Keep us posted on any discoveries.

Not sure if that is going to help, or what a professional nutritionist would say to that, but this is what I do and so far it's been working pretty well, since I have never reached a plateau. The weight was coming off slower at times, sometimes even very slow, but never got stuck at same number.

So I follow my regular low calorie diet (I am trying to keep it low carb and high protein, but that varies) and every two - three weeks for one day I eat very little, day after I eat little over my calories limit and day after I eat very little again. So...
day 1 - 70% of my calorie allowance for a day,
day 2 - over calorie limit by about 30 % (like I wasnt trying to lose but to maintain)
day 3 - 70% of my calorie allowance for a day,
day 4 - back to regular diet

Again, not sure if that's healthy or not, but it keeps my metabolism going.

Good luck and dont give up! I'm with you!

Plateau-the most evil word in lifestyle change and weight loss. I would offer a few suggestions.
1. Try to eat as much "natural" food as possible. If it grows on a tree or in the ground, it's good. If it's processed in a factory, stay away as much as possible.
2. How's your salt intake? When my daughter got to a plateau, we tracked her salt, oh...it wasn't good. Fixed that and she's back on track
3. Vary up your exercise routine, start doing different things to work different muscles.
4. Stress is a big factor-start adding meditation, yoga, or prayer to your day.

Hope you find these things helpful
Faith

gosh this is the 2nd time I have had to say I agree with sweetcakes736. sounds like a Plateau. and her suggestions to deal with it are perfect. only thing i would add is try eatting more frequently but keeping the same total amounts. just eat less at a time more often and drink more water.

when I had the gastric bypass (that I allowed my self to fail) my doctor said to eat a minimum of 6 meals a day. saying that it keep my body metabolizing food faster. I found as long as i did that I did in fact loss weight faster and more steadily.