Hi All:

I've been bouncing around 175lbs for a few weeks (months?!) now. My food is on track, I have consistent exercise (5-6x per week) and I'm sleeping more. But I can't get the scale down! Frustration is mounting.

I'm looking for tips/suggestions etc -- nothing that includes lax or vom -- to bust through this plateau. Anything? Or is it "Just a matter of time"?

Thanks,
B.

Plateau?? There is no such thing as a plateau! My weight loss is always even every day. You really must be doing something wrong!

Seriously, sister, when you figure this one out, please let me know!! I seem to always plateau and then little woosh and then wait and plateau and then little whoosh and then wait and then plateau and then little whoosh and then wait....

I do think that daily weighing has helped me understand what's happening. I can look at the graph and see the overall trend. We only have control over what we do, not what the outcome is. So, maybe try to take your focus off of the scale and onto something else for a while - maybe a new cardio activity or to measurements. I think, for me, just recognizing the cycle and accepting it are huge. That's just how it works. It makes those wooshes fun!!

Hang in there hun and keep rockin' and you'll see the changes!

Have you tried stepping up your exercise program? The two main reasons plateaus happen are because:
1) Your muscles have gotten used to your exercise routine, they've got it memorized, they're in better shape now than when you started (which is a GOOD thing, congrats!), and as a result it takes less energy to do the same movements. As a result the same old routine burns less calories and your muscles will not continue to get stronger.
2) Your calorie intake supports the weight you are at now. It takes a certain amount of calories to support a certain body weight. Your initial calorie reduction in your diet did not support the weight you were at, so your body burned stored fat and you lost weight. But now you're smaller, and it takes fewer calories to sustain your body weight. The plateau is because you finally hit the body weight your reduced calorie intake supports (Again, congrats!).

Most experts don't recommend eating fewer than 1200 calories a day, so if you're already near there you probably would not want to go lower, esp. without talking to your doctor first. The solution to the first problem (exercise plateau) can solve the second problem, too, because the increased energy spent on a harder workout will mean less calories for your body to use to sustain your weight.

(BTW, I am just a college student who has taken 1 nutrition class. But I used to be a ballet dancer and have always been into nutrition and exercise, so I've done a lot of reading on the subjects. But I am nowhere near an expert :P )

Hmmmm. OK. Good advice.

This is what I take away:

1. I need to shake it up a bit with new challenging exercise and a new metric (agreed on the measurements; more rewarding right now than the scale....)
2. Stop whining (I say this, you guys didn't) and get on with it. agreed, agreed, ug. sigh.
3. Plateau is normal; buckle up and go for the whoosh.

You know what this means though right? INTERVALS-OF-DEATH on the elliptical. Really had hoped to avoid this but I'm not cutting back on my food anymore so that's the only option.

Thanks for the reality check,

B.