I've hit a plateau, in fact, I've been on it since March. I exercise 4-6 times a week for 45-60 mins and I eat a balanced diet usually 1150-1500 calories a day, I do have bad days where I would eat 1800-2000 calories a day but that only happened a few times since March. All my food are fresh and I don't eat junk food. I do drink diet soda every other day and I'd have coffee occasionally. All in all, I've been pretty good with my plans. So why aren't I losing weight anymore? I lost 5lbs and an inch off my waist but that's it and I'm getting pretty annoyed and sad even that I'm not shrinking but I am just maintaining. When I first started my "diet" I was doing Atkins and I lost a lot but I felt that Atkins was too high in fat for my taste and I missed the carb stuff like fruit, rice and whole grain bread so I switched to calorie counting and eliminated most processed food. This is how I want to eat for the rest of my life but at the same time I'm not losing weight =( So now I'm here, on my plateau thinking, should I go back on Atkins just to lose weight and then go back to the balanced diet later to maintain? What would you ladies do? I'm just so sick of being stuck in my high 190s.

Maybe mix up your exercise routine a bit? If you always do the same thing in the same pattern, your body gets used to it and becomes more efficient at the work you're making it do.

You may be doing this already, but measure/weigh your food and track what you're eating in a journal or something, just to be SURE you are eating what you think you're eating.

Your plan sounds pretty similar to mine and I don't find that coffee, complex carbs or the occasional splurge have detrimental effects on my weight loss. I may lose slower than some, but this is something I can do for the rest of my life.

Good luck and stay strong!

I agree with LitChick. Change up your workouts when I hit a stall around that weight I joined a boot camp class and within 2 weeks I was losing again. The class pushed me very hard and I continued doing my cardio workouts on my off days along with a very clean diet.

I lost several pounds by giving up diet soda when I hit another stall and honestly I don't miss it. The main thing is to just stay focused on being healthy and the weight will come off in time. I know its annoying I have been there several times during my journey. Looking back I can see it was stress and lack of sleep casing my long stalls. Big hugs to you!

I agree with Nikki and LitChick...
Iīve been there and I know it sucks!!!!! But the last times that happened I got discouraged and ended it up gaining 10lbs !! And trust me, thatīs much much worse. Usually what it takes is a little persistancy (which you have!!!), shaking up things a little bit (changing work-outs or the time you usually work out), maybe take a closer look at your calories and change the distribution of it, and also make sure you get the rest you need!

Good luck and stay strong!!

I too agree with the others.

If Atkins isn't for you, then I personally would not go back to it.

What I would do - I'd carefully measure, track and journal every bite, lick, taste, and crumb that enters your mouth for a couple of weeks. Sticking faithfully to the plan. No "off meals", as they can really play havoc with your weight loss.

And exercise? You didn't mention it. What does your exercise routine look like?

With some tweaking here and there, a bit of patience, you'll have that scale moving downward once again.

Thank's for your input! I'll stick with calorie counting, I'm already measuring food but I'm going to switch up my exercise routine to see if I start losing again. I'll also boycott diet soda. Oh, I forgot to mention that I'm a diabetic so maybe that plays a large part?? I don't know. =/

@Robin - My exercise is a rotation of running/speed walking and strength training. I'd do interval running for 15 mins and then I'd speed walk for another 30 mins and on strength training days I'd do sit ups, crunches, squats, push ups & weight lifting.

Oh and also... water intake! That usually helps me when I hit a plateau, I start being more diligent about my water intake, making sure I drink plenty during the day...

I agree with being sure you are counting everything. That is usually where the problem lies. Sometimes we just retain for a while but usually not a long time. Increase exercise too -that could help

I'm surprised that I didn't realized this earlier, but I haven't been drinking as much water as recommended. Thanks