Have lost around 50 lbs in six months, but plateauing after starting to exercise?

  • Hi everyone. I’ve been working to lose weight since April 1st of this year, and so far I’ve lost around 50 or so pounds, and this has been fluctuating about 1 or 2 pounds since the 14th of this month. I wasn’t really working out much until August 25th, when I started swimming and doing cardio/weight lifting five (now six) times a week. It helped my weight loss progress, and I can tell my stamina has improved. Overall, I feel much more agile and energetic than in the past.

    However, I’ve been sitting at the same weight for the past two weeks. My weight went up on September 13th to 357, then swiftly dropped to 354 the next day. After that, the stagnation occurred with little fluctuations in between. I’ve experienced a small plateau before, and I simply stopped eating at like 8 pm or so to help with weight loss, but this time even that is not working. Is it water fluctuation? Is my body holding onto weight? Am I building muscle?

    My main concern is this: what can I do to kick this plateau? Should I start working out more? I feel like I don’t eat a lot (1500 -1800 cal a day) and I don’t want to cut even more because I fear that such restriction could cause a binge. Should I just wait it out and the progress will come along? I have about 200 lbs to go and I don’t want this to be my “set weight”. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks! ❤️
  • I lost alot of weight last year and then plateaued hard for several months and then fell off the wagon partly because I got so discouraged. I'm back on, and I noticed the same problem happening again about a month into weight-loss so I started measuring myself. Although I weigh the exact same now as i did at the beginning of the year, my measurements have changed (from working out, I'm guessing). I've lost an inch in my hips and waist. My advice is to start charting your measurements. I've also seen better progress when I don't work out 7 days a week and stick to HITT/intense cardio/weights M-F and only do light cardio (i.e., walking) on weekends. Best of luck and congratulations on your success thus far!
  • great job!
    I believe that's normal but keep up the good work hun

Tags

50 lbs, exercise, intuitive eating, plateau, weight loss