I guess I have hit a plateau. I have been slowly losing for 8 months (.5 to 1 lb per week) by tracking and eating 1400-2000 calories a day. a mostly whole foods, non processed diet. I also exercise a lot, hitting teh gym 4-6 times a week and using my HR monitor to make sure I stay at a high enough intensity, It usually takes me 60-90 minutes to burn 400-600 calories, and I do this 4-6 times a week. I'm 40 yrs old, 5'5", and weigh 195 now.
I feel like my weight loss has been very slow... I never had weeks where I lost 2-4 lbs, not a single time. It's very frustrating to me when I "see" that others are able to lose 12 lbs in 3 weeks, or when I see those kinds of losses on The biggest Loser.
For teh last 6 weeks, I have been really putting in teh effort food and exercise wise... extra time at the gym, tracking food many days, avoiding all alcohol.. hoping to see the scale start dropping 1-2 per week. In those 6 weeks, the scale finally did go down about 4 lbs... but for the last 3 days those 4 lbs have been back. I can't seem to get them to budge, much less to see a 6-12 lb loss for the last 6 weeks of work.
So, what are some of your tips for getting over a hump like this. It's horribly discouraging.
ETA, I'm not looking for a quick fix, just somethign that I can do to get my body to realize that all of this hard work is supposed to = weight loss. Maybe somethign like eating just fruit and chicken for a day?
Last edited by tigerchic89; 08-23-2008 at 07:23 AM.
One of the first things I would suggest, would be to change your calorie intake. 1400-2000 a day was working for you for quite a while, but as you get smaller, your calorie needs are going to change. The less you weigh, the less food you need per day to sustain your body. Instead of 1400-2000 per day, why not drop that range down a bit to 1400-1600 per day?
It could be just the boost you need. Calorie counters often start out at a high range, and then when they lose some weight, that level has to be dropped a bit to progress further.
Try 1600 being your maximum intake for the next few weeks, and see how that goes.
you didn't mention your water intake - i find it makes a world of difference to my weight loss and also my well being to drink lots of water - good luck to you and hang in there
Tigerchic,
First of all, congratulations on your weight loss! You have been working so hard, and that is the worst feeling, like you aren't being rewarded for your effort.
I am going to respectfully disagree with Aphil. I think you need to be eating more calories at 192 pounds than 1400 to 1600, especially if you are exercising as much as yourself. I think you need to be consuming at the least 2000 calories every day for a while. You need fuel if you are working out that much. It sounds crazy, but I wasn't eating all of my points while doing WW a few months ago. I stalled at 170. I got on here and read a bunch of threads where people said they just couldn't fit in all their points, that it seemed like so much food. Everyone was very adamant and said to just trust the process and up the calories. I did, and my effort was rewarded in about two weeks. If you are consuming closer to 1600 calories on more days than not, and burning 400-600, your body is starving, and your metabolism has slowed. You've got to eat to lose.
I do agree with Aphil that as you start to lose you need to cut back on calories, but how many calories will you be allowed in 30 more pounds of weight loss if you go from 1400-1600. You will be starving! Good luck, tigerchic!
We can agree to disagree. In my case, when I start out losing weight after each baby (I've had three) I usually have to start out at around 1800 calories a day. My starting weight after each baby has always been in the 210-230 weight range.
1800 calories works for me for a while, that is, until I get below 200 pounds. At that particular time, I HAVE to drop my calories some, or I simply stop losing weight.
I dance professionally, do yoga, walk, and light strength training. I exercise an average of 1-2 hours per day. But, the fact remains that once I go under 200 pounds, my weight loss stalls at that point and I must drop my calories to lose more. This has been my experience with each child, and is the reason that I suggested it.
tigerchic, in her original post, has already been eating in the 1800-2000 calorie range, and after losing an amount of weight, has hit a plateau at this level. That level is no longer working. However, my body, your body, and her body are all different. The only thing that is going to break this plateau is trial and error. Simply put, make a change, and try it out for a few weeks. In my experience, it helped at a similar weight to DROP my calories a bit...this might work for tigerchic, it might not. It was simply a suggestion. The only way to know for sure is to try it...and if there is no change after a few weeks, then maybe try changing it in the other direction.
Everyone's body is different. I, personally am currently close in weight to tigerchic, and my exercise level is similar. I know that at this point in time, that I would not be losing on 2000 calories a day-I would be maintaining. But, this is my body. For others it might be different.
I've sort of hit a plateau. The scale is still going down, very slowly, but I can feel that my diet and or my exercise needs to be adjusted somewhere. I've been eating 1600-1800 calories a day and moderately exercising. I'm beginning to think I need to watch more carefully WHAT I'm eating rather than how much. I'm going to try to eat more kinds of foods that raise the metabolism to urge my weight downward.
Hey tigerchic--I feel your pain! While I am by no means an expert, I just thought I'd put in my 2 cents worth. When you hit the gym, you say you hit your intensity HR target, but are you doing enough weightlifting? My trainer is really adamant about that, not just the aerobic stuff. This will not build bulkiness, but will raise metabolism. You need to do things like dead lifts, thrusters, pull-ups, dips. jump-ups. arm curls, shoulder presses, etc.
My trainer works all these things and more into my routines--and constantly is varying it. I never have the same workout twice. Some of the same elements will be occasionally repeated, but she is always adding new things, also.
Definitely try mixing it up. At a recent plateau, I started swimming 1-2 times/week, that helped me also. These things are helping me in my journey.
And yes, very slow weight loss is much better, however frustrating it may be.
Thank you for all of the input. I am frustrated, but I'm not at all ready to quit. I'm going to change my ticker to reflect my plateau/gain of teh last week, and just move on. I will try many of teh tips you gals recommended!!! Thanks!
What ever you do don't get discouraged and give up. I did that myself a few years ago and regained the 40 pounds that I had worked so hard to lose.
It's going to be a matter of changing up your calories-I don't know which way is best for you. And maybe changing some of your activities. Maybe your body has adapted to your exercise/activity routine and you need to shock it some.
Don't get too discouraged. Stay strong.
Sarah in Md
Last edited by sarahyu; 08-27-2008 at 12:06 PM.
Reason: oops- typo
I'd cut the exercise and cut your calories.
Anything over an hour of cardio is too much in my opinion (plus it's boring).
How about 30 min of weight training and 30 min of cardio??
Journal all of your food to see exactly how much you're eating.
Are you drinking enough water and getting enough sleep???
Something to jump start over a plateau?
