[HeatherMcG]

Well, if you keep up on my life, I have lost 53 lbs. I have approx. 89 more pounds to go. In July, I rededicated myself to doing whatever it takes to lose weight the healthy way. It was going slow, but it was steady. I have been working out nearly everyday and doing extra walking to help the process. The last few weeks have been trying. I am stuck at 264. I'm not trying to complain because I know others like HWGA have been plateaued for ages. I guess my problem is that I am not seeing results, so I want to stop.

But why? Why when I have developed such healthy habits and routines? Why when I have my eating under control and am at my lowest weight in a long time? I just don't get it. I don't want to quit but I find myself slowly slipping... I am so discouraged

[beth4365]

Hi Heather,

I'm not sure what is holding you back now. Maybe you just need a bit of a rest? Hopefully someone with more knowledge/experience will chime in soon. For now, here's what occurred to me when I read your post.

What would happen... if instead of giving up completely... what if you spent some time just trying to maintain? Go over to the maintainer's forum and just spend some time staying where you are. Not going backward. Not trying to go forward. Just staying steady.

Best wishes, Heather. Whatever you decide to do, just don't give up.

[delitaagain]

Originally Posted by HeatherMcG

Well, if you keep up on my life, I have lost 53 lbs. I have approx. 89 more pounds to go. In July, I rededicated myself to doing whatever it takes to lose weight the healthy way. It was going slow, but it was steady. I have been working out nearly everyday and doing extra walking to help the process. The last few weeks have been trying. I am stuck at 264. I'm not trying to complain because I know others like HWGA have been plateaued for ages. I guess my problem is that I am not seeing results, so I want to stop.

But why? Why when I have developed such healthy habits and routines? Why when I have my eating under control and am at my lowest weight in a long time? I just don't get it. I don't want to quit but I find myself slowly slipping... I am so discouraged

Heather, there is a key to why your body is holding here. For me, my body sometimes refuses to lose weight unless I eat a few MORE calories, like 2-300 for a day or two. Especially if you have gradually increased exercise without increasing calories. Your body can interpret this as starvation. Both times I've stalled in the last 2 months, I upped the calories and lost 2+ pounds in 48 hours and then kept going down slowly from there. By the way, the second time I added more rest also. Your body needs rest to burn fat and it needs fats to burn fat. Are you eating enough good fats? You've done so well! Delita

[RealCdn]

There are always the exceptions, however, usually the faster you lose weight the more likely you're going to hit a plateau.

You said that you started in July (so assuming the start of July that's 3.5 months) so you've been losing 15 pounds per month. That's a very fast rate of loss, approximately 1750 cals a day deficit. So either you're eating very little or working out a lot (or a combination of both). Take a week or so and rest a little and eat more. Just a warning that you may gain a little weight. However, it's likely the only way you're going to get your body to lose more weight.

I know the lure of fast weight loss. Believe me. However, for most people it's just setting you up for a major plateau. I started with my calories too low and hit one for a very short time myself. I remembered where I'd failed in the past and made a point to eat enough (even raising it when I added in more exercise). I'm not saying that people can't lose 3 or 4 pounds a week, but again, for most you're likely to end up at a point where you don't lose weight.

Eating more and keeping my deficit amount in line (no more than 1000 calories) has allowed me to have continuous losses since the end of February. They're not 'biggest loser' kind of losses, but they add up. (to just about 2 lbs a week)

[Bee20nine]

Are you eating all "healthy" foods?

Sometimes I find that if I am plateauing a little, if I eat a little "bad" it gives my metabolism something to chew on. It helps kick it up a notch and start to lose weight again.

[MadelinRose]

According to some diets I have been on and kept weight off with before, when you go for a couple weeks on a plateau, it's a good time to, for lack of a better term, just pig out, weighing yourself every day, until you gain 3 or so pounds back. Then re-start your diet, and your metabolism will go back to that initial "shocked" stage that you had when you first started to lose weight.

I just like the idea of having something to look forward to for when I plateau.

[HeatherMcG]

Thanks for all of the advice.I am really taking the time to reevaluate what is happening. I guess I should have been a little clearer. I have lost 53 lbs all together. I was at 278 in July. So I have only lost about 14 pounds. Sorry for the confusion.

[RealCdn]

Well, that definitely changes my answers.

I would look carefully at what you're eating. I know when I started I could be a little sloppy with measurements. Even though I think I can eyeball portions, I can't really. I wouldn't panic over a couple of weeks, but just make sure that you know what you're eating and that your numbers are correct (assuming you're a calorie counter). I might still look at if you're eating enough to support the activity level you have. I say that because at my weight (and we're close) I burn about 3000 calories a day.

If I said to most people that I was eating 2000 calories a day minimum they might at first think that was too high. For me, it isn't. I only recently dropped it down from a minimum of 2150. I do go higher on days I lift weights and do cardio.

When I started strength training back in March I was using a book to guide me. They had a very good quiz that they suggested you do 4 weeks in. I continued that practice for a couple of months. I grabbed the questions from my blog:

Did you gain weight, lose weight, or stay the same?
Do your clothes feel loose, or are they tighter?
Do you see any differences when you look in the mirror?
How do you feel? Energized or tired?
How are your workouts going? ...
How are you sleeping at night? ...
Has your menstrual cycle changed?

The concept was to look at overall health and possibly adjust calories. The last one is probably one to look at carefully. The one thing I've noticed this time losing weight (as compared to others) is that I've become almost 100% regular (something I never was). If your cycle is suddenly longer apart, lighter or missing completely you probably aren't eating enough. Kind of the same thing with energy levels. If you work out really hard, and don't have energy for other things that could lower your overall calorie burn (this is something I've been very guilty of in the past). I would do tons of cardio in the morning and then do as little as possible the rest of the day. Using myself as an example (from a while back):

Watching TV/Computer - 125 cals/hr
Light Gardening - 180 cals/hr
Heavy work in garden - 275 cals/hr
Light Cardio - 400 cals/hr

So let's say I get up and do an hour's worth of cardio in the morning. Then I spend the next 11 hours doing as little movement as possible.

400 + 11x125 = 1775

Or, maybe I skip the cardio but spend the day working in the garden.

2x275 + 4x180 + 6x125 = 2020

So I could potentially burn more calories without regular exercise. Now, I'm not suggesting that you don't exercise, but it's more of a comment how overall activity can be more important.

I've rambled a lot here, and I'm not sure if any of it is useful. Just throwing out some thoughts.