[lovediet]

When I first started Nutrisystem I lost 15 lbs in a month. I was delighted! Then I continued to lose until I lost a total of 20. Then the plateau of doom started. After 3 weeks of no weight loss, I decided to start on Medifast to see if I could get my weight loss going again. I did, but I was so sick and miserable on Medifast I couldn't continue.

I started back on Nutrisystem over a month ago again, hoping I would again see success. Unfortunately, it has been over a month and I have seen absolutely no weight loss.

I upped my workout routine from 3x a week and now I go to curves 4x a week and Yoga once a week. Still no weight loss after 2.5 weeks of this increase.

One may think I am building muscle, but according to the muscle/body fat analyzer thing on my scale, I have stayed about the same, only changing .1% here and there. According to Curves' body fat analyzer, I've actually GAINED body fat, (but again, only about 1%)

I am not straying from NS. The first 3 weeks I followed it as it said in the booklet. I have tried this last week to eat salad for lunch (instead of Salad +NS lunch) and a NS lunch entree for dinner (instead of the dinner entree,) but again, I haven't seen any loss.

Can anyone help me into getting back into losing weight again? Any suggestions? Is this not the right plan for me anymore?

[Louise]

Sometimes fat shifts internally. There's internal changes happening that don't always reflect on the scale or even in inches. Just keep with a healthy routine, and make sure you have your add-ins.

Louise

[Newshinyme]

Just noticed your post...
Are you eating enough? (i.e. all of the foods listed?). From what you listed above it seems too me like you are low on your daily intake which at first might lead to weight loss, but then, inevitably will make you stall as your body starts hanging on to everything because it things it's starving.
Were you eating just as little before you started tweaking the plan? Were you measuring the portions for protein and vegs or just eyeballing?, maybe you were already too low?
How about salt? NS is quite loaded already and if you are adding high sodium content things to it, could it be that you are retaining water?
Body fat % readers (like the ones at Curves) can give you a false reading of too much fat due to de-hydration as well.

[LaurenH]

I don't know how tall you are, but is it possible that your current weight is a healthy weight for your body? Especially given your exercise level? Maybe you're just where your body needs to be.

[noodlebean]

Hi there,

If you're not yet at a healthy weight for your body (which I agree is something to consider!), another possibility is that you may need to increase your calorie intake for a week or so to jump-start your metabolism. I know it might sound counter-intuitive, but your body gets used to a low caloric intake and adjusts for that -- to get it revved up and burning fat off again, you give it more calories for a short period of time and then it invigorates the fat-burning mechanism. Here's a good explanation of this from another thread (from Renita):

Originally Posted by crenita

I sent a question into the Dietitian at Bistro MD and this is her response.. thought it was worth passing along

QUESTION : when I had family visiting and ate off plan for 7 days.. the next week I dropped 4 1/2 lbs what happened ?????

Answer:. Before I address the set point theory and how to affect that, let me first address why it is that you ate "off track" while visiting with family and then lost so much the next week. What happens to your body after eating the same amount of food consistently for 4-5 weeks is it kind of hits a plateau. Basically your body gets used to what you are providing it and doesn't work as efficiently for you. In Dr. Cederquist's medical practice it's at this time that we introduce what we call a "metabolic adjustment" phase. What this is is increasing the amount of calories you eat for 1-2 weeks (typically by adding in more lean protein, fruit and veggies, but pizza works too :-) ). What this does is bumps your metabolism up and gets your body looking at different foods. Then the week after the adjustment you cut back down on the calories and your metabolism is still "revved" up so you can burn the calories more efficiently. So basically that is what you did for those 7 days. You gave your body something different to look at.

Even with our program, I recommend that every 4-5 weeks you add in a little bit more to your plan (another protein snack, a piece of fruit and maybe a salad with dinner) for a week or two to rev up your metabolism, then bring the calories back down.

QUESTION: How to affect your Set Point ???
ANSWER:
As for the set point theory, the set point is the weight range in which your body is programmed to weigh and will fight to maintain that weight. Some believe that the number of fat cells the body contains at the end of the first year of life determines the set point. The amount you eat, the fat content of the diet, and the level of physical activity determine how large those fat cells will become, and how heavy you will be. This means that no matter how many fat cells you have it is possible to shrink the amount of fat storage they contain, although, you need to select the correct exercise and diet suited to your needs. Unfortunately, most research says that the real only way to change your set point is by exercise. Water aerobics is a great thing. Low impact and great resistance. If you can increase the number of minutes in the pool by even 2-3 more minutes each time you go, that would be helpful.

Again, the best way to affect your set point is by exercise but also by not restricting your caloric intake too much and just eating a healthy well balanced diet.
Well I thought I would share this info... in case you all hadn't seen it before.......

Renita

Hope this is helpful & good luck!