I hate plateaus (and I'm HUNGRY)!
 

This is part vent, part question. Bear with me. If I can't come here to complain about the hardships of losing weight to a whole host of people who understand, then who CAN I vent to? Anyway...

Like the subject implies, I've hit a plateau. I've been wavering between 159 and 160 (162 or 163 if I just ate and am wearing clothes, but I don't count that) for the last two weeks. I WAS losing steady at 2 pounds a week, then it slowed down to one, and now... nothing? I'm trying as hard as I can with what I have: I ride my bike 20 miles 5 days a week, work out with weights for 15 minutes every other day, and have just started the couch to 5K running program.

I'm VERY broke right now, so I can't afford lots of fruits and veggies that need constant replenishing. I bought beans, though, and no Ramen noodles :lol: BUT because I'm broke, while I can limit the AMOUNT of food I eat, I don't have as much control as I'd like over the QUALITY or nutritional value. I have some multivitamins around that I just never bothered to take... would taking them help me lose weight?

What else should I do to bust the plateau? Any ideas? I'm eating significantly less, but getting close to the point of starvation, because I REALLY want the weight to come off. I *know* starvation isn't the way to go, but I keep getting so scared that nothing else will work... and it's too early in the game to hit a plateau; I've only lost 15-16 pounds. :(

How many calories are you eating a day? If you are close to starvation, I would guess not enough? Maybe try eating a bit more and see if it helps. SOunds like your exercising plenty, so your body needs the fuel.

Well, I WAS eating within the 1,400-1,700 range, but then I noticed I wasn't losing any more weight, so the last couple of days, I've been going for 900-1,200 in hopes to start losing again. I'm not doing any extreme starvation, because I know from past experiences that it leads to nothing but body dysmorphia and the guarantee to turn into a blimp once you stop... I'm just super hungry. I was sometimes hungry at 1,400-1,700, but it was do-able. The problem is that I wasn't losing any more weight with the 1,400-1,700 calorie plan. :(

That is a BIG jump between your two calorie ranges. What if you bump it up a bit to 1200-1400? That might help with the hunger some, and let your body realise it's not in the middle of a drought :P

Also - the multivitamin won't do much for your hunger, but it will make sure that you're getting the right nutrients if you choose to stick to the 900-1200range - it's *hard* to get what you need, nutrient-wise, under 1200cals.

Hi Shane,

There are a million ideas about this topic. The kind of calories do matter, in my experience. I'd suggest (and this is only a suggestion) that you stay right around 1300 to 1400 cals, and that you try to have you calories made up of 30% protein (aim for 100 gms), 40% carbs, and 30% fats. Sometimes that will shift things. More protein will help you feel less hungry--carbs can make it worse. Stay away from the fast foods. You say that you can't afford vegetables and fruits--but they are among the cheapest foods you can buy. Even frozen are not too bad--and you can cook up a batch of frozen green beans, for instance, and eat on it for days for very little calories.

Yes, take the vitamins. Very important when restricting intake.

Hang in there! You can stay with it! :broc: :broc: :broc:

Jay

2 weeks really isn't long enough for a plateau. I definitely don't think drastically cutting your calories below the 1000 calorie mark is the answer. I used to always think that if I could cut some calories and lose some weight, that I could cut MORE calories and lose MORE weight. This never worked for me successfully - I ended up starving, binging, frustrated.

Lots of fruits/vegetables are cheap and in season right now (peaches, sweet corn, berries). Frozen fruits/vegetables are also more affordable.

I don't think multivitamins would help you lose weight, but you should definitely take them if you bought them. No sense throwing money away.

Droping from 1400-1700 to 1200-1400 might help but I dont think going below 1200 is healthy. and the vitamine cant hurt. Everyone hits plateaus so just dont get discouraged, it will pass. It sounds like you are doing great with exercise so it may just take your body time to adjust.

I just want to echo what JayEll said -- unfortunately, it really does seem (in my experience) that the quality of your calories plays a role. Anything you can do to incorporate fresh foods is a plus -- do you have any farmer's markets around you? Lots of times at the end of the day, they'll have slightly dinged produce for half price. You can buy fruits and veggies on sale, and frozen is a lot better than not at all.

Regardless, sometimes the body just takes its sweet time in reacting, you know? With all that exercise, you can be sure that positive changes are happening -- you just can't see them yet. Sooner or later (and I'd bet on sooner), you'll wake up one day and see the difference/see a "whoosh!" on the scale. In the meantime, you just have to keep telling yourself that and using the anticipation of it as continued motivation. :D

Jay - I bought fruits and vegetables (good, fresh ones) the last time I went grocery shopping. I just ate them, and I'm trying not to spend any money on anything until I pay my rent. Fruits and vegetables in and of themselves aren't expensive - it's the fact that they need constant replenishing that drives me nuts. I did aim for 100+ g protein a day... maybe I should get back to that.

Glory - I suppose you're right - 2 weeks ISN'T long enough for a plateau - I just feel like it is, and I'm just fearful of not losing any more weight. I've done quite well so far and just want to make sure I continue. Also - yes, frozen fruits and veggies are affordable... though I don't like frozen veggies much unless they're in a cassarole or stir fry. I love fresh ones because I can just... eat them, you know? Cooking is a very time-consuming activity for me. I know it shouldn't be, but I haven't gotten the hang of culinary multitasking just yet ;)

Desiderata: There's a farmer's market in a town next to mine -they have it on the weekends... I went to it a couple weeks ago and should go again. I looove farmer's markets... their produce is generally cheaper than the grocery store. I wish I could buy vegetables and fruits in bulk, fresh... maybe I can, if I just freeze them? ;)

That "whoosh!" bit made me smile... I hope you're right. I keep telling myself that there's no way I can stay overweight with all the exercise I'm doing... but my weight can be awfully stubborn sometimes... can't everyone's, huh?

I can relate, I have been sailing along 2-3 lbs every week and all of a sudden smack! I did much the same as I have been for weeks and only lost 1 lbs. this past weigh in and the scale has not moved at all this week so far (official weigh in is Saturday) I am just hoping for the woosh! moment too :)
I know that sometimes you losr inches and not lbs. but I just hate when the scales don't move.
Tiffanie

I don't think I've lost any inches recently, either, though I know I must be losing *somewhere* because today, I was able to button a shirt I haven't been able to button for over a year. Yay!

I'm all revved up (just got in from running 30 minutes) and I want to run more, but I don't want to wear my body out.

So... I've decided that I'll stick to 1,200-1,400 calories a day instead of 1,400-1,700, take a multivitamin, and continue my exercise regimen... I'm crossing my fingers and desperately hoping for the WHOOSH!

Shane...I feel your pain. I had been dropping about a pound a week and then i started excersizing more and the weight loss...STOPPED!!!! Finally, I took 3 days off last week from excersizing and it finally dropped 2 pounds!!! So far this whole month of July i've only lost 3 pounds. I am really hoping to at least drop one more for a loss of 1 pound per week...but i feel like...wtf??? I add in an extra 2 days of excersize a week for 4 weeks and it means i lose one less pound a month????? But as long as we are doing what we need to do for our bodies...eventually it will catch up with us. If we excersize alot...eventually we are going to see the inches drop. If we eat like we are suppose to...eventually the numbers on the scale will drop. Sometimes it is all at once and sometimes it is on a weekly..sometimes daily basis. All we can do it not give up hope. I know i won't stop until i reach my ultimate goal of a healthy, lean body!!!!

Good luck. And a great source of protein is tuna. I love tuna and calorie free pickles. I even had that for breakfast this morning. (I know....yuck faces are going on right now...but i can eat anything for breakfast.)

Ooooh I will have to buy tuna... it's not THAT bad... anything for protein, right? Tuna and pickles sounds like a good combo... or some tuna and pickles with light mayo on a bed of lettuce :nod: - I like white albacore personally, though I hate all other tuna. Any other tuna besides the pure white stuff will leave me going, "...ew"

oooh...something else i like with tuna is a single serving of the healthy kind of tortilla chips. I use them to scoop up the tuna and it gives a nice little salty crunch. yum!!!