HELP on breaking a plateau. (first post)
 

so i've been trying to get these extra 10ish pounds off FOREVER. i have been on a vegan diet for a few months, i do an hour of cardio 3-5x times a week. i did some work with a personal trainer july-january of this year and apparently gained a lot of muscle. now that i've stopped weight training, the number on the scale won't budge. i eat pretty healthy for the most part. a look at my meal plan would be something like this:
breakfast: a cup of kashi go lean with almond milk and a banana
lunch: a tofurky sandwich with some carrots and usually a fruit like clementines. if i'm out of tofurky, i usually just pack a soy yogurt with some granola or just go for the fruit and veggies.
dinner: lately i have been eating those amy's entrees, they are no more than 300 calories. yes, i realize they have a lot of sodium in them and i need to stop.

SOOOO what gives? what can i do to change this?! i know i shouldn't pay attention to the number on the scale, only how i look. but i feel disgusting and overweight. i try switching up my exercise every few days, but still... nothing.

any help would be greatly appreciated!

How many calores in all is that?

Depending on your height, and weight you might need to be eatting more.
Your body might be clinging on to everything that you are eatting.

And how much water are you drinking?

i eat 1300-1800 calories a day depending on my exercise. i usually drink a decent amount of water (8-10 glasses) but lately it's only been about 6.

Hmm just keep the cardio up and drink all the water you can!

If you know you are doing the right thing, you body does too. It will all catch up.
Give time, time. :)

Knowing your height and weight would be helpful.

If you're dealing with vanity pounds they can be difficult to lose but it ultimately still comes down to a caloric deficit, time, and patience.

That said - forever is a long time. It's unlikely to be a water retention issue if you've been stuck for a month or longer. Two months or longer and it is extremely unlikely to be water.

If you've been dieting for a long time and you're down to dealing with vanity pounds it might be time for a diet break to let your hormones reset a bit.

<<i eat 1300-1800 calories a day depending on my exercise.>>

What you listed in your post sounds like way less than 1,300 calories, unless you're leaving some things out.

F.

Keep in mind that if you are not careful with a vegan diet, it will be very low protein as well. There's hardly any protein in your diet, it is imbalanced in that sense - you need protein to support your strength training.

Have you ever seen veganbodybuilding.com? It can help you get ideas to get more protein into your diet if you eat vegan. It can be done of course - but takes a lot of planning.

You are probably burning your hard-earned muscle at this point

What's your weight and height? It'd be impossible to give someone advice without knowing where they're at... I hope you'll find a way to get out of the plateau though.

Spike Day & what John P. said!

i'm 5'5" and currently 120 lbs. yes, i know that is a healthy weight for my height. but i'm used to being a lot thinner.

You could try calorie cycling. Do up days, down days. That can help break some plateaus. Like JohnP said it still comes down to a calorie deficit. And as sacha says, you can also try redistributing your calories across less fat and carbs and more protein. I don't know anything about vegan diets, but I do know that low protein diets can have an affect on your body composition. Lower lean mass means less calories burned.

At those stats and trying to lose 10lbs on a low protein low calorie diet, you're just burning muscle. Been there.

How old are you? 5'5 and 110lbs was easy for me at 21 but as you get older, your body fights that. Your goal is clinically underweight and if you're fighting to get there, listen to your body. Your body is telling you it doesn't want to go there. Being clinically underweight puts you at health risks just like being overweight.

Seems like a good height and weight to me. Why try to go lower? I am almost 5 inches shorter at 120lb and my BMI is at 22. That would mean that what you are aiming for is going to put you in the underweight category.

If you are wanting to be smaller but your body is fighting you on it, you might consider taking up weight training for exercise. If you eat maintenance calories while you do it, you will build a little muscle and lose fat so that you will get smaller and lose inches while also eating MORE and staying the same/similar weight. Win-win-win.