Please help me get off this plateau
 

So, I started my journey back in February. I lost 30lbs in about 2 and a half months. Since then I have been stuck at 199-203. I can not get away from this stupid weight. I don't know what to do differently. I can't eat any less(eating 1200 and refuse to go lower) and I am exercising daily. What have you guys done to shake things up? Thought about trying more resistance and less cardio. Maybe exercising twice a day...but, really hate to have to put in 2 hours a day at only 30lbs gone because I know the closer to goal you get the harder it is so the thought of even more is crazy to me. Please help.:dizzy:

Exactly how long have you been stalled?

If you started in February and lost 30 pounds in 2.5 months, that would mean mid April, unless you started in late February, which could mean that you've only been stalled a couple weeks.

30 is a lot to lose in that amount of time! If you have only been stalled a few weeks and you are accurate in your calorie count and exercising (and yes I think you should weight train!), just ride it out, the scale will catch up.

Hang in there! Sometimes your body just takes time to adjust to the new lower weight before it will go lower. Have you measured?? You might be losing inches when you aren't losing lbs.

Originally Posted by tonimaroni2:
Hang in there! Sometimes your body just takes time to adjust to the new lower weight before it will go lower. Have you measured?? You might be losing inches when you aren't losing lbs.

Yes I have lost 47 inches total. I just feel like if I could at least stay under the 199 mark I would be alot happier...stoooopid scale..ugh.

Originally Posted by LockItUp:
Exactly how long have you been stalled?

If you started in February and lost 30 pounds in 2.5 months, that would mean mid April, unless you started in late February, which could mean that you've only been stalled a couple weeks.

30 is a lot to lose in that amount of time! If you have only been stalled a few weeks and you are accurate in your calorie count and exercising (and yes I think you should weight train!), just ride it out, the scale will catch up.

Only 2 weeks but, when I was seeing 3lbs or close to it for every week before the last 2 weeks(really 3 because I hovered around 199 for about a week before I posted it) it just is so frustrating. It's not like I am close to goal. I still have 70lbs or more to go. My body is just being dumb I guess.

I know what it's like to be stuck. I've been at 189-192 for forever and can't seem to get to 188, even though I go through blood, sweat, and tears. I don't think it takes weeks for your body to adjust to anything. If there's a calorie deficit, your body has to find calories to use as energy; it won't pull them out of thin air. It's going to either burn carbs (free glucose/glycogen) in your system or stored fat. If you aren't losing, you haven't exhausted the carb stores yet. Only when they're gone does your body turn to fat for energy.

You may want to try cutting your calories for a few days just to "shake it up" and see how your body likes that. Don't go without completely, though (I did that for three days and it was a miserable failure). Maybe eat a small meal at the start of the day, and another at the end, totaling 800 calories for the day (if you can; I know what hungry is like). Then on the third day go back to the 1200 cal./day routine and see what happens. Don't skip your exercise during this time.

Are you counting your calories? Is there anything you eat which you have to guestimate the calorie count, like a burrito, lasana, stew, etc? You may be undercounting those calories. It's what plateaued me for a while.

I wouldn't worry yet because you haven't been plateaud for long but one thing that works for me is to drastically cut my carbs. If I cut all wheat, rice and potatoes out of my diet I lose weight without making any changes at all to my portions. It probably means I do a poor job of portioning my carbs, but cutting them entirely always kick starts a drop in weight for me.

I was at a plateau for MONTHS recently. I finally broke through it when I increased my running [previously alternated mostly b/w workout dvd's and kickboxing] and cut out alcohol [except for ONE day/week no matter what be it a happy hour or a Saturday night]. Those two things helped me drop into my next size down within a few weeks. You've only been at a plateau for two weeks so I would definitely give it a little bit of time and if you are still stuck, try to change up your workouts/diet and experiment to see what works best for you.

2 weeks is not a plateau. Just stick with what you've been doing.

Originally Posted by tricon7:
I know what it's like to be stuck. I've been at 189-192 for forever and can't seem to get to 188, even though I go through blood, sweat, and tears. I don't think it takes weeks for your body to adjust to anything. If there's a calorie deficit, your body has to find calories to use as energy; it won't pull them out of thin air. It's going to either burn carbs (free glucose/glycogen) in your system or stored fat. If you aren't losing, you haven't exhausted the carb stores yet. Only when they're gone does your body turn to fat for energy.

You may want to try cutting your calories for a few days just to "shake it up" and see how your body likes that. Don't go without completely, though (I did that for three days and it was a miserable failure). Maybe eat a small meal at the start of the day, and another at the end, totaling 800 calories for the day (if you can; I know what hungry is like). Then on the third day go back to the 1200 cal./day routine and see what happens. Don't skip your exercise during this time.

Are you counting your calories? Is there anything you eat which you have to guestimate the calorie count, like a burrito, lasana, stew, etc? You may be undercounting those calories. It's what plateaued me for a while.

I am really starting to think it is sugar related. By that I mean, I gave up carbs for lent so for 6 weeks I ate no sugar unless it was an apple or banana and I ate very few of those. Since I went back to eating things like lower sugar pudding or a fudgesicle(40 cals) I find I am ALWAYS hungry and not losing. Thinking I may have to go back to my Lent diet...ugh.

First, I am gonna try the 800 cals for a couple days and see what happens.

Originally Posted by EagleRiverDee:
I wouldn't worry yet because you haven't been plateaud for long but one thing that works for me is to drastically cut my carbs. If I cut all wheat, rice and potatoes out of my diet I lose weight without making any changes at all to my portions. It probably means I do a poor job of portioning my carbs, but cutting them entirely always kick starts a drop in weight for me.

Don't eat rice or potatoes but, do have an occasional(one a week) tortilla or piece of bread so may cut those and see.

You seem to be doing the right thing, no need to eat less than 1200 calories per day. I suppose you just need to stick to it, don't lose motivation, because you will eventually start losing again. Are you drinking enough water? Getting enough sleep? If you're stressed out or not getting the rest you need, your body could be holding on to all the fat to maintain your energy level.

low sugar pudding hey.... are you eating a lot of it or too much fruit or maybe too much exercise.. are you weight training

Originally Posted by Porthardygurl:
low sugar pudding hey.... are you eating a lot of it or too much fruit or maybe too much exercise.. are you weight training

One pudding every 4 days or so. An apple every couple days. I calorie count in MFP and sparkpoints and stay under my 1200 on BOTH. I measure everything...so I know that can't be it. I am doing some resistance(3 days a week).

Originally Posted by Natasha22:
You seem to be doing the right thing, no need to eat less than 1200 calories per day. I suppose you just need to stick to it, don't lose motivation, because you will eventually start losing again. Are you drinking enough water? Getting enough sleep? If you're stressed out or not getting the rest you need, your body could be holding on to all the fat to maintain your energy level.

I think we may have a bingo. For a couple weeks finals were stressing me out. I blamed the slower weight loss for those weeks on that. These last couple my kids and their friends have been stressing me out. And I am lucky if I get 5-6 hours of sleep a night...was getting around 8. Thank God schools out tomorrow...so you have given me hope that maybe next week I will see some progress.