Stalled - Any Ideas?
 

The last 3 weeks my weight loss has stalled. I'm 33 female, 206lbs - I just upped my calories from 1160 to 1400 and still no weight loss.

I workout 4 a week (spin/trainer) and I eat organic. I'm hypothyroid but I take synthroid for it

Anyone have any suggestions?

Hmmm. Well, when I want to get things going, I lower my calories, not raise them. More calories = less weight loss.

It could be that your growing muscles are getting heavier and making your scale stall out, even though you're losing fat.

Your body needs calories to burn fat. Eating too little calories is just as detrimental to weight loss as eating too many. As your body gets stronger, your caloric need increases to meet the demand of the exercise.

Maybe try changing up your workout; your body may have become accustomed to what you're doing. Also, add in some strength training if you haven't already. Muscle burns fat and is a good metabolism booster. :)

That starvation mode thing is a myth, Strutter.

You can say it's a myth if you'd like, I won't try to change your mind. I'm sharing what I know with the OP based on what my own research and what my doctor, and my nutritionist have shared with me.

I learned all about the Harris Benedict Equation, Mifflin-St Jeor, and BMR and how it all works together. Eating 1200 calories while doing Insanity 6 days a week didn't cut it...but 1900 sure did based on those calculations and the weight started flying off again. Lowered it to around 1600 when I started a less intense program and kept losing.

I have been eating 1200 calories or under since January and going spin 4 days a week burning 640 to 800 a class (depending on the teacher). I lost 40lbs but I seemed to have stalled as of late. So I upped it to 1400 a day but still no change on the scale. I'm just nervous I hit a wall or that my calories need to change

That's where I stalled out too, Landas. The 1200 calories/day got me to a 45 lb loss and it didn't work anymore. I freaked thinking something was wrong with me medically and sought advice from professionals. All was clear there, thank goodness, I just had to tweak the calories a bit based on my activity level, added in some protein that I was lacking, and also changed up the routine a bit. Adding strength training to the cardio workouts really helped for me.

Are you losing inches at all? Like Rachel said, you might be swapping fat out for muscle and that's why you aren't seeing numbers go down.

Hope this helps and hang in there!

Originally Posted by strutter5150:
You can say it's a myth if you'd like, I won't try to change your mind. I'm sharing what I know with the OP based on what my own research and what my doctor, and my nutritionist have shared with me.

I learned all about the Harris Benedict Equation, Mifflin-St Jeor, and BMR and how it all works together. Eating 1200 calories while doing Insanity 6 days a week didn't cut it...but 1900 sure did based on those calculations and the weight started flying off again. Lowered it to around 1600 when I started a less intense program and kept losing.

Well said! My doctor cautioned me against ever going below 1300 calories absolute minimum and said I would lose just as much weight, or more, at a bit higher as I would at a very low calorie count. She was right... I've lost 81 pounds and am never hungry (unless it really is mealtime), hardly ever have food cravings any more, and am the healthiest I have been in years. And I even include things in my eating plan (don't personally believe in dieting) such as an occasional cookie or two, chocolate (both gourmet from the natural market). My food is YUMMY and soooooooooooooooooooo nutritious! And something I can live with!!!

You don't have to "starve" to lose weight and get into shape.

Thank you all for your feedback! I can tell I have lost some weight, just want to be sure I keep losing.
I'll have to check and see if I'm adding muscle. I also thing I'll take Strutter's suggestion and maybe add some boot camps into my routine.