Diet Plateau

[San Diego Cheryl]

I started out on June 1st determined to lose 50 pounds and to reach my proper weight. I weighed 190 and would like to get to 140. Todate, I've lost 35 pounds -- only 15 to go!! I've gone from wearing a tight size 12 pants to easily getting into size 10.

I eat 1,200 to 1,300 calories a day and exercise an hour a day, six days a week, alternating between Pilate and cardio videos and use free weights every day on different muscle groups.

Though I'm thrilled with the weight I've lost, I've come up against the most fustrating problem. For the past three weeks my weight loss has stalled -- the scale just sits on 155. I've looked up the Body Mass Index calculations to make sure my goal weight is realistic, and it is. With the 15 pounds left to go, I'm still considered overweight.

I've researched weight loss plateaus on the Web. It's common, and the expert's consensus is that my body has adjusted to the diet and exercise.

Anyone out there have any off-the-wall suggestions how to crash through this wall I've run into?

 

[wendybdh]

I was in the same boat as you. I was doing Kathy Smith, Denise Austin, etc. but nothing advanced - My body just became so efficient that the pounds weren't flying off like they did at one time. What worked for me is getting into Cathe workouts. They helped me blast off about 25 pounds and have given me the strength and definition and endurance that I NEVER had before. Cathe workouts are a step up (actually several steps up) from anything else out there. What Cathe workouts do you have? If you don't have the Intensity Series-I HIGHLY recommend it - they are great well-rounded workouts that have done wonders for me.

Also, I focus way to much on the numbers on the scale and am slowly putting learning to put more focus on how I feel-I'm finding it much more motivating than the frustration I feel when the number on the scale stays the same.

Good luck

By the way, welcome to the forums and looking forward to hearing more from you, Wendy

 

[cjbate]

I am reading "Lean Bodies" By Cliff Sheats which I got out of the library and it talks about how low calorie diets can cause your metabolism to slow down and halt weight loss eventually, esp if you workout. It would be good for you to read, it might help.

Jen

 

[Carol_is_fit]

IMHO, you aren't eating enough!! You need fuel and if you don't give it to your body, it will hang on to what it has and shut down your metabolism because it thinks it's "starving".

Congrats on your loss so far!! Up your calories and see what happens.

Carol

 

[CathydsRNA]

Make sure your cardio is varied and up the intensity if you need to. I have a heart rate monitor and was surprised to see how quickly your body acclimates to cardio workouts (my heartrate and calories burned were signifcantly higher when I first started doing a workout compared to as little as two weeks after working out). I have had success mixing in interval training and a variety of other types of cardio..kickbox, hi-lo, step and circuit style. The highest intensity for me are interval and circuit (HSTA, bootcamp, gauntlet)followed by kickbox, hi-lo and then step.

 

[Krille007]

Yes, another vote for: You have to eat more. Your body went into a stall mode to hold on to what it still got left, because you not giving your body enough fuel. If your body gets enough fuel from the foods you eat, it'll let go off the fat you still want to loose.

Just my .02 cents.

Have a good day
Kristine

 

[San Diego Cheryl]

Thanks everyone for your encouragement. Your suggestions make a lot of sense. For now, I'm taking a few days off. I've decided that I'm spending WAY too much time worrying about this lousy diet. I'm going to concentrate on working out and having fun.

 

[CurlyQ]

I think you need to eat more as well. This is a formula for figuring out how many calories your body uses just to keep you functioning. In other words, if you were to be on bed rest this is how many calories your body would use for energy.

Take your weight in lbs. and divide by 2.2 to get your weight in kilograms. So for you at 155lbs...

155lbs/2.2 = 70kg.

now take your weight in kgs and multiply by 23 (24 is used for males)

70kg x 23 = 1610 calories

I used to have the formula that includes activity level but I can't find it at the moment, but you can kind of figure that an average cardio workout will burn 300-400 or so calories - not to mention the physical activity of everyday life...

 

[starlight6]

I think you need to eat more too. I think your body has "bottomed out" as it were, on the exercise you're doing vs the fuel you're giving it.

Don't get me wrong...you're doing a great job, and you obviously have a good attitude too. Eventually we usually have to accept that we need to eat more. Scary, I know!

Also, I strongly recommend the Slow & Heavy series. Cathe herself said it could be used to break any and all plateaus! And it did, for me.

Good luck,
Ruth

 

[cjbate]

I agree.

Ramp the calories up slowly week by week and spread them over 5 meals.

Jen

 

[San Diego Cheryl]

Wow -- I'm impressed. Thanks for the formula. I've decided to stay away from the scales for a couple of weeks.

Thanks for the support.

 

[rcook]

I think that 1200 to 1300 calories a day is just fine when your trying to lose weight, I have noticed like in the SWAN show they put them on 1200 calories a day and work them out in the gym an hr or 2. And there are other shows here lately on weight loss where they seem to be 1200 calorie diets, that is about what I eat or try to eat a day..
I have heard many times, you have to eat less calories than you burn to lose weight, when you get where you want to be you increase your calories so you won't lose anymore weight..... makes sense to me.... its harder than it sounds but do able.

......Rhonda