I am Stuck

Kaika

Kaika

New member
After losing 20 + pounds, I have been stuck at the same wieght since mid May and I don't know what to do about getting my weight loss going again. I will admit, there are days that I have not been perfect but much more than not, I have been trying really hard and it's just been futile. Can any help me get on the right track again?

Female
age 41
5 '4 and 3/4 inches tall
204 pounds (down from 228)
Large frame
I excersise 6 days a week alternating between 1/2 of cario every other day and 10 minutes of cardio along with full body-light weight training on the other days.
Other than that and some cooking and light house work, I sit at a desk all day

I'm not sure how many calories I should be eating. Sometimes I think that my metabolism is shot because I have been trying to eat around 1500 calories a day and it's just not working. According the the calculator I should up that but when I have, that hasn't worked either. I've also tried lowering it to about 1200 a day and while that seemed to work, I can't live off that for more than a week with out feeling like I'm starving.

I really want to lose this wieght but like I said, what I've been doing just hasn't been working for me these last several weeks. Any advice or input would be appreciated, I'm getting so frustrated I'm all most to the point where I feel like giving up.
 
First of all I'm not a trainer but a biochemistry student interested in nutrition, metabolism, obesity and fitness (all areas I study), so you might want to check with someone who is qualified as a training (Steve? I'm new I think he is).

What I'd suggest is spice things up - our bodies are marvelous little machines that are extremely good at adapting to whatever we do for a long time.

Here are some things I would suggest for breaking a plateau:

Tips for what to eat:

- DO not eat less
- Cycle calories (aka one day 2000, one day 1300 etc. so that overall for a week you're be at an average of 1500 cal)
- EAT more for a while. Might sound weird, but 1500 cal for someone who is 200lb is not that much. You don't want to eat less than that really at that weight as you will slow down your metabolism. A few days of eating more might initially make you put on weight, but as long as it's healthy eating, it tends to help in the long run.
- Eat more protein: usually revs up the metabolism a bit
- Eat 4-6 small meals a day
- Eat a big breakfast with protein
- Not all calories are equal; our bodies deals with certain food in different ways. I'm sure you know this, but it's not just how many calories, but the quality of the food you're eating.

Fitness:

- Change your exercise routine every 4-6 weeks: shake it up a bit. If you run, cycle instead.
- Make sure you sweat, including when doing weights (aka the intensity should be high enough so that you start sweating/getting slighly out of breath)
- Try higher intensity: 15 minutes of cardio that leads to sweating (up to a level where it's uncomfortable to speak) or whatever you can achieve rather than 30 minute light cardio
- Try throwing in intervals in your cardio, e.g. if you use a treadmill, jog moderatly fast, then every 4-5 minutes, do one minute of fast jogging (I don't know how fit you are - if you cannot do 1 minute every 4-5 minutes do whatever you can manage; you'll get better with time)
- Can you lift heavier? Lift as much as you can while maintaining good form to build muscle thus rise your metabolism. You'll see results after a few weeks if you do 2-4 sessions a week. don't worry about being butch - simply doesnt happen as we dont have enough of the right hormone levels to bulk up like men do (we'd have to train like crazy and take supplements otherwise). Gaining muscle is especially important at your age as this is when your muscle mass really starts to decrease. You'll be less likely to put on weight during menopause in the next 10-15 years to come too - I know it might seem like a long time away.
- If you use machines, try free weights. Try changing your weight routine

For amount of calories to eat, I've found that for me and a lot of women, it seems to be a bit of trial and error - just see what happens after 2 weeks or so until you find something that leads to steady weight loss. I strongly believe hormonal flunctiations are involved and generally how women's bodies work, aka during our period we'll probably have different requirements.

Hope it helps. Congratulations on these 20 lbs, and remember a few weeks of plateau is common - you've done fantastically well so far :D :D
 
Last edited:
Thank you :) please correct me or add anything. Yes I'm new this is one of my first posts.

Liking your shoulders :p
 
Thanks SO much for the great advice Lulu, I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. As far as the advice you gave about eating, I have done ALL that so apparently that most likely isn't my particular problem. I have not however changed up my cardio at all. The wieght training I did add to though, longer reps and a few more excersises but that didn't do much so I'm sure you can imagine my frustration. I will however change my cardio routine and see if that helps.

Not all calories are equal; our bodies deals with certain food in different ways. I'm sure you know this, but it's not just how many calories, but the quality of the food you're eating.
Click to expand...

Ain't that the truth. I can't even look at a piece of beef with out putting on a few pounds. I'm totally fine with any other kind of meat but the beef really screws with me. I really wonder if it isn't the hormones they give the cattle to bulk them up.

Try higher intensity: 15 minutes of cardio that leads to sweating (up to a level where it's uncomfortable to speak) or whatever you can achieve rather than 30 minute light cardio.

Try throwing in intervals in your cardio, e.g. if you use a treadmill, jog moderatly fast, then every 4-5 minutes, do one minute of fast jogging (I don't know how fit you are - if you cannot do 1 minute every 4-5 minutes do whatever you can manage; you'll get better with time)
Click to expand...

Actually what I do now is kind of high intense cardio. I do a dance cardio thing with jogging thrown in there every few minutes or so, kind of an HIIT thing. Do you think if I changed to walking instead that would help? Or would I have to up what I all ready do?

Can you lift heavier? Lift as much as you can while maintaining good form to build muscle thus rise your metabolism. You'll see results after a few weeks if you do 2-4 sessions a week. don't worry about being butch - simply doesnt happen as we dont have enough of the right hormone levels to bulk up like men do.
Click to expand...

I could lift heavier but the problem is I use what I have and can't afford a gym membership. I have a one pound set and a two pound set of free wieghts. I know that isn't much but what I have started to do was use the wieghts together on some of my excersises so I'm lifting three pound per rep instead of two. Should I start using both together on all of my excersises? Do you think that could help or is that not enough?
 
Steve said:
Fantastic post. You must be new around here.... great to have you aboard. :)
Click to expand...

Agreed. Nice post.

Kaika said:
I'm totally fine with any other kind of meat but the beef really screws with me. I really wonder if it isn't the hormones they give the cattle to bulk them up.

I have a one pound set and a two pound set of free wieghts. Do you think that could help or is that not enough?
Click to expand...

Perhaps you're not eating the right beef. Look for 93% or higher leaness. The cheaper beef is 80%, which has over 25g fat per serving. However 93% has 8g. Thats actually the same as turkey meat.

Heres how I feel about your current dumbell situation. My son can do a dumbell snatch (lift the dumbell from floor, straight to overhead position) with a 2lb db. Hes only 16 months. You need heavier weights to keep progressing. :)
 
Last edited:
Thanks Tony, I'll get some heavier ones over the weekend. :)

I totally get what you're saying about the beef thing, but it wasn't just a matter of weight gain when I ate it. I had constant breast soreness, bloating, ect... hence the reason I think it was the hormones. Once I started eating organic beef and drinking hormone free milk, I actually lost 15 pounds just from that and the pain stopped. (this was a few years ago) I should have said regular beef does that to me but I'm fine with hormone free/organic.
 
Unfortunately I'm very sensitive to food in general (which is a shame since I love cooking and I would otherwise cook and eat anything) so I am not surprised at all when you say that you are sensitive to certain additives. I cannot afford much organic meat (it's very expensive in the UK - I live in London, which is I think rated 3rd most expensive city in the world, so if you're a student like me, you're pretty skint), however I never eat prepared food and cannot deal with diary right now - I get bloated and suffer from water retention, which is something you said you are familiar with yourself.

You really should lift more as it's been said. I seriously had no muscles whatsoever and I started at 6-8lb - just do less reps. I do about 15 reps x3. I say about because sometimes I just can't when I'm tired.

When you start lifting heavier weights, you will be sore at first after 1-2 days if they are heavy enough, so you might want to start with 2 sets and work to 3 sets, and you have to stretch very well before and after to lessen the pain. It's totally normal and it's called delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) - when you lift something heavy, you create "mini tears" in your muscles which your body then repairs and your muscles get bigger.

If you do decide to lift more, to the point where you do get a bit sore, make sure you eat enough protein (I'd say about 1g per 2lb is about right, maybe a bit less or a bit more - it's not that crucial unless you turn into a fitness freak), and most importantly, make sure you do all the exercises with good form. Watch yourself in the mirror to make sure, as if they're not done properly, heavier weights mean that you could end up hurting/straining your muscles.

Good luck and I'm sure you'll break that plateau - very frustrating I know...
 
me too ...

I'm actually having the same problem and I think you all answered my questions ... thanks ..

:)
natalie jo
 
WOW! I can't remember when I weighed 204 pounds. I have been stuck at 240 forever and I am hoping that it will soon change. I feel your struggle - but I am jealous you weigh less than me. :p

Great work! Everyone gets stuck once in a while - but do NOT give up! You can totally do this!

By the way, I am new here - so HELLO from a Newbie!

-Storm Girl
 
^ glad we could all be of help.

I should start following my own advice ... I've reached some kind of plateau (need more discipline). Meh.

good luck with your goals :)
 
Thanks again Lulu, I really appreciate the advice. I'll let you know two weeks from Sunday how my progress goes. :)

Welcome Storm Girl.
 
I got stuck at 20 for 3 weeks. It is normal to plateau for a little while, just keep going. Do a little more cardio and do it every day, eat enough to feel full, cutting too many calories will make you weak.

I know there is no scientific evidence for eating at night but when I stopped the pounds started coming off much faster (duh, because less calories).

Never give up, you will keep finding new things that help, I have been stuck 3 times and within 2-3 weeks broke each barrier.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top