Lost 15 KG (33 pounds) but now I am stuck – can you help me understand why?

J

joe11

New member
I am a 34 year old male with height of 175cm (69 inches).

Approximately 5 weeks ago, I weighed approx 105 KG (231 pounds, obese) and decided to try and lose some weight.

In 1 week I lost 6 KG, in first 2 weeks I lost a total of 10 kg and in the first 4 weeks I lost a total of approximately 15 KG, now (for the last few weeks) I can not seem to loose any more weight.

I am down to 90 KG (198 pounds) and have continued the same exercise and eating routine (see below), but for the last few weeks, my body just seems to sit at this weight, but I would like to try and loose another 15 KG (33 pounds) to get to a healthier weight.

Can someone please help me understand why I can not seem to loose any more weight?
Am I missing something important or not understanding something?

My exercise routine (for the past 6 weeks) has been jogging for approximately 1 hour each day (e.g. either "30 mins in the morning before breakfast and 30 mins at night before dinner", or "1 hour in the morning or at night"). I try to keep my heart beat between 110 and 150 beats per minute (normally at the higher end of 150).

My eating has been very disciplined (compared to my old self) with the following on most days:
+ breakfast = 1 weetbix with low fat mil and maybe a couple of spoons of low fat yogurt
+ morning tea = maybe a piece of fruit (if anything at all)
+ lunch = vegetable salad with a bit of protein (e.g. lean chicken or turkey or seafood)
+ afternoon tea = maybe a carrot or piece of fruit (if anything at all)
+ dinner = either a vegetable salad with a bit of protein (e.g. lean chicken or turkey or seafood) or maybe nothing if not feeling hungry or maybe some fruit or vegetables
note: maybe twice a week I will go out for dinner (and this is when I might spoilt myself a bit, but nothing absolutely crazy)

I am confused why this exercise and eating approach has worked so well for the first few weeks, and now I can not seem to lower my weight any more.

What am I doing wrong?
What could I be doing better?

Can you please help, as I am starting to lose motivation?
 
Hey Man,

Sounds like your you need to change your workout. Your body is use to the current workout you are doing so it does'nt have to work as hard as before.

Mix your SPAM up and increase the intensity of your exercises, maybe try interval training or circut training, light weights etc.. if you are'nt already!

You have dropped a lot of weight very fast so be careful not continue in a manner where you think you are disaplineing yourself, diets will not work as well as a lifestyle change.

Build muscle to burn more calories!(muscle burns 3x as many cal as fat)

On the other hand, well done mate, a lot of people don't have the disapline to change there lives.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
joe1 said:
Can someone please help me understand why I can not seem to loose any more weight?
Am I missing something important or not understanding something?
Click to expand...

What you're likely experiencing there, Joe, is the so called "woosh" effect. That's a non technical explanation for why weight loss stalls.

Lyle McDonald over at Body Recomp probably has the best explanation for this phenomenon.

"Fat cell water content and fat loss

It's something I've mentioned over the years, an assertion that my exercise physiology professor had made wrt: fat loss.

Note that under normal conditions, fat cells contain ~90% triglycerides and ~10% other stuff where other stuff includes some water, the cellular machinery that makes all the stuff that fat cells make and a couple of other things that I'm forgetting right now. Basically, fat cells do not normally contain much water.

He told us that, after triglycerides were removed from the cell, that the fat cells refilled with water in the short-term, eventually the body dropped that water and the fat loss 'became evident' (a goofy way for me to try to describe when the fat loss actually shows up on calipers, one of those dumb Tanita scales, or visually).

If nothing else, this gives a plausible mechanism for the non-linear fat loss that is so often seen. Folks will do everything right for weeks with no results. then overnight, something happens and the scale drops a bunch. Many diet newsgroups and forums refer to this as a 'whoosh' which often follows a stall.

A couple of empirical data points in support of this: people who use tanita scales have often reported that it will tell them that their BF has gone up right before a 'whoosh' occurs and a big drop. This suggests something goofy is going on with water balance.

Another is that fat often gets squishy (suggesting a change in what's in there) prior to a drop in skinfolds/ improvement in appearance.

I looked for research on the topic for a decade to no success. I made up my own plausible mechanism having to do with glycerol levels in the fat cell (glycerol is hydrophilic); if fatty acids were being lost at a greater proportion than glycerol, this mght explain how water is attracted into the fat cell. Except that, usually, glycerol and fatty acid are released in about the proportion you'd expect (3:1 FFA:glycerol).

edit: For what very little it's worth, Colgan mentions something similar in OPtimum Sports Nutrition, something about the body 'tracking' glycerol to keep track of fat stores. It's possible that the research on this is just pre-medline. Or he and my teacher just pulled it out of the old ass.

A couple of years back, a paper came out showing an increase in water content of visceral fat with dieting. First semi-direct data I've seen. I don't recall the mechanism being mentioned but I may not have ever read the full paper."

Basically, weight loss isn't a straight line regression. It more closely resembles the Dow Jones average - lots of peaks and valleys, even when you're doing things right.

So now's not the time to pack it in.

If you're eating properly, and exercising, and getting enough rest, then keep at it and get ready for a "woosh" that'll take you down to the next level.
 
yo-yo

After being a yo-yo dieter for many years, I can attest to the fact that the first 30-50 pounds seem to just fly off. This is because it is water weight. Now what you are going to lose, will be fat, and as you exercise more, your muscles begin to get stronger, and weigh heavier. Your weight loss will slow down to 2-4 pounds a week, which is NORMAL. Keep going and do not get discouraged! The weight didn't get there overnight (although it may SEEM like it did! lol ) and its not going to come off overnight.

I agree with the fellow who said to change up your routine, add a new exercise, a few more minutes to your regime. Shake it up, and keep the faith. YOU CAN DO IT! :)
 
.

I agree with many others. Although, not too sure about the "scientific details" behind one's plateau. That cell structure stuff is too far above my knowledge base. Just thinking about that stuff makes my noodle hurt (lol!!!).

If wondering, my body dropped 60 "extra" lbs during the last 12 months - staring in Feb 2008. Slow and steady - like that turtle and rabbit race. Still, during my weight loss progress, my body hit several plateaus as well. Sometimes, for 4 consecutive weeks. I'd do the same exercises and same eating and still, the weight scale needled didn't move. GGGRRRRR. It was like my body was getting "too comfortable" doing the same thing over and over again.

For me, I found changing one's exercise routine had to be done. Sometimes, "more time" broke my previous plateaus. For example, increasing from 30 to 45 minutes on the TM. Or, skip jump roping 500 "double jumps" instead of stopping at 300 jumps. More time "most often" worked. But not always. During my last plateau, adding more time was adding too much pain in my knees and ankles. Sad to say but adding more time was "too much" on my age 44 joints. Thus, I changed my exercise routine to "less time" but with `more quality`. As some would say, it was time for me to add HIIT (aka: "blasting") into my normal exercises. For example, set TM for 35 minutes at 6% incline and speed walk at 3.5 mph for 5 minutes. Then, increase to 4.5 "super fast" speed walk for 5 minutes. Then, decrease speed back down to 3.5 mph for 5 minutes (for cardio to "settle back down"). Repeat up/down speeds in 5 minute blocks until all 35 minutes is completed. On my stationary bike, I'd set its LED display to rotate. Thus, showing both time and calories burned. For 4 minutes, I'd peddle at normal speed. For 1 minute, I'd peddle as fast as I can. After 1 minute, I'd slow down to previous normal peddle speed. Keep doing 1 minute "blasting" until all 500 calories is burned (which is usually 45 minutes). When I do my 4 mile jogs every other night, I pick 3 "short distance" strips of road and "open her up" (sort of speaking). Thus, blasting for 3 x short distances as well.

For me, HIIT (High Intensity Increase Training) into my normal exercises worked. It broke my previous plateaus - without adding more time. Especially since adding "longer time" wasn't working for my body anymore.

Hope this helps break your plateaus as well...

.
 
I i believe i'm in the same situation as you i've lost proberly 9-10kg over the last 2 months and have hit a wall, but i think that its not good to just go by the scales, as long as your clothes are feeling loser you are still changing shape between each cycle of weight lose thats what i've notived by weight might have idelled butmy clothes feel looser with each week, and then i loose a bit more wieght. but i think i willl try your diet for four weeks and let you know how i go, as i nee to shed the weight as i'm getting married in november k so thanks for your diet tips
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top