Need Help, Hit A Plateau

whiskey

whiskey

New member
Hi everyone,

I am new here but looking for some guidance and help. Last summer I weighed in at 278lbs, and while I have gotten down to 208lbs I have hit a plateau in my weight loss goals and no matter what I do, I can't get lower than I am now.

For the last 5 weeks I have been doing a fitness bootcamp 5 days a week, also for the last 3 weeks I have added in an hour on the elliptical machine at the gym every day, making for a total of 2 hours of exercise a day. At least two days a week in addition I walk my dog for at least a mile.

I have been eating well, eating mostly salads, fresh fruits and veggies and some dairy [mostly yogurt to make smoothies], protein of course [cheese, chicken, fish, very little red meat] and nuts. The salad dressing I use is always a vinagrette, nothing creamy. I eat very little to no bread, no junk food or candy and drink no soda.

Initially I lost 6lbs, but now I can't lose any more no matter how hard I work myself. I realize I may be building muscle mass and have considered that maybe measuring myself in inches would really help me visualize any weight/if any that I am losing.

Does anyone have any suggestions how to break through this plateau? I know I've done a very good in my weight lose so far but it's hard to keep going after I've been working so hard and not seeing any results.
 
I don't know if you are counting calories or just trying to eat healthy, but it's possible that this isn't a plateau at all. Have you adjusted what you eat at all since you started losing weight?

What I mean is, let's say at 278 pounds you needed X calories to stay the same weight. You've been eating less than that, obviously, since you've lost a lot of weight. So let's say you've been eating Y calories and that's been working out well. But the less you weigh, the fewer calories your body needs. What if Y calories just happens to be the number needed to stay at 208 pounds? The thing to do then would be to either lower your calories or exercise more.

If you've tried that though, it's not unheard of for a plateau to last 5 weeks or more. If you are sure you are eating what you should be, just ride it out. Keep exercising and maybe eat a different mix of foods then you normally do. If it's a true plateau, you'll suddenly whoosh and be dropping weight again in no time.
 
I know a ton of people are all about counting calories, but I'm not. I believe that in my life it would encourage me to make unhealthy changes [encourage me to starve myself instead of making lifetime lifestyle changes] and nurture an unhealthy attitude of restriction that I don't want to go down.

I would estimate my daily calorie intake at probably between 1000 - 1200 a day. I try to eat a variety of foods, not just say, cobb salad, but I eat a ton of different kinds of salad with a variety of protein sources. What I eat changes every week depending on what is available at the farmer's market.

Originally when I lost the weight, I adjusted what I was eating by cutting out unhealthy food, such as junk food and pizza. Since then [within the last 8 weeks] I have again adjusted my diet in an attempt to slim down more by cutting out breads, and making healthier choices, I have also started having a smoothie for breakfast every day before I go to my fitness bootcamp whereas before I didn't even have breakfast. I try to eat very slowly, have a glass of water before every meal and then eat slowly until I'm about 80% full and stopping. This encourages me to have smaller meals or snacks throughout the day which usually consist of some kind of fruit or vegetable [this morning it was carrots and a hard boiled egg] and usually a handful of nuts for protein to curb my hunger.

Maybe I should add something back into my diet, I'm not sure. I will continue to exercise and hopefully I can reach my goal. It's a very frustrating thing to be stuck when you're working so hard.

Thanks for your feedback.
 
If you aren't counting calories or tracking in any way what would make you think you are eating 1000 - 1200 calories a day? Also that seems really low for your weight so maybe you aren't getting enough nutrition. I understand not wanting to count calories but your reasons don't seem to make sense - you say that it will make you want to starve yourself well if your only eating 1000 calories a day right now that's basically what you are doing. You also say you don't want to count calories because it will "nurture an unhealthy attitude of restriction that I don't want to go down." however you just said you are going to start cutting out bread so that doesn't make sense to me. If you were counting calories you could have all those things in moderation and still lose weight. Maybe even just try counting them for a couple days or a week - I bet you will see you are eating a lot more than 1200 calories a day. You'd be surprised.
 
chubbygirl said:
If you aren't counting calories or tracking in any way what would make you think you are eating 1000 - 1200 calories a day? Also that seems really low for your weight so maybe you aren't getting enough nutrition. I understand not wanting to count calories but your reasons don't seem to make sense - you say that it will make you want to starve yourself well if your only eating 1000 calories a day right now that's basically what you are doing. You also say you don't want to count calories because it will "nurture an unhealthy attitude of restriction that I don't want to go down." however you just said you are going to start cutting out bread so that doesn't make sense to me. If you were counting calories you could have all those things in moderation and still lose weight. Maybe even just try counting them for a couple days or a week - I bet you will see you are eating a lot more than 1200 calories a day. You'd be surprised.
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Because I used to count calories and based on what I was eating before when I was doing so, I can make a very educated guess to what I'm consuming now. The exception would be when I'm eating something that I haven't eaten before or looked up the calories of. I am not stranger to weight loss and going through the proper means with a nutritionist, which I have done in the past.

That being said, I do not want to count calories because I would like to make healthy lifestyle changes that I will continue throughout my entire life. By doing so, while I am eating in moderation already, I can make healthier choices. Why eat a piece of bread when I can have unroasted nuts instead. The nuts give me protein, which gives me energy as do the B vitamins, fiber, calcium, zinc, iron ... sure anyone can eat anything in moderation, but I want to make healthier choices.
 
I understand not wanting to count calories, but without actually tracking what you're eating it's really hard to say if the problem is that you're just eating too many calories or if there's something else going on.

I do know this - when I stop tracking calories I eat above maintenance even when I think I'm still eating 'the same'.

Realistically, if you're not going to track your food your only real option is to just wait it out and see what changes. Sometimes adding lots of exercise while eating low calories can have a negative effect. If anything, I'd say take a 1 week break from exercise - not saying do nothing, but reduce time & intensity and see if that makes a difference.
 
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