Frustrated

nferrari89

Hi, this is my first time posting on this board, but I've been lurking for a while. 

I'm feeling really discouraged. Right now I am 180 lbs, and I would absolutely love to be down to 160 for my wedding next year. My problem is that I have been stuck between 170 and 180 for the last 5 years, regardless of exercise routines, diets, and pills. I have been using my fitness pal for several weeks and my diet is fairly balanced with lots of fresh food with the occasional splurge day, lots of tea and water, no soda. Is there some secret to getting past this plateau that you can share? 

Edit: My calorie goal on MFP is 1,670 and on most days I am successful at staying under that. Breakfast is usually oatmeal or eggs and toast, with fruit. Lunches tend to be soup, slimfast powder and soy milk, or sandwich (tuna and hummus or chicken/turkey). Snacks are apples, pears, grapefruit, greek yogurt, crackers and hummus. Dinner is usually pasta or rice with seafood, chicken, or lean beef, lots of veggies. Am I under eating calories?

jennylee813

I wish I had the answer, but all I can do is share your misery. I'm stuck too - and have been for months and months.

Right now, I'm changing my workout to something totally different and will see if that helps. My diet is a lot better than it was, and I'm still working on improving it, but part of that (for me) has been increasing calories. Are you eating enough? I know that I wasn't, but since upping my calories, I did manage to lose a couple of pounds. I'm hoping that a change in routine will help keep the downward trend.

Also, if you're working out, are you taking measurements in addition to weighing yourself? Don't forget that sometimes you might be losing inches but the scale is staying the same.

Good luck - stick around, post on accountaibility ... (and don't bother with the pills. A lot of us have been down that road too, and all we have to show for it is a lighter wallet and a messed up metabolism).

unchatenfrance

What are you eating? That's just as important as how much you're eating is. 

What is your exercise regimen? Make sure you're lifting heavy, doing HIIT (more bang for your buck) and doing "low and slow" activity, which is an awesome fat burner (walking, yoga, etc.). Don't get hung up strictly on "calories in vs calories out" because that's only a small part of the picture. How is your sleep and stress levels? If the answer is "not good," the cortisol levels are holding you back as well.

Also, use the TDEE method to determine your calories needs. MFP can be unrealistic and untenable.

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

nferrari89

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_getting-shape_frustrated-14?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:238Discussion:97c8bcd6-4486-4438-9d54-f651065c5009Post:27bdbfb7-0466-4dea-aaa0-39e9ad939689">Re: Frustrated</a>:
[QUOTE]I wish I had the answer, but all I can do is share your misery. I'm stuck too - and have been for months and months. Right now, I'm changing my workout to something totally different and will see if that helps. My diet is a lot better than it was, and I'm still working on improving it, but part of that (for me) has been increasing calories. Are you eating enough? I know that I wasn't, but since upping my calories, I did manage to lose a couple of pounds. I'm hoping that a change in routine will help keep the downward trend. Also, if you're working out, are you taking measurements in addition to weighing yourself? Don't forget that sometimes you might be losing inches but the scale is staying the same. Good luck - stick around, post on accountaibility ... (and don't bother with the pills. A lot of us have been down that road too, and all we have to show for it is a lighter wallet and a messed up metabolism).
Posted by jennylee813[/QUOTE]

<div>How did you manage to increase calories AND lose weight? Drastic food change?</div>

unchatenfrance

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_getting-shape_frustrated-14?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:238Discussion:97c8bcd6-4486-4438-9d54-f651065c5009Post:fc1505d5-e467-4548-99ec-072ce761f79e">Re: Frustrated</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Frustrated : How did you manage to increase calories AND lose weight? Drastic food change?
Posted by nferrari89[/QUOTE]

<div>I think she increased her calories but remaining in a caloric deficit. So, if your maintenance is 2000 calories and you're eating 1500, that may work for a while or not at all. But the closer you get to your goal, it gets harder to lose and eating less becomes counter-productive. So you may find that upping calories from 1500 to 1700-1800 (still under 2000) may be more effective, especially as you get closer to your goal.</div><div>
</div><div>OP, you're eating a lot of carbs and sugars (and complex carbs basically become sugars in your body) and not enough fat. Your body is used to running off of the consumed sugars, not your fat stores. Drop the carbs (under 200) and increase the fats, while keeping protein moderate. You may also want to rethink the slimfast and soy milk (the latter of which is estrogenic and not good for you).</div><div>
</div><div>And use the TDEE method that I posted above and check that against your MFP daily calories goal. MFP may or may not be too low and that is what could be holding you back.</div>

jennylee813

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_getting-shape_frustrated-14?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:238Discussion:97c8bcd6-4486-4438-9d54-f651065c5009Post:fc1505d5-e467-4548-99ec-072ce761f79e">Re: Frustrated</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Frustrated : How did you manage to increase calories AND lose weight? Drastic food change?
Posted by nferrari89[/QUOTE]

<div>I'm still working on the food change, but since I started tracking, I've become more aware that I need more protein and less carbs. I wasn't consciously eating a lot of carbs, but they are in more places than I realized...</div><div>
</div><div>I switched to the TDEE system of tracking, and I went from eating 1350 cal a day to ~1650-1750, which is the appropriate amount for me to lose a pound a week. It does take some time for your body to realize what's going on though. When I was eating less and exercising, my body wasn't getting the minimum amount of calories it needed to survive, so it held on to EVERYTHING. When I look back at my MFP numbers, I see that there were days where I was netting between 600-800 cal a day - not even close enough for my body to perfrom basic functions.</div><div>
</div><div>Having been someone who was undereating (and not because I was dieting, I just didn't enjoy eating), it makes me mad when I see people starving themselves and not understanding why they can't lose weight. It happened in my staff room again yesterday, with ANOTHER woman who is 'dieting' for her wedding, complete with a sugary meal replacement shake and a 100 cal snack pack. That was her lunch.</div><div>
</div><div>Honestly, I thought it was a weird idea too - eating more and losing weight, but having done the research ('cause I'm a nerd like that), it's a sound principle.</div><div>
</div><div>Sorry for the book - I missed your question yesterday!</div>