Have I hit a plateau? I am about to give up

S

sohard

0
Hi,

I am 46 years old, 5'8", and 152 pound. I started a weight loss program on September 1st 2008. I was weighting 158 pounds when I started now I weight 152 pounds by November 6th. I lost one pound a week during the first 4 weeks of October but since the second week of September I am not loosing weight anymore. I am 152 pounds for the last 4 to 5 weeks.

I bike 4 times per week 20 miles each time at an average speed of around 15mile/h - right after that i do abs for about 15 minutes. I also go for a walk after dinner 2 times per week for about 35 minutes each time. Sometimes instead of biking I do elliptical (30 min) and step aerobics (30 min) to change my routine.

My calories intake is about 1500 to 1700 and can occasionnally reach 2000 calories per day. I drink 67 ounces of water everyday........and I don't loose weight anymore..... I stopped loosing weight week after only 4 to 5 of that regimen. I am about to give up..... I need your input or advice. :action:
 
Your weight on the scale may not accurately reflect if you are losing body fat or not. Keep at it and you will shed the body fat. Also make sure you are eating clean whole foods. Adding weight training into the mix may also help you lose weight. The most important thing is to be consistent!
 
Don't give up. Odds are you just need to do some tweaking and you will be back on the road to weight loss.

Can you post up your exact diet?

Also, what if anything are you doing for weight training?
 
From what I remember reading on MH.com you should be eating at least 2,000 calories per day never any less cause then your body feels its getting starved and will hold on to fat. Weight training is the best way to burn fat so you might want to dial it up a notch in that department too.
 
Gustavo said:
From what I remember reading on MH.com you should be eating at least 2,000 calories per day never any less cause then your body feels its getting starved and will hold on to fat. Weight training is the best way to burn fat so you might want to dial it up a notch in that department too.
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annddddd men's health would be wrong. if you're BMR is under 2000 calories how would you ever lose weight? if you want to lose body fat its a simple formula to follow:

1) Eat healthy clean foods with a total caloric intake of 500 calories less than you burn through out each day. Eat 5-6 small meals each day incorporating protein during each. cut down on unhealthy fats (should tie hand in hand with eating clean).

2) Lift weights. Weight lifting amps up your metabolism due to the repair process undertaken by your muscles when you are lifting. it also encourages your muscles to not be cannibalized by your body in search of the extra 500 calories of fuel it needs per day that you aren't eating. your body can then turn to fat to get those extra calories.

3) incorporate some cardio. use this to burn extra calories and create a greater caloric deficit but don't rely on it solely for exercise.
 
Dude!

Dude....

Read what I write and re-read it again if you have to.

I'm 43, 5' 8" and weigh about 230 pounds. Been there, done that.....don't even think of quitting!

You lost some initial weight just because you've been exercising, dieting and doing the right thing....so what's happening now? I know EXACTLY what's happening now...same thing as me:

When I first started I too lost some initial weight...and I got on it even harder. For about 5-6 weeks I pedalled my bike until sweat poured from my helmet, I worked weights, swam, played racquetball and kept my calories really low.

I looked leaner, I felt leaner...I was all born-again hardcore exercise-fitness-dieter dude. So when I got on the scale you can bet I was expecting some "double-digit" losses. Wanna guess what happened? I GAINED 2.25 pounds!

I was furious, upset, ready to cry (course, I cry when I run out of hot sauce before I finish my burrito) and more then ready to quit and rationalize that I can't lose weight. BUT then my nutritionist pulled-out his body-fat calipers and we saw a drop of nearly 3% !!!!!!!

SIZE="4"]
So say it with me: MUSCLE WEIGHS MORE THEN FAT[/SIZE]

That's all it comes down to. For weeks and even months I continued to see lower & lower body-fat %'s as the fat left my body....yet that darn scale continued to hold it's number, sometimes it went down a bit, sometimes it stayed the same and sometimes it went up. My whole journey has been marked with very little movement on the scale....yet I've dumped loads of fat and gained lean muscle.

So you're biking hard, exercising.....and just what do you think your body is doing to cope with that? It's adapting to your demand and making your muscles more dense, stronger & larger! You also have more glycogen capacity and all sorts of other stuff. And let's not overlook the even more critical & dramatic impact on your blood work: I bet your cholesterol is down, your blood-pressure down, your good HDL cholesterol up and all sorts of other things that will make the doctor smile from ear to ear and put you even further away from the visit to the emergency room!!

And I'm not hyping ya....I'm telling you how it is. The problem is that the weight scale is a blind instrument...it only tells you what you weigh. It can't tell you how much fat you've lost, how dense your bones are, how much water you're carrying, how much muscle you've gained. I realize the first thing people will ask is "so...how much weight have you lost?"...but it's an ignorant number!

You want to focus on your body-fat%...THAT will guage your progress. And don't try to look in the mirror: I lost about 40 pounds all the while gazing into the mirror and wondering when I was going to see a difference! Trying to watch fat loss is like trying to watch hair grow: ain't gonna happen!

So stop setting yourself up for disapppointment. Heck, my nutritionist was absolutely delighted & happy that I was maintaining weight while losing body-fat. Did you know that when you diet about 1/3 the weight comes from lean muscle?? That's how your body copes with a calorie deficit...by reducing demand for calories and skinning the lean muscle where it can.

Hey...stand on one leg and slap that quad...I bet it's rock F-in solid? Come on dude...you know you've losing fat and making progress, don't get your head all wrapped around a stupid weight scale. Press on, push on and hit that sh!t.....it's you against your body and you will prevail. Run the equation: more calories out then in and sweat daily...the results may take time but they're inevitable!

Ya know....when Madonna first started-out she was probably laughed at & boo'ed...but look at her: she went on, in concert, to masturbate in front of thousands while claiming to be a virgin. That can be you dude....dream the dream! :D
 
muscle weighs more then fat

Keep in mind how your clothes fit is a good way to judge how well you are doing. I generally out of shape weigh 103lbs and in shape weigh 114lbs. My body is tighter and clothes fit much better. Throw out your scales I say!!
 
BikeSwimLaugh said:
Dude....
Ya know....when Madonna first started-out she was probably laughed at & boo'ed...but look at her: she went on, in concert, to masturbate in front of thousands while claiming to be a virgin. That can be you dude....dream the dream! :D
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yes, that's your goal! ... lol j/k (not serious)

OP, i am in the same time frame as you and i am concerned about platauing too so I am going to change up my routine just so my body will not get used to it,,, keep em surprised Ninja-style!
 
sohard said:
Hi,

I am 46 years old, 5'8", and 152 pound. I started a weight loss program on September 1st 2008. I was weighting 158 pounds when I started now I weight 152 pounds by November 6th. I lost one pound a week during the first 4 weeks of October but since the second week of September I am not loosing weight anymore. I am 152 pounds for the last 4 to 5 weeks.

I bike 4 times per week 20 miles each time at an average speed of around 15mile/h - right after that i do abs for about 15 minutes. I also go for a walk after dinner 2 times per week for about 35 minutes each time. Sometimes instead of biking I do elliptical (30 min) and step aerobics (30 min) to change my routine.

My calories intake is about 1500 to 1700 and can occasionnally reach 2000 calories per day. I drink 67 ounces of water everyday........and I don't loose weight anymore..... I stopped loosing weight week after only 4 to 5 of that regimen. I am about to give up..... I need your input or advice. :action:
Click to expand...

The scale is generally a poor judge of actual body development. Go with how your clothes are fitting, and every two weeks, measure yourself (waist, hips, thighs, calves, biceps, chest, neck) with a tape measure.

You also need to expand your resistance training program. Core strengthening is great, but you should also be working the other major muscle groups (legs, chest, shoulders/back).

You should also remember that you've only been at this for a couple months. In understand that your are trying to lose weight here, but just as important is the development and maintenance of a healthy, lifelong training regiment.
 
You need to progressively up the amount of work you are doing. Either by going longer or harder. You cant do the same thing for ever and expect the same results because your body adapts to what ever you're doing.

Also start lifting weights. Its much better than just cardio for changing your body, and you will gain muscle, which will make you look and feel much better.

And read this for motivation and information:
http://training.fitness.com/wellness/chillout-log-chillen-25737.html


Best of luck.
 
wesrman said:
Best of luck.
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He..he..
hug.jpg
 
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