Help! Breaking a Plateau!

N

Nony

0
Hi there!
I am new to this forum but i have decided to join and post a plea for help! :) I started a diet an fitness program this January and things have been going well until recently. I have lost about 70 lbs so far but i am still VERY far from my goal weight! By "very" i mean by more than 50 lbs.

THE PROBLEM:
The problem is that right now (as in the past) I have reached a weight that i call a plateau. It is a weight at which i level off and no matter how many calories i cut from my diet or how much more i exercise, i just can't seem to get past it. This is the same weight at which i called it quits in the past and i am not ready t let it happen again. So PLEASE any ideas are welcome! :)

WHAT I AM DOING:
I have limited my calorie intake to average about 1600-1700 daily. I do clerical work during the day so i am seated with some movement. For fitness, I do the following routine 3 times weekly:

30-45 minutes of high pace cardio (stationary bike and stair climber
at ~200 watts)

35-45 minutes of weight lifting for upper body and back (no more
than 25 pounds on free weights and 70-75 for the lateral pull). I do
about 3 sets of 6 different lifting exercises at about 20 reps each.

Abdominal crunches/pilates type exercises.

NOW... beacuse i am lifting weights, i am pretty sure i am building muscle and some fat MUST be replaced by that muscle weight wise, but lately i haven't even noticed my clothes getting loose and my weight is staying the same. It has been like this for about 6 weeks or more now and i am getting really frustrated. I am not what to do next. I'd kick up to more exercise but i really don't have the time for it in my scheduel.

SO... HELP! PLEASE! Any ideas or anyone gone through somehting similar? I'd appreaciate your input!

Thanks! :)
Nony
 
I know I responded on another thread, but I did want to say (here) that I know what you are going through. I have plateaued a bit as well - down about 60lbs since Feb. But my ultimate goal was only 20 pounds further down, and right now I don't know if I am going to push for that or stick with where I am at now and just work on getting in shape rather than lose weight. Probably going to work on getting in shape more than the weight as 210lbs for a 6'3" man isn't that bad. The weight will work itself out if I get into better shape, regardless if it goes up or down.

I also forgot to ask what your body fat % was. That number is probably at least as important as your total weight, but it is a bit harder to figure out. Check some of the threads here for different opinions.
 
Shoot, you know? I actually went and did a fitness test when i first started. it was pretty high though! :p I think it has probably changed drastically since then anyway. I'll see if i can get another appointment that doesn't require a 2 month wait! :) it is a free service our university provides and so there is a LONG wait most of the time.

I will do a search here though to see if i can figure it out myself. :) It may be worthwhile to see how i've progressed since i started. Thanks and good luck with your goal too! Sounds like you are doing a fantastic job! :)
 
fat loss

I am brand new to this site, so I hope Iposted this to the right place. Anyway, I have been seriously exercising(weights and cardio) and dieting for about six months. I have only lost ten lbs! I have dropped from a size 12 to a size 8, but I don't see the fat coming off, I'm not getting lean so that I can see the muscle Iam building. My muscles are bigger, but you can't see the separation because of the fat. I hope I'm making sense.
My BMI is 31. I'm 5'3" and 144lbs. My diet is as follows:
4egg whites and 1/2c oatmeal in morning
three hrs later-
met-rx drink made with h2o
Lunch is 6oz chicken or turkey on lettuce
late afternoon-met-rx in h20
Dinner-Chicken or turkey with veggys

Believe me this diet is very boring, but I'll do anything to get lean.

I also usually take 1 Tbsp flax oil a day.

Any suggestions as what to do or what I'm doing wrong would be greatly appreciated
 
First going from a size 12 to an 8 in six months is a great accomplishment. Losing weight is best done over the long term, rather than as a crash diet. It is healthier that way and you are more likely to keep it off.
Second, remember that muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are gaining muscle you could actually gain weight while loosing inches. Also remember that muscle burns more calories than fat, so as you gain muscle the fat reducing effects of a low calorie diet should gradually accelerate.
You didn't mention your age of how long it took to gain that fat or how long you were carrying it. As a painful rule of thumb the longer you have been carrying the fat the longer it takes to get rid of it. If you last wieghed 135 pounds 15 years ago don't expect to get back to that level in 6 months or even a year, and of course the older you are the harder it is to loose fat.
One of the classic mistakes women make with weight training is to pick a weight that is comfortable and stick with it for weeks or months. Another name for weight training is progressive resistance exercise. You must constantly strive to increase the weight or the number of reps or sets, or decrease the rest periods between sets to see continuous progress. As soon as you can do 12 reps (or whatever your target rep range is) with a weight you should increase the weight on your next workout.
 
dswithers- thanks for the info.
I am 43 and yes I have been holding onto the wight for years! I've actually lost a total of 37lbs over a 3 year period. It was more like 27 lbs in a year and the last 10 over 6 months. But in the beginning I didn't diet, just started exercising.
My problem is that I'm sooo ignorant regarding nutrition and exercise. I just joined a gym on Friday and now I learn that I haven't been doing cardio correctly. The trainer there said that I was converting my cardio into an anaroebic(sp?) exercise. Something about that I was doing it at too intensely. He said to do it where I can still talk. On the treadmill that means at a speed of 3.3, I was doing 40 minutes at 4.2. I don't know, I'm just trying to get lean enough that you can see the muscles that I'm building.
Thanks, Anita
 
I recomend that you stick to what you are doing. I read on a web page It says to do your cardio in the morning because you haven't eaten for around 8 hours so your body will concentrate on burning stored fat instead of callories from food in you stomach. I just started doing this to cut my abs and it is working. I was working my ass off every afternoon for 45 minutes a day trying to lose weight and not seeing any results. I figured I was at a plateau so I changed to the morning and now I am losing about a couple of pounds every week. wich is a lot considering I am only trying to lose about ten. Anyway hope this helps. if you have come this far you are doing a great job Good Luck and Keep trying new things
 
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