need help plateau

E

energetic

0
Hello,

I am looking to lose weight, I have lowered my calorie intake and for the first couple weeks it worked great, lost about 4 the first week, and 2 the 2nd week. But now on week 3 it stayed the same weight and I'm eating the same limited calories. I am doing a zig zag intake, where one day I eat lower calories (about 1500) and other days I take in more (about 1600-1800). I try to average it so my daily intake is about 1600 per day by the end of the week. I walk about 20-30 minutes every day.

Is there anything I can do? Why is my weight loss slowing down to nothing?
 
Personally wouldn't advise daily zigzag intake used to aid weight loss. Always best to gradually decrease daily intake of everything and increase activity.
If you have hit a plateau there are a few reasons below.
Water loss. Natural normal and inescapable. 1 pound of fat = 3,500 calories, 4 pounds lost in a week would mean having burned 14,000 more calories than you have burned if only fat has been lost. Reality is this is not likely. You are far more likely to have lost some fat and some water. The human animal dehydrates really easily and will get itself back to correct level as soon as possible, the alternative is dodgy at best fatal at worst, so don't try fighting this. The approach needed to deal with this is accept that weight fluctuates a lot with water and this will happen and look at trends over longer terms than weeks.
Metabolism shifts. The body will try its utmost to maintain balance and if there is less energy coming in and activity remains constant your body will reduce the metabolism to ensure continued survival, this will be more severe if the amounts are constantly varying and the body has to err on the side of caution to avoid possible starvation. To combat this, try to make your diet consistent and ensure it is well balance (food pyramid), increase of alter your activity to make your body adapt and increase its metabolism again.

Reality is I would say you're doing what many do and expecting your body to work in a totally consistent manner, which it won't. Your body will continuously change to adapt to what is going on and has recently happened.
This means if you have lost water it will be keeping hold of this and electrolytes to keep you healthy and functioning. If your intake has dropped it will reduce your need for energy, same reasons.

What you have lost in 2 weeks is a lot. What you are doing is a lot better, from what you have posted, than many do, and I see no major alarm bells. Personally I would say if there are no issues that you have noticed except a short term static period, keep going with it and see how you are in a few more weeks. If there are other issues, give us more detail.
 
That helps a lot! thanks! The main reason I was doing the zig zag was, I had read that it helps avoid plateaus. lol I may just continue doing what I'm doing for a few more weeks and see, if I still am at a road block, I may try ditching the zig zag method and see what happens and just do a straight 1600 a day...
 
I agree with what CrazyOldMan said. It's easy to lose a lot of weight in the first week as your body lets go of fluid.

You'll need to boost your metabolism and there are a number of ways to do this. For me, I eat smaller meals more frequently to make sure my body is constantly fueled. It also wards away hunger. :) Are you exercising at all? Exercise in the morning can keep the metabolism revved all day long.
 
^ The higher you can keep your calorie intake whilst remaining in a calorie deficit, the better. If that means that you can lose weight on 1500kcal/day, then stick to 1500kcal/day. If you need to go down to 1300kcal/day to continue losing weight, do that.
 
I also agree with crazyoldman. Initially it would work well surprisingly. When you do not give extra effort or stop trying then it would be vain attempt.

Regularity is a vital factor over here. You also need to consider other factor along with your diet and exercise. Read all of my suggestion carefully and hopefully it would help you to find out a proper workout for yourself:

• Decide how much weight you need to lose - Most people start their weight loss journey by claiming to be xyz kilos overweight. This isn't a healthy way to project or aim for weight loss. Calculate your desired weight against your height by using reliable methods like the BMI, and set a healthy weight loss target. This is often half the battle won.

• Time management. This is quite often overlooked. Decide which part of your day will be dedicated to exercise, when in the week you will stock up on groceries, and when you will do the cooking - all within your current work and home life routine. If you don't do this now, your days will be rushed and unplanned, and you won't be able to sustain your weight loss efforts.

• Stock your kitchen. Keep your house well-stocked with fruits, vegetables, healthy meats, grains, cereals and spices. Follow our tricks to healthy cooking, cooking vegetables for the week, and low-fat cooking posts to understand how best you can stock your kitchen with healthy and delicious ingredients. All of this will go into helping the next step - cooking healthy meals at home.

• Eat healthy home cooked meals. Whether it's you who's cooking, a family members, or house help, ensure that every one practices healthy cooking methods, and ingredients. Ask any person whose lost weight the healthy way, and you will always hear about how healthy home cooked meals were a big reason behind it. Use less oil, low salt, fresh produce, and you'll start seeing results in no time.

• Start a cardio + weights workout. A healthy weight loss program is incomplete without a good exercise routine, and weight training mixed with cardio is the best way to lose weight. Of course, variations and forms exist, but any workout that stresses on muscle tone and increased heart rate will always help you lose weight and keep it off. You can either start a home work out today, or rely on gyms for fitness training.

• Have at least one active hobby. It isn't sufficient to rely on just 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity per day. Moving from bed to office chair, and back to bed, isn't a healthy way to live. Buy a motion sensor gaming console that lets you enjoy social games with friends and family, plan weekend trips, clean your house once a week, dance, play sports, the list is endless. Get out of the coffee shop and dining table rut and you'll have fun along with the healthy weight loss.

• Find a solution to combat stress. As we pointed out in our post about stress and weight loss, stress is always detrimental to healthy weight loss in the long run. Find ways to combat stress and you'll soon realize that your diet and exercise aren't sabotaged anymore, and that you truly do see results. Look at yoga, meditation, deep breathing exercises, or simple hobbies like reading to fight stress.

• Drink plenty of water .You've known that your body relies heavily on water for all important bodily functions, and yet you skimp on drinking adequate quantities of water every day. Well, it's time to stop that. Check out some exciting ways to make water interesting and you'll be packing it away in no time. Do not forget to carry a water bottle to your workout, and take a few sips after every 2-3 minutes of exercise.

• Plan healthy vacations. Why go all the way with healthy weight loss, when one tiny vacation will just come along and topple it all? Healthy vacations aren't impossible. Take a look at how you can eat smart on a holiday, and then at body weight workouts that you can carry with you wherever you go, to understand how to holiday right. Above all, remember that these are lifelong habits that'll help you stay fit forever and not short term weight loss quick fixes.

Now I believe that you got what you really have to do. This is not all about workout and diet. Follow all of my tips and lose your weight gradually.
 
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