Plateau really getting me down! HELP!

M

miss-stacey

New member
Hi Everyone...


I have lost 16.4kgs in 17 weeks and have hit a plateau - hard.


Before you ask...


No I am not cheating.

Yes I am still exercising.


I have been on meal replacements shakes pretty much the whole time and up until now, the weight has fallen off without too much effort - just a lot of control.


I was using a crosstrainer and doing situps... but have after feeling so disappointed that the weight isn't budging, I have gone out to buy a treadmill.... that hit the bank account hard but it was that or liposuction!


If I burn the same amount of calories I consume, should this break my plateau? Or do I just have to ride it out?


2hrs and 11kms on the treadmill is burning what I consume so please tell me this will work!


I'm going on holiday in 3 weeks and now realized I am not going to reach my goal by then but would like to at LEAST lose another 3kgs in this time.


I am 7kgs over weight, and desperatly want to be normal weight by the 4th of December.


Anyone else have success stories about their plateau?
 
Originally Posted by miss-stacey


2hrs and 11kms on the treadmill is burning what I consume so please tell me this will work!
Click to expand...



I just have a few questions so that I can understand better where you're at:


How many calories do you consume per day, how many are you burning through exercise, and how do you know how much you are consuming/burning?
 
I was on 900 calories per day (consuming) and burning... not 100% sure, maybe 300 calories on the crosstrainer? Then also doing situps.


I've now increased my consumption to 1100 and yesterday I burned 903 calories on the treadmill.


And I know how much I'm consuming since it says on the packets and boxes.


I'm hoping this works cause the treadmill wasn't cheap and I'm sick of feeling stuck!
 
You're probably not losing weight anymore because you are following too extreme of a diet and exercise plan. I really don't want to sound too harsh, but your body is trying to tell you something.


I'm going to direct you to this link for some "light" reading: http://body-improvements.com/resources/eat/


I hope this helps to sort things out a bit.
 
Hey I would start adding some strength training into your routine. Your body is hitting a plateau because it's responded so efficiently to what you're doing and you're pretty much on auto-pilot now. Start with a basic circuit of something like squats, push ups, rows and reverse lunges. You'll want to start revving up your metabolism and the best way to do that is to add some lean muscle to your frame.
 
You should not be aiming to burn the same amount of calories as you eat because your body has a certain amount of calories it needs just to exist. This is called your basal metabolic rate and will be likely to be over 1000 calories a day. If you go online and type your specifics into a BMR calculator you will be able to work out your exact basal calorie level. The next step will be to work out your weight loss calorie level. So once again use an online calculator to work out how many calories you specifically need to eat to lose weight. You will be surprised that it is likely a lot more than a total of 1100 a day with the amount of exercise you do.

What happens when you eat too little is that your body goes into starvation mode, which means your metabolism slows down and your body very reluctantly gives up fat deposits. The other really bad thing is that your body will start cannibalizing muscle tissue to use as fuel during your exercise. You definitely don't want this to happen because it means your metabolism slows down because the more muscle you have the more calories your body burns.

It may sound scary to you but you actually need to eat more to lose weight! Eat little and often, 5-6 meals a day and make sure you include protein with every meal. Cut down on all processed foods and make sure you are eating complex, unrefined carbohydrates. Yes, it is about calories in versus calories out, but it also matters what calories you are eating. Calories from junk or processed food will not give your body the nutrition it needs!

Apart from re-vamping your diet, I would highly recommend that you look into HIIT training instead of doing long and steady on the treadmill and cross trainer. Also, definitely include weight training. You will not bulk up! You will tone up and increase your metabolism so that you can eat more and still lose weight.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top