mrsmole's Journal, 09 May 14

It happens and it sucks. Kick some gym butt and keep on.  

I've been on a year and a half plateau, eating properly (weighing food too) and exercising regularly (5 days a week) sometimes, it just happens. I actually had to go UP in calories for a month and a half (put on 8 pounds) and then start over on the calorie restriction to get things recently moving again. What I'm trying to say is, sometimes the body just does things, and it's in our best interests to not panic but keep to the routine we set out and patiently wait for the body to get back in business. 

Not gaining and not losing. Muscle? 

Drink lots of water, your muscles may be retaining some to help them heal after workouts.  

The majority of us have been in that situation. It's happened to me more than once lol, you're doing it right though. Just keep on truckin, eventually it catches up. :-)  

hello mss. , you KNOW i will speak my mind, but your graph does NOT show a plateau at all, just losing a little slower... easy gained = easy lost, and now you are trying to lose the pounds that are on those hips for a LONG LONG time, and they will be hard to lose... You do not have a plateau as long as you are losing weight! And you are still gaining up on me (*lol*) so stop complaining and just be patient! 

The first two weeks of my Atkins diet I felt like I could feel the weight coming off. Now that I am in my 3rd week, I don't feel that anymore, and wonder if it is still working. I forgot to weigh myself yesterday. I usually like to see where I am at midweek. (I usually weigh in on Monday's). So I don't know what to think at this point. If I should just check tomorrow morning or just wait till Monday and hopefully be surprised. 

Sorry didn't realize that I was commenting on your post. I thought I was just posting. Oops. Kinda new to the site. :)  

Just looking at your bio and recent meal, I'd say the issue you are running into is not enough food. Sounds crazy, but stay with me for a minute. Everyone seems to think the way to lose weight is to eat almost nothing. The problem is, this puts your body into "survive the famine" mode. Your metabolism slows and your body attempts to store every calorie you consume. I use the formulas from the Total Six Pack Abs program I'm on (musclehack.com) and made some MAJOR assumptions (40% body fat) to calculate that you should be eating about 1600 calories per day. The break down could be something like 100g carbs, 158g protein, and 63g fat. Again, I've made major assumptions, but if you approach this scientifically, I think you'll find you can eat more, have more energy, less plateaus, and continue on the great progress you've made this far. Check out TSPA.  

I know this is not of your choosing. I know how diligent you are with your food. You're right. You have to trust your program. You stuck by me when I was beating my head against the wall at the end of my weight loss (which may start again in about three weeks) so I'm here for you - as is everyone else.  

Try adding wheat germ and a little more water to your diet. I'll help regulate you. I know this is probably TMI, but I didn't start to see a consistent weight loss until I became "regular". 

Regularity does make a difference. Not only in weight, but in desire to have enough input to help move things along. I find a couple of magnesium caps help Keep up with what you know works. We are with you. J 

Yeh, stagnation is the worst. Sorry, Dom... it'll come through for you. Just hang in there!!! :D 

You may be eating too little. Your food diary shows some days that are less than 1200 calories a day. You might want to try eating only 500 calories less than what you burn, or else your body will think it's starving and will hold onto your weight. 

ChristyLA, I agree with you. You have to be pretty short and already skinny to thrive on 1200 calories. Mrsmole, please do some research on the side effects of ultra low calorie diets. They do more harm than good. It can take a long time for your metabolism to recover. Don't just pick a calorie level to eat, use a god formula to calculate it based on your current weight and body fat %. Best wishes! 

Totally agree that it absolutely sucks. Patience may be a virtue, but DAMN it's difficult sometimes. Re: the prune action issue, does increased fiber ever help you? That one tends to be my key. Draglist's magic bullet is sugar free haribo gummies (check his journal from a couple days ago. Learned a lot from that one!) 

The Mayo Clinic recommends that men get 38g of fiber daily and women get 25g. For people older than age 50, recommendations drop to 30g and 21g, respectively. Mrsmole, please look at the big picture. During the last four months you've lost 34.5 pounds! You are doing great! Increase your fiber gradually and feel better soon. 

1200 has been a good number for me to lose weight. Some days especially non-meat days I don't make it to that as I simply can't eat any more. Guess it depends on the person.