Why do I keep hitting a plateau?
I’m 34 years old, 5 ft 10, and pushing 250 lbs. I’ve made the decision to lose weight for my health’s sake. This is one day of my diet/exercise. Every day is almost identical. I will lose weight consistantly for the first couple of weeks, sometimes up to 7 lbs a week. Then, I would expect it to slow down, not just stop. But it DOES just stop. I continue to eat well, I exercise, but I don’t lose any more weight. That discourages me, and I give up, only to stress/emotional eat and gain those 14 lbs back. What can I do to stop hitting this stupid plateau?
Breakfast: 2 poached eggs
2 slices turkey bacon
10 oz 2% milk
Snack:
1 med. banana
Lunch: 4 oz. boneless skinless chicken breast, baked.
1 cup mixed green salad
1 roma tomato
1/2 cup cottage cheese
Snack:2 cups lite popcorn (microwave)
Dinner:
4 oz pork chops
1 cup mixed green salad
1 corn on cob
10 oz 2% milk
4 16 oz bottles of water/day
Exercise:
2 miles on treadmill @ 3.5 mph
7 miles on stationary bike, tension set at 7
Spinal Erector: 4 sets-15 reps 156 lbs
Leg press: 4 sets-20,16,15,14 reps 96 lbs
Incline Press: 4 sets-20,15,12,10 reps 48 lbs
Abdominal machine: 4 sets-20,20,15,15 reps 144 lbs
Casual swimming x 1 hour (with a toddler)
I work out 5 days a week, with Sundays and Wednesdays off.
I do keep very detailed records of my intake. Including time the time i eat, and how I felt at the time (stressed, sleepy, etc.) I do the same with my exercise. I’ve been doing a 1600 Calorie plan, and following Weight Watchers points as well (I make sure I don’t consume more than 1600 calories or 35 points, whichever comes first.) My BMR is 1907. I hit my target heart rate (115) while on the treadmill, and stay in that area till I’m done with the bike.
I do have a heart condition, Supraventricular tachycardia, which I take a beta blocker for. That is my only serious medical condition. I have sciatica and knee issues (since childhood, before weight gain) that I take tylenol and advil for.
Tagged with: calorie plan • corn on cob • cup cottage cheese • detailed records • diet exercise • exercise 2 • heart condition • incline press • leg press • microwave dinner • poached eggs • serious medical condition • skinless chicken breast • snack 1 • snack 2 • stationary bike • supraventricular tachycardia • target heart rate • turkey bacon • weight watchers points
Filed under: Popcorn Machines
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First off, understand that hitting a plateau is normal. It’s the bane of all dieters everywhere – you just hit a certain level and stick there. It’s also the reason a lot of dieters give up – they hit the plateau, figure nothing is working anymore and give up.
You’re keeping (it looks like) very good detailed records of your food intake and exercise – that’s awesome. The next step in this is to get a "body bug" – those little armbands you see on shows like The Biggest Loser that constantly measure how many calories you’re burning (as well as other things). They’re a bit pricey – but cheaper than just a couple months on commercial diet plans. The will tell you exactly how much you are burning. Compare that to your total intake (just get the calorie amounts from all the foods you eat that you’ve listed). This will give you your daily net change. As long as your net change is negative (burning more than eating) you will eventually lose weight. There’s lot of other things at play here (water intake/retention, metabolism changes, adding some weight due to muscle gain), but if your net is negative, you will eventually go down.
Finally, I’d suggest you "mix it up". You said "every day is almost identical" – that’s not the most efficient for losing weight. If your body gets into a routine, it knows how to compensate (metabolism wise). Mixing up your food intake (a little variety goes a long way) and your exercise routine (keep your body guessing – don’t let your metabolism get "used" to anything) will help you keep losing and lessen the plateau effect.
I suggest to stop hitting plateaus you buy a plateau map like this one:http://www.paksong.info/images/map-bolaven-plateau.jpg
I bought one off amazon for £10 and have never hit a plateau since.
What you have to remember is when your body is reaching a plateau its a natural reaction. Think of it as this:
you’ve been storing body fat for a while now… suddenly starts to disappear… body thinks am i losing too much and am i getting enough from my food?…
until it realizes that it can cope on the nutrients it is being given it may try to work against your diet and you. As soon as you go back from your diet, your starting again. Remember the actual weight loss it not the ONLY good thing from doing what your doing. Think of the blood pressure, cholesterol and heart problems your avoiding!
Primarily my concern for you would be that you do not seem to have somebody to work with your goals with or something to support you through. Have you tried a reward system? perhaps giving yourself a treat of some kind when you succeed? I doesn’t have to be something complicated. I found something like a new lipstick or a small chocolate bar was a good option.
Another i did was put a bathroom stone into a glass bottle every time i lost a pound to mark my progress… Then you take it back out if you put weight back on… a visual representation of your weight! Can scare you into action and drawing a line on the bottle and a date helped me alot!
If you can find some one to talk to when your struggling or someone to lose weight with i think this would be our biggest advantage point to getting through the tough times!
A group or club membership is definately a motorvation if you can afford it and your not too embarrassed… TRUST ME, ITS BETTER THAN YOU THINK and not nearly as scary.
Hope you find a way through to your goals