I have been on a diet/workout routine since about November of last year (with time off for the holidays, of course! ). I have gone from 180 lbs to 158, but I have been stuck in the 160 range for about three weeks now. I would like to get a little closer to 150 before I go out and buy new clothes, particularly since my ultimate goal is about 130. I don’t know if I can wait that long, though! I had some smaller clothes that I never bothered to throw out (luckily!), but they are fitting rather loosely as well. I started as a size 18 and I think I am hovering between a size 10 and 12 now.
So what have you all found to be successful in breaking plateaus?
I wish I could tell you. I paid a professional to tell me how to do this. He basically said more protein and more exercise (especially weight training), but it’s hard to find the time and convenience to do either. Why oh why isn’t there a decent pasta made from tofu?
Adding weight training has helped me get through my plateau. I was stuck in the 178-180 range for a long time but have finally gotten back to 174-175. I’m still losing slowly, but that’s OK, at least I’ve begun to lose again (and I’m losing inches, too). I’ve also transformed my cows back into calves and have much more definition in my arms. I feel so strong!
It also helps to just change your workout routine a little bit. Your body gets used to the exercise you do, so it helps to change it up a little bit every 4-6 weeks. That might mean just upping your intensity or resistance a little bit if you’re using a treadmill, stationary bike, elliptical or whatnot. I use both the stationary bike and the elliptical for cardio so I’m not just doing the same thing every day. When it starts to feel like I’m not challenging myself quite as much, I bump up the resistance. If you do DVD workouts, try doing a different one once or twice a week just to change it up.
You also might want to try eating a bit more one day a week.
yellowval and ivylass I added you both to my friends on Spark.
tdn damn, that plateau for you has been going on for months. Talk about set point. That’s gotta be frustrating.
I remember being in a weight watchers meeting once (long, long, long time ago) and the leader talking about plateau-ing for months. She was being ever so careful about her eating and her exercise but couldn’t seem to break the plateau. Turns out she was eating the same thing for lunch almost every day. It fell within the plan, she really enjoyed it and so she ate it every day (IIRC it was a bologna sandwich). She decided to stop having that sandwich and eat something else for lunch for a while and that broke her plateau.
So, I’m wondering, since I know you workout regularly and I know you watch what you eat, what you can change up in either your eating or your workout that might be just enough to shove you over the edge? Maybe all you need is one little change, one little shake up to the routine. Maybe you could try exercising at a different time of day? Maybe there’s something you eat regularly that you could change? Just a thought
Oh, and welcome Slainte and liirogue the more the merrier.
Turns out I’d gained half a pound on Tuesday night. I’d like to blame it on my hormones and water retention, but realistically I think it was the blackberry crumble and custard. Of course, if I’d thought to make the crumble with sweetner instead of sugar, it could have been so much different.
Ugh. I’m definitely on a back-slide. But I’m correcting it, albeit grudgingly. First, I got shingles and lost about 10 pounds from that, 5 of which I managed to keep off. Then I got an intestinal virus from my son and managed to lose 3 pounds quick from that. Then my mom came to visit. Oh, my. That woman can cook, but she doesn’t believe in healthy cooking. Plus, cooking is how she shows her love - you don’t eat, you don’t love her. She has actually So I ate. And I ate. And I didn’t exercise. And I fell back into the habit of eating poorly and not exercising and gained back the 8 pounds I’d lost from my illnesses (which I actually expected since it always comes back once normal eating resumes) and then some.
But at least I’m still lighter than my pre-pregnancy weight, which wasn’t ideal. I used to be 186 before I got pregnant. I ballooned to about 210. Now I’m 185.
So, to make sure I get back on track, I’m exercising 3 days a week at home and today I’ll start exercising 3 days a week at work (thanks to our new cardio room, which has some really beautiful new equipment and cable TV!) so I’ll be getting a total of 6 days of cardio per week. I’ll also resume more healthful eating, which means a trip to the grocery for me tonight. One thing I really need to figure out is how to incorporate weights - I have a toddler to chase after, so I really can only carve out a half hour a day, if that. Hmmm… Maybe I should turn one of those cardio sessions into an interval weight/cardio block?
After writing this, I’m far less depressed about my weight gain. I’m still lighter than I was and I’m not as overwhelmed as I used to be with the thought of all the weight I needed to lose. All I really need now is to regain my dedication, which should happen with the first pound. Funny - sometimes that’s all it takes.
overlyverbose, half an hour of weight training is plenty. If you split it up so you do upper body one day and lower the next, you could do it in 15. I generally spend three ~half-hour sessions (+ stretching) a week, and I do the whole body. I do about 15 different exercises, two sets of 12 each. Of course, if you prefer to lift lighter weights, it will take longer because you’ll have to do more sets. I personally subscribe to the “heavier weight, fewer sets” mindset. Also, I’m jealous. I want a cardio room at work!
I went to the WW meeting last night…and weigh exactly the same as last week, down to the ounce. Sigh. At least I didn’t gain. I’ve been slacking on the workout side, so back to the gym for me.
Best wishes to everyone here in their quest.
PS - Thanks velvetjones, you’re much more welcoming than tdn.
214½ , down 2½ from last week and 29 from the start of the year. Good to see I’m making some progress again, the Easter hol didn’t help any. By the end of April I hope to be well below 210, which will be (as I may have mentioned once or twice) lower than I’ve been since the end of my teens. Go me!
Today I tried on some clothes. My DJ and dress trousers, which were tight and impossibly tight respectively as recently as September, are now a mite on the too-loose side. And I have a sort of velvety jacket that needs the accumulated dust swept off it after fifteen years in the wardrobe - it now goes on with room to spare. The 36" waist jeans are comfy.
This morning I was at 141.5 which is great! I’ve been hovering around 145 for months since I got accidentally pregnant and had an abortion, which was pretty bad for me- I bled continuously for almost 2 months straight, had no energy, and wanted to eat all the time. Before this debacle, I was around 125, and I’d like to get back to the 130s, at least.
I’ve been doing the Body for Life program, which alternates weights with aerobic exercise (for me, running). This is my second week of doing it and I guess I’ve lost about 3 lbs and I can see more muscle definition in my arms. So hooray for small victories!
I’ve been a crash dieter for a while… so losing weight slowly is new to me, and makes me feel like I’m doing something wrong, but I know this is best for me in the long run. I’m a recovering eating-disordered, so it would be so easy to fall into the trap of just starving myself down to my previous weight. I don’t want to be stuck with a bum metabolism for the rest of my life, though, so I feel like I should do it right while I’m young and it’ll be better for me as I age…
Hey NightRabbit! Hell yes, we need more losers in the world. Join right in.
I did Body For Life for a while. I think I lasted 6 off the 12 weeks but I have to say that I love the workouts. When I was doing the BFL workouts I felt the strongest and healthiest I’ve felt in years. From what I’ve read, to get the spectacular results you see in some of the before and after pics you have to be religious about the diet and workout routine possibly including all the supplements they want you to take.
In the end slow and steady really does win the game.
Today I saw 167.5 on the scale which is incredible for me and a number I haven’t hit for a while. I’m going to work hard to keep up the momentum.
sparkpeople is starting to grow on me. I’ve been logging my food, and I’ve found that I don’t snack because I don’t want to have to go back online to log my extra food! I’m also hitting the gym more in an attempt to break through this plateau.
Baker and brianjedi you’ve both had quite impressive results. Congratulations on your success.
Give hope to the rest of us (at least it does for me).
ivylass I’ve been lax the last couple of days about putting my food in but there have been times when I’ve added it all up the next day and found myself 500 calories over my calorie “budget”. No wonder I’m losing so slowly. I eat too much! :smack:
). I have gone from 180 lbs to 158, but I have been stuck in the 160 range for about three weeks now. I would like to get a little closer to 150 before I go out and buy new clothes, particularly since my ultimate goal is about 130. I don’t know if I can wait that long, though! I had some smaller clothes that I never bothered to throw out (luckily!), but they are fitting rather loosely as well. I started as a size 18 and I think I am hovering between a size 10 and 12 now.
Wow, sexy AND funny!