I've hit a weight-loss plateau. How do I break it?

[Elarra]

So I've noticed I'm losing inches everywhere except my arms (because, you know, the universe hates me).



However, I've hit a plateau. I've literally not lost a single pound in two weeks and I can't figure out why. Any suggestions on how to break the plateau? I've lost 20 pounds and now I hit this one number and my body is like, "Eh, that's enough, I quit."

It is not enough because I'm 5'3 and wane between 166 and 168 and I can't break it. I like that I'm still losing inches (I went from 39 inches to 31.5 around my waist and 29 to 25 around my thigh) but I'm still annoyed and irritate that the scale is still the same.


So what am I doing wrong? I haven't changed my workout routine or my diet since I started trying to lose weight, so what should I do? I don't eat sugars, candy, or pop or anything.

[BoobMan]

First off, congrats on the HUGE progress to date! Losing 7.5 inches from your waist is IMPRESSIVE.

I'd change the focus on your measurement from straight up weight to body composition. If you're not losing weight but you are losing inches, chances are you're still dropping fat but adding a bit of muscle, which is a good thing because it will help you burn more fat.

You can adjust your diet a bit by maybe dropping 5-10% of your current caloric intake, but I'd only do that if you still have some meaningful "empty" calories left, which could be junk food but could also just be extra carbs. BUT, if you don't already to this, I'd add one "cheat day" a week where you literally eat ANYTHING you want. And here your goal should be to actually get a LOT of calories on this day. The reason is, it will prevent your body from adjusting to a lower metabolism. If you're consistently going with fewer calories, your body will realize this and start conserving energy. If you spike the calorie count on occasion, your body will be slower to make that adjustment and will burn more throughout the week.

What's your mix of weights to cardio?

[JohnDoe3000]

Reduce your calorie intake further. You're lighter than you used to be and that means your body requires less calories than it used to. You have apparently hit the weight where your body is in equilibrium with your calorie intake and you need to adjust your diet for this.

[Elarra]

Okay... I usually eat about 1500-1600 calories so I should eat like, what, 1300?

[JohnDoe3000]

1500-1600 calories as an equilibrium (or near-equilibrium enough that losing weight happens only very slowly) value is a low number but it's possible for a woman of your height and weight. Cut back to 1300 or 1200, keep your exercise routine and daily activities the same and see if it made a difference a month from now.

[Felinegirl]

It's not that bad to rest at a plateau every once in a while. The slower your weight loss, the better (in terms of skin) and more permanent it usually is.

Being annoyed and frustrated won't help - it'll only make you unhappy.

You said you're still losing inches. Over a course of 2 weeks, it could easily be water weight. Besides, you're probably still losing fat and building muscle, which is great! More muscle = more burning, even when you do nothing.

Keep up the good work!

[Xfitchick]

Don't just look at the scale. Focuss on muscle/fat ratio. Your fat% should be in a normal to athletic range. If you workout, you also gain muscle and muscle is a lot heavier than fat. People who train a lot may get heavier, but still get a thinner and leaner body.

[Luci92]

Talk to @redeyemindtricks she's an expert on this stuff

[redeyemindtricks]

Tx for the tag.

The basics of rapid fat loss are...
... Fasting/eating as little as possible early in the day, and eating any carbs within a few hours of bedtime
... Eating as much lean protein as possible
... Eating NO carbs outside the "workout window" (+/– 2-3 hours)
... Doing any "cardio" while *completely* fasted (= earlier in the day, before you've eaten anything).

I think the OP (if I'm right about her previous username) was working with a trainer who was teaching her to eat most of her food early in the day -- which is an absolutely disastrous idea, for anyone who struggles with hunger/appetite/weight.

[Luci92]

@redeyemindtricks wlc. lmao u gotta remember to post it as yr own opinion so then you can get mho :P

[Elarra]

@redeyemindtricks No, I told her I was and she told me not to eat that early because I always got sick. She told me low carbs, high protein and intense cardio 2-3 days a week and no sugar.

[redeyemindtricks]

That's good baseline advice.

"Intense cardio" still may not be a great idea, depending on personal parameters.
If it makes you super hungry, then, it's more likely to have bad effects than good ones (.. since you'll be tempted to eat as many calories as you burned, if not even more). The RIGHT balance of cardio can actually *blunt* hunger -- if you can "dial in" that sort of balance, then, DON'T increase cardio AT ALL past that level.

If yr trainer is talking about high-intensity interval training, then, that's a separate animal -- although a lot of trainers underestimate the actual intensity of HIIT. (It isn't really "high intensity" unless the intervals are so strenuous that you CAN'T do them for more than 15-20 seconds. Once you get to that point -- in which case the entire workout should take no more than 10 minutes, maybe 15-20 with warmups/cooldowns -- you're activating a whole different set of body systems.)

It's also possible that intense exercise -- either cardio or

[redeyemindtricks]

HIIT -- can actually cause issues with insulin and blood sugar. This actually doesn't have anything to do with "being in shape" or not -- I know fitness models who have that problem even when they're photo ready -- but, it has to be something you'll recognize when it happens.
Basically... if intense cardio/HIIT throws you into a state where you're slightly nauseated, experience cold sweats, and have to force yrself to eat carbs and rest for a bit afterward, then that's a hypoglycemic episode, and you'll have to adjust yr training (along with yr pre- and post-workout nutrition) so that you don't experience those symptoms.

[MrMysteryMan]

@redeyemindtricks Wow, are you a personal trainer/nutritional adviser as a career? Or are you just a competitive athlete or compete in athletic training shows?

[redeyemindtricks]

@MrMysteryMan It's hard to explain in a line or two, pm if you're sufficiently interested

[Cosytoasty]

You should up the routine and keep the diet.

s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/.../...c8b22d9937.jpg
Ignore the damn scale, clothing size is the only thing that matters.

[archiz]

What he said
Other than that add cardio long distance

[jacquesvol]

Muscle weighs more than fat.

[redeyemindtricks]

@archiz Cardio doesn't help with weight loss for 99% of people.
Most people just get hungrier from doing cardio, so they eat back whatever they burn off.

... in fact, most smaller people -- especially women -- vastly overestimate how much energy cardio actually burns, and they eat so much "reward" food that they actually end up GAINING weight.
(The OP weighs 165-170lbs. At that weight, an hour on a typical cardio machine -- or an hour of jogging -- burns off about 1 extra slice of deep dish pizza. But, lots of people think they can then go out and eat *several* slices of pizza, because "they did cardio". Whoops.)

[archiz]

@redeyemindtricks oh yea? I didn t know XD

[redeyemindtricks]

@archiz Yeah
You're actually an athlete -- or, at least someone who regularly participates in athletics, even if you wouldn't call yrself "an athlete" -- so, you aren't going to be in that group. That's mostly a problem of people who've been sedentary all their lives, and who are now trying to incorporate "exercise".

Basically, if you use the word "exercise" for that kind of stuff, you're a lot more likely to experience this problem where you think 1/2 hour of cardio gives you a license to eat 2 big cheeseburgers, or half a pizza, or a huge dessert, or whatever.

If athletics has always been a part of yr life, this is much less likely to become a huge issue.

[redeyemindtricks]

... especially since you're a woman.
Men who WERE athletes, but who don't play sports anymore, often have issues because they keep their old appetites -- from when they were younger *and* burned off tons of calories playing sports -- and so they can put on a bunch of weight in a hurry. Especially because men tend to eat more fatty/greasy/high calorie foods than women do. (When women have bad diets, it's usually more because of sugar than anything else.)

[archiz]

@redeyemindtricks it s related to metabolism right?
you train your body to burn fatser when you train constantly.
but when I do cardio it s not really like 30mins on the stepper. I tend to train a lot like if it s in the gym I reach 1000 to 1200 burned calories (even if it s not accurate but just an idea)
and outside of the gym usually my exercises are intense. swimming really kills me after 2 h XD
cs we do sprints and endurance with breathing exercises. running and tennis kills me too in the end.
but I have the opposite problem I usually eat a lot but don t gain much weight so now I am at least trying to gain more musle weight

[archiz]

ah and about the metabolism. it s because your body goes through regular training hence it needs more nutriments to keep up. (since he uses more than the sedentary person s body)

[redeyemindtricks]

@archiz You are almost certainly not burning 1000 to 1200 calories in a gym.
To do that, you would have to use a gym machine at MAXIMUM intensity, for at least TWO HOURS (at yr height and weight). There's no way that's happening.

A lot of gym machines artificially exaggerate the calorie burn.
Here's how they do that -- Let's say you burn, say, 100 calories/hour just by existing, and being alive, and just doing activities of daily living (walking around and doing normal non-exercise stuff).
The problem is, a lot of machines will INCLUDE those calories in the readout -- so, if you're actually burning just 200 *extra* calories per hour (which is the only reasonable way to define "calorie burn" from exercise), then, the machine will say 300 cal/hr instead of 200 cal/hr.
You see the problem, right -- In that case, you can only eat 200 cal/hr worth of extra food than you normally would, but, the machine might make you think you could eat 300 more.

You probably ARE burning 1000 calories in

[redeyemindtricks]

two hours of swimming... mb even more than that. Swimming is a full-body workout and is very intense (especially if you're at the team / competitive level).

[archiz]

@redeyemindtricks I do work on full intensity though :P
like they tell me you reached the max level
but yea def not for a full 2h
and yea that makes sense haha

[redeyemindtricks]

@archiz Girl whatever YOU're doing... it's working. <3 let's just say that ahah.

[archiz]

@redeyemindtricks hahaha fine and thank you :*

[Octavius]

Do you do HIIT cardio? For what your goal seems it would be perfect for you.

Also like others have said maybe you're gaining muscle. If your waistline is still shrinking but you weigh the same then yea you're gaining muscle while losing fat.

[yourmomma3787]

You have to change your workouts! otherwise your body gets used to everything. (exercise science major)

[pooper89]

Um maybe analyze your diet. And remember it takes 21 days to break a habit. First two weeks are the hardest

[Elarra]

I've dieted for 2 months and lost 20 pounds doing what I'm doing now

[pooper89]

Well u have to burn more calories than you're taking in. And maybe you're just going a bit slower now

[SteamBuns]

Since i doubt u care about losing muscle mass... Decrease your caloric intake, Just ensure that you;re in a caloric deficit N you;re doing 2 hours of cardio a day, GOnna lose weight in no time gurl trust meh

[RJGraveyTrain]

Typically., if you hit a plateau, it's time to up the intensity

[ACrazyHaggis]

Hmm ok you are not loosing weight around your arms what kind of activities are you doing on. Regular basis?

[Elarra]

I do arms like 3 times a week. Curls, triceps dips, kick backs, triceps extensions, crossover curls, curl and jabs

[ACrazyHaggis]

Ah I see good range of different things maybe your body is adapting and becoming more tonned and firm if you do it enough your arms may enter a state of hyper trophy which could cause the muscle fibres to become slightly bigger in size which is normal

[JustCallMeLeon]

Fix the magic triangle. Nutrition-Workout-Rest. Keep the "x" in [(calories burnt)-(calories eaten)]=x, ALWAYS positive.

[SuccessfulHornDog]

Slightly increase your caloric intake. That will help you break the plateau

[LastNightmare]

unable to send you private message. don't want to share here

[princesschey]

muscle weighs more than fat hun xxx

[Waffles731]

I honestly don't know

[lumberman9]

Cut something out and increase cardio