Plateau 5 pounds away from goal. What am I doing wrong?

[Anonymous]

I'm 5"7. I went from 140ish to 123 in a year or so. I've lost most of it in 6 months by exercising (swimming and running). These have always been my sports. Going to the gym bores me.

I'm currently 126. I've started eating healthier and healthier for the past month and now I don't think I eat anything reproachable.

Problem is: ever since I'm eating tons of fruit and veggies, drinking water and green tea, choosing the 'right foods' and leaving out all processed foods and most sweets, I'm ALWAYS hungry. I don't want to starve myself or slow down my metabolism so I eat when I'm hungry - which is very often. I always eat healthy snacks but the bottom line is that I'm not losing weight anymore. At all. Besides, I feel pudgier and more bloated than before, which sucks.

Is there any other way I could lose those last 5 pounds apart from exercising a lot more and eating less, meaning starving myself a little? I don't want to do that so I was hoping that going the "healthy" way would work. It seems it doesn't.

[Anonymous]

I think you've hit your target -- work on maintaining. There comes a point when your body fights like hell because it can't function on fewer calories without something going awry. Make sure you're getting more protein for energy and eat foods with lots of fiber to feel full. Fruits & veggies are amazing, but you need to supplement with lean meats or beans/nuts. Some foods that I personaly eat when I want to "feel fuller" are chickpeas and sweet potatoes. If you feel bloated, you might check how much sodium you're taking in. Do you use artificial sweetener ... that has that effect on some people I've heard, too.

[madmisskelly]

Maybe cut down to 2 servings of fruit and instead increase your veggie intake? Filling up on veggies doesn't hurt, and getting more lean sources of protein rather than relying on animal protein is great.

Increasing your fiber intake should help too. Lentils, quinoa, brown rice all have high fiber so by eating servings of them you will feel fuller but take in less calories. Eat less food but higher fiber.

[martyfellow]

Good for you you're just eating too dang much. Just a little, but you need to have a discipoined diet in terms of total intake, as well as a 'healthy' diet and exercise. Starving yourself? No, just a FEW less calories, no desserts for a while except fruit...

[Asker]

I already eat no desert. I'm having trouble "counting" (not literally) my calories because I'm so damn hungry all the time. I think my metabolism has just gotten way too fast. Since I'm always hungry when I eat, I don't gain weight but since I eat all the time, obviously can't shed weight either.

[martyfellow]

That's why you need a planned diet, such as that provided by Weight Watchers and other organizations...they make sure you don't starve, but that way you don't reach for the extra helping, you know?

[papercut2]

Eat a lot in one meal, but make sure it's healthy

Snacking is one of the worst things you could do

[Asker]

Snacks: Vegetables, yogurt, one tbspoon trail mix, apple... Really, I don't think it's that terrible. It's getting ridiculous - last night I didn't have much left in the fridge so I ate about 4 cups (!) of broccoli with one cup of green peas, 1/4 cup of orzo and a little bit of pesto as a sauce. I felt really full afterward but there I was, hungry as hell 2 hours later. I'm getting discouraged.

[papercut2]

It's not what you eat that makes the snack bad, it's snacking in general. To put it in simple ways, every time you snack, your stomach is working, that's a no no.

Yoghurts are generally terrible, they have like 120 cals each, unless they are the low fat ones.

You need to stop relying on vegetables and fruits and eat foods that actually fill you up and give you the energy you need: Chicken, pasta, etc

[Asker]

I've found that when I eat bigger meals my metabolism is a lot slower. I eat a big breakfast everyday but I'm still hungry by 10-11 AM. I don't really get why I'm hungry even though I try to include protein in my diet. I tried to cut down on pasta and rice because they don't fill me up for a long period of time, so I'm more likely to snack after eating those. I'm kinda torn.

Would you really suggest I cut down the amount of fruit and veggies I'm eating to add more carbs?

[papercut2]

Well I'm not a dietician, but when I decided to shred some weight, I lost about 19-20 lbs in one month.

I tried having breakfast(To be honest, I barely ever did though)

And my lunch & dinner only consisted of chicken or pasta with a side dish of vegetables.

I didn't snack a single time

[Asker]

Ok that'd be a change. I think I'll try that. Still eating my big breakfast (well, relatively big but it's all good food anyway), healthy lunch and supper but without snacks. Thanks for the advice I appreciate it.

[papercut2]

Don't worry, been there, know how it feels:D

[MyNameIsJonas]

Ok hold up. Do you think you LOOK your goal weight? Weight is a number. How you look and how you feel about the way you look matters. So go by that. 126 at 5'7 is really light. I mean from bone structure.

Here's afew factor's; Water weight - Weight gained from water and fruit (witch holds water) - Muscle gain; muscle weighs more than fat and you certainly are going to gain a little muscle from running/swimming! - Full stomach and what your wearing; OK this is gross but before you empty your bowls give or take you lose 2lbs. Also shoes and cloths can weigh up to 3 lbsto 4lbs so weigh yourself naked!

Keep these things in mind when looking at weight as a number and remember if you look good feel good then your weight number should not matter.

[peace-love-couture]

Try switching up your workout routine

HIIT can be a good way to overcome the plateau

Try using different machines. It might be boring, but it'll be worth it. The elliptical could help. Even if it's just 20 or 30 minutes of it and then you go back to running or whatever it is you enjoy.

You could always venture out and try taking a zumba, step aerobics or pole dancing class.

But don't eat less, just try switching up your workout routine.

[Cowboy5]

Up your calories slightly. Make sure you are strength training. Up your water intake to a gallon of ice water a day. Leave out tea and caffeine. Run ice cold water the last few minutes of a shower. Take a cold bath with 20 lbs of ice twice a week for 10 to 30 minutes. And sleep without covers to maximize the thermodynamic effect. Stay away from high fructose corn syrup.