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Cloak -> When you hit a plateau... (6/6/2008 3:02:26 PM)

In my effort to lose those extra pounds I've gained over the last few years, I have been eating well and less. As my doctor explained to me "We tend to put on weight simply bc we eat more and move less." He added that "We need to eat less and move more in order to lose those extra pounds."

Therefore I have been abiding by this principle without becoming obsessed by it or stern while enjoying my life in moderate way. However, now that I am older - in my 40s - which makes it more difficult to lose weight than when I was younger - I find that I have reached a Plateau - whereby no matter how much I move, exercise or eat less - except for those occasion when I enjoy treats or parties etc - that I am Not losing any single amount of pound or weight. [:@]

Has any one experienced that? How do you cope? Any explanation to this stagnant plateau? Will we ever lose those extra pounds, or we are doomed ?



Konstantinos -> RE: When you hit a plateau... (6/6/2008 3:13:08 PM)

it happens to everyone that tries to go to a pretty low body fat percentage

things that stall you if you are eating under maintenance:

eating too many carbs and not burning them but the body stores em as fat. if you eat 200 grams of carbs and its not preworkout or post workout of course most of it will turn to fat

not exercizing enough. do some sprints or running before breakfast with only having drunk water and thats a definite way to lose weight

having your metabolism gone down. if you are barely hungry any more then its definitely down. at 40 and female if im right this can be veyr much the case. unfortunately if you dont do some really good weightlifting or running or some other activity to boost your metabolism then the only way is to eat more and more, go up 10 pounds or so and then keep the metabolism high and lose more than 10.

to keep metabolism high you eat under maintenance 2 days and over maintenance 1 day.

other than that i think its just what you eat. also if you are a low body fat.. say around 18% for girls and 10% for guys and want to lose more then if you dont have quite a bit of muscle its pretty much impossible unless you starve yourself.



NoShow -> RE: When you hit a plateau... (6/6/2008 3:25:30 PM)

It seems as if our bodies have to adjust for the change. The majority of my dieting\weight loss has been for want purposes, not need; in that I was doing it to "make weight" for some type of (sporting) activity.

Through much trial and error, I came up with an unscientific rule of thumb; that has worked for me and for most others that I have shared it with. I use percentages for measurements.

First, I don't believe that one can lose more than 1% of bodyweight per week, of "permanent" weight loss. Now I know it's very possible to lose more than 1%, I've done it numerous times myself, but some of that is simply water loss and thus isn't permanent.

After losing about 10% (from where you started), I think the body needs to sort of re-register, so it sees that as your new real weight, as opposed to your diet down to weight. So once I've lost 10% I would adjust my diet and exercising so as to maintain that weight for a period equal to how long it took me to get there. So that means at least ten weeks, if I happened to do the 1% per week. After the maintenance period, I would go back to weight loss mode. Having lost weight, one would need to recalculate a new 10% based on their new\current bodyweight.

Granted this method takes longer, but along the way it helps teach what "lifestyle" (diet and exercise) is needed to maintain at a certain weight. Most people that crash lose, can't figure out how to stay, once they've hit their "ideal".



IonMoon -> RE: When you hit a plateau... (6/6/2008 3:36:50 PM)

Sometimes it is because you are really eating a lot more than you think. Try measuring and tracking your calories for a few days. OR sometimes it is from cutting back TOO much... Sometimes if you are too consistent with your calories, too your body will get used to it and stop losing. So, it can be good to vary the calroies you eat from day to day (without obsessing!). Just having some days where you eat a little less and others when you eat a little more.

Our bodies also adjust to exercise and it can help to change things up a bit- either increasing the intensity or even just changing to some other activity. (And again, the reverse, exercising way too much can cause burn out and a plateau).

And ... keep in mind that as you lose weight, your calorie needs decrease. So if you have lost weight, then plateaued, it could be that you are eating too many calories now, even if it was more than before.

And I have found the same thing, though, about age :( I have to work out more and eat a lot less than I used to in order to lose anything at all. Before I could eat 1800 calories and exercise lightly for 30 mins 5X/week and lose 10 lbs in a month...

Now, I gained some after an injury and have been trying to lose it... and have to take in no more than 1400-1600 AND exercise an hour a day 5-6 days a week to lose 4 lbs in the same time frame [&:]

Very frustrating!

Tara P



ta_mosquito -> RE: When you hit a plateau... (6/6/2008 3:38:46 PM)

How many calories are you eating? What's your current weight/height? If you want, you can PM me the info. [;)]

It's possible you're in "starvation mode" if you aren't eating enough. That's where your body thinks it's starving so it hoards as much as it can, burning your muscle instead of the fat, if it burns anything. [&:]

However, if you ARE eating enough, you may want to change up your activities. If you normally walk or jog, do swimming, cardio DVDs or bike riding instead. Do interval training, where you are at a lower intensity for a while, then kick up to a high intensity for a short period of time, then go back to lower intensity (like bursting into a run for a minute every 5 minutes of your walk). Do you do any strength training?

While it's commendable to not obsess, I do think that people need to know exactly what is going into their bodies to get an accurate picture. So I do suggest measuring what you eat and tracking your calories/nutrients for a while.

I love sparkpeople.com - they've got great tools and articles and encouragement! If you're on there, look me up - I'm tamosquito. [;)]



Cloak -> RE: When you hit a plateau... (6/6/2008 8:14:25 PM)

Thank you all for your responses and feedback with are filled with insight.

Unfortunately, I do not like weightlifting. When it comes to exercise, I do work out even if not on a regular basis.

Kon~ What do you mean by under maintenance and over maintenance?: "to keep metabolism high you eat under maintenance 2 days and over maintenance 1 day."

I don't like the idea of having muscles, I honestly find it quite emasculine; therefore weightlifting is out of question. Summer is just around the corner even tho I am very busy right now. I know it is the winter months that are the pitfall for all of us with the chilly snowy season where we lead a static life.



Cloak -> RE: When you hit a plateau... (6/6/2008 8:20:33 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: NoShow


First, I don't believe that one can lose more than 1% of bodyweight per week, of "permanent" weight loss. Now I know it's very possible to lose more than 1%, I've done it numerous times myself, but some of that is simply water loss and thus isn't permanent.
quote:




I totally agree with this statement. People who lose weight quickly is not just abnormal or tends to put on weight quickly; it is in fact Unhealthy. Hence they regain that weight so quickly.



After losing about 10% (from where you started), I think the body needs to sort of re-register, so it sees that as your new real weight, as opposed to your diet down to weight. So once I've lost 10% I would adjust my diet and exercising so as to maintain that weight for a period equal to how long it took me to get there. So that means at least ten weeks, if I happened to do the 1% per week. After the maintenance period, I would go back to weight loss mode. Having lost weight, one would need to recalculate a new 10% based on their new\current bodyweight.

Granted this method takes longer, but along the way it helps teach what "lifestyle" (diet and exercise) is needed to maintain at a certain weight. Most people that crash lose, can't figure out how to stay, once they've hit their "ideal".


Agreed. The longer it takes, the better, the more safe, the more healthy and the more it lingers and keep those extra pounds off. As the old adage put it wisely: Haste makes waste.



Cloak -> RE: When you hit a plateau... (6/6/2008 8:28:56 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: rainbowtvp

Sometimes it is because you are really eating a lot more than you think. Try measuring and tracking your calories for a few days. OR sometimes it is from cutting back TOO much... Sometimes if you are too consistent with your calories, too your body will get used to it and stop losing. So, it can be good to vary the calroies you eat from day to day (without obsessing!). Just having some days where you eat a little less and others when you eat a little more.

Our bodies also adjust to exercise and it can help to change things up a bit- either increasing the intensity or even just changing to some other activity. (And again, the reverse, exercising way too much can cause burn out and a plateau).

And ... keep in mind that as you lose weight, your calorie needs decrease. So if you have lost weight, then plateaued, it could be that you are eating too many calories now, even if it was more than before.

And I have found the same thing, though, about age :( I have to work out more and eat a lot less than I used to in order to lose anything at all. Before I could eat 1800 calories and exercise lightly for 30 mins 5X/week and lose 10 lbs in a month...

Tara P


I find that when I play lots of exercises, I tend to get more hungry; therefore increase my food intake. So we have to go easy on the exercise thing, in particular running or jogging or any sweaty exercise. That's why I life to go easy on my workout or exercise program, coz I know they open our appetite.



agapetos -> RE: When you hit a plateau... (6/6/2008 8:29:26 PM)

quote:

I don't like the idea of having muscles, I honestly find it quite emasculine; therefore weightlifting is out of question.
Lifting weights will help you tone up, not add muscle (unless you go crazy over it).

I don't know if you alter your work outs regularly, but if you don't, that could be a reason why you get stuck on a plateau. Our bodies become used to what we do in the way of exercise so we need to change it.

It may be worth you keeping a food diary to see exactly what you eat over a given period of time, and keep doing it (if you can do it all the time great, many can't but will do a week every month). At the end of each week, review it and see if there are any changes you could make to your diet. You may not be eating enough (women need to eat at least 1200 calories a day otherwise their bodies go into 'starvation mode', I'm not sure what the figure is for men).



agapetos -> RE: When you hit a plateau... (6/6/2008 8:32:25 PM)

quote:

I tend to get more hungry; therefore increase my food intake
It's fine to eat more, it depends what you're eating more of though...

Are you eating refined or unrefined foods? You will get hungry (and stay hungry) if you eat refined foods (white bread, white rice, white pasta etc). Switch to wholewheat breads and brown rice and pasta).



Cloak -> RE: When you hit a plateau... (6/6/2008 8:47:04 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: agapetos

quote:

I don't like the idea of having muscles, I honestly find it quite emasculine; therefore weightlifting is out of question.
Lifting weights will help you tone up, not add muscle (unless you go crazy over it).

I don't know if you alter your work outs regularly, but if you don't, that could be a reason why you get stuck on a plateau. Our bodies become used to what we do in the way of exercise so we need to change it.

It may be worth you keeping a food diary to see exactly what you eat over a given period of time, and keep doing it (if you can do it all the time great, many can't but will do a week every month). At the end of each week, review it and see if there are any changes you could make to your diet. You may not be eating enough (women need to eat at least 1200 calories a day otherwise their bodies go into 'starvation mode', I'm not sure what the figure is for men).


I like the idea of keeping a track of what I eat. I believe it helps us to stay on track of what we eat and even stops us from enjoying that nibble after supper even if it's a small treat. It is those small foxes that steal our joy and stops us from achieving our goals.

Still weightlifting remains NOT my cup of tea! [:'(]



Cloak -> RE: When you hit a plateau... (6/6/2008 8:51:09 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: agapetos

quote:

I tend to get more hungry; therefore increase my food intake
It's fine to eat more, it depends what you're eating more of though...

Are you eating refined or unrefined foods? You will get hungry (and stay hungry) if you eat refined foods (white bread, white rice, white pasta etc). Switch to wholewheat breads and brown rice and pasta).


I definitely eat unrefined food! Even when I happen to make some cake mix with refined flour occasionally, I add wheat bran to them to make them more healthy.

Thanks for posting aga! [;)]



Konstantinos -> RE: When you hit a plateau... (6/7/2008 4:44:23 AM)

quote:

Kon~ What do you mean by under maintenance and over maintenance?: "to keep metabolism high you eat under maintenance 2 days and over maintenance 1 day."

I don't like the idea of having muscles, I honestly find it quite emasculine; therefore weightlifting is out of question. Summer is just around the corner even tho I am very busy right now. I know it is the winter months that are the pitfall for all of us with the chilly snowy season where we lead a static life.


well for one muscles arent all that emasculine. thats why even if a guy and a girl do the same program and diet the guy will seem to have way more muscle than the girl. i see muscles simply as a tool, thats what they are.

anyway

maintenance is when you eat exactly as many calories as you burn in a day. granted you can never know exactly how much you will burn in a day.

if for example you have a BMR(basal metabolic rate) of 1500 calories

and on day 1 you dont do much this goes up to around 1800 calories.
so you should eat around 1300 calories on this day(maintenance 1800-500 for fat loss=1300)

on day 2 suppose you have around 30 minutes of cardio then it goes up to 2000 calories or so
so you should eat around 1500 calories (maintenance=2000-500 for fat loss=1500)

on day 3 you stay at home again not doing much and need 1800 calories again
you eat around 2000-2200 and this keeps the metabolism high.

basically 2 days you lose weight this tells the body it isnt getting enough calories from its environment thus it should try to go into "survival" mode and keep as much energy as possible and burn whatever else is less necessary. on the third day you trick your body into thinking again that it actually does have enough food so it should burn the food and body fat you have instead of other things.

granted, no matter how perfect you do this, if you dont do resistance training with heavy weights you will lose a lot of muscle, and if you had to lose a lot of weight(over 20 pounds) you will look skinny fat. plus you'll feel very weak, and most likely your lower back will get weaker and if you lift things off the floor and probably with a rounded back, if it also gets weak you will injure yourself some day.

quote:

Lifting weights will help you tone up, not add muscle (unless you go crazy over it).


toning up and adding muscle is the same thing. you just add less muscle if all you want is toning up.



csl7037 -> RE: When you hit a plateau... (6/7/2008 6:38:53 AM)

You've gotten great advice here. Sounds like the weight loss myths are what's going to kill you! That and preconceived ideas. But you're asking so good for you! But there's just so much misinformation out there in our "diet culture" - if any of the prevailing "wisdom" was working, would our society be so fat? No. So that should tell you that most of what you hear and see out there (fitness mags, infomercials, and the like) is garbage.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Cloak
I don't like the idea of having muscles, I honestly find it quite emasculine; therefore weightlifting is out of question. Summer is just around the corner even tho I am very busy right now. I know it is the winter months that are the pitfall for all of us with the chilly snowy season where we lead a static life.


This is a biggie for me. I've been trying for years to build muscle. It's not exactly something you need to lose sleep over. It's not like you'll wake up one morning and look like this. It's not even possible. Women are afraid of muscle and it's killing us in droves!

quote:

ORIGINAL: Konstantinos
having your metabolism gone down. if you are barely hungry any more then its definitely down. at 40 and female if im right this can be veyr much the case. unfortunately if you dont do some really good weightlifting or running or some other activity to boost your metabolism then the only way is to eat more and more, go up 10 pounds or so and then keep the metabolism high and lose more than 10.


Bingo! As we age, that "middle aged spread" is first and foremost a result of the loss in muscle mass that comes with age. If you don't want to build lean muscle, embrace the belly! Or stop eating maybe. Building muscle is the only way to increase the metabolism.

quote:

ORIGINAL: rainbowtvp
And ... keep in mind that as you lose weight, your calorie needs decrease. So if you have lost weight, then plateaued, it could be that you are eating too many calories now, even if it was more than before.


This is somewhat true but, again, that's if you're losing weight. The real goal should be to lose fat.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Cloak
I find that when I play lots of exercises, I tend to get more hungry; therefore increase my food intake. So we have to go easy on the exercise thing, in particular running or jogging or any sweaty exercise. That's why I life to go easy on my workout or exercise program, coz I know they open our appetite.


That's backwards! You can't not exercise because it increasees your appetite. That's your body screaming for more - more of both! Someone said it above, it's not the eating more that's going to be a problem, it's what you're eating.

My rules of thumb...

* Aim to consume approximately 8-10x your current body weight in calories/day. This is the formula to lose weight.

* Use something like fitday.com to track your food intake. From the information it gives you there, shoot for (to start) about 1/3 of your calories from protein, 1/3 from carbs, and 1/3 from GOOD fats. NOTE: This is the percentages (33% of each), not the grams or calories. Fat grams have more calories. For example, if you're 150 lbs, aim for 1500 calories/day at 125 grams of protein, 125 grams of carbs, and 55 grams of fat. Down the road, you'll want to play with these numbers. But start simple.

* If you can't grow it or shoot it, don't eat it. Here is a list of "clean" foods. Eat what's on this list; anything else really isn't food. And then drink 1 gallon of water each day. No joke. You can do it.

* Lastly, the evidence is abundant - women have to be doing weight-bearing exercise! Find things you do enjoy. But then, sometimes, we have to suck it up and do some things that might not be fun. If we only do what our bodies enjoy, we'll sit around and eat and be lazy. Your body learns to enjoy exercise when it realizes how much better it feels!



Cloak -> RE: When you hit a plateau... (6/7/2008 11:27:09 AM)

Thanks Kon & Cs for your ample and informative posts that contains so much insight and info I've known about for the st time.

Cs~ Those links are really cool and include many info about food and their categories. Wow I've never known such knowledge before. Thanks a lot for those links!!! [;)]



Brandy -> RE: When you hit a plateau... (6/7/2008 12:11:59 PM)

Another reason to incorporate weights into your routine - your age and sex.

As females age weight lifting helps maintain and increase bone density, which we lose over time as we get older due to estrogen loss.

That's why soo many menopausal women are on prescription strength calcium/bone supplements.



Cloak -> RE: When you hit a plateau... (6/7/2008 4:36:02 PM)

Thanks Brandy for the tip and the link! Since you all agree that it's good; I will reconsider my decision.



agapetos -> RE: When you hit a plateau... (6/7/2008 5:27:48 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Cloak

Thanks Brandy for the tip and the link! Since you all agree that it's good; I will reconsider my decision.

I appreciate it's hard to do something you don't like, and I don't blame you for not wanting to do it, but I'm glad you're looking into it.

I'm being really lazy right now and I'm not sure if you posted whether you used a gym or not. If you do, may be worth you trying as many types of resistance equipment as possible to see if you find something you like.

Or you may even want to see if there are any classes in your area. I really enjoyed them when I went.



Cloak -> RE: When you hit a plateau... (6/7/2008 7:16:11 PM)

I am in the process of moving to another place and that will help me to discover the facilities I have, any health clubs, YMCA, outdoor pool in my new area. I want to maximize my efforts and exercises instead of limiting myself to just workout and suddenly get bored. I am gonna miss the cute swimming pool which is only 2 steps from my place. I hope and pray the new place will be as cool as this place AND there would be a swimming pool. I haven't been to the pool in 3 years. Time to pamper myself and practice something I LOVE.

Thanks Aga for your encouragement; I really appreciate it. May God bless you hon ((()))!



JEGUINN -> RE: When you hit a plateau... (6/10/2008 4:54:38 PM)

ugh...lifting weights - i can really identify with you on that one, and knowing that it helps increase your metabolism and that it helps slow the process/prevent bone loss STILL wasn't enough for me to love it or even like it. But...the fact that I needed to gain weight (LONG story...), I didn't want to gain all fat, so I began using a stability ball and 5 lbs weights. The stability ball came with a 25 min video with various exercises. The video isn't my fave, but it helps me keep going. After 4 weeks of doing this video only 3 times a week, I can really tell a difference in my posture and my strength. That helps motivate me to keep doing it. Really, only 3 times a week for 25 min isn't much at all. Anyway...hope this encourages you to at least start doing some light weight lifting...;)



Cloak -> RE: When you hit a plateau... (6/10/2008 5:36:37 PM)

Thank you Guinn for your understanding and support. Yes for us ladies, it can be daunting the weighlifting. However, I am very glad I posted my thoughts and ideas. The power or Communication with others is so amazing when we listen to other people's opinions and weigh them with us, the end result is just incredible.

Staying versatile is key to avoid boredom in maintaining fitness and health. That's why I hope I can combine too many activities and exercises together and another crucial point is to Love what we practice. I can hardly wait to the opening of the pool. Swimming is good for the health, refreshing and invigorating and Fun. I love swimming! [:)]



Konstantinos -> RE: When you hit a plateau... (6/10/2008 5:44:51 PM)

i think the most important thing with HEAVY weightlifting (5 lbs and a ball can only get you so far) for you would be to keep muscle. if you lose it, you'll be weak(which results to all kinds of injuries when you reach some age) and reach being skinny fat which looks even worse than simply fat.

but make no mistake about it. you need HEAVY weightliting, otherwise your mind will not have a reason to keep the muscle you have. during weight loss obviously fat has more value than muscle when it comes to survival. with less muscle you are weak. with less fat you have no energy. no energy=death.

however if you lift heavy(lifting heavy means close to your 1 RM. RM=rep max. basically meaning lifting 80% or more of your 1RM. 1 RM is the most weight you can lift for a certain exercize with proper form for 1 repetition) your mind will think it needs to keep the muscle(provided you also eat properly at the same time too) thinking its necessary to keep in order to survive



Cloak -> RE: When you hit a plateau... (6/10/2008 7:47:04 PM)

Don't worry Kon. I will really keep it simple, light, brief and even when I start weightlifting; I will choose the lightest available. Thanks for the info and advice. Efkharisto!

Afterall, I find that even workouts give me muscle, tone and strength.



csl7037 -> RE: When you hit a plateau... (6/10/2008 8:03:35 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Konstantinos

i think the most important thing with HEAVY weightlifting (5 lbs and a ball can only get you so far) for you would be to keep muscle. if you lose it, you'll be weak(which results to all kinds of injuries when you reach some age) and reach being skinny fat which looks even worse than simply fat.

but make no mistake about it. you need HEAVY weightliting, otherwise your mind will not have a reason to keep the muscle you have. during weight loss obviously fat has more value than muscle when it comes to survival. with less muscle you are weak. with less fat you have no energy. no energy=death.

however if you lift heavy(lifting heavy means close to your 1 RM. RM=rep max. basically meaning lifting 80% or more of your 1RM. 1 RM is the most weight you can lift for a certain exercize with proper form for 1 repetition) your mind will think it needs to keep the muscle(provided you also eat properly at the same time too) thinking its necessary to keep in order to survive


Konstantinos you sound like such a GUY! [;)]

But, sorry, ladies, he makes a good point. Start with those 5's for that DVD you're working with - it's probably oodles and oodles of reps!! And it's probably a good start. But don't be afraid of "heavy" weights. It's good for you, I promise. You might even be surprised and really enjoy it! I know too many women who've been waving around 5 pounders for years - it's a waste of time!!! The key to lifting, the key to fitness, is to progress. Just don't be doing the same things a year from now. Then you'll get bored and discouraged for sure.



Cloak -> RE: When you hit a plateau... (6/10/2008 8:37:56 PM)

cs~ I am open to anything. I am just giving some assumptions. Whenever we embark on something new, there is always some element of fear or uncertainty. Thanks for affirming me! [;)]



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