Friday, September 26

Weigh loss plateau

I feel like I have finally hit that dreaded plateau. After 6 weeks and diet and exercise and a 10 lb loss, I have been back and forth between the same two pounds for two weeks. I am starting to think that, like Keri, I may be slightly starving myself. I am limiting myself to 1200 calories a day, even when I run a 5K. The websites I have been to say that my body needs approximately 2000-2300 calories on a daily basis to maintain my weight with an active lifestyle. So accordingly, I should operate on a 500 calorie loss. That leaves me with at least 1500 calories a day, you follow? So I am possibly shorting myself by 300 calories. I wanted to eat less calories than I thought because I am sure I underestimate my food when I count the calories. I rarely actually measure stuff. But even so, do you think that could be it? This past week, I have run almost 12.5 miles, swam, and worked my abs. What do you guys think?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wish I had some great words of wisdom, but I don't :( My body has always done the same thing (lose 4-5 pounds and then stay the same for a few weeks). When I have asked trainers for advice, they have always said to switch up my workouts more but it sounds like you are already doing that (I used to ALWAYS run and do weights). Switching it up has worked for me, but I think everyone's body is so...different. That's what makes these type of contest so...hard. You naturally start to compare yourself to other people. Don't you just envy the people who workout less and loss more? Or just change their diets slightly and drop weight...none of those genetics over here :) It's frustrating!
Another thought... once you lose weight and body fat you naturally have less to lose and it becomes harder, right?

I think you guys are all doing really well, but I TOTALLY feel your frustration. Let us know if you come up with a solution!

Kathy

Keri Donald said...

I feel ya Angelle! I do think you should maybe try eating just a little more (or maybe more veggies or something like that) and I think Kathy's suggestion about switching up your routine sounds good too (but looking at your log, looks like you're doing that too). Maybe try upping your workout time to 60 minutes?

It totally sucks that there's no clear answer. I've driven myself crazy trying to figure out the perfect formula over the past few weeks. Competition is good because it was a great motivator to get started, but, like Kathy said, it also makes you compare yourself to others and we're all totally different. Different weights, different number of children, different genes, different genders, different habits. A couple of weeks ago you lost a whole bunch (like 4 lbs); right? Maybe your body is playing catch up by holding on to weight in order to even out the 1 lb/week average that is supposed to be the healthiest way to loose.

And finally, have you kept track of your body fat or anything like that? It very well could be that you're gaining muscle, in which case, you wouldn't necessarily see the scale moving in the right direction. Even if you haven't kept up with that up to this point, I HIGHLY recommend checking at your gym to see if they could measure that sort of thing so that your weight isn't the only measurement that you're using to judge yourself.

You're doing great Angelle! Keep it up and I can't wait to see the new hot mama Angelle very soon!!

Tiffanyrose said...

If you need more calories, I can send over some more of those cookies ;)

Lisa said...

I use this website: www.dailyplate.com It is free and all you do is type what you ate and it figures your calories for you. It also has you type in your hieght and wieght and how much you want to lose on a daily basis and it then tells you how many calories you should consume. It keeps track on a daily/weekly/monthy basis. It stores "normals" in case you eat the same thing everyday for breakfast or lunch. It is a fabulous website and so easy to use. I suggest you check it out.

The Ayers Family said...

You have to eat to lose weight... if you deprive yourself of the calories your body needs to function, its going to react in a survival mode, storing unwanted mass in case of starvation. When I was in shape and running a lot I could eat like there was no tomorrow and not gain an ounce. Good times... At this point in my life I almost NEVER weigh myself. I know what my sisters weigh and if we can still share clothes I'm happy.
As far as the ring thing goes... look for a product called Jewelry Shield. It comes in a bottle like nail polish and you paint it on your ring. It's about $5 and you could probably find it at a beauty supply store. If you can't find it, I can send you some!