AIRHOG

It's the same old thing, I start recording my food and restricting my calories and I lose 4 or 5 lbs then I plateau. I switch from a balanced diet and do lo carb while counting calories and I lose 3 or 4 more then I plateau again. I exercise approx 5 days a week usually thirty minutes to an hour cardio of some kind and 15-30 minutes weights. Still after the second plateau it seems no matter what I do the scale dosent drop or even more ironic it goes back up! I've tried every supplement known to man and tried eating high amounts of fiber,extra water etc. and nada. Yes if I eat 1000 calories a day and work out like a fiend I can squeeze out another lb a week or so but this leaves me in a constant state of hunger and fatigue. Really hard to do while running a business and trying to function normally. I keep my caloric intake around 1600 calories a day and eat plenty of lean protein and veggies. What am I doing wrong???

jonjaxmom

You aren't doing anything wrong! This happens to everyone, myself included. Keep doing what you are doing, you may go a week or two (or 3 or like me, 5) without a loss. BUT DONT GIVE UP!

Plateaus SUCK but they happen from time to time. And unfortunately a healthy way to handle it is to ride it out. You can try to change things up a bit like add more weight training for a week, or if you usually eat 1400 calories, add an additional 200 for a few days so your body is "confused". It may help.

Im in my mid 40s, and I know we are all different. My weight loss journey has been very very slow, partly due to my diabetes. I cant just not eat, it will kill me. I have thought about quitting many many times. I've had great days, and I have had horrible ones. I wish I had the magic words or potion or secret to give you, that would make this all just happen for you. But I don't. I can give you, however, all the support and encouragement and positive energy that I have. DONT GIVE UP. PLEASE. You deserve to reach your goal. Scales are not our buddies, so if yours is pissing you off, yell at it and walk away from it. DONT LET YOUR SCALE STOP YOU.

You got this. I know you do. Keep on swimming.... and Hang in there.

Kathy13118

I agree. Plateaus are plateaus... this stuff doesn't happen on a timetable (well, maybe really low calorie diets do, but that's pretty extreme). Sometimes, it's water weight, sometimes it's little nibbles here and there, sometimes it's constipation, but eventually the weight comes off. Whatever diet you are on has to be one you can live with - this sounds like a cliche, but it's true. Living on that diet guarantees that EVENTUALLY, the weight does come on. At its own speed. So, hang in there!

AIRHOG

Thanks guys (gals actually). I had a bit of an extra stressful day today but I still believe I ate well
Had to have lunch out and had a salad of romaine,broccoli ,asparagus and tomatoes and grilled chicken. 2 tablespoons of olive oil dressing on top. Breakfast and dinner both was a 1/2 cup of egg beaters and one slice of cheese on a low.carb wrap. I didnt do a formal workout but walked briskly for a little over an hour total from train station to my appointments from train station home

lcriswell0421

Have you taken your measurements? Since muscle weighs more than fat, if you are exercising you may be gaining muscle. Maybe take your measurements once a month and see if you see any difference in the inches instead of watching the scale. I agree with others here. It will work if you stick to it. Sometimes (most of the time) it doesn't happen as fast as we think it should, but it will.

AIRHOG

Thanks Lisa ive heard that theory before and I have one of those scales that measure bmi and hydration. My issue with this is that even though you may be right to a small degree I know from research a hardcore body builder that is not taking steroids would be hard pressed (no pun intended) to put on more than a pound or two of muscle a month and two would be a lofty goal at that. So I don't think a 52 year old man like myself doing light weight training 15 minutes a day is doing much more than just maintaning. I appreciate the encouragement and ive been meaning to take measurements and record them. Maybe this weekend.

jonjaxmom

Airhog, how's it been going? Hoping you are still fighting the good fight... and winning!!

Keep on swimming!

maggiesp

Change your exercise your doing try tae bo etc. your body gets use to the weights and you stop losing. Or do both I like Billy Blanks he motivates me to keep moving.

Kathy13118

A suggestion: watch your sodium. You need it but you can overdo it. Also, you don't really get a linear progression to weight loss - if you look at a graph of your weight loss (fitday provides you with one), you can see that if you stick to what you're doing that is working, over time, the trend is downward for your weight. Just accept that. When you do look at that graph, say, every month, you'll see it. When you check that graph every week, you won't.