MASSIVE PLATEAU! Help, please?

Ok, I've been plateauing around 125 for the past month. And I'm sick of it. My goal weight is 115 by June.

I recently uped my calorie intake from 1200 to 1500. (1500 on workout days, 1200 on non-workout days (1-2 days a week, usually Sunday and Thursday)) Since I've plateaued, I did it because I thought my metabolism was slowing down, but I've only been doing it for the past week.

My typical workout:

~ 10 min at 4.0 mph, 40 min at 4.5 mph, and 10 at 4.0, which usually are cut up into 30 minute runs, 30 min after school and 30 min after dinner.

~Then stomach training exercises, and 50 leg lifts on each side.

~Then WiiFit, if I could fit it in.

So, anyway to break this plateau? I'm in serious need of help.

You may want to mix up your workouts a little bit - your body may have gotten accustomed to your routine. Try speed training one day a week - start out at a moderate pace then 1-2 minutes at a sprint followed by alternating cycles of jogging and sprinting. I added in speed training and can tell you that it was exhausting but very rewarding.

I don't know what WiiFit has you do, but if you don't do any weight training I would add in some upper/lower body weight training. If you belong to a gym you could get help with a routine from the trainers.

One final thought, its also fun to try some other way to get in the exercise, maybe try some activity you haven't done before but might be fun, like hiking, tennis, yoga, swimming etc...

That could work... Anything else?

And if it'll help, I'm 18.

~ 10 min at 4.0 mph, 40 min at 4.5 mph, and 10 at 4.0, which usually are cut up into 30 minute runs, 30 min after school and 30 min after dinner.

This isn't really a very good workout.  4 mph is how fast I walk.  How long have you been doing this routine for?  You should try to up your speed a little every week.  7mph would be a good goal to head towards to begin with.

When you look in the mirror are you happy? Don't trust scales they are a nice guide post but if you feel good and look good you are winning the battle in my book. A number is just that a number. My wife does the same as you she gets a number in her head and that is the goal period. I tell her she looks great but she still gets frustrated because of that damn number. Have a good day and best of luck to you

Are you sure that 115 is a healthy goal for you?  125 is a very healthy weight unless you are pretty short.  Perhaps your body is resisting attempts to go below what it knows is healthy.  Maybe if you cut down on cardio and focused on more (and more varied) toning exercises you would look the way you want.

I'm 5'1", so I'm still a little chubby.

What kind of food do you eat?

Breakfast:

~ One small banana
~ One medium apple (Golden Delicious or Pink Lady)
~ Yoplait yogurt if I'm still hungry

Lunch:

~ 2 cups hand tossed salad (with spinach, romaine and carrots)
~ 2 TBS Light Done Right! Blue Cheese (or light Ranch, whichever I find first)
~ Mini candies, but I'm gonna stop once I run out. Two pieces max.
~ Two slices turkey in the salad

Or I make a wrap:

~ Two slices turkey
~ One leaf romaine lettuce
~ 1-2 TBS ranch dressing
~ Pinchful shredded cheese
~ Flax seed tortilla

Dinner:

~ 3 oz. Meat (can range from chicken to pork to beef (steak or hamburg))
~ 1/2- 1 cup Veggie (Corn, broccoli, peas, green beans)
~ 1 cup Starch (potato, rice, noodles)

Snack:

~ Usually baby carrots, I dun count them on my daily caloric intake since they are a negative calorie food

I usually get up to about 1500 calories, but if I don't, I usually allow myself an ice cream sandwich (Skinny Cow kind).

twilitwing, I'm the same height as you, but quite a bit older.  Personally at your age I think you should be eating more calories, so I'm glad you're upping them to 1,500 on your workout days.  I would think that even on non-workout days you could eat that and it wouldn't hurt you.

Having said that - I've also plateau'd (rather solidly!) at 125 in the past.  What I would suggest (and this is only if you have the willpower to get back on the wagon once it's done!) is to stop counting and exercising for a week.  Give your body a complete break.  Don't go hog wild on calories, but stop counting. 

If you can't (or don't want to) do that, then change things up completely for a week.  Get yourself some workout DVDs from the library and try something new.  If you find you're always eating the same thing each day, swap it up completely.

I guess what I'm saying is... shock your body out of the plateau!  :)

1500 is the minimum for someone your age who does not work out.  Find out how many calories your workout burns and add that amount to your calorie intake on days that you work out.  You are not eating enough for someone your age; you may not be growing taller anymore, but your body is still developing and needs more fuel.  If you can, add more to your breakfast.  Two pieces of fruit doesn't seem like enough to start the day.  Try some peanut butter on whole wheat bread to round it out.

When you start eating more, you will temporarily gain weight.  Stick it out and you will start losing again.  But your metabolism will start working better, so it won't be long until you see the weight coming off.

Good luck!

Whenever I plateau, I switch my diet to eating mostly salads for lunch (with a protein included on it) and I make sure I get a good green salad in addition to what I have for dinner. Somehow, this ususally kicks me back into a losing mode. Hope you have success soon!

Sandy

Plateauing...I have had this problem and many people in CC have too.

What worked for me and several others who tried it...was doing a all natural colon cleanse for 5 days max.  I do not use the kits as they are to expensive and there is no guide for a diet when doing a cleanse.   When you cleanse your diet has to be colon specific and can not include other food items.   

Many people wonder why they plateau when they are doing everything right like you. 

Well maybe the waste in the colon is what is causing the plateau and maybe that weight you are retaining.  Waste has weight too. 

With any weight loss program having a bowel movement daily is important.  But if I do not go twice a day I immediately introduce natural colon foods and grains to keep things moving.

Hope this helps.

Original Post by twilitwing:

Ok, I've been plateauing around 125 for the past month. And I'm sick of it. My goal weight is 115 by June.

I recently uped my calorie intake from 1200 to 1500. (1500 on workout days, 1200 on non-workout days (1-2 days a week, usually Sunday and Thursday)) Since I've plateaued, I did it because I thought my metabolism was slowing down, but I've only been doing it for the past week.

My typical workout:

~ 10 min at 4.0 mph, 40 min at 4.5 mph, and 10 at 4.0, which usually are cut up into 30 minute runs, 30 min after school and 30 min after dinner.

~Then stomach training exercises, and 50 leg lifts on each side.

~Then WiiFit, if I could fit it in.

So, anyway to break this plateau? I'm in serious need of help.

ditch the crappy cardio youre doing- search 'HIIT' and do that twice a week, with 1 session of moderate cardio. up your cals to 1700. 1500 cals is what i eat for dinner, when im not hungry. see what happens after 2 weeks.

Everyone has to solve their own puzzle....

Here's how I look at it.  Your stats show a healthy BMI at 125 lbs, and still healthy at 115, so the goal isn't unreasonable.  But it's tough to lose starting at a healthy weight.  Your Harris Benedict BMR calculates to be 1400 calories/day so you're eating reasonably.

That leaves you with exercise.  One hour of jogging a day, covering 4 miles.  For your size, I calculate that this creates a burn of about 200 calories above your BMR.  So at a minimum you are chewing up 1600 calories per day.  Your overall burn is higher than that, but if you're really sedentary (ie school, TV, computer, eating) I wouldn't count on more than another 200 calories per day effect.  I'd expect no more than 1 lb weight loss every couple of weeks.  [If it was me, with my typical undercounting, I would be stuck permanently on a plateau, too.]

If you want to get off the plateau you need more deficit.  Try to double your exercise (by running faster or longer, and more active gym time if possible) and get your deficits up to 500-1000 cal/day.