Plateau already?

I started a few weeks ago, and became encouraged when I had quickly lost 2 pounds.  Well, I had one somewhat large restaurant meal (really it was dessert alone that did me in!)  Of course I gained it back.  

Other than that one day, and the day we went to a friend's house for dinner, I have stuck pretty close to my calorie goal.  I also have been walking, usually 3-4 times a week.

Basically, though, my weight has been fluctuating between 2 pounds less than when I started and a pound more than when I started.

My focus has been on trying to eat healthy, which has been pretty easy at this time of year with the availability of reasonably-priced fresh fruits and vegetables.

Any ideas or suggestions about how to break this early-occurring weight loss plateau?  Has anyone else experienced/overcome this?

Original Post by minkerc60:

Other that that one day, and the day we went to a friend's house for dinner, I have stuck pretty close to my calorie goal.  I also have been walking, usually 3-4 times a week.

Any ideas or suggestions about how to break this early-occurring weight loss plateau?  Has anyone else experienced/overcome this?

Well you have a whole recipe for failure there.  You really aren't sticking to your goal, and I can't tell if you are really doing any serious exercise.  How far are  you walking?  You walk a mile, you burn about 100 calories - that's all. So if you are walking 5 miles a day, that would be great.  One mile, not so great.

I would advise doing an hour of brisk walking, EVERY day.  And start journaling your calories to ensure you STICK to your calorie goal.  No cheating...it's too easy to jump off the wagon.

Wow.  That's not very encouraging.  When I walk, it's usually 1-3 miles.  I don't see how I could ever find time to walk an hour every day.

You can lose weight walking 1-3 miles a day, or even not at all.  The key is the eat less calories than you burn. Exercising just makes it easier by burning more calories.  Figure out your burn rate, add in the exercise, then consume 500-1000 calories less than the total.

Are you certain about the calories you are consuming?  You may want to measure or weigh all your food for a month or two, or note the amount on the package.  When you log your food, make sure you include EVERYTHING, especially little things that pack a lot of calories like salad dressings, oils, nuts, sweetened drinks, cocktails, etc.  Log it all, even if you know you were splurging, so you can see the results.

You also need to be careful about the frequency of nights out and visits to friends houses where you eat whatever you want.  It takes me 3 or 4 days to get back to where I was after every dinner out or family celebration.   If you do this once or twice a week, you aren't going to make much, if any progress.  You need to either cut down the number of "cheat days", limit the calories consumed (skip dessert!) or find a way to budget in those calories. 

Stick with it and keep working on it.  Eventually you will figure out something that works for you as long as you keep trying and DONT GIVE UP! 

Original Post by minkerc60:

Wow.  That's not very encouraging.  When I walk, it's usually 1-3 miles.  I don't see how I could ever find time to walk an hour every day.

 I don't mean to be discouraging, sorry to come across that way.  But if you are serious about losing, you have to realize that it all comes down to burning more than you consume.  It's very very easy to consume 300-400 calories in what most people would consider a "snack".  To burn off that little snack, requires 3-4 miles of walking.  So, you have to choose what will work best for you.  Either eat less, or exercise more - a lot more.  It really does come down to that.

what i have found is that trial and error is the best way.

this past month i have been at the same weight, as i was away at weekends not logging what i ate. that weekend undid all the positive work i did during the week. !!!  sounds as if your nights out may be doing the same.

you can't not go out to see friends or for meals, so you need to think of what you can change about these nights that reduce your calories. e.g. you can have a dessert, if you have a low cal salad and low cal dressing as main.  i sympathise, this is tough, and it might take you a few weeks to work out what comprimises work for you.

as someone suggested, log every calorie.  if i turn my lap top off half way through the evening, i can consume an extra 500 without realising. basically, i only cheat myself, so even on a high calorie, or cheat day, i still log the calories. this way i end up eating maintainance, and not totally binge.

as for the walking you do, BRILLIANT. If you can't find time for a longer walk try this.

day one- walk. time it.

day two.  same route walk, time it. but do it quicker than the first day.

day three- as above, but quicker than day two.

you will end up building your speed, evertually fitting higher calorie burning walking into the same time frame.

(hope that bit made sense!!!!)

and finally- i am not sure you are at a plateau yet, i just think you have to work out how your body needs to be treated to lose weight. And you WILL do it. persevere, and listen to what your body is telling you.

unless its telling you to have extra dessert, and a massive meal everytime you see friends, thats your body being a little pest, you can ignore that!!!

good luck,

shelly X

Hey,

I'm in the same boat as you....trying to find out the right way to count my calories...what to eat when I'm around my friends that aren't dieting, etc...I've been at it for almost two weeks. Lost a little weight...my problem is finding the correct deficit. I've had a high deficit everyday so I'm trying to figure out if that's why I lose a little...but scared to up it! Like the other post says, I'm just trying to see what works for me....gonna take a few weeks of trial and error :)

Good luck...at the very least at least the formulas here make sense...now if my body would just figure it out like my mind has (for the most part!) :)

Original Post by minkerc60:

I started a few weeks ago, and became encouraged when I had quickly lost 2 pounds.  Well, I had one somewhat large restaurant meal (really it was dessert alone that did me in!)  Of course I gained it back.  

Other than that one day, and the day we went to a friend's house for dinner, I have stuck pretty close to my calorie goal.  I also have been walking, usually 3-4 times a week.

Basically, though, my weight has been fluctuating between 2 pounds less than when I started and a pound more than when I started.

Don't give up yet. A 2-5 pound fluctuation in weight even WITHIN ONE DAY is normal. Ask the maintainers here. Even after achieving target and switching to a maintenance level of calories, they have weight gain/loss in a +/- 2 pound range. 

As the other posters here have said, weightloss stands on three legs - proper nutrition, metabolic exercise routines, and a healthy lifestyle. You need all three. Do all three and it will start to work for you. Here's a great article to get you motivated http://www.examiner.com/x-1838-Boston-Weight- Loss-Examiner~y2009m5d28-Weigh-loss-report-be ware-of-the-shaky-3legged-stool

Well, it is definitely too early to cry plateau.  Basically, you just have a strategy that is not a winner for you.

I think that consistency is often key. Not binging one day, and then being ultra strict the next. And knowing that your weight can fluctuate a few lbs a day whether you are doing good or not. Keep exercising as much as you can, sstart lifting weights and get a good calorie target for your exercise level.

try this one in addition to CC:

http://phord.com/cc

Thanks to all of you for your input and suggestions.  I have been consistently logging in my calories, even on days when I know I overdid it a little.  I've noticed that when I'm not being careful I tend to eat around 1750 calories a day.  That's above what I need to lose weight, but I'm quite sure it's less than I was eating before I started keeping track...probably by a few hundred calories a day.  And it's true that I still have to keep working on what will work for me; for example, I haven't exercised in about 4 days, which is not good.  That's always been a struggle for me.  "They" always say to find an exercise you like so you'll stick with it...I don't know if it exists!  (Or at least not for free!)  I'll keep plugging away...