Weight Loss Plateaus, Ready to Cry

Hi,

I'm female, 5'4" and 132 lbs. I've been slowly losing weight since about November of last year (I was 170lbs). My goal weight is 115.

I'm pleased with my progress so far but the plateaus just about make me toss in the towel every time, and they seem to last for weeks! I've about given up today. I feel like I'm doing everything right- I exercise 5-6 times a week for 30-45 minutes a combination of cardio and light weights for toning. I watch my calories (1200/day), and fat intake (no more than 30g a day). I've added Alli to help my progress but it hasn't done much despite my committment to low-fat dieting. I drink water and little else, and plenty of it every day. I've added far more veggies and fruits and whole grains into my diet but I have to admit I don't have a lot of time, so many of my meals come from lean cuisine (which I used at the beginning to teach myself portion control). I'm feeling like a failure at this point. 

What am I doing wrong? I'm working so very hard and I can't get past this point! I'm scared to increase my calorie intake because on the days that I happen to eat a little more the scale takes a leap. I'm not feeling deprived or hungry so it would be hard to force myself to eat but I just don't know what else to do.

Help, please, help!

You say you don't want to eat more calories but you need to. 1200/day is the minimum a women should be eating. When you add in 30-45 minutes of exercise 5-6 times a week, you're body is most likely burning too many calories for the amount you're eating. You should be aiming for a 500-1000 calorie deficit per day (but never go under 1200). You're plateau is most likely caused by the fact that there's a good chance you're in starvation mode and your body is holding on to every calorie it gets. Your best bet in my opinion is to up your calories.

I calculated your BRM  (with an estimated age of 30 y/o) and the amount of calories you burn by doing absolutely nothing all day (lying in bed), is 1389. If you were looking to maintain, on a moderately active day you would eat 2153 calories. Since you’re wanting to lose weight, you would eat a deficit of 500-1000 calories per day. This means 2153-500 = 1653. With this example, you would lose approximately 1 pound per week (500 calorie deficit per day times 7 days per week = 3500 calorie deficit per week).

I hope this helps and I hope you give raising your calories a chance because many people after hitting a plateau raised their calorie intake and continued to go on and lose more weight.

 

You are in a healthy weight range already with a bmi of 22.7 (range 20-24). 115 would put you at "unhealthy" with a bmi under 20.

You are probably burning at least 2200 cals/day, which means you may be undereating. If you've been doing this for a while, you may need to readjust your metabolism some.

Good luck.

Yes, try eating more.. Doing what you are doing obviously isn't working, you need to switch it up a bit... Your body is telling you something..  

I completely agree.

It's counter-intuitive, but if you increase your calories by a few hundred calories,  after an initial bump up on the scale, you will start losing weight.

Are you are also feeling burned out and low energy?

Yeah now that you mention it I never feel that "runners high" people claim to have after a good workout. In fact I feel like taking a nap by the afternoon most days.

I'm going to bite the bullet and listen to you experts :) I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks for the encouragement, I REALLY appreciate the support!

Well as much as everyone loves to jump on the "starvation mode" band wagon here at CC, here's some alternative advice in case maybe, just maybe, that's not what's going on. I've lost about the same amount as you have (40 lbs since around November) and I have found huge spikes in weight loss when I switch up my routine. Perhaps you should focus more on strength than cardio, now that you've lost a significant amount of weight. Or perhaps you should use a steep incline when you're running if you haven't. Or perhaps you should vary your caloric intake now and then. Just something that will make your body go "Yo... wtf is going on?!" I find it helps a lot.

As far as wanting to take naps, I mean, I don't know how old you are, but I do that, too, and I'm pretty sure it's just cuz I'm in my early twenties. I could sleep till noon if I let myself. And I've only experienced the runner's high a few times after like, 3 or 4 miles of solid running. It takes a long time to kick in, obviously, because that's what your body evolved to do: make sure you can keep running if you need to (you know, in case there's a saber tooth tiger running after you and all).

But, yeah, I think if you don't find success with upping your calories, or simply don't like the thought of eating like, 1600 calories a day, you should try this. Maybe it'll work, maybe it won't. Let us know. Good luck!

PS:

I work out as much as you do, and I eat as much as you do, if not sometimes less, and my body is not in starvation mode. In fact I'm gaining muscle. Just thought I'd throw that little anecdote in. Do with it what you will. :)

One last comment to everybody... Dispite the good leason of portion control from the lean cuisines, the sodium rate is very high.  You might be hanging on to the weight in the form of water.  Try and eat natural for a while, you might be surprised by adding a few calories in quality unprocessed food that your weight will began to drop.  But with that said, 115 at 5'4?  Please reconsider your goal, that is really low,  Good Luck

Original Post by mkculs:

You are in a healthy weight range already with a bmi of 22.7 (range 20-24). 115 would put you at "unhealthy" with a bmi under 20.

 This isn't true! Being 5'4" and having a weight of 115 does not put you in the "unhealthy range." I'm pretty sure you're considered to be "unhealthy" if your bmi is under 18, not 20.

you say you're eating lean cuisine, that has a lot of sodium, maybe cut back and try to cook youself something.  as far as it being time consuming, you can make a lot and freeze it for future use.

I'm appreciative of all the feedback here. In response to a few...ya know, I never bothered to look at the sodium content, wow you're right. Who would have thought! Why can't it be easier to get a quick meal that is good for you? Just when you think you're doing something good for yourself you find out that you aren't. I'll have to find an alternative. I work all day and don't have much time for lunch. I don't want to eat out...in the evenings I come home and have a short time for dinner before I have to run to my next appointment. Popping something I thought was more healthy than left over pizza into the microwave was convenient and fast. As I said I'll have to make some adjustments.

As for my goal, I think I neglected to mention that I have a small frame, so 115 or so I believe is within my okay range. I expect to fluxuate between 115 and 120 once I'm on maintenance. Since all the calculators I've used say that healthy for a small frame at my height can go as low as 108..which I don't plan to do.

I think I'll try eating a little more so I don't feel so run down, and switching up my exercise routine as suggested as well.

Question..how long does it take the body to recover from "starvation mode" and return to a stable state?

Original Post by desperatelyseekingthin:

Question..how long does it take the body to recover from "starvation mode" and return to a stable state?

 This can take a long time if you have severely damaged your metabolism. Depends on how long you have been "in" starvation mode. Im still trying to get out of it and I have been deligently eating super healthy and counting to make sure I eat enough for about 5 months now. My weight has leveled out but I gained a lot when I ate more.

Why do you ask this ? DO you think you may be eating to little?

Original Post by kristinedaqueen:

Original Post by desperatelyseekingthin:

Question..how long does it take the body to recover from "starvation mode" and return to a stable state?

Why do you ask this ? DO you think you may be eating to little?

 Just from the responses here, it seems as though I may be, given that I've been at the same weight without movement for several weeks. I don't feel starved or anything, but I am a bit run down when I really don't think I should be. It could be that I'm still taking in too many carbs as well. Either way it can't hurt to watch what I'm eating more closely and make sure I'm taking in enough (and enough of the right things), right?

I understand your schedule and the eating thing.  One thing I found that helps me is on the weekends I prepare soup or some other home cooked thing I can freeze in portions to bring to work for lunch.  I like to cook for myself because I can control the salt and other ingredients that are being used to make the food.  I also put together a container of big salad full of mixed vegetables and leaves that I can throw together quickly if I am hungry but don't have time to make something.