Hi all.

I've been fluctuating between 302 - 307 over the past few months and just can't crack into the 200's. I've tried more excercise, more water/less water, more carbs/less carbs, anything!!!!

Any ideas? I'm reaching the end of my rope now and just need a push to go over that milestone.

Thanks.

{I'm sorry it's been frustrating for you.}

I'm sure you'll get lots of suggestions, but the first one I'd make is to look at your calorie intake. I know there is some feeling in the LC community that calories don't matter very much, just eat 'until you feel satisfied' etc., but many of us have noticed that calories make a difference.

Sometimes the problem is not enough food and your body goes into starvation mode, which is the slowing down of your metabolism to cope with less fuel. Others times, we're just eating too much to make a consistent calorie deficit.

A million things could be affecting while you're stalled ... stress, hormones, medication, sleep disturbance, sugar alcohols, psychological issues around crossing the 300 barrier, the moon in Gemini ...

Whatever it is ... hang on to that rope!

I've been here more than a year now and keep reading stories of people who hung on through periods of very little loss ... and they're the folks who eventually have made the most progress. Don't give up! You're going to be one of those people someday.

{Good Luck!}

PS - Here is a link to a forum article on Stalls. It has some great suggestions.

Can you tell us what your normal daily routine is like for both food and activity? It's hard to know what to suggest without knowing what you are doing routinely. Do you log your food and exercise at http://fitday.com? I found that extremely valuable when I hit a plateau last winter. I started lifting dumbbells back then and I think that helped too.

I've found the best combination for me is to watch calories, exercise and read as much as I can here on the forum, all the while keep carbs in the medium range (30-60). Going really low carb while I'm exercising doesn't really help much. We are all different, though, so my combination might not be what works for you.

I know how frustrating it can be to be stuck, but just know that if you stick with your plan, it will work. Recording your activities and food is the first step you might want to take.

Oh, also medicines you are taking may make a difference. Are you taking anything routinely? I'm not as well versed on those, so let us know and maybe someone else will be familiar with those.

Basic day: vegetable omelette with cheese for breakfast and coffee (I'm down to 16 oz. unable to kick that one so far), lunch is typically a salad, broiled chicken breast, or hamburger patty with cheese, dinner is typically 8-10oz of meat (chicken, pork, steak) and a vege like broccolli. I will occasionally have a atkins ice cream bar, but have recently cut those out.

Excercise - swimming 3x week for 30 minutes, walking (when it isn't 100 degrees out) for 30 minutes.

Medicine - 1000mg Metformin daily.

Fit Day - I did it for awhile, but stopped recently since I'm frustrated. It was showing nothing out of the ordinary....

Thanks for any help you can give - I'm off to check the stall website now.

hey maryannec!

i think you should go back to using fitday.com - i know it is annoying - but it does help to get you back in the groove of lcing - i looks like your calories may be kinda low and you should probably up your fat intake.

i know it sounds crazy but i had a friend who stopped losing and when i told her to do the same she thought i was crazy - but it did help

Your menus look good. I've had to cut back a bit on the beef (steaks) since they are higher in calories, but that's probably not an issue for you yet. You might want to increase how often you are eating. Either eat 5-6 small meals or maybe fit in a few snacks. The theory is that if you eat more often you keep your metabolism ramped up. Sort of like a fire burning. You can dump a lot of logs on the fire 3 times per day and the burn really well for a bit, then start dying out. If you feed the fire a new log every three hours, it stays burning at a steady pace.

I've also had more success when I eat more veggies. 2 salads a day, loaded with good stuff, light on the dressing, plus veggies as a side dish work much better for me than eating a lot of meat & cheese.

I also wonder how Metformin affects your loss. My sister takes it and her weight loss is slow, but I don't know if that's common or not. Maybe someone else can advise on that.

Good luck!

I'm on Metformin too, plus 2 other diabetes meds. Weight loss is very slow for me, but I have always heard that with just Metformin it should help you lose weight. I know when I started it did cut down my appetite somewhat. It helps your body's insulin receptors be more sensitive to insulin. But I suppose it could have different results with different people.

Sometimes the more you want the scale to move, the slower it is. Just hang in there, follow your plan, relax, and it will come.

Good luck!
Mary

I wonder if the constant high temperatures are affecting you. If it's really hot outside, the body tends to hold onto water. And after exercise also.

And perhaps all the tweaking is having its own effect. Your body can't feel "safe" because nothing is ever the same from one week to the next. Maybe just staying steady with water, exercise, carbs & calories would be a worthwhile experiment.

A plateau of 3 months isn't at all unusual. I've had them myself. I just keep telling myself that perhaps tomorrow is the day I'll lose IF I stay LC. And it has always happened. I think plateaux are just part of the process.

Thanks all,

I've decided to work in the yard all day today (except small breaks to not get sunburned), hopefully all the work will help me lose weight. I know I'll get to the 2's, I'm just not there yet.

I have also noticed that sometimes eating more helps weight loss especially in those who have built up more muscle tissue.... because it uses more calories, it means that your body has more of a basic need and that your starvation level is higher then someone who is more sedetary

Hi maryannec,

Did you just forget to mention any fats that you include, or are you doing a low fat version? Since you mention "broiled chicken breast", I was wondering. It's very important to make sure you have enough fat included in this WOE, and the right kinds of fats - olive oil, butter, mayo, avocado, etc.

If you do go back to using FitDay (and I think it's a great idea too), you can check and see what your fat/carb/protein ratio is. Many people try to keep it around 75/5/25 in induction and find success.

Good luck!