What do I do now? Stalling at 140-145

[Bakerchic]

Hey guys, I haven't been on in a while. My stats are wrong, I'm now fluctuating between 140 and 145. This is a common occurrence in my life. My body does not like giving up weight past this point. And no, I don't think that's where it needs to be. I'm only 5 '5, and that's too short for 143 lbs. I still have some fat I want to lose. But I think I made a mistake. I lost the first 23 too fast doing the meat and egg, fat fasting, etc. Now it seems I'm running out of ideas to get past this stall. I've been stuck for over a month now. The fat fasting is getting monotonous and the meat and egg fast is all around boring, plus I'm not killing weight like I did. So should I try carb cycling, or do some restricting like the PSMF. I average around 1,200 to 1,400 cals. And I still drink coffee, sans cream on the meat and egg fast. So what is going to push the scale. Has my body gotten used to the low-carb game, or am I not looking in the right places? Anyway, I thought I'd go off the low-carb for a day and eat what I want to get things moving. It didn't work. I guess I got too excited about having pie and cookies, because that didn't seem to be the answer. That post-binge weight is gone now, and I'm busting my booty, but that scale doesn't seem to appreciate my hard work. I'm working out to, so what's the deal? When the typical low-carb stall-breakers aren't doing the trick, what next? I'm thinking PSMF, but does anyone know a better plan. Any advice is appreciated!

[Citruskiss]

I'm no expert, but reading your post, the first thought that came to mind was "diet break" , which is something advocated by Lyle McDonald, of "Rapid Fat Loss" fame (one of his books). Lyle advocates "cheat meals" for those who still have a lot of weight to lose - and these are recommended purely for psychological reasons.

However, for those who are fairly close to goal (you), and/or have less weight to lose - he prescribes a "full diet break" every 6-8 weeks or so, in order to "reset" metabolism. In addition to diet breaks, Lyle suggests something called "re-feeds" where a person eats more food and carbs than usual once or twice per week - and both of these techniques are geared to re-setting metabolism.

Since you've been doing some fairly extreme dieting in order to get where you are now, it makes sense to me that perhaps you need to take a break for a little while before trying something else. This isn't to say that you're going on a binge-o-rama or some kind of carb-fest, but that you'll simply take a break from the dieting and eat reasonably healthy for a week or so.

This may set the stage so to speak, for you to be able to actually try something new and have it work. Right now, because you've been eating so very, very low-carb and probably low-calorie for awhile now, your body is just staying put. If you were to take a week "off" all this stuff, perhaps you'd be able to sort of "re-set" the thermostat or what have you.

You can offset the gains slightly from this "diet break" by increasing your level of exercise. You may gain a few pounds, but I think it might be important for you to hit the "re-set" button before trying something else.

You've already done fat fast, meat & eggs - and there isn't really anywhere else for you to go with this. There aren't any carbs to cut, and your calorie intake is probably already fairly low.

So you're kind of stuck.

Since you can't "lower" any more (whether that's carbs or calories), I'd suggest that you do the opposite for a week or ten days or so - up the cals, up the carbs and up the exercise in order to compensate a wee bit. Once you've done that, you can perhaps try PSMF or what have you.

I'm NOT suggesting upping the cals and carbs by a huge amount, but up them by maybe 20% or so in order to try and "re-set" your metabolism a bit.

I'd highly recommend going to bodyrecomposition dot com and looking into purchasing the "Rapid Fat Loss Handbook" there. This book is excellent and very informative when it comes to how to ensure one's metabolism continues to work well, despite crash/extreme dieting. There's a full explanation as to how "diet breaks" and "re-feeds" work in order to re-set things.

Good luck with being able to get past this. :)

Sara

[kbfunTH]

So what is going to push the scale. Any advice is appreciated!

You want the scale to start moving again, pick up your activity level.

[Bakerchic]

Thanks everyone. I don't know if I want to pick up my activity level anymore, I'm working out atleast 3-4 hours a day, lifting weights and jogging. But maybe I should change the work-out, because they do say the body gets used to certain activity. Or maybe I'm not giving myself credit where it's deserved. I'm building a lot of muscle, and I have definition in my arm to the point now when I wave it, I have no arm jiggle and it's really toned! My mom asked me, where do you think the 15 pounds you want to lose is going to come off of? Ok, I would like a smaller ass and a set of abs! I'm being vain of course.

Anyway, I'm thinking about switching it up for a couple of weeks, and I forgot I had Lyle McDonald's book! Thanks for referring me back to that little treasure. I'm thinking about upping my carbs with fruit as opposed to starch. I want to keep the gluten as far away from me as possible. My magic cheat meal was mostly starch and sugar, so it wasn't really a cheat meal but a binge. Since I'm upping my carbs, should I keep an eye on the calories? I want to aim for a max of 1,200, but I don't think I'd feel comfortable eating 1,200 cals a day mostly made up of carbs. I'm too scared! I have to admit, I've been eating very low-carb. Now I almost have a phobia about them! I know gaining a bit of weight may be beneficial, but you can understand the trepidation. Especially for a young girl!

[Zuleikaa]

Why don't you give Fat Flush by Anne Gittleman a try. It's great at getting rid of that last ten pounds where the fat is deposited under the skin on the hips, thighs, and butt.

[Bakerchic]

Hmm.. That's been one book I've been recommended a few times, but failed to get. Maybe I should consider now. Yeah, those last ten pounds are the ones I've been carrying around for about two years now. They are stubborn. First place to gain, last place to go. I just can't wait to write my story in the success board. That's my goal!

[Sona]

Lyle's rapid loss handbook and his PSMF regimen will work, although for that extreme a program, I believe he advocates exercise that is not as strenuous as what you seem to be accustomed to already. You might have to drop some of the intensity. But PSMF--with the appropriate diet breaks and refeeds--can be a boon for an athlete looking to lower bf%.

Fat Flush is good, and will work, too. However, since Lyle is also a fairly well-respected exercise guru--and you seem to be well into exercise--his regimen may be better tailored to your particular needs and predicament at this point in time. Also, he has other WOE programs that you might be able to segue into once you break your stall and/or get to where you want to be.

Good luck!