What do you do when you hit a wall??

[Lulika]

I am pleased with my weight loss so far, 16lbs in one month. My doctor warned me that the weight loss will now slow down a bit and that I should expect to lose around 1lb a week as the body gets used to receiving fewer calories.
My problem is I know I am terribly impatient, but the scales aren't budging now! :mad:
Its been 10 days and I havent lost any more weight, despite eating like a saint and exercising 5 times a week.
What do you guys do when you hit this plateau?
I can't really cut down any more carbs as I am on the bare minimum now and I cant step up the exercise, as even doing 5 days a week for one hour each time is my limit.
So...what now?:eek:
I am hoping that after afew more days my metabolism will kick into gear again and show me some more weight loss..its just so frustrating! :D

[UpNorth]

Exercise build muscles and muscles weigh more than fat, so maybe you're not losing as much weight now because you get more muscles :)

I'm quite overweight, and right now i'm more fit than in a long time due to physical work, but i have a feeling i haven't lost much weight since i weighed myself last time (ages ago). People around me say i look more fit though. Last time i weighed myself i was 110kg:eek: That is one heavy type1 diabetic:o :o :o
I'm over 170cm though... And people when they see me, believe i'm just about 80kg or so:eek:

Kilos are just numbers :D As long as you can see and feel the difference, it doesn't matter if the kilos go down ;) They will go down eventually, but it can take some time to see the effect from exercising.

[davef]

Lulika,

I can only speak from my own experience ....

Are you ready for this .... try eating a little more for a few days! I know it is counter intuitive, but it can work to restart your metabolism at a higher rate. Over the past month your body has been trying to adjust to the lower calorie/carb intake, so if before cutting down you were eating say 2500 calories a day, you body may have been using 1800, so you cut out calories and drop down to say 1200 a day, you body was using 600 more than that, but overtime it will try adjust so it is using what you are eating. So you could try shake things up a bit, try alternating so eat more today, an normal tomorrow, then more the next day and drop the following day. It has worked for me in the past.

You could also try changing what you are eating, if you are like me you have found foods that are working for you and eating the same breakfast and lunch each day and only dinner changes, try changing what you are having for breakfast/lunch.

You could also try eating more protein, I believe you are vegetarian, so I can't say eat more meat, but can you eat more of what you eat for protein? Watch the balance between weight loss and BG, I have found my problem is that if I want a snack that won't spike my BG, things likes nuts, cheese etc are good for that but they also tend to be higher in fat.

Another thing you could try is eating little and often, rather than having 3 meals a day, add in some snacks to keep your metabolism active.

Finally, are you drinking water? I have found it makes a big difference, I always lose weight more steadily if I drink about 2-3 liters of water each day.

Hope some of this helps,

[JadeMonkey]

I'd suggest switching up your excercise routine. Your body will get used to activities it does a lot by getting more efficient at performing them. If you change how your excercising it will stress your body in different ways and developing new areas will make it work harder.

For me, eating several smaller meals a day works better. If I have small meals with a snack in between (eating every couple of hours) it seems to keep my metabolism up and I definitely lose more weight. As a bonus I feel full all the time, sometimes I feel like I eat way too much but the pounds keep coming off!

-Jade

[Lulika]

Thanks for the advice everyone, gave me alot to think about.
UpNorth...I hope it is my muscles that are weighing me down:D
I will bear in mind that these are only numbers; I too am tall, 1.73, so people often dont think I weigh as much as I do!

Dave...I will try to eat a little more, it does make sense trying to restart the metabolism.As for protein, I am a veggie so I could eat more cheese and nuts but this does add calories.
I do drink lots of water too.I need to vary my food as I have been sticking with what works for me.

Jade...I hadnt thought about changing my exercise routine! Now you mention it, I have been doing the same thing for 5 weeks; when I started, it was realy hard but it has been getting easier of late. I guess I need to make it harder!

Great advice and suggestions form you all...thank you, will let you know how I get on :D

[mzteacher]

lulika,
there seems to be soooo many struggles with this disease...it sounds like you are off to such a great start and have been working so hard....it can be hard not to get discouraged....so sending good thoughts your way....
susan

[Lulika]

Thanks for the encouragement Susan :) I agree that I never realised what a minefield diabetes is! But at least here I feel one of the crowd :D

[morrisma]

Plateauing is very common with weight loss regimens. Changing exercise often helps but perseverance is key. You really shouldn't expect more than 1 lb per week safe weight loss after the initial drop. New recipes for keeping your new healthy diet interesting also help.
Keep your eyes on the goal!

[mimianvy]

Also, try to do some body measurements. You may not be dropping the weight like you would like but you may be dropping inches.

Mimi

[notme]

Dave and UpNorth have it 100% correct. I lost weight a few years ago before going to Hawaii. I cut fat and calories to a minimum and exercised religiously. I lost weight for two months and then it came to a standstill. My doctor told me to increase my fat and calories a bit. She said my body was in starvation mode and was hanging on to every calorie I ate. I thought she was nuts. I did what she said anyhow (because it sounded delightful) and darned if I didn't start to lose weight again.

Add a few calories and don't cut down on your exercise.

Good luck

[UpNorth]

Thanks for the advice everyone, gave me alot to think about.
UpNorth...I hope it is my muscles that are weighing me down:D
I will bear in mind that these are only numbers; I too am tall, 1.73, so people often dont think I weigh as much as I do!

I'm 1.73 too :D At least last time i measured myself- in 2005 :T Isn't it great to *always* be the tallest in China :D haha Difficult to find clothes and shoes though:eek:

[UpNorth]

Since you're vegetarian... Eggs is a good source of protein, and tofu! Mmmm fried tofu... I miss that a lot now!

[Scrabblechick]

Yeah, adding a few calories really can work. We have to snooker our bodies into believing they're getting plenty of food. LOL. I'm down to about 1-1.5 pounds a week, after losing 27 in about 10 weeks. My total loss is about 35 pounds. Not complaining, by any means, but those plateaus really can be annoying.

It's supposed to be stormy tonight. Looks like I'll have to do housework for exercise. Bleah.

[notme]

Great job Scrabblechick. Don't lose to quickly. We don't need anymore gall bladders biting the dust. This seems to be a huge problem for people who lose weight quickly.

[Kim_in_TN]

How funny ... you and I are on the same page! Of course I haven't even had but about 2 days since my weigh-in but I am already worrying about hitting a plateau! LOL! I started a similar thread in the Carb / Calorie forum. Anxious to see what is said there ... you might want to peek there too!

[Lulika]

Thanks everyone who replied. I did exactly as suggested and ate a little more yesterday and today the scales are on the move again! Phew! :D
It seems that the metabolism definately needs fine tuning after each stage of weight loss and I think I had become a little too strict with the fats and calories.So I have added a little bit more cheese and some almonds and also milk. Lets hope it works!

UpNorth...yes it is weird being the tallest person around in China but I have found a fantastic market that sells western shoes and clothes (i.e bigger sizes) incredibly cheap! Designer clothing for a fraction of what they would cost in the west! :D