Stuck on a Plateau for the past 2 months

[artboy598]

So, I have been using Fitbit for the past 9 months. Though it’s been a long road, I’ve gone down 45 pounds from my starting weight of 256 and got my body fat percentage to around 20%-19% (waist is 36in). 

However, since September 2017, I’ve been bouncing between the same 2-3 pounds and I don’t know why. I exercise 5 days a week and don’t eat junk food during the week. I have pizza on the weekend but during the week it’s stricktly baked foods and fruits and veggies (I record everything and make the same thing to eat most usually switching out chicken and fish as my meats).   I eat on average 1800-2000 calories a day and with exercise burn 3100-3400 a day during the week according to my Fitbit.  I do 30 min of cardio (various machines each day) as a warm-up and then lift weights and do body weight exercises for an hour after that.   Anyone have any advice/tips?

[Dominique]

You may want to check this topic on the Dreaded Plateau for ideas/pointers.

[WavyDavey]

Sounds like your metabolism may have adapted. If this is the case, it will need further stimulation to disrupt the new norm. I had to switch from steady-state cardio to HIIT to keep the ball rolling.

Serious HIIT, done on a rower, prowler or treadmill set at high incline (with a good amount of time in peak zone) can have a profound effect on the metabolism. That, and squats and deadlifts. 🙂

[SunsetRunner]

I agree with previous responses and I would also add that my doctor shared with me that after dramatic weight loss, such as yours, which is similar to my own,  all the systems in your body need time to catch up.  He said my cardio vascular, and circulatory  systems in particular can lag weight loss significantly.  

My my own plateau lasted from about mid-April to the second week in September.  During that period I stayed fairly strict with my eating strategy and my running and walking routines.  The big difference for me was adding cross fit 2x/week and the Fitbit, which has improved my food discipline as well as more activity during my work day.

In the end, I think my doctor was right, it's a case of waiting for your body to adapt and resisting the urges to stray from what you know works.

Good Luck

[Daves_Not_Here]

@artboy598 - congrats on your progress - you must look and feel physically great!

You mention you average a deficit of between 1,100 to 1,600 calories per day "during the week".  What about weekends?   Are you carefully recording all your eating then?

Pizza is 300 calories per slice, beer is 200 calories per mug.  I don't know about you, but I can easily consume 2,500 - 3,000 calories of that in a single sitting on Friday night.  Then, I can eat a 1,500 calorie breakfast to staunch the hangover.  Plus Bloody Marys.  Repeat Saturday and Sunday.  My point is I can very easily wipe out my weekday's calorie deficit on the weekend, but you probably aren't as gluttonous as me.

What is your total weekly calorie deficit, including the weekend?

[jennyx92]

I would look into maybe checking if you'd be interested in tracking macros. 

You're able to work out what your body needs to be able to do what you want it to do just by tweaking numbers. I'm looking for fat loss and currently work with low carb and high protein but when I plateau I switch it up.

Don't forget if you're lifting weights you're gaining muscle and that weighs a lot more than fatty tissue in your body. I would maybe step away from the weight number for a while and go off progress photos. 

Are you getting stronger? Do you feel leaner? Are you finding your workout too easy? You have to vary what you do so your body doesn't become too comfortable and even though you've come amazingly far, your body now might just be at a state where your routine is "normal."

Swap your reps, make sure you're tracking EVERYTHING even the amount of milk and sugar (example only) you use in tea or coffee, drink more water and try do short bursts of HIIT sessions to keep your body in a fat burning zone. 

If you're burning off 3500 calories and are 100% in a deficit you should be losing around 1lb of fat every 3500. If not I would invest in a small cheap scale and weigh out what you're eating and switch up your workout. Give yourself a few weeks and see if that helps, otherwise I'd seek medical help if you're 100% doing everything by the book and are seeing no results. 

You're doing amazing so far, don't get disheartened because you'll get over this and go so much farther.