Weight loss stopped

[Avri]

I went off refined sugar and cut down on food intake  and lost 4 kilos in 2 months. I've continued the same but my weight has gone up by 0.70 kilos, despite adding activity (very light, about 6000 steps a day and 15 flights of stairs). I've averaged a calorie deficit of about 500 calories a day but still no weight loss in the past week. I'm trying to go from 55 kilos (current weight) to 50 kilos, am 33 years old 5 feet 3 inches. I can't work out (very poor stamina makes me throw up with light cardio also) so I try to walk around as much during the day. What else do I need to do? 

[linithos]

It seems that is something called weight loss plateau, I'm have the same problem =( and I don't know what to do. 

[Dominique]

Welcome to the community, @Avri! Your BMI went from 23.0 (at 59 kg) to 21.5 (at 55 kg). This puts you right below the mid-point of the normal weight range. Many people (especially women) would consider that as an ideal weight and place to be. If, nevertheless, you want to drop a few more, you have two main tools at your disposal: what (and how much) you are eating (and drinking) and your activity. 6k steps is rather low for a person your age without serious health issues; nothing wrong with walking, btw: you don’t need insane cardio workouts to burn calories. What exactly is your "very poor stamina"? Is it simply that you’re out of shape, because you’ve been sedentary for a longer period of time? If so, it’s easy to fix. On the activity side, I would also suggest some kind of resistance training: very important if you want to preserve as much lean mass as you want and look "toned" (the look most women are seeking) rather than "skinny fat". Then there’s eating, probably the more important factor in the equation: your diet doesn’t revolve around refined sugar alone. There are probably many ways you can improve it / optimize it: eat veggies and fruits every day, eat enough protein, enough fiber, favour minimally processed over highly processed food (sugar isn’t the only component of processed foods). I suggest you listen to the lectures of nutritional priorities referenced in this other topic for more information. 

[Dominique]

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@linithos wrote:

It seems that is something called weight loss plateau 

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Have a look at this topic on The Dreaded Plateau!

How much weight have you lost, and in what period of time?

[linithos]

Thank you, I'm going to look.

I lost 7 kilos in two and a half months but now I've been stuck for 3 weeks at the same weight =( 

I was 63.3 Kg and now I am 56.1kg my goal is 53 Kg since I am 1.54 mt tall.

[Dominique]

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@linithos wrote:

I lost 7 kilos in two and a half months but now I've been stuck for 3 weeks at the same weight =( 

I was 63.3 Kg and now I am 56.1kg my goal is 53 Kg since I am 1.54 mt tall.

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@linithos: this was 11 percent of your initial bodyweight, which is quite a lot in 10 weeks. You can compare these numbers to the recommendations made in Losing All Your Weight at Once. If you think the explanation is relevant to your situation, there’s a similar, but more detailed version of it in this post (also from the Dreaded Plateau discussion).

At 154cm/56.1kg, you’re now at BMI 23.7, which is a very healthy level. This means you’re in no rush to get your weight even lower. 

[Avri]

Thank you so much Dominique! You're right my problem is not so much weight loss but that I am not toned and I suppose I thought if I loose more weight I'll loose the flab. 

I don't have serious health issues but because of a sedentary lifestyle past few years, now I can't climb 3 flights of stairs without being breathless and I've tried some Zumba classes but I throw up post any cardio 45 minute class. I can brisk walk but I am unable to jog or run again without feeling nauseous. 

Will try the diet changes you've recommended along with resistance training and the lectures! Thanks a ton! 

[Dominique]

I can relate to being breathless after even the smallest physical effort: I was in the same situation when I started with Fitbit 4.5 years ago (same reason: years of being sedentary). You need to progressively increase your cardio fitness. Graduating from walking at normal speed to walking briskly to jogging gently to running is one way to do it. A 45 minute zumba class is just too long and too intense for you at this stage. Start getting in shape first, and after a few months you will be able to take part in aerobic classes of that kind.

As to being "toned", it’s the combination of two factors: 1) reducing subcutaneous fat so as to reveal your muscles, 2) having enough muscle so there’s something to reveal. Aerobic exercise is great for improving cardio fitness and burning energy (thus enhancing fat loss), but it won’t build much muscle. For that, you need to do resistance training based on progressive overload. The stimulus must be high enough, pink dumbbells à la Tracy Anderson won’t cut it:

It doesn’t matter what provides the resistance: your own bodyweight (e.g. with TRX), dumbbells or barbells, or fancy machines at the gym. The stimulus must exceed a certain threshold for your muscles to have an incentive to grow. In other words, lift heavy (for you), and increase the load over time. Many women are afraid of that, fearing it will make them bulky. Don’t worry, not going to happen!

[Daves_Not_Here]

HI @Avri -- lots of good advice here -- the one thing I would add is that you do not need to feel winded or dramatically raise your heart-rate in order to see fairly quick improvements in your cardio fitness.  All you have to do is take comfortable walks and gradually increase the length as you are able.  Your heart-rate will move into the "fat-burning" and "cardio" zones, and after a few walks, you'll see your pace naturally increase.

Zumba workouts are pretty strenuous, so I wouldn't let your prior experience discourage you.