How to get over my weight-loss-plateau

[VixenAndKits]

Hi everyone,
I've hit The Wall with my weight loss. I lost 20kg in total (105kg down to 85kg). Went from size 20 to 16/18 (unfortunately I have very large hips so I'm always wide but my stomach and waist have improved). It technically took a year, but I took a year off because I finally got pregnant and took a few months to recover after she was born.

Anyway, I got back to work on the weightloss. I was 88kg after having my baby, and got back to 85kg quite easily. But I can't seem to ever get lower than that. I tried before I got pregnant and the lowest I got to was 84.6 before it went back up.

My BMI leads me to think I should be around the 75-80kg mark. Things I'm doing now that worked very well in the past but now won't;

1. Calorie counting
2. Fasting for 16 hours a day
3. Walk as much as possible
4. Gym session twice (sometimes three times if kids allow) a week.

But now I'm stuck at 85kg and can't seem to drop anymore. I still have a bit of a stomach I'd like to be rid of before my wedding (and for my health in general, of course).

Any tips?

Hi Vixen oh it's so hard isn't it. Maybe try and increase your fasting window. I found that if I fasted for less than 18 hours my weight loss stalled.

Also are you accurately watching your calories? This might help.

Have you recalculated your tdee - how many calories you need to be stable / lose - because it goes down as you lose weight

It sounds like you were eating say 1600 calories and dropped until you hit the point that 1600 is maintenance ?

@fiesta I use MyFitnessPal, which lets me scan products for accurate results and I weigh my food when I can. I'll try 18 hours of fasting, thanks!

@kelsaycobbles Im eating 1700 right now, so that's a good shout I should lower it further. Do you guys think 1600 is a big enough drop or should I go to 1500?

You need to get your tdee estimate for your height and age and activity level abs then go a little below that

Just keep going and eventually the weight will drop. If you find a guy on Instagram called Jordan Syatt, a PT in the US. He weighed in daily during a cut phase and posted it on his stories. He was on a plateau for 25 days! It was great to see and has kept me going too as I was on one for 16 days and have finally dropped 1kg - woo hoo!

he also has a podcast that is no nonsense. I love it. So sensible, no gimmicks. It has helped me to lose 4.9kg so far (currently 78 so sound in about the same range as you!)

Have a read of Why We Eat (Too Much) by Dr Andrew Jenkinson. He explains the theory of 'set point weight' (aka plateaux), and why calorie counting isn't the way to go.

ps: I am also on about 1700 calories bit more important is getting the recommended protein - I try for approx 120 - 140g / day but I am weight training too.

@kelsaycobbles Sorry if I sound annoying but, what is tdee? I'm self-taught so not under a PT or anything so I just use BMI estimates and app guides.

@BIWI I think fasting is more the reason I'm losing weight, but I'll give it a look

@FatCatSkinnyRat Okay, I'll take a look! Lost 20kg on my own so be nice to change the pace and follow someone who knows what they're talking about. I'll be moving onto muscle gain once I've lost enough fat, so I'll up my protein then. Thanks!

Search "Tdee calculator "

is a thing that estimates how many calories you need to be stable weight and then you can adjust from that

It's probably not perfect but many people find it reasonably close

Don't overestimate activity levels though