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Thirteen weeks ago, I wrote the first installment of this series, simply titled “I’m Going To Lose This Weight, Dammit.” Since then, we’ve talked about lots of issues that relate to my – and your – weight loss: some hard truths, the numbers game, weird new things to eat, giving up booze and the office candy dish cold-turkey. Now, more than three months into our joint-journey, I need to ask myself a question:
What the fuck is going on?
As many of you have noted in the comments section (not in a demeaning way, which I appreciate), only losing 5.6 pounds over the course of thirteen weeks is incredibly slow progress. And I don’t disagree, but I can’t for the life of me figure out what the problem is. I’ve managed to lose eighty pounds following a relatively simple formula: a diet of 1200-1500 calories a day, higher in protein/lower in carbs; at least 64 ounces of water a day; cardio every day; weight-lifting three times a week. But of course, the second I put it out there (in column form) that I want to lose the last 30 pounds by my birthday in August, my loss stalls harder than a standard Honda Civic in a rainstorm. What’s been working for more than a year and a half suddenly just isn’t anymore, and it’s incredibly frustrating. Hence the vulgarity in the question, “What the fuck is going on?”
The simple answer is that I haven’t a clue in hell. While I’m inclined to believe that one of you fuckers put some kind of curse on me, my rational mind tells me that’s not the case. So what’s a girl to do? I could simply Google “weight loss stall” and read some of the 662,000 results I got in 0.53 seconds. And maybe some of those tips (Eat more fiber! Cut back on salt! Eat more, smaller meals!) would even help.
But, as I said when I talked about a while back about unqualified advice, every single person’s weight loss process – and what helps them progress – is different. So while the internet is a fantastic source for ideas, one of the things I’ve discovered in the past few years as I’ve undertaken this experience is that it’s really important to have a “feel” for your body – to know what feels right, to know what feels wrong, and to have a sense of when something is just off. The latter is what’s concerning me right now; I just have a feeling there is something deeper at play that’s causing this stall. Not that I’m making excuses – trust me, I’ve been beating myself up over this slow progress pretty hard – but frankly, something just doesn’t feel right.
So what this girl is going to do is to call in the experts – my primary care physician and my nutritionist – and ask them this very important question:
What the fuck is going on?
Hopefully, they have some answers for me and we can get this show back on the road. .
Starting weight to Lose: 30 pounds
Week 1 Results: – 1.1 pounds
Week 2 Results: – 2.1 pounds
Week 3 Results: +0.4 pounds
Week 4 Results: – 0.2 pounds
Week 5 Results: – 0.2 pounds
Week 6 Results: – 0.1 pounds
Week 7 Results: -0.9 pounds
Week 8 Results: 0.0 pounds
Week 9 Results: -0.5 pounds
Week 10 Results: -0.6 pounds
Week 11 Results: 0.0 pounds
Week 12 Results: – 0.2 pounds
Week 13 Results: -0.1 pounts
Remaining weight to lose: 24.4 pounds
If you want to follow along with me, friend me on MyFitnessPal or FitBit!
Also, I’ll be chatting weekly about my progress with JR Hickey on our podcast, “Don’t Take It From Us.” New eps will be released every Wednesday, so check it out on Soundcloud below or Subscribe on iTunes!
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Jenna Crowley
Jenna used to be known as 2NOTBrokeGirls, but then one of the girls actually went broke, so she's struck out on her own. Jenna spends her free time saving the world, one sorority girl at a time (usually while wearing yoga pants), questioning why she decided to get a doctorate, documenting her love of all things cheese related, and hosting the new PGP podcast Don't Take It From Us. You can ask her anything you want about football, using your boobs to get what you want, and pizza at @JennaLCrowley on Twitter or via email at JennaLCrowley@gmail.com.
@JennaLCrowley
@donttakeitfromus
You plateaued, happens to everyone. Switch what you do,instead of running, swim. I do some form of “leg” workouts everyday. I heard if you squat your body burns calories for up to 48 hours and that has worked for me. Your body gets used to the same repetitive things so just do something different
Couldn’t agree more. I plateaued recently as a distance runner and decided that for the next few summer months I would switch up distance with short sprints, stadiums/stairs, and more of a weight training workout. Previously weights wise I was strictly a pilates girl (which I still enjoy and do, but it doesn’t make me sore) so switching to this new style of workout has definitely started making me sore again.
I figure I’ll plateau here and switch back- my workout logic is that if I’m not sore/seeing a difference, it’s time to switch it up.
Agreed. I had been tracking this with you before disappearing off the face of the earth. But I plateaued too at one point. I started seeing a personal trainer just to learn new techniques and things to mix up my workouts. Just switching up the routine has made a huge impact.
As an update: lost 10 pounds in 10 weeks. Didn’t hit my goal of 20 pounds in 10 weeks, but I’m happy with the work I did. I’m now moving onto the next 10, though probably not in 10 weeks. Can’t deprive myself of all that summer fun.
Keep it up. We’re still with you!
Yup gotta second this, do something new. I’m an avid runner, but I did a full leg day with weights and I’ve been sore for 4 days now.
The principle of specificity is that your body adapts to what you ask of if. Takes 3-4 weeks if you’re always asking the same exact thing of it. Change it up and it has to adapt all over again.
Metabolic fatigue/damage. Long term dieting slows down your metabolism as your body learns to adapt to the new calorie level. As someone who did the same thing (lost 80 pounds), take it from me. Luckily for me, that was my goal weight and I was able to up my kcals and hit the weights harder for a few months.
What I would recommend is a diet break. Up your calories by 15-20% for two weeks and cut the cardio (keep lifting).
Not only will your body thank you, you will be mentally refreshed and ready to jump back in. I know it sounds like taking two steps back, but I promise it will work.
Furd’s right, this is exactly what has happened.
An extension of this is that stress and sleep deprivation can cause the body to hold on to fat, even when you’re adhering to a strict diet. These two factors can contribute to the metabolic fatigue Furd’s talking about.
Even though you’re not a fan of unsolicited advice all that’s happened is that you’ve plateaued, which happens to everyone while reaching for a fitness goal. They key is to mix it up now, take up your weights, take up the speed you’re doing your cardio, do cardio for longer, try a new cardio routine/lifting routine, try new lifts. It happens to everyone as their bodies become more adjusted to the routine. Any well-rounded trainer that’s worth the money you pay will be able to tell you this.
I’m having the same issue.
I lost 15 quickly from mid-January to late March, but I’ve been sort of stagnant in the past two months, going down a few, and rising a minuscule amount based on the day.
I’ve adjusted my intake, increased my regimen, but I keep teetering back and forth at only 18 total lbs lost, and it’s been 5 months now.
Journaling helps (not just with weightloss but with much of life) as you can look back and see where minor slip ups might have piled up and turned into larger setbacks. Also, are we/you sure that your goal weight is your ideal weight for your body? In my journey I had a number I wanted to get to, but at 6’3″ it was highly unrealistic, and when reached I knew it was too low and wrong.
great point, I think Jenna mentioned at an earlier point that shes already lost a fucking load of weight before the final 30 pounds so the goal might just be unrealistic or the time too short. I’d speak to a doctor to ensure that the weight you are aiming for is definitely healthy. I’d also say you definitely have to change the workout and stop stressing about it as much. To be honest looking at the list of results is a bit disheartening and its slOwing down more and more, lets face it -0.1 lbs means no change whatsoever. I’d definitely recommend speaking to a doctor to see if what you are trying to do is actually healthy.
Unsolicited, but I’m sure your body fat percentage has decreased over the last three months. I’d find that a more accurate measure of success than weight loss. If your clothes fit differently too, less scientific, but pretty telling. Good luck!!!!
My thoughts exactly.
Muscle weighs more than fat and you may have hit a plateau for your body structure at the moment. Keep at it though
Muscle does not weigh more than fat. One pound of muscle = one pound of fat = one pound of literally anything else in the world.
Stalling is part of weight loss, your body will normalize and adjust to the lower calorie intake. Part of it might be recovery, you need to make sure that you’re getting sufficient sleep, macros, etc. Calling your physician/nutritionist is a great start, just don’t get discouraged if they don’t have definitive answers. Keep at it!
As some other people have rightly pointed out, you’ve plateaued. It happens. Changing up the actual workout is a logical step, but here’s one thing I knew about but didn’t pay much attention to until recently enough. I’m sure it’s something you’ve considered already but sleep is massive when it comes to weight loss/gain. This is also related to stress. Making a concerted effort to get 8/9 hours of quality sleep is difficult but very effective. Pitch dark room, at a low temperature. For me, I stress about work a lot. I’m in sales so it’s the nature of the beast. But I’ve found what works for me is a combination of weed and magnesium/tryptophan supplements. They help you relax and reduce stress, thus lowering your cortisol levels. It works for me, but as you rightly pointed out it may be different for you. If sleep and stress is a factor you haven’t thought about, I highly recommend addressing that ASAP. Good luck Crowley, rooting for ya!
2 things:
1. Look up online how to calculate your body fat or get a cheap body fat calculator and do that instead of going by weight. That’s the best way to track the weight loss that you want while not penalizing you for any muscle gained.
2. Completely overhaul your workout regimen. For cardio, it’s more efficient to do intervals (2 minutes @60% effort, then 1 minute @80% effort for 15-21 min) and burns just as much if not more fat than steady state running for 30 min. Also a focus on muscle gaining (heavier lifting) should be incorporated as well at least once a week, more muscle means more calories burned at rest so more fat gone. Often times plateaus can be overcome by just incorporating these two things.