First of all,
http://webpages.charter.net/lenny13/weightgoalchart.JPG
Pat yourself on the back.

And now the advice:
* Make sure you are getting sufficient sleep.
* Take a diet break for a day or two eating at or slightly above your
current maintenance level. You can google this group for "refeed" for
more info.

Best of luck!
Matthew

Hi Annie,

I've been mostly-lurking in this group since I began my own weight-loss
journey in January, so first I want to congratulate you on your
impressive progress!

I don't have any magical answers, but I did have a similar experience
to your plateau.  I started off at ~175 pounds and lost steadily from
January through May, by which time I had reached around 148.  And then
just sat there, for weeks and weeks.  I use Fitday, so I saw that my
weekly calorie averages were around 1400-1550, which should have been
enough to lose weight at my age (30 yo woman, 5'6") and activity level
(gym 5x/week, walk/bike 4 miles to work every day).  It was EXTERMELY
frustrating to be doing all the right things and not seeing results.

And then, after a little more than a month of the plateau, the scale
moved, just like that.  I didn't shake up my routine unduly, I just
kept on keepin' on.

So I guess I don't have any special advice for you, except that this
isn't unusual (you knew that already), and that there IS a light on the
other side of the plateau!  A few notes:

o   Now that you've lost almost 50 pounds, you should re-check your
caloric intake and make sure it still creates a deficit.  8-12 x
bodyweight is a good calorie level to shoot for if you're not totally
sedentary.

o   Adding the weight training is a GREAT way to lose inches and get
leaner.  It can cause a bit of confusion with respect to the scale,
though, as muscle weighs more than fat.  This can create the odd
situation where your clothes are getting looser even as the scale stays
the same or goes up (check out this link on the fabulous Stumptuous
site http://stumptuous.com/youweigh.html for more on this phenomenon).

o   You might find it helpful, if you haven't already, to begin making
measurements of your chest/waist/hips and keeping track of them.  It is
VERY motivating, especially if you've been weight training so your
scale weight isn't changing too much.  You can also use this to
estimate your body fat %age using the "Navy" method (you can google for
a calculator) - this can help you gague your progress.  My scale weight
hasn't budged more than a couple of pounds in the past few months, but
my measurements continue to go down as I lose fat and add muscle.

Good luck and hang in there, Annie! I know how much that plateau sucks,
but you'll get to the other side of it and into the 100s soon enough!

Cheers,
AD

175/140/132

Accept my hearty congratulations on how well you're doing?

Ilene B

You don't sound one bit whiny.....just frustrated.  I think you're doing the
right thing by upping the exercise slightly and sticking with the diet.  Be
sure to keep properly hydrated and as another reply suggested, get enough
sleep.  Just last night I found myself eating to try to increase my energy
because I was overly tired.  I finally realized what I was doing and went to
bed<g>

Just keep at it!

Beverly

Annie, others have given you good advice.  But here are a couple of
additional thoughts.

a) Have you been eating the same level of calories all along?  If so,
that means that as you lose weight the caloric deficit (given constant
levels of calorie expenditure) will decrease, thus slowing down weight
loss.  It's possible to reach a steady state in this way, where your
intake is approximately what it takes to maintain your new, lower body
weight.  I don't know how likely this is in your case, but it does
happen.  Upping exercise, as you're doing, should make a difference if
this is the case.

b) Is it possible you're gradually eating a bit more?  Several years
ago I dieted down to around 200 pounds and totally stalled (and
eventually kind of gave up and gained weight back, but that's another
story).  Anyway, I didn't count calories that time, just ate a fairly
abstemious diet.  I think that what happened was that I gradually --
as I began doing more and more strenuous exercise -- began increasing
my food quantities.  I still ate the same healthy stuff, just more of
it.  I was exercising a lot, lifting a lot, and eating a healthy --
but simply too hearty -- diet.  Counting calories this time around
helped me to avoid a similar problem, I think.  I fully expected to
stall when I got to 200 pounds, but I didn't at all.

The best advice for you, though, is probably just to keep at it and be
patient.  You've done very well, and in all likelihood are doing the
right things to keep losing.  Sometimes the body just likes to hold
onto weight for a little while, I think.

Chris
262/130s/130s
started dieting July 2002, maintaining since June 2004

I think that you have done quite well over the last few months, and
also, everyone has plateaus. There is no good alternative to
continuing dieting. Even if, worst case, you hypothetically stall at
your current weight forever, that would still be much better than
being at the starting weight. That said, if your weight loss does not
resume within the next few weeks, there is no other answer to how to
continue losing, other than to eat even less.

i