Weight loss plataeu

[KiwiTitan]

Hey guys, Don't laugh.

I was 170kg at the start of 2013 and have lost 20kg this year so far but ive hit a wall and cant seem to get under 150kg. I do have a decent amount of muscle and use to play rugby etc but started working as a truck driver and its well known how truckies eat haha. So basically I once was fit and in good shape but I put on a lot of fat very quickly when I got into an inactive job. So basically im asking if there is any advice you guys can give to help me get over the wall? I tried doing a protein diet my cousin was on which consisted of 2 scrambled eggs for breakfast, one boiled egg and a chicken breast for lunch and a chicken breast and steamed veges for tea and I was getting some results but I was feeling tired all day and was struggling to train at all. Any advice would be great cheers.

:?

[KiwiTitan]

Oops wrote this in the wrong section, my bad :doh:

[Dinahlady]

Hey,

You haven't posted what you actually have been having or a huge amount of detail of your journey but from what you've said I can kind of guess the route that you've gone down.

When you decrease your calories it stimulates your body to lose weight and fat because it is using those stores to fuel your daily activities. However, after a period of time your body adapts to this; it alters it's hormones and all of its "output" so you are not using as much energy/fuel at all. This is to stop you losing weight or using up your stores.

Your body doesn't know you are doing this diet on purpose and it thinks you are actually in trouble (no food around). If you were trapped in a cave without much food or water would you really want your body to burn quickly though all its reserves and then you might starve to death? NO! you'd want the opposite - so this is what your body does.

This is why you would be feeling so tired on such minimal food. This is actually quite dangerous and unhealthy for your body as well - it can affect your immune system causing you to get sick and it can affect your general health and balance of hormones that make you feel happy or make you fertile, and many more things. It can be very counter productive for your weight loss in the long run and could make you find it even harder to lose weight ever again, or gain more weight than you ever have! It will also cause you to have minimal benefit from any exercise you are doing as your body will flat out refuse to spare any amount of energy on the processes that improve your performance in the gym, or the processes that lead you to creating the efficient, lean physique you are looking for.

The way to get a leaner physique is to think like an athlete. They fuel their body with lots of good food to improve from the exercise they are doing, their body recognizes this and is stimulated to become more efficient - to take nutrients efficiently from food, to store less body fat and to hold more muscle (to have a better body composition). Which I'm sure is what everyone is after at the end of the day, however you break it down.

The remedy for this would be to work on your metabolism by increasing nutrient intake. slowly slowly increase your food from whole good sources of carbohydrates, protein and good fats and veggies. Your weight loss has slowed down because your body is lacking nutrition. Unfortunately, during this process you may gain a few kgs, because your bodys stores of glycogen and water (not fat!) may be quite low and these need to be replenished. But I can almost guarentee you when you slowly work up to the amount of calories your body needs from good food sources of nutritionally dense good food you will instantly lose weight and improve in the gym, and see better body composition change of muscle:fat ratio.

[Pseudonym]

Good post, Dinah. We've missed you! :clap:

KiwiTitan, a 20kg loss in just 6 months is damn good going. Well done! As Dinah says, post up what you're current diet looks like, and we'll take it from there.

[Pseudonym]

Good post, Dinah. We've missed you!

KiwiTitan, a 20kg loss in just 6 months is damn good going. Well done! As Dinah says, post up what you're current diet looks like, and we'll take it from there.

[KiwiTitan]

Hey guys thanks for the reply.

Basically I just ate whatever was easy and close by when I felt hungry which of course is bad. Now im on the protein diet I posted above^^ pseudonym but im lacking energy big time . Dinahlady im a complete noob when it comes to nutrition so what would you recommend for breakfast lunch and tea for me? What do you mean by whole foods? As for training I walk/ jog the hills 2 times a week for approx. 60 mins per session and im lifting weights 4 times a week. Im sure im training enough but my rubbish food intake is whats stopping me, but as silly as it may sound to you I don't know what to replace the takeaways with :oops:

lol

[KiwiTitan]

Hey guys thanks for the reply.

Basically I just ate whatever was easy and close by when I felt hungry which of course is bad. Now im on the protein diet I posted above^^ pseudonym but im lacking energy big time . Dinahlady im a complete noob when it comes to nutrition so what would you recommend for breakfast lunch and tea for me? What do you mean by whole foods? As for training I walk/ jog the hills 2 times a week for approx. 60 mins per session and im lifting weights 4 times a week. Im sure im training enough but my rubbish food intake is whats stopping me, but as silly as it may sound to you I don't know what to replace the takeaways with

lol

[Dinahlady]

This is a ridiculously small amount of calories (800 -900 calories - less than a child should have!) and is very very very unhealthy for you.

You need to seek the professional help of a docotor or dietitian to help you out and meet you face to face.

But because there is a chance you won't do that I will make my quick suggestion based on the minimal amount of information you've given (I am not a registered dietician or doctor - just a personal trainer with a nutrition qualification)

When I say whole foods I mean not very processed foods (oats, meat, vegggies) to be eaten 80% of the time. And I do not think you necessarily have to replace all the take aways - i think you should have 2 free meals a week where you can eat take away or whatever you want (you need the calories man)

Week 1

Breakfast: 4 eggs + 3/4 cup of oats

Lunch: 2 eggs and chicken breast (or 150g of other meat) +1.5 cups of rice (weighed cooked) + veggies

Dinner: Chicken breast (or 150g of other meat) +1.5 cups of rice (cooked) or 300gm potato. + veggies

Do this until you have consistently done this for a week, if you are still struggling to get this or are still feeling overly full from this amount then keep on this amount until this passes.

Week 2 + 3

Breakfast: 6 eggs + 1 cup of oats

Lunch: 2 eggs and chicken breast (or 150g of other meat) + 2 cups of rice (weighed cooked) + 50gm of nuts or 1/2 avocado + veggies

Dinner: Chicken breast (or 150g of other meat) + 2 cups of rice (cooked) or 400gm potato. + veggies

Do this until you have consistently done this for 2 weeks, if you are still struggling to get this or are still feeling overly full from this amount then keep on this amount until this passes.

Week 4+5

Breakfast: 6 eggs + 1 cup of oats

Lunch: 2 eggs and chicken breast (or 150g of other meat) + 2 cups of rice (weighed cooked) + 50gm nuts or 1/2 avocado + veggies

Dinner: Chicken breast (or 150g of other meat) + 2 cups of rice (cooked) or 400gm potato + 50gm of nuts or 1/2 avocado + veggies

Do this until you have consistently done this for 2 weeks, if you are still struggling to get this or are still feeling overly full from this amount then keep on this amount until this passes.

You get the idea of what I'm trying to do.

Do not attempt to lower calories again until you have been eating way more than 2500 calories a day, along the lines of this type of food, for several weeks.

If you are confused as to why i am doing this re read my other post.

You really need to see someone in person to see how you are responding to this. Please go and see a nutritionist (with good qualifications who doesn't lower your calories again).

[Dinahlady]

This is a ridiculously small amount of calories (800 -900 calories - less than a child should have!) and is very very very unhealthy for you.

You need to seek the professional help of a docotor or dietitian to help you out and meet you face to face.

But because there is a chance you won't do that I will make my quick suggestion based on the minimal amount of information you've given (I am not a registered dietician or doctor - just a personal trainer with a nutrition qualification)

When I say whole foods I mean not very processed foods (oats, meat, vegggies) to be eaten 80% of the time. And I do not think you necessarily have to replace all the take aways - i think you should have 2 free meals a week where you can eat take away or whatever you want (you need the calories man)

Week 1

Breakfast: 4 eggs + 3/4 cup of oats

Lunch: 2 eggs and chicken breast (or 150g of other meat) +1.5 cups of rice (weighed cooked) + veggies

Dinner: Chicken breast (or 150g of other meat) +1.5 cups of rice (cooked) or 300gm potato. + veggies

Do this until you have consistently done this for a week, if you are still struggling to get this or are still feeling overly full from this amount then keep on this amount until this passes.

Week 2 + 3

Breakfast: 6 eggs + 1 cup of oats

Lunch: 2 eggs and chicken breast (or 150g of other meat) + 2 cups of rice (weighed cooked) + 50gm of nuts or 1/2 avocado + veggies

Dinner: Chicken breast (or 150g of other meat) + 2 cups of rice (cooked) or 400gm potato. + veggies

Do this until you have consistently done this for 2 weeks, if you are still struggling to get this or are still feeling overly full from this amount then keep on this amount until this passes.

Week 4+5

Breakfast: 6 eggs + 1 cup of oats

Lunch: 2 eggs and chicken breast (or 150g of other meat) + 2 cups of rice (weighed cooked) + 50gm nuts or 1/2 avocado + veggies

Dinner: Chicken breast (or 150g of other meat) + 2 cups of rice (cooked) or 400gm potato + 50gm of nuts or 1/2 avocado + veggies

Do this until you have consistently done this for 2 weeks, if you are still struggling to get this or are still feeling overly full from this amount then keep on this amount until this passes.

You get the idea of what I'm trying to do.

Do not attempt to lower calories again until you have been eating way more than 2500 calories a day, along the lines of this type of food, for several weeks.

If you are confused as to why i am doing this re read my other post.

You really need to see someone in person to see how you are responding to this. Please go and see a nutritionist (with good qualifications who doesn't lower your calories again).

[KiwiTitan]

Man thats a lot of eggs haha. Alright il give it a go for 5 weeks or so and post my results, Thank you *biggrin*

[Cameron_R]

im a complete noob when it comes to nutrition

 

(So was I until about 4 months ago)

One thing that has helped me gain a huge amount of knowledge about what I am eating is a smartphone app called "MyFitnessPal".

If you can start using it, enter EVERYTHING you eat into it, and be 100% honest with yourself, I can say from experience that it will transform your understanding and help you a huge amount.

[Dinahlady]

Haha yeah! 

I ususally have 4-6 a day and my partner has 6 - 8. 

Eggs are great - and cheap!

For the price of one "protein bar" or lots of snacks/treats you can get 12 whole eggs! 

My fave way is poached in a shallow pan - put a couple of inches of hot water in the bottom of a pan, wait till there are bubbles on the bottom of the pan, then crack them all in and leave a few mins till the whites are solid - amazing every time! 

Myfitnesspal.com is great!

Just not it can be misleading as it doesn't "rate" the sources of food you are getting your calories from. It shows protein, carbs and fats - which is great. but people can get misguided as you can fit processed, sugary or not so great digestion wise foods into the amounts you've set. So be aware of that! 

Also, not all macros are equal. it can cause some inconsistency. For example the protein you get from meat is going to be much more useful to the body than the protein from say penuts. And the carbs from rice are going to be way more useful for muscle recovery/growth than the "carbs" that come along with green veggies.