Stalled weight loss

[Jeff Yaremichuk]

1 month ago I started the BFS I was 181lbs. The first two weeks I lost 3 pounds, the third week one pound, this week nothing. ARGGGGG! Here's the scoop. I weigh 172.8 right now. I am eating 1800 -2100 calories per day. Only lean meat, veggies, fruit, some oatmeal, 1 powerbar a day. I eat at 10am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm and 9pm. Everything is counted to the ounce or grams NO CHEATING! I work out five days a week. Last week I did 3 days cardio (treadmill 500 calories, bike 200 calories) two days. Olyptical once last week (400 calories, bike 200 calories). I weight trained for two days. I seem to be doing everything right, why am I not lossing the wieght. I want to drop down to 165.0 and 8 - 10% body fat. I have eight more pounds to go HELP!

[Angie]

Hi Jeff, Well first, welcome to the site. Is that you in the picture, or is that just what you want to look like?

As for your weight loss, some weeks you will lose, some you will stay the same, and some you may gain, especially if you are weight training in the hypertrophy phase (phase 2 in BFS, 6-10 reps range, where your muscles get bigger). My own weight loss seems to be coming in fits and starts, nothing for a week or two, then down a couple of pounds, then nothing again, then another large-ish drop. If you are close to your goal weight, you are unlikely to see large, fast, drops. Be patient and keep doing the right things and your results will come.

The only suggestion I would make would be to up your weight training to three times a week. Are you following the BFS exercise plan? Is your cardio interval training?

Angie

[Jeff Yaremichuk]

Yes that's me about a year ago at 167 pounds. I am 173 now and want to get back to 165. 10 years ago I weighed 246 lbs. I droped the weight threw cardio and weights. I was just in a weight gaining stage where I wanted to put on weight to try to build muscle. I was doing one day of cardio and 4-5 days weight training during this phase. Now I wan't to get cut again. I don't mind getting stalled on occation. I am worried that I am eating too little putting my body into starvation mode. It does not seem like a good idea to drop my calories much more (I am between 1800-2100). Last week I upped the cardio and dropped the weights just to try to kick start things. This week I will up the weights and lower the cardio. I am not directly following the exercise plan because after 10 years I have learned what weight training works for me. The diet is what I have been following to the letter. Thanks for the support, keep up the good work, sounds like you are winning the battle.

[Angie]

Have you checked out Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle? This was Tom's first and most famous book (e-book) which might suit your goals better. It is more detailed and more hard-core. BFS is aimed more at fat, lazy, and/or unmotivated people like me. I spend a lot of time on this site telling overweight out of shape people to keep it simple, keep an eye on the big picture and not to micromanage their diet, but I think with your current stats and your goals, you may be an exception. Check out BFFM as it may provide you with the answers you need.

[Rob Devlin]

Hi Jeff. I assume you are counting calories but are you weighing your food? If you are not maybe you are under estimating the calories you are eating. It is amazing that that little bit extra in a scoop of something can add the calories to your meals. WATCH THE IN VIDEO IN THE ARTICLE Scroll down and watch the video. The article is really good too by Leigh Peele.

[Rob Devlin]

Jeff here is what Alwyn Cosgrove said about plateaus:

As we are in the midst of the "get lean for summer" fat loss season let's take a quick look at the three reasons why fat loss plateaus occur.
by Alwyn Cosgrove

Wrong protocol: Basically this means that the program didn't work in the first place. Examples of this type of error include not performing resistance training, doing an excessive volume of low intensity aerobic work, and going on too low (or too high) of a caloric intake. The easiest way to avoid this plateau is to work from an established program with a proven track record of achieving fat loss results.

Non compliance: Either consciously or subconsciously this is a big problem (see this blog entry). I am a big fan of John Berardi's compliance grid - which basically states that a 90% compliance to any plan is necessary to evaluate the plan. So regardless if you are following a high carb or low carb diet - based on 5 meals per day and 3 post workout shakes per week - that's 38 meals. If you eat less than 35 meals according to the plan - you are not "on" the plan - you're winging it.

Adaptation: This is not necessarily a problem per-se - it's actually the goal of the fat loss plan. Increasing activity or reducing calories is a tool used in weight loss programs to get you to a new weight or body fat level. But the adaptation is exactly what we are looking for. In other words - the plan that we will use to lose 3lbs of fat per week will only work for about 4 weeks before we need to adjust. We are actually trying to create the adaptation - we only adjust when we are not at the final destination yet.

The plan used to get from 180lbs to 160lbs may not work to get from 160lbs to 140lbs.
So we must constantly evaluate the program at each stage and make adjustments. Typically the exercise program and nutrition program should be adjusted every 4 weeks or so to continue progress.

[Dr. Nili Marcia]

Rob,

This was very helpful, every section of it. I really appreciate your posting it, thanks!
Makes things a lot clearer. Now to up my compliance!

best wishes,
Nili