Dieting and now on a plateau

[Aggi]

Hi - I've lost 4 stone by eatily lots of healthy food and exercising but I am now on a plateau and have been for a couple of months. Is there anyone out there with any advice? Please!!

[alijangra]

I guess my only suggestion is to increase your exercise or change to something more high impact? What is your exercise regime?

You say you eat healthy food but dont give any info.Maybe cut down on starchy carbs. Try sweet potatoes instead of standard, wholemeal pasta, rice and bread, lean meat and plenty fruit and veg.

[alijangra]

I also think sea kelp is a great natural supplement to take. It contains iodine which helps thyroid function and metabolism.

[Aggi]

For breakfast I eat a very low fat yoghurt, lunch is 3 ryvitas with low fat Philly cheese, and for dinner I have grilled chicken (fillet) with lots of veggies (carrots, broccoli, cauli, sprouts), a "few" potatoes about twice a week, no bread, pasta once a week, brown rice when I don't eat pasta, about 3 portions of fruit a day. hardly ever drink except on a Fri / Sat I treat myself to a glass of red wine.

I mean I've lost 4 stone so I must have been doing something right plus I've lost weight properly other than in the first few weeks and I lost asbout 9 lbs in one week since then I've been losing 1 or 2 pounds a week.

Exercise - I could be better but I walk instead of driving everywhere, I do a lot of upper body exercises and sit-ups for that spare tyre which refuses to budge.

[brawburd]

Aggi - how many calories does that work out at daily? Your calorie intake may be too low, scaring your body into starvation mode. I would suggest upping your intake for a few days, or alternating higher calorie days with your normal intake.

[brawburd]

http://www.weightlossforall.com/weight-loss-pl ateau.htm

[Aggi]

Thanks everyone. The website posted is really good and I'm going to try exercising more and upping my intake for a few days and see what happens.

[WendyS]

Aggi, you have done tremendously well and should be proud of yourself for sticking to it. It does seem to be quite normal to hit a plateau when you've been dieting for a long time. However you seem to be doing all the right things and losing the right amount of weight per week. How much more are you aiming to lose?
If you have a large bone structure it may be that your metabolism has hit a point where it is now reinventing itself and thinks you have done enough ! Possibly a little more energetic exercise would help, or perhaps a "fruit only" day once a week. Maybe you just have to accept that your body is making its own decisions about your weight at the moment, stick with the regime knowing it's a healthy one, and see what happens.

[Aggi]

WendyS - thanks. You've made me feel much better. I'd like to lose at least another stone if not a bit more. I'm going to try really hard to be more energetic and I'll try the "fruit only" day you advise. If I don't lose any more at least after years of eating the wrong foods I know I am eating healthily and staying off all that junk that's available out there.

thanks