My weight loss has come to a halt.

[Action-Jackson]

I'm 18 years old, and about 6 months ago I used to weigh 108 kilos (I am around 5"6 in height). I decided to change my lifestyle, and get healthy. I drastically changed what I eat, and started to get more active. I started doing weight lifting three times a week, and lost a few kilos, but then I started adding cardio to my agenda and started to lose weight much more rapidly. I currently work out at least 5 to 6 times a week. I usually do cardio 3 times a week, and the other days I do weight training.
I have lost 18 kilos, and now I am at 90 kilos. Lately however my weight loss has just come to a grinding halt. One week I will go down to 89, then the next week I will be back up to 90. Its infuriating and slightly discouraging, I haven't lost weight for about 2 months.
Is this a normal occurrence, and what can I do to get back on track of losing weight?
Thanks alot.

edit -
Incase you are wondering what my training consists of;
Cardio: 30 minutes moderate speed on treadmill.
Weights: 30 minute session working on arms, legs, shoulders and torso/stomach.

 

[Emma-Leigh]

I'm 18 years old, and about 6 months ago I used to weigh 108 kilos (I am around 5"6 in height). I decided to change my lifestyle, and get healthy. I drastically changed what I eat, and started to get more active. I started doing weight lifting three times a week, and lost a few kilos, but then I started adding cardio to my agenda and started to lose weight much more rapidly. I currently work out at least 5 to 6 times a week. I usually do cardio 3 times a week, and the other days I do weight training.
I have lost 18 kilos, and now I am at 90 kilos. Lately however my weight loss has just come to a grinding halt. One week I will go down to 89, then the next week I will be back up to 90. Its infuriating and slightly discouraging, I haven't lost weight for about 2 months.
Is this a normal occurrence, and what can I do to get back on track of losing weight?
Thanks alot.

edit -
Incase you are wondering what my training consists of;
Cardio: 30 minutes moderate speed on treadmill.
Weights: 30 minute session working on arms, legs, shoulders and torso/stomach.

Congratulations on your weight loss! Excellent progress!

There are a few main issues that may be coming into play:
1. As you have lost weight, now the amount of food you are eating is too much for your weight loss to continue. So you have to decrease how much you are eating for your weight loss to start again.

2. Your body has become accustomed to the weight training you are doing and the cardio you are doing. When was the last time you 'mixed things up' with your training and cardio? Have you been doing the same thing for all this time?

3. Your body has 'slowed' to compensate for your long term dieting and cardio/training. This is especially if you have been dieting for >2-3 months without a break. In this case you might want to slowly raise your calories up to your maintainence calories for a few weeks and then allow yourself to have a 'diet break' before you cycle your calories back down again.


If you post up more information on what you eat, when you eat it (eg:
7am: 0.5 cups of cereal, 1 cup of milk
12pm: 1 medium apple, 6 almonds
etc)

And what you do when you go to the gym we might be able to help you a little more.

 

[GFR]

dropping 7lbs a month for 6 months is awesome,,,,
Just give your body time to change......hitting a sticking point is natural and healthy.
post your diet so we can see what you are doing

 

[Action-Jackson]

Thanks for all the comments.

Lately for breakfast I have been having 'Fibre Plus' cereal (Full of bran, dried fruit, and various nuts), with low fat milk.
A few hours after breakfast I may have something like a piece of wholemeal toast, with an apple or a banana. Then for lunch I will usually have a salad roll (wholemeal) with either chicken or Tuna. Through out the day afterwards I may just have a sandwich, or something else that may be in the fridge. Usually for dinner I will have pasta, steak/chicken/fish and veges or sometimes I will just have a bowl of vege soup.
I'm not sure on my portions of food, but I am pretty sure that I am not eating in excess.
I also drink about 4 litres of water a day, I pretty much carry water bottles with me everywhere I go.

As far as workout goes, I havent mixed up weight training with cardio as of yet. Perhaps I should do 15 minutes of cardio, then do another 20-25 minutes of weight training?

What do you think?

 

[Emma-Leigh]

Lately for breakfast I have been having 'Fibre Plus' cereal (Full of bran, dried fruit, and various nuts), with low fat milk.
A few hours after breakfast I may have something like a piece of wholemeal toast, with an apple or a banana. Then for lunch I will usually have a salad roll (wholemeal) with either chicken or Tuna. Through out the day afterwards I may just have a sandwich, or something else that may be in the fridge. Usually for dinner I will have pasta, steak/chicken/fish and veges or sometimes I will just have a bowl of vege soup.
I'm not sure on my portions of food, but I am pretty sure that I am not eating in excess.
I also drink about 4 litres of water a day, I pretty much carry water bottles with me everywhere I go.

Ok - sounds like we have found some of the problem... It really sounds like you are not eating enough protein here. You should be trying to get a good dose of protein in every meal. This is what is going to maintain your muscles as you lose weight and this is very important in maintaining your metabolism.

Just remember to take out some of your other foods to add the protein in - otherwise your total calorie intake will increase and you will not get the benefits.

So, for example, to your breakfast add some good protein sources such as some scrambled egg whites or some cottage cheese... Same for your second meal (replace the toast with some protein, such as a peice of chicken with a few walnuts and a peice of fruit with it).

Lunch sounds ok - just make sure you eat lots of salad and lots of protein and keep the size of the roll small.

For afternoon tea instead of a plain sandwich have something with protein in it. So, for example, a slice of toast with a can of tuna with some avocado would be fine.

Dinner sounds fine. Just dose up on the vegetables and keep the serving size of pasta small.


I give a rough outline for diets here.

As far as workout goes, I havent mixed up weight training with cardio as of yet. Perhaps I should do 15 minutes of cardio, then do another 20-25 minutes of weight training?

When I said 'mix it up' I meant in general, not together... So change what you do in the weights room or try a different form of cardio (use a different machine etc).

You might want to check out the training forum for some ideas.

 

[Action-Jackson]

well I just got some protein powder which I have 3 times a day. I mix one tablespoon into a glass of low fat milk. Hopefully this starts to make abit of a difference.
I will post later on if there is any progress

 

[CowPimp]

Hey Jackson, in terms of changing your workout to boost your progress you should check out my writeup on making a full body routine. Take a look at the section about specializing for general health where it talks about circuit training. This will turn your weight session into another cardio session, basically.

You should also do some searching around the training forums for the following forms of cardio: HIIT, Max-OT, and Guerilla. Basically, HIIT and Max-OT cardio are forms of interval training. You alternate between bouts of high intensity and low intensity jogging (Or whatever form of cardio you choose). Guerilla cardio is essentially sprinting mixed with recuperation periods, which I highly recommend if you are at a fitness level high enough to perform a routine like that safely.

 

[cha]

well I just got some protein powder which I have 3 times a day. I mix one tablespoon into a glass of low fat milk. Hopefully this starts to make abit of a difference.
I will post later on if there is any progress

1 tablespoon of whey protein isn't going to do anything. Do you really mean 1 tablespoon? or 1 scoop?

 

[Emma-Leigh]

1 tablespoon of whey protein isn't going to do anything. Do you really mean 1 tablespoon? or 1 scoop?

1 tbs = 0.5 scoops = approx 12-13g protein... So it is not too bad, especially if combined with skim milk.

 

[Action-Jackson]

1 tablespoon of whey protein isn't going to do anything. Do you really mean 1 tablespoon? or 1 scoop?

well its a pretty big spoon, and I heap the spoonfull, so I think its ok. And as Emma said, it's mixed with milk, so thats extra protein there aswell

 

[Action-Jackson]

Just a question. I was thinking of hiring an excercise bike instead of the treadmill I have already. Would this be a good change in cardio workout?
Are there many benefits to bike riding?

 

[BigDyl]

Hey Emma, I noticed that you reccomend eating cottage cheese for breakfast. I agree that is it healthy, but with it's casien protien, wouldn't it slow down digestion when your body really needs the morning, when its in a catabolic state?

I had always read that you should eat whey because of its quick digestion with oats, etc.

 

[Emma-Leigh]

Hey Emma, I noticed that you reccomend eating cottage cheese for breakfast. I agree that is it healthy, but with it's casien protien, wouldn't it slow down digestion when your body really needs the morning, when its in a catabolic state?

I had always read that you should eat whey because of its quick digestion with oats, etc.

T'is a 'myth' that has no real basis in real life.

Here was my answer to a similar question about adding fats to breakfast ->
http://www.ironmagazineforums.com/showpost.php?p=1089609&postcount=15

 

[Emma-Leigh]

Just a question. I was thinking of hiring an excercise bike instead of the treadmill I have already. Would this be a good change in cardio workout?
Are there many benefits to bike riding?

Biking is ok - it is great in that it is low impact and will not hurt your knees/ankles and hips like treadmill work will. Biking outside is better than indoor - as you get the changes in gradient and difficulty of non-flat ground.

Just know that biking, unless it is done at a really good intensity, will not burn as many calories as if you are using the treadmill - and the "afterburn" effect you get is usually not as great either. However, if you are not used to biking (so your body is more 'stressed' when you do bike), and if you push yourself hard, then the calorie expenditure should be more than enough!

 

[BigDyl]

T'is a 'myth' that has no real basis in real life.

Here was my answer to a similar question about adding fats to breakfast ->
http://www.ironmagazineforums.com/showpost.php?p=1089609&postcount=15