Arrgghhh plateau help!!

Kingkeld:

Yes, I did check out your page. I worked out all the calculations for my caloric intake that you have on your page, and I was shocked at how many calories were recommended for my intake; 2480 calories a day! And of course double those calories for the indulgence day! I don't know if I could mentally let myself eat that many calories anymore. I may try that at some point if I stall again, but right now just bumping up to where I'm at is helping. I noticed I'm down another pound today! So, something was sure jumpstarted!

Thanks again for your advice, I appreciate it!

Rich

Hi I wrote to the "King" asking how to calculate the spike days calories allowed, if anybody can give me the method I would be gratefull, thanks Nid

I'm so glad to hear that you have begun losing weight again and think it is great that you have lost so much weight overall.

The old notion is that a calorie is a calorie is a calorie. This is completely untrue and has been proven that not everyone can just cut calories and up their exercise and lose weight. What makes up the calorie is extremely important. Protein is the energy source that we need to increase muscle mass and to burn more calories. The body actually has to work hard to burn a calorie made up of protein than it does to burn one from carbohydrates. This does not mean that carbohydrates are not important. It means that your diet should be made up mainly of protein and you still need some carbs and some fats. If you want to learn more about this, take time to stream brightsideben.com on talk radio through itunes or another source. He is awesome! I already knew some of the aforementioned information, however, Pharmacist Ben really breaks it down and makes all of it very understandable. I have begun to increase my protein gradually over the last few days and am starting to feel so much better. I have a feeling the weight is going to start finally coming off. It has been very difficult for me, because I have a condition called Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)and eating lots of protein and cutting the carbs is extremely important with a condition such as this, because PCOS causes insulin resistance.

I hope you continue to drop weight. I agree that lowering your calorie intake would not have worked and your body does need to be tricked every so often, to keep your metabolism running. Also, try resistance training. Even 2 days a week for a 1/2 hour will help. It can be as simple as doing lunges, squats, push-ups or adding a bit of weight to a back pack while walking or walking up stairs very slowly and deliberately really using your muscles. I have taught fitness for over 12 years so this is something that I do know a bit about!

Best of Luck!!!!!!!!

Floridarn, I wrote back to you. I'll be happy to help you. For those of you who want to learn about it, simply go to my biopage, there is a link to a blog where I explain how to calculate it.

Also, there are SO MANY different opinions on the whole "a calorie is a calorie" thing. For me, the jury is still out. Personally I have never tracked the finer details of my calories, but I have put an effort into eating healthy and varied, but left plenty of room for the fun stuff. It's worked great for me.
Naturally, we can't lose weight efficiently if our calories are all chocolate. Also, we'd be hungry in no time. This should be common sense.

Kingkeld - I've looked at your stats and it does appear that you have been able to lose weight, but as even you stated, it is hard for you to keep it off. Please, please take the time to listen to brightsideben.com. You aren't keeping the weight off, because you are generally eating healthy and cutting calories, but you are not looking at what your calorie is made up of. Also, look at the Paleo diet. This is the one that I have just started following and funny enough, Pharmacist Ben just recommended this diet today on his show. It is not a fad diet. It is called Paleo or Hunter & Gatherer diet, because it is based on the diet that our ancestors had when they had to go out and get their own food, as opposed to buying it off the shelves. Everyone does have their OPINION, but facts are facts. I love to do research and as stated before, I am and have been a fitness instructor for over 12 years and have also been in the military. My weight issues all stem from PCOS and insulin resistance. I take in too many carbohydrates, as most people do, which I am trying to rectify. I used to be able to lose weight by cutting my calories and working out, but that just isn't working anymore, which leads me back to the fact that a calorie is not a calorie is not a calorie. Look at what a calorie is made up of (fats, carbohydrates and proteins). The body has to work harder to burn a protein calorie and increases your metabolism and there is much much more to this. That is why I suggest Pharmacist Ben, because he is able to explain how important protein is and the way our body uses it and how our body uses fats and carbohydrates as well.

Whatever diet you or anyone chooses, I really hope it works for you, but if it doesn't, don't be afraid to try something else. No one persons body is like the next person, so no one thing is going to work for everyone. GOOOOOOOD LUCK!!

SamieSue, I'm not sure if you meant to address that info to Kingkeld. He has lost an ENORMOUS amount of weight and just had skin removal surgery. He could write a book on the healthy way to lose weight and probably should. And King, I have decided, for me at least, a calorie is NOT a calorie. If I eat lots of processed food, under my calorie limit, I gain weight. If I eat lots of veggies, fruits and whole, gluten free grains, I lose weight. I keep my protein under 20% of my intake daily and I keep it to healthy, lean meats, nuts and beans/lentils/peas. When I spike, I try to do it out of the house and not bring those foods back into the house. Congratulations. You are an inspiration to us all!

Yes,Johanne, it was meant for Kingkeld and yes, he has lost a lot of weight. If you read my post clearly, you would see that I was quoting his own page. He said he has trouble keeping the weight off, but is very good at losing it. I am definitely not downing his weight loss. He has done awesomely. However, I am simply saying that keeping weight off is just as important a losing it and we must look at what a calorie is made up of.

I have been studying fitness and health for many many years and have tried many of the diets out there. I have lost and maintained and lost and gained and lost and gained and lost and maintained and am currently in the gained and unable to lose category. My own true belief for the reason that I haven't been able to lose this time, is because I have not actually been looking at what my calories are made up of. I used to be able to only lower my calories and work out more and lose weight, but have never totally kept it off (mostly due to pregnancy), but that just is not the case anymore and I'm sure age and my PCOS has tons to do with it. The high protein (Paleo) diet just seems like it is right and the more I research it, the more I realize that it really has to be valid.

Again, big kudos to Kingkeld. I applaud anyone who is willing to work hard to get their weight under control. I can appreciate how hard it is and hope that everyone can do as well as he has!

I see. Yes, maintenance is not easy. I, personally, can't go paleo because I have borderline kidney failure and have to keep my protein low, but I do think the Paleo Diet, done correctly, is healthy. A few of my favorite buddies are on Paleo. Sorry I misunderstood.

No problem, Johanne. I just wanted to make sure that I never down anyone's weight loss. I know how darn hard it is to lose it, let alone keep it off myself.

Sorry, to hear about your kidney problems. I hope there is something that they can do for you. I keep mentioning this, but just in case I didn't mention it on my earlier post, try listening or contacting pharmacist Ben at brightsideben.com. He may have some very good information to help you in a natural way.

Very best of luck to you!!!!!

Maintenance is definitely harder than losing weight. No doubt about that. My weight has fluctuated after I reached my goal, but also please consider this:

1. My end goal was SUPER low, because of the requirements for surgery. I have comfortably been in my "zone" for pretty much all the time after I reached goal, only I had to keep it lower because of the doctors.

2. My weight right now is going CRAZY post-surgery. I have so much fluid buildup in my body, it's ridiculous. I'm not really worried about the fat gain/loss right now. I am doing what I'm supposed to do though, eating right and generally keep the weight steady.

3. When I stalled on my weight loss the second time, I started to cut down on carbs and began to look into the macros. It didn't change a thing for me. At all. I went back to doing what I used to do, and I got going again. Go figure.

4. When you start on a weight loss journey, you need to get a grip on things. I believe at that point your should not care about macronutrients AT ALL, as it will simply confuse and push you to the risk of giving up. It has to be simple, accomplishable, and easy to fit into your everyday life. Balancing on a fine line between all the nutritional info makes this super hard. However, even if you look at it, you will quickly realize that a Snickers is gonna cose you a whole lot more than a head of cauliflower or a coupple of carrots. When you see this, you will most likely start realizing whey the carbs are not as good to eat, if you want to stay full all day. Keep it simply, be aware of what is going on, and you will essentially starting adjusting your macrunutrients without even thinking about it.

5. Most naturally thin people do not over-analyze what kind of calories they eat. They simply eat.

It goes without saying that a calorie is NOT just a calorie if you decide to ONLY eat carbs, or probably protein for that matter. If you did, you'd be hungry in no time, and you wouldn't be able to stick to a diet more than a few days before you'd throw it out the window.

However, I do think that IF YOU KEEP AN EYE ON THE THINGS YOU EAT, and USE COMMON SENSE when you choose your foods, then there is no real need to analyze your foods in detail.

If you eat a comfortable mix of meats, vegetable, bread, fish, fruit etc. every day, and only dig into the "fun stuff" every now and then, and stick to your calorie goal at the same time, then you'll be just fine.

This is my experience. Yours might be different. As I said, there are MANY opinions on this. I can direct you to several websites that will prove to you that a calorie IS a calorie, just as much as I in a split second can find websites disproving it.

Like I said, I think the jury is still out.

I do appreciate the acknowledgment on my weight loss.

I think the best thing to do when using these forums is to read as much as possible, learn all you can, make up your mind on what makes sense and go with it. Then learn by trial and error. Some things might work, some might not.