Stopped losing weight.. any ideas?

[outlander36]

I'm 5' 10", currently 178 lbs. I started my cutting phase (first time going to a gym ever) on June 1, 2004 at 194 lbs (was 199 late night on my bday on May 19th).

For about 2 weeks now, I've only lost about a pound. I really haven't changed my diet or my exercise routine since I started. I want to start losing 2 pounds a week again until I drop another 10 to 15 lbs.

I eat around 1800 cals a day, composed of either 30/50/20 or 40/40/20 protein/carbs/fat. I eat meals at 8am, noon, 3pm, after the gym I drink a protein shake (7pm), dinner at 8pm.

I go to the gym 4 days a week (or 5 if I want purely a day of cardio in). I do a 5 to 10 minute warmup on the elliptical before my workout and 10 to 15 minutes at the end of my workout. My exercises vary, but I usally am using weights for 45 mins to an hour per session.

Day 1 - Bi / Tri / Forearms
Day 2 - Shoulders / Abs
Day 3 - Off or just 30 mins on the crosstrainer
Day 4 - Legs
Day 5 - Chest / Back / Abs
Weekends - Off or sometimes 1 day of 30 mins on the crosstrainer

Any ideas on what might be throwing off my weight loss for the past couple weeks?

[Superdude87]

Hey we've got the same birthday! Awesome . Anyway, as far as the plateau you've reached, it's very common. When you first start out your body will be "shocked" because it's not used to the exercise and/or low calories, but it will adapt because it gets used to it. There are a couple options that will most likely work.

1) Take about a week off from dieting and lifting. It will give your body time to recover and rest so you can return to your routine HARD! This doesn't mean you have a cheat week, it just means eat a little more calories than normal to try to "rev up" your metabolism. You say you eat 1800 a day now, maybe try eating 2300-2500.

2) Instead of taking a week off, up your calories and do a little "mini-bulk" for a few weeks. This will help you add a little more muscle mass while lifting so your metabolism is raised. Then when you return to 1800 calories, you'll burn more at rest and that should help you lose 1-2 lbs a week again.

3) Switch up your routine. Do different exercises. Switch the days you work each bodypart, do different types of cardio, ect...Have you tried HIIT cardio? Definetely look into that. You might not be able to start out going for very long as it can be very tiring on a beginner (hell, even on an experienced HIIT-er) but it works great.


Anyway, try those and do some searches for plateaus. Everybody has them from time to time. It's just a matter of tricking your body with something new. Hopefully I've helped. Good luck!


--Steve--

[outlander36]

Wow.. great advice! I may have to try the "mini-bulk" attempt, although I have no idea how I can get 2500 calories into my stomache in a day now without sugar (cut out sugar completely when I started this), but I'm sure I'll figure something out.

I should have made my goal 160 so I would not get impatient reaching it, knowing I am so far away still.

[RadStar]

I just dropped like 3 or so pounds in the last week just by taking a week off! Im cutting from 185 to 170 and had to take a week off cuz got a big tattoo on my leg. Defentily recommend taking a week off from workout and eating pretty much the same.