The dreaded plateau

For the past three months I've been working out regularly and eating healthy. I've been going to the gym 5 days a week, doing 60 min of cardio every time. I also do weights 3 of those days. I do abs everytime as well. I managed to lose 10 lbs but haven't gotten further than that. I feel like I'm on a plateau here. I have 20 lbs more to go. I started training for a 5K two weeks ago and it feels like it might be helping. Does anyone have any other suggestions? Can a work-out routine become too stale?

Mon. Mar 17, 1:44pm

Diet. Are you eating enough or too much. Try figuring out what your BMR is, then make sure you're eating about that many calories. If you don't count calories, you may want to do it for a couple of weeks to see if you're eating the right amount. In order to lose weight.

Could also be that you're losing weight but gaining muscles...go by the fit of your clothes more than the scale...could be this.

Make sure you're drinking 80 oz of water per day (minimum)

Um...that's all I can think of right now.

Monday, March 17, 2008, 2:53 PM

Congratulations!
You have gotten through the much harder part which is starting those healthy habits!! The 5K training is definitely a great idea!

To jump start yourself try this:
- Change your cardio for one week - add hills on Monday; sprints on Tuesday; do a totally different machine on Wednesday (rowing machine, elliptical, stairclimber, etc... [I think the bike is useless]; intervals on Thursday; go for distance on Friday, then go back to what you were doing before, but take the pace up just one notch

-also try droping just 100 more calories from your daily diet

and voila!

Monday, March 17, 2008, 2:58 PM

Here's a great tip: use the search function. Not only are there dozens of threads about breaking plateaus, but a couple of them have extensive and creative advice.

Monday, March 17, 2008, 3:22 PM

I'll bet training for your 5k will help shake things up a bit. You do a lot of cardio - maybe consider really shaking things up and doing more strength training and less cardio. Save time working out and switch things up a bit. I

Monday, March 17, 2008, 3:31 PM

The same thing happened to me when I was 10 pounds away from my goal weight. It was frustrating! But, I tried increasing my calorie intake and it worked. I'm now 6 pound away from my goal weight..

Monday, March 17, 2008, 3:39 PM

I'll just throw this out from the other group - those who never see results by increasing their calories (and can I say - I'm jealous!) - really make sure you have a handle on how much you're eating. It's easy to eat extra calories here and there without thinking and it can be just enough to keep you from losing at a noticeable rate. Otherwise, shaking up the ole workout should do wonders.

Monday, March 17, 2008, 6:12 PM

Plateau

One word - intensity.

When I hit the dreaded 10lbs to go with no progress I started upping the intensity (in cycling this comes in the form of sprints and hill climbs). It is very easy to get into a rut in your routines, try different music or a different training partner - something new to mix it up.

BEST OF LUCK

Monday, March 17, 2008, 6:58 PM

OP here.

Thanks everybody! Great input and I'm definitely taking it all into consideration. I think I'll try out this calorie counting and kicking up the cardio intensity to shake it up. This is all extra motivation. Thanks so much!

Tuesday, March 18, 2008, 9:46 AM

bump

Saturday, June 7, 2008, 2:01 PM

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