Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Weight loss frustration

I have hit a plateau! I am at 250 pounds and have been there all month. Started the year at 309. July is the first month that I haven't seen a noticeable drop in weight. I know that this happens and I am not giving up it's just very frustrating. Anyone else having this issue or something similar? Share it.

I really hate this damn plateau!

As you loose weight your caloric demands decrease and you actually burn fewer calories from working out. That may be some of it.

Any supplements? Try some L-Carnitine and some CLA. I have gone from 228 to 185.

Could you please elaborate on the supplements. Mechanics,benefits and hazards as well if you could.

I am not a supplement kind of guy. I take a multi-vitamin but that's it. I track my food intake and nutritional value, but I am not going to start with the powders and pills again. I did play around with them while I swam in college. I really saw no advantage for myself.

I would focus on fitness, not weight. You may be getting stronger and losing inches even if your weight is unchanged. I would ask your doctor, he will guide you based on a number of factors.

I would focus on fitness, not weight. You may be getting stronger and losing inches even if your weight is unchanged. I would ask your doctor, he will guide you based on a number of factors.


Absolutely. Muscle weighs more than fat. You could be losing fat and gaining muscle. Have you tried to determine whether you are losing inches (e.g., pants and/or shirt collar loser)?

I have hit a plateau! I am at 250 pounds and have been there all month. Started the year at 309. July is the first month that I haven't seen a noticeable drop in weight. I know that this happens and I am not giving up it's just very frustrating. Anyone else having this issue or something similar? Share it.

I really hate this damn plateau!

Yes, it happens. I tend to try to do something to shock the system a bit. So, if you normally ride 100 miles in a week, throw in a 200 mile week. And change what you eat - not necessarily change the number of calories, but just get those calories from different foods. I don't know whether there is any science to this - there probably isn't, except that the 200 mile week will burn a bit more energy than the 100 - but it seems to have worked for me in the past.

Both posts regarding fitness improvements and the need for further reduction in calories are spot on, in my experience. There will almost always be plateaus, regardless of what you do, but if you continue to work, there will be further improvements in fitness and body compostion even during those periods. And as sad as it makes me to say it, as you lose weight, you need fewer calories to maintain the same metabolic rate that you've always had. That's the reason plans like WW reduce your daily caloric "budget" the lighter you get. Each time you pass a "decade" mark (e.g., 250, 240, 230, etc.) they recalculate your daily allowance downward by 50 to 100 calories. When you hit your target and go on maintenance, your allowance is adjusted up very slightly to stop the loss. Or that's what I'm told will happen - I'm still 65 pounds away from that point. ;)

I have noticed that utilizing a heart rate monitor has helped be. As I was working out (riding) I was loosing weight and getting stronger and able to push harder. I think I sometimes would push too hard and ride at a higher heart rate than I should have been for "optimal" fat burn. A monitor helps me stay in a range. I end up working what feels to be less but it takes longer at an apparently easier pace but my weight loss picks back up again. As suggested earlier I would also do something to shock the system meaning different exercises rather than cycling to get it moving again. My plateaus normally just last about a week before they start moving again though.

Good luck

So now I have dropped two more pounds since starting this post. Down to 248. To be honest, I think I have sort of fallen off the diet wagon. With our impending move approaching I sort of fell back on old habits. I got 25 miles in tonight and feel great. Finally home in under 2 hours.

Check in on 'the Biggest looser thread' and you'll see my plateau's tracked for the year. I'm loosing, but it can be slow going. One thing that helps me is to switch up to an exercise that doesn't work the same muscles as you use while riding. if you're not already, try some light weight training, or what I do is go out and do a bunch of yard work like chopping up scrub trees and carrying fire wood, but I live in the country so that doesn't work for everyone. What ever you do, don't give up, take the plateau for what it is and trust that your body will eventually be ready to shed weight again. Q: How many push-ups can you do?

To be honest, I think I have sort of fallen off the diet wagon.

Zig... hang in there dude, look at the progress you have made already, don't throw away all that hard work. If you have been at a plateau for that long, you obviously need to change something up.

As mentioned above, shock the system for several days to get back into burn mode. Fewer cals, more riding etc. Did you change your diet to mostly healthy stuff? "Diets" are only a temporary fix or necessary in order to get you down to a certain weight. A change of life style and kicking bad habits are required to maintain that weight. You can never eat like you did before even if you're riding every day - I suspect.

309 to 250 is huge accomplishment, don't give up.

I went from 304.5 to 248 over the course of about 5 years, just from 3 things: 1) portion control, 2) avoiding "bad" foods pretty much completely, and 3) increased activity - which was not much more than occasional brisk walks of 30 to 40 minutes, maybe 2 or 3 times a week.

And that worked fine until I plateau'd. I let that plateau get to me and went back to some of my old eating habits (some of which were stress-related due to employment/economy), and I found I'd gained about 20 of it back. So I finally decided this past April that I really needed some structure in the part of my life that related to eating and health, so my wife and I joined one of the big nationally-known plans, and that change has made a ton of difference (sorry) in my life and my weight. In the 17 or so weeks I've been on it, I've gone from about 270 to 230 or so, and for the first time in my life I feel like a good, healthy weight is actually within my grasp.

My point is that, like Shepp30 said, don't lose sight of the accomplishments you've made already. I did that and it resulted in a 20 pound backslide. And maybe, like he said, you need some sort of shakeup in your life to "shock" the system back into action. In my case it was joining this program.

At the very least, experiment a little with what you can do to continue to ensure forward movement. Change routines or types of activity. Take a hard look at your current eating habits to see if they've changed in any way from when you were actively losing. You've gone through a lot of hard work to lose the pounds you've already lost - all of that is at stake each time you make a decision about eating and exercise.

I was stuck at 290 for 3 or 4 weeks. It was frustrating but I just kept biking and, while I didn't go back on my food log, I tried to reign in some excessive eating. I'm back on track now losing a pound or two each week.

I was stuck at 290 for 3 or 4 weeks. It was frustrating but I just kept biking and, while I didn't go back on my food log, I tried to reign in some excessive eating. I'm back on track now losing a pound or two each week.


+1 on this. stay on track and outlast the plateau. At first I lost dramatically, but I was hardcore diet, now I still eat better, but not as gung ho as before. I'm loosing only a pound or so a week, but it's nice to see a heavy day this week being equal to a light day 2 weeks ago. Don't give up, even maintaining the plateau is so much better than where you were.

Trust me, I'm not giving up here. Prepping for a big move = Less exercise & bad eating habits. My original post was more of a rant on my part to get it all down in writing in front of me. While we are still prepping for the move I am making time for my riding and trying to maintain my food intake. As far as diets are concerned, my diet is more of a general plan than a strict diet. I get certain percentages of nutrients to maintain during the day and need to eat 5 - 6 times per day. It works so far, and is supervised by my Endocrinologist.

I plateaud recently and it was a combination of not eating enough calories then hitting a couple family functions/bbqs/wedding and some higher than normal caloric days.

I think my metabolism had slowed too much, then when eating a lot on a single day it messed me up. Standing on the scale I've been getting frustrated as well .Lots of gas, no bowel movements.

Your body really has to lose weight in a safe, controlled manner. I have been too aggressive and then not being careful with a binge day and what I've been eating.

I need to get back on track, eat a bit more, take a dump and HTFU. I've been riding metric centuries every saturday now and have to hit my next level of fitness. If that means anything, it's that it will pass but you have to be diligent.

PS - been taking magnesium supplements to help the bowels, the lungs and other things. Suppleents work for some, not for others. At least consider what might work for you.

In most circumstances riding is only going to prevent you from gaining weight which is why it's a plateau and not a trough. So that's working. You already kicked some major butt losing what you have. Assuming you're chemically balanced, diet is going to make the difference. Keep doing what you know is right. My advice is to count calories including the spent calories from riding. If you have an iPhone, LoseIt is a great tool. I plateaued 3 times in losing the 55 lbs I lost over a year. It's frustrating but one day you'll wake up and 2, 5, 10 lbs are gone and the don't come back. Just stick with it. The great thing about a plateau is you know there's an edge to lower weight. Just gotta inch your way (weigh) to it and step over. GL

Move more, eat less, track closely. +1 for LoseIt, great app, been keeping me honest about my input and output. Despite some fluctuations I'm on track to lose 55 pounds by mid-October ( started in April ).