Hit a plateau with my weight loss, what am I doing wrong?

> it sounds weird but I have gone out of my way not to avoid any food marketed as “low fat”.

Sorry I meant

it sounds weird but I have gone out of my way to avoid any food marketed as “low fat”.

> About eating “good” fats ie; nuts, butter etc, how do you incorporate it into the daily meal plan without having too much fat?

that’s a great question. To which I don’t have an answer. I have to admit, I’m lazy and don’t really do the same everyday. I do eat 2tblsp of coconut oil daily, 1-2 brazil nuts, and 1 slice of bread with organic nut butter. I will cook my eggs with 1 pad of butter -or- 1tbsp of coconut oil.

And on top of that, I will eat 1 avocado 4-5 days a week. Besides those fats, I will eat fruits + veggies. Lots of banana’s and some apples. 1 clove of garlic a day if I can. I do a salad with olive oil/vinegarette dressing 4-5 days a week for lunch. When I don’t eat a salad, it’s usually a bowl of organic gluten-free oatmeal with stevia. and even somedays will snack on some pistachios while working.

That’s basically my diet these days for 6 days a week. And to be honest, I don’t feel hungry or deprived. It’s a lot of calories but somehow I’ve managed to lose 12-13 pounds this way in about 2 months with a thyroid problem (in which starvation diets and low-fat diets would not let me lose more than 1 pound in a month (and I’d even gain due to the thyroid)).

Also, at least 2tblsp of apple cider vinegar daily. I have bad acid reflux and it’s amazing for it. For the first time in 5 years, I don’t do the prilosec pills now just by doing apple cider vinegar for a month. It’s weird but you “fight acid reflux by injesting 1/2 tblspn of highly acidic organic apple cider vinegar right as you’re about to eat”. Apparently the apple cider vinegar (I get the Bragg brand) is wonderful for losing weight too by incoporating 1-2 tblspn per day in water (it tastes horrible but the health benefits of it are a mile long). So far, it’s doing wonders with the acid reflux too.

Hi, I’ve lost 12 lbs now since about mid dec. Suffered a setback where I pulled a back muscle so can’t excercise for about 1-2 more weeks.

I’m following a lot of advice here but also doing extra research.

I have hypothyroidism and was at about 225lbs (from 165 3.5 years ago) at the age of 50. The thyroid quit and I put on about 60 pounds and lost all my energy. After making changes since mid-Dec, I’m down to about 211 now and really hope to get under 200 again in a few months.

I learned that plateaus happen if/when your leptin levels go down and they will go down on a reduced calorie diet, etc… The key (so far) for me is to continue to eat a lot of fats.. But the good fats from avocado’s, brazil nuts, coconut oil and even butter. This group has helped me with that. Also, organic oatmeal. The key thing for me is I learned that Soy is the all-time worst thing for hypothyroidism so I cut out all soy completely. No more sugar either. Replace table salt with Himilayan Pink Salt (80+ excellent trace minerals). I know that Ezekial bread is awesome but I quit gluten two weeks ago (I read where that interferes with patients who have hypothyroidism).

Eating 3-4 eggs daily + a salad with brocolli and cauliflour and spinach + olive oil (found recipie on this group to make your own).

I have not really hit any plateau’s due to trying to keep the leptin levels higher.

One of the videos eamiled to me (from this group’s subscribe list) was interesting. Doctor talks about just that. He recommends that his patients cheat at least 1 day a week. Literally up your caloric intake by over 1000+ calories on a certain day and eat “junk” (what he says) if you want. basically, that gets your body out of any “starvation mode” and leptin levels increase. Then go back the rest of the days and stick to your good foods till the “cheat day” again. Another interesting thing is he recommends upping your carbs by 10g per day ‘after your cheat day’ till the ‘cheat day’ comes around again. By upping your carbs like that, your body’s fat-burning hormone (leptin) will not be decreased and your body won’t go into “starvation mode”(which means ‘you hit a plateau’). Admittingly, my “cheat day” is not so bad. I will do some potato chips (like a handful) and/or maybe a slice of pizza and a beer. But I have to be careful due to my hypothyroidism (which you might not have).

It’s worth doing some youtube video searches on leptin and how low-fat/low-calorie diets can actually make it harder for you to lose weight and get out of those plateau’s.

I have to admit, I’ve been able to lose any weight in 3.5 years until this past Dec by my changes (no Soy, no sugar, add coconut oil, organic apple cider vinegar, no wheat, etc..). I’m also taking thyroid supplements to ensure enough selenium/iodine but I get that from food sources too. I don’t feel hungry or deprived. Feel full a lot and am surprised to see I went from 225 in Dec to 211 this am. I plan to start that turbulence training again in 2 weeks when my back gets better.

Hope that some of this may help?

Hi, Lindy. No, you’re not doing anything wrong. The food portions change only after certain amounts of weight are lost.
The most reliable (and healthiest) way to give your body a boost here is through physical activity. This is not just because of the extra energy it burns, but also because it protects and strengthens your most important fat-burning asset, muscle tissue.
If you are new to exercise, please let us know, and we can assist you with resources on getting started if you wish—note that you don’t have to dive headfirst into anything strenuous, and that there are helpful exercises to fit all ability levels and time schedules. Even just walking in place in front of the TV for the length of a sitcom is great—if you feel like you’re “out of shape,” just start with 5 minutes each time, and work your way up to 30 minutes, then twice per day if you need.
If you recently started exercising, the number on the scale may not be reliable at this stage. Since you are now swapping fat for muscle, which is much heavier, you may be getting healthier while the number of pounds or kilos stays the same. In this case, pay more attention to how you’re looking and feeling, how your clothes are fitting, etc.
If you have been exercising all along, the muscles you usually use may have become complacent and don’t burn energy the way they did at the beginning. In this case, we suggest to introduce new exercises, even swapping them out for the old ones for a little while, to wake up new muscles. The best results have been reported with introducing weight training—again, it doesn’t have to be super strenuous, just something you can do on a regular basis. Even just lifting filled food cans in front of the TV counts. Another option is to mix up the rhythm by adding bursts of higher intensity movement to a steady aerobic regime. This can be something like 30 seconds of jogging or going uphill every 5 minutes during a regular walk.