[Miss_Dee]

Hey everyone, I'm new to this so please bare with me.

I've been on a diet since the end of January, and I've lost about 8 kilos already (that's about 17 and a half pounds). Sorry I'm Australian :D
So anyway I use to weigh 75kg but now I am 67kg and my height is about 168cm. I am turning 21 in May.

The problem is it feels like I've hit a plateau cause my weight keeps fluctuating from 67-68kg.

I eat 1000-1500 calories a day and my food consists of raw veges and fruit and I eat mainly healthy food like rice, sushi, salads etc (because I'm of asian ethnic, my family eat rice everyday but I kind of restricted & only eat it once a week). I do snack on fruits, museli bars and sandwiches with cheese etc. But I never go over 1500cals and drink plenty of water each day. I let loose about two times a week treating myself to a thin slice of cake or fried chicken or coke but I do extra exercises to make it up.

I exercise about 30-50 minutes on my treadmill at home every single day and maybe take 1-2 days of no exercise each month. I do about 10 minutes of weights, 10 minute of jumping rope and about 15 minutes of stretches, squats, jumping jacks etc. I do intense running and walking changing speeds of 6.5 to 7.5/8.0 every 2 minutes as I've read somewhere that this pattern gives you optimal fat loss - I do a lot of research and I know just enough about nutrients.

My question is what do I need to do to keep losing more weight because I still have a pretty high BMI of 24 so I still have a long way to go. But the rest of the kilos won't budge :(

Should I be exercising more? Eating less? I don't really like the idea of eating more even though I know I should be according to my BMR. I really don't know what to do, I'm stressing because even though I'm maintaining a 67, I'm worried I will stay this way for too long or worse, go back up because I feel like giving up or something? It's been about 2 weeks of no loss. Help me!

[sarnian]

Hello Miss_Dee

Congrats with your recent weight loss! Excellent.

As to your BIF/BMI : at 67 Kg and 1,68 Mtr it's more towards 23, nicely in the 'healthy' section.
And therefore it is logical that your weight keeps fluctuating between 67 and 68 Kg.
At most you may loose 3 - 4 Kg more, as you're already at an excellent weight for someone of your length.

So keep eating and exercising the way you do, and drop the idea you have to loose much more weight !

[Miss_Dee]

Thank you so much Sarnian for your quick response.

Although from my BMI, it seems I'm at a healthy weight, but appearance wise - I do have lots of flabby, yucky areas that need more work on. Trust me, if you see a photo of me right now, you would totally agree lol.

I don't have very good stamina & I'm asian so I do need to be a little more lighter. I'm not looking to be model skinny but I really do need to lose an extra 7 kilos to look in proportion to my figure.

I do appreciate your positive comment though, cheers.

[i_luv_blink182]

Grats on working out on a reg basis... so many of us crash diet and don't feel we have time to work out (we do.. lol:) I feel overweight, I'm not sure I am... ppl don't see me as overeweight but I feel discusted all the same... I can do better...

[Bois323]

Sounds like your plateau is due to your body becoming use to the routine. I have two suggestions for you.

First, cut down on your cardio exercise routine to 4 days a week, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. On Wednesday and Saturday start a total body weight routine. Work only the major muscles groups.

A good example would be: bench press, shoulder presses, dumbbell curls, squats and bicycle crunches. Do three sets of each of 12with a weight that allows you to do 10 reps comfortably but not more than 12 reps.

This will boost your metabolism and give you more stamina and energy. Now remember muscle weights more than fat so use a tape measure not the scale to check your progress.

My second suggestion would be to totally change your present routine. Use an elliptical instead of the treadmill, resistant bands instead of weights, include a medicine ball and/or swiss ball in your routine.

Both of these will shock your body and trick it into burning fat again instead of storing it. Also, be careful not to eat too many fruits. Yes they are a good source of antioxidant but some contain a lot of sugar.