Well, after great success since late July I've suddenly stopped my weight loss. I've dropped from 252lbs. to 205 (low of 203lbs). I've been at this weight for about a month and have been unable to break through this barrier (and I was so excited about falling below 200). My goal is to reach ~165lbs. before I start a maintenance phase followed by a bulk.

I've tried a few things to try and break the plateau with no success. First, to give a bit of background, my stats are:

5'9"
29 years old
205lbs.
15 1/4" arms
36" waist
46" chest
24 1/4" legs

My workout routine consists of 30 mins fasted cardio (bicycle) on Friday-Monday (no cardio on Tuesday-Thursday). I follow a Max-OT weight routine that has me isolating a particular muscle group over a five-day span (so, weights are Monday-Friday). I've noticed some appreciable gains in muscle mass since I incorporated a full routine starting in September (when I purchased all of equipment).

Honestly, I've struggled with reaching a five-meal day. I think this maybe part of the problem--I eat clean but haven't sufficiently spaced my meals.

Finally, my attempt to break this plateau was done by taking an entire week off from cardio (still incorporated weights). I had my FIRST cheat meal since July and upped my overall caloric intake (which was too low). Last week I generally ate more than usual and had a few no-no meals :nono: (e.g., philly cheesesteak, fries, popcorn). While I didn't gain any weight, I did notice a slight improvement in energy.

Friday I started cardio again followed by a more strict, clean, diet and incorporated four meals on both Friday and Saturday. I woke up this morning and was the exact same weight as yesterday to the tenth of a pound!

Can anyone offer any suggestions on how to break through this plateau? I believe the problem is with my diet and I honestly can't give anyone a caloric breakdown since I quit tracking my macros back in September. My meals, however, usually consist of the following (most of these are approximations). Moreover, while I don't consider an "apple" a meal I've listed it as such for further critique:

Meal 1 (after cardio) ~11:00 AM

Kashi Go Lean mix with Kashi Crunch (probably 2 combined cups)
1 cup skim milk
1 packet splenda
3 egg whites (only 2 times per week)

Meal 2 ~2:00PM

Turkey Sandwich on Whole Wheat

1oz. Turkey
1 slice cheese
2 pieces of Whole Wheat Bread

Meal 3 ~ 3:00PM

Apple or Banana

Meal 4 6:00-7:00

Piece of Chicken Breast or 2 pieces of Tilapia
2-cups cooked Long-grain brown rice
Low-sodium soy sauce for rice (3 tblsps)
Salad (baby spinach, cucumbers, etc).

Meal 5 (post workout) midnight

Nitrean Protein Shake (2 scoops of Nitrean)
16oz. skim milk
1 cup low fat yogurt

Thanks for any suggestions!!

Friday I started cardio again followed by a more strict, clean, diet and incorporated four meals on both Friday and Saturday. I woke up this morning and was the exact same weight as yesterday to the tenth of a pound!

Can anyone offer any suggestions on how to break through this plateau? I believe the problem is with my diet and I honestly can't give anyone a caloric breakdown since I quit tracking my macros back in September. My meals, however, usually consist of the following (most of these are approximations). Moreover, while I don't consider an "apple" a meal I've listed it as such for further critique:

Meal 1 (after cardio) ~11:00 AM

Kashi Go Lean mix with Kashi Crunch (probably 2 combined cups)
1 cup skim milk
1 packet splenda
3 egg whites (only 2 times per week)

Meal 2 ~2:00PM

Turkey Sandwich on Whole Wheat

1oz. Turkey
1 slice cheese
2 pieces of Whole Wheat Bread

Meal 3 ~ 3:00PM

Apple or Banana

Meal 4 6:00-7:00

Piece of Chicken Breast or 2 pieces of Tilapia
2-cups cooked Long-grain brown rice
Low-sodium soy sauce for rice (3 tblsps)
Salad (baby spinach, cucumbers, etc).

Meal 5 (post workout) midnight

Nitrean Protein Shake (2 scoops of Nitrean)
16oz. skim milk
1 cup low fat yogurt

Thanks for any suggestions!!

Ok I see that you basically took a "refeeding" week or so. Thats fine, and probably wouldn't hurt if you've been on a cut for a long time. However I don't think you should freak out just because you are TWO days back into your clean diet. You need to give it at LEAST a couple weeks to judge whether you are ok or not.

Some small pointers I'd recommend

- Fasted Liss cardio really isn't gonna hurt you to up it to 5 days a week. It has very little downside, and some people believe is a very big key to weight loss. 30 minutes is ok, but consider upping it by another 10-15 minutes if you have time. It's just good stuff.

-Without seeing your training, it might not hurt to consider a full body workout while you are cutting. It isn't necessary by any means. I don't do it myself, but it would be something I'd consider if I got stuck in a long plateau.

-You gotta know what you are eating. Figure out your macro's. It doesn't take long before you memorize everything you eat fairly closely, and can do the math in your head.

-Diet
I'm gonna miss some things here but try to have some form of protein with every meal. I kinda just wanna test out what I'd recommend vs what the experts will say when they get here.

Meal 1 - Make it 4-6 egg whites, and EVERY day. 1FastGTX will probably tell you to add a grapefruit here as well:lol:
Meal 2 - 1 oz turkey sounds a little light, but I might be wrong. Try to get 10-15g of protein worth. Drop the cheese. Carb+Fat might be a no-no for you. Add a salad to this meal.(on the sandwhich or on the side)
Meal 3 Add some cottage cheese or something. No protein in this meal.
Meal 4 Pretty good. Consider adding some more vegetables to this(or maybe meal 2). Green beans, aparagus, and whatnot. Maybe just 1 cup rice as well.
Meal 5 I'm a little confused on what to tell you this meal. Tough to have a PWO/last meal of the day in one. For PWO, i'd recommend some simple carbs. For a last meal of the day, I'd recommend some peanut butter. Nitrean is great for both, and the PB and carbs don't really mix. I'll be interested in what others say about this one. If your yogurt is low fat, maybe add that to your banana in meal 3 instead of here.

Lastly, I don't see ANY fats in your diet. No flax, olive oil, Natty PB. You gotta make some room for these somewhere with a protein/fat meal. Fix this soon. It also looks like you are only at about 1700 calories(estimate), which is probably too low.

:tucool: Good reply... I am currently stuck in a month long plateau myself. Down from 288lbs October 2005 to now 197.5lbs. Not sure if I would call it a real plateau, because i'm still losing almost inch a month in my waist, and my jeans are more loose by the day. The 2 cheat meals every weekend are getting me most likely..gotta drop that out, or only have 1 cheat meal a week :)

I had a month long plateau when I was about 230lbs and finally broke through it when I had the flu..:( . Just keep at it, try new stuff every now and then and it will eventually come off...

Taking a week off after a long cutting diet is always a good thing.
(though maybe not if you eat too much junk) :).

If you are unable to break your plateau I think you should start tracking
every peice of food you put in your month. (A kitchen scale and everything...). If you have no idea what is your calorie intake/macros/
ext it will be hard to modify your diet as you are pretty much walking in the dark here...

Great job on the fat loss so far btw!
Also your stats suggest you carry a good amount of muscles of your frame, maybe you will reach your goal before 165lbs.

Shahar.

I hit a plateau a month ago too. I was still dropping, but at about 1/4th that rate I was. I ended up adding about 200 clean calories a day and that helped. While I am not dropping fat at the same clip I once was, it is coming off again at an acceptable rate. GL:)

Ok I see that you basically took a "refeeding" week or so. Thats fine, and probably wouldn't hurt if you've been on a cut for a long time. However I don't think you should freak out just because you are TWO days back into your clean diet. You need to give it at LEAST a couple weeks to judge whether you are ok or not.

Some small pointers I'd recommend

- Fasted Liss cardio really isn't gonna hurt you to up it to 5 days a week. It has very little downside, and some people believe is a very big key to weight loss. 30 minutes is ok, but consider upping it by another 10-15 minutes if you have time. It's just good stuff.

-Without seeing your training, it might not hurt to consider a full body workout while you are cutting. It isn't necessary by any means. I don't do it myself, but it would be something I'd consider if I got stuck in a long plateau.

-You gotta know what you are eating. Figure out your macro's. It doesn't take long before you memorize everything you eat fairly closely, and can do the math in your head.

-Diet
I'm gonna miss some things here but try to have some form of protein with every meal. I kinda just wanna test out what I'd recommend vs what the experts will say when they get here.

Meal 1 - Make it 4-6 egg whites, and EVERY day. 1FastGTX will probably tell you to add a grapefruit here as well:lol:
Meal 2 - 1 oz turkey sounds a little light, but I might be wrong. Try to get 10-15g of protein worth. Drop the cheese. Carb+Fat might be a no-no for you. Add a salad to this meal.(on the sandwhich or on the side)
Meal 3 Add some cottage cheese or something. No protein in this meal.
Meal 4 Pretty good. Consider adding some more vegetables to this(or maybe meal 2). Green beans, aparagus, and whatnot. Maybe just 1 cup rice as well.
Meal 5 I'm a little confused on what to tell you this meal. Tough to have a PWO/last meal of the day in one. For PWO, i'd recommend some simple carbs. For a last meal of the day, I'd recommend some peanut butter. Nitrean is great for both, and the PB and carbs don't really mix. I'll be interested in what others say about this one. If your yogurt is low fat, maybe add that to your banana in meal 3 instead of here.

Lastly, I don't see ANY fats in your diet. No flax, olive oil, Natty PB. You gotta make some room for these somewhere with a protein/fat meal. Fix this soon. It also looks like you are only at about 1700 calories(estimate), which is probably too low.


Thanks for the replies everyone!! It's really encouraging to see people who actually take the time to help someone (like myself) out!!

Now, I've decided to quit being lazy and start tracking my caloric intake, once again, via FitDay. I stopped doing this b/c I felt that I had a rough idea of what I was eating at each meal and I could do the macro split in my head. What I failed to realize was how much my eating habits have changed over time. I'm eating different things (oh how it sucks not to get fresh fruits in the winter) in vastly different amounts.

Further, I'm going to vario my cardio a bit (continue LISS) by increasing the duration and also maybe 2-3 days per week, doing two 30 min. cardio sessions (one AM; one PM).

My diet is also going to be further tweaked (thanks for the recommendations Ziegenbak) to incorporate the correct macro amounts at each meal. Additionally, I've already purchased a kitchen scale and have begun using it already (last night I weighed my spinach--3oz.).

Finally, I'm happy to report that this morning's weigh-in was 8/10ths of a pound lighter than yesterday with a 1% reduction in BF. I know that you can't judge day-to-day fluctuations but I'm inspired by seeing some movement (particularly in the BF reduction).

Also, I'm hoping I could hit my goal before reaching 165....but I don't know, only time will tell ;) :bb: