Weight-loss plateau

[theveganway]

Hi everynone!

I'm 5'6'', 23 years old and I weigh around 143 pounds. About a year ago, I've gained around 30 pounds, getting to 160 pounds - my usual, comfortable weight is between 125-130 pounds. From September 2014 to February 2015, I've started the usual "fad" diets to get rid of some weight - low carb/high protein, "clean eating", calorie counting/restricting, etc. With those I managed to lose about 15 pounds, but I always felt sluggish, hungry and binge eating was quite often (at least once a week I would binge on high fatty foods, like chocolate bars and cookies).

On February I discovered the Starch Solution - bought the book, started reading it and I totally made the switch to this high carb/starch, no dairy, no fat kind of lifestyle.

And I have to be honest - in terms of energy it has been awesome!!! I workout 5 times a week (cardio + resistance training) and I've never felt so alive and full of energy. I wake up energised and I always want to go straight to the gym
I no longer feel hungry all the time - which used to happen to me before and I found that my life back then revolved around food and counting the minutes until my next meal.

However, in the last few months, it has become harder and harder for me to lose any additional pound I follow the MWL guidelines, but nothing seems to be helping. I limit my fruit intake to 2 pieces/day, eliminated all refined flours from my diet (as well as oils) and I no longer cook with salt.

One of the things that has been getting to me the most is constipation I still cannot figure out how it is possible to each so much fiber and not being able to go to the bathroom - sometimes for 3-4 days in a row! I feel bloated, have abdominal discomfort, gas, etc. And that affects the way I see myself in the mirror - as well as my weight on the scale, which fluctuates A LOT!!!

My usual food intake consists of:
BREAKFAST: 1 cup rolled oats + rice milk + 1 pear + cinnamon
LUNCH: 1/2 cup dry rice with 1-2 cups veggies and tomate purée (no salt added)
DINNER: salad bowl (2 cups lettuce + 2/3 tomatoes + 1/2 cucumber) w/ some lime juice as a dressing and 4-5 potatoes (around 1lb) with some tomato purée (no salt added)
SNACKS: depending if I'm hungry or not, but is generally between lunch and dinner, and 1 medium apple is generally enough for me to feel satisfied.

I don't know if I'm gaining muscle/not losing fat/gaining weight, and I'm clueless in terms of what to do. Any advice?

Thank you!!!

[Greg63]

Hi,
I don't have specific advice for you, but what I can suggest is to read all of the following thread: viewtopic.php?f=22&t=27333 from JeffN's forum, including the links embedded. What you may be looking for is his second post in the thread which starts,

"Sometimes, there is also another issue that comes into play in these situations, which I have seen often...
.. as someone loses weight and gets closer to their recommended weight, the weight loss becomes more difficult because the "margin of error" in the "energy balance" equation becomes much more narrow."

Best of success to you!

[frozenveg]

I'm having difficulty perceiving your "plateau." If you just started this way of eating in February, after doing several months of fad-type diets, but in "the last few months" you are having trouble losing additional weight, is that basically from February to May that you've lost no weight? What has been happening? Do you keep a chart or any track of the losses and gains?

It does get a lot harder to lose quickly as you approach your goal weight. I just checked my loss charts, and it took me 20 weeks to go from 144 to 130, and then I stayed at 130 for another 20 weeks until I got down to 126, and so on. Now I just live in that neighborhood every day.

Keep at it! You have the evidence of energy and vitality to keep you going, and your body will follow. And remember, once you are at the weight you want, you will still be eating this way--this is no fad diet, it's just eating real food, daily.

[roundcoconut]

Just want to jump in really quick -- don't want the OP to feel like a leper!

For me, the big picture is about doing the work to bring the ideas of this way of eating in reality, and into your life, in a good way. Because "whole foods plant based diet" is just a concept, but where the rubber meets the road is "What'd you eat at your last meal? How much of which items? How often are you eating? How much are you moving?"

Play with different eating patterns that might feel even better to you. And yes, think in terms of patterns. A couple that seem relevant to me:

How many hours between meals? The pattern of "eat, stop, eat" is something that is lost on most Americans. Most Americans do a patterns of "eat, eat, eat" or "meal, snack, meal, snack". May be something worth considering! Going four hours between meals, without any snacks or liquid calories in between, is perfectly reasonable for a lot of people. Maybe for you as well?

A second pattern worth considering: water. Do you drink at least some water a few times a day? Water can make you feel good, once you get used to drinking it. Are there ways to work a bottle of water into your day somewhere? On the ride to work maybe? After waking up maybe? I do believe we are sometimes hungry for the water content of food, if we don't drink any water in the course of a day. I'm not sure this will make a big difference on your weight, but it can make you feel healthier, and feel more contentness in your body.

A third pattern worth considering: movement, and interrupting massive sessions of sedentary behavior. If 12 hours goes by without much of any movement, then I picture all the blood pooling, and the body sending signals for stimulation (which can be satisfied by any kind of stimulation, whether food, movement, spending, gambling -- whatever). Movement changes the appetite in a big way, from my experience. Be suspicious of 4-hour periods of total sitting, and interrupt them -- see if that changes things for you.

Just some thoughts! You can start anywhere -- just play with different patterns. I think your height and weight targets sound totally reasonable and workable. Good luck!