2-week plateau while working out harder???

[scottjameshay@gmail.com]

I've been seeing great progress so far with eating more Paleo and getting on an exercise program (to the tune of 30+lbs lost in 2 months), but I've definitely run in to the dreaded 'plateau' zone and I'm very confused because of the circumstances surrounding it...

 

Basically, my Aerobic Program requires a minimum of 19.25pts/week in order to complete the task of 2,000pts over a 2-year span. I typically have been achieving around 27-28pts/week and had lost 19lbs in the first 4 weeks of the Aerobic program. Over the last 2 weeks however, I have lost only 1lb; plateau-time, right? Time to battle through the doubt and denial and keep moving forward? Maybe increase the workouts a little more to get through it, right? Well, that's just the thing, over this 2-week plateau, I've done much more than my normal pts/week achieving 38.5 + 32pts respectively, yet only 1lb lost compared to the avg of almost 5lb/week when doing only 27-28pts... I just don't get it..

 

Could I be building more muscle than fat-burning right now? I haven't been 'cheating' any more with the diet than I normally do (not very often). I really wanted to attack these 2 weeks and get big results before I'm off work for a whole week with the kids when temptation will be greatly increased every day, and all I got was 1lb. I mean, it's better than gaining weight, but really? I just don't get it... I still have time to go for another bike ride and add about another 4 points to my total this week before it's over, but I have the feeling it won't do much good right now.

 

I'm certainly not frustrated to the point where I could ever consider saying "screw the whole thing" just because of 2 disappointing weigh-ins, but it's clearly a let-down nevertheless...

 

Any advice/tips for this newbie?

[Disil]

In your case, the biggest advice is to find other ways of measuring success than your weight. The scale is unreliable at best and a dick most other times. It can tell you how much you weigh, which is great if you want exactly that information, but it sucks at telling you how that weight is composed and whether you are losing fat, water, muscle or pixie dust when it displays a loss of 10 lbs. That's why it's important to use: regular pictures, regular measurements (and bodyfat%), strength/cardio-related improvements to measure progress. If your weight stays the same but your pants fall down in the grocery store, you know what's up. Same for doing heavier lifts, longer/faster runs or simply looking way different between 3 months worth of pictures despite keeping the same weight.

 

Also, I understand you eat Paleo, still I can only encourage you to get a handle on how much exactly you are eating. I know, counting calories doesn't seem too appealing, but in this day and age it's much less of a hassle (myfitnesspal helps a lot) and can be very beneficial and educational. You don't even need to do it all the time necessarily, but simply to get an idea of what's what, how much of X amounts to how many calories etc. In the end, weight loss comes down to how many calories you put in and how many you expend and knowing more precise figures is a good way to ensure long term success.

[scottjameshay@gmail.com]

I have certainly noticed the workouts getting easier to accomplish... my go-to workout (for now) has been a 4k Walk with 3.6k Run, sometimes with a 12k bike ride (riding to/from work on top of normal workout). With today being Friday, I always like to finish off my week with a big workout followed by a rest on Saturday; I pulled off a 4k Walk, 4.8k Run, and 14.5k Bike ride, while feeling nearly as full of energy at the end of my workout as I did at the beginning of my workouts when I first started; but still, the scale didn't reward me after 2 weeks of increased workouts.

 

You are right, I am seeing other benefits to the working out in that I have increased capacity/ability during workouts, but it'd just be nice to see it show up on the scale as well, right? I'm just over half-way to the goal weight (started 295, currently 262, goal of 235lbs, maybe even lower if my body naturally continues to lose weight and tone-out), but have been stuck in the 260's for 4 weeks now and would have loved to have gotten in the 250's before having a week off work and having to resort to working out at night after the kids are in bed.

 

Thanks for the encouragement!