Stalls - Don't give up!

Keith3481

Everyone who has attempted to lose weight has had a stall/plateau. I tend to lose weight this way, in approximately 2 lb. increments. The frustrating part is there is no set length of time that a plateau lasts. I've been on a plateau for eight days, I've been on a plateau for 45 days. The point is don't give up.

I'm a chemist, so that means I'm a total nerd when it comes to charting weight loss. It can maddening, but I do weigh daily so I get enough data to analyze. The first chart below shows my weight loss broken up into five phases. This chart represents about six months worth of time. The second chart below shows the weight loss and how long each phase lasts. I'm ten days into my latest phase after breaking through a 45 day plateau. All I did was continue on my plan and just wait it out. What you can't tell from the data is at the beginning of the plateau, I started my spring outdoor bicycling training so I had several things probably going on. The increased exercise activity was likely building up lean muscle mass and the stress on my muscles was probably building up cortisol, which led to water retention. That's why my weight is bouncing all over the place. During this time (not charted here), I went from a 32.5" to a 31.5" waist while dropping just a little under 2 lbs.





All of the above analysis was tracked with MFP and analyzed in Minitab, which is a rather expensive statistics software package.

In summary, when you hit a stall:

1. Don't give up. My stalls have lasted as much as 45 days.
2. Don't worry about fluctuation - you may have water retention.
3. Trust the tape measure. Your body may be undergoing recomposition. If it drives you crazy, don't weigh daily.
4. Focus on how far you've already come. One of my favorite activities is to go to Lowe's and lift a paving stone that weighs about the same as how much I've lost. It's motivation to stick to your plan.


Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter

shellbatronic

Oh wow, your stat charts are so cool! I love data.

I lose in stairsteps- I'll drop 5-6 pounds all of a sudden, then stay completely still for up to 2 or 3 months, then down it goes by 5-6 again. It's very frustrating because I continue my workouts and eat pretty consistently. Having been through a few of these stalls now, though, makes it easier to have that blind faith that eventually it will start moving again.

Sometimes it seems like there's no rhyme or reason to any of it, but I just have to keep telling myself that there's a million biochemical reactions going on in there and I have zero way to understand it fully. Maddening! Patience is key for me, and a hard lesson learned.

ETA that I am totally going to go to Lowes and lift paving stones now.

genofreek

I'm the same, I stall and plateau, then jump down by like 5 pounds all at once. I think I need to relax and start eating at TDEE -20%, I started at 1200 cal/day, so it feels weird being encouraged to eat more.

Keith3481

If you think you've given enough time to your current plan and it's not working, by all means come up with a different plan and try that one for some time. Just make sure you give your new plan enough time to figure out if it is working...don't bounce around from plan to plan or you'll never get anywhere.

bullsfan22

Same thing here. I lost a bunch of weight very quickly (not unhealthy method just flushing of my system of all the **** I ate for so long) that now I rarely see any weight come off in that same manner. Last 10 days I have stalled at 196.8, not moved down at all but I know I am getting fit because I have lost inches.

I know it's easy to say "what's the point" when the scale doesn't move but I tend to think that I am doing this for a 1 year plan, this time next year I will be at my ideal body composition (not weight because who cares what the scale says).