Plateaus explained
Options
stelper
Posts: 19
Hey everyone. I'm doing this post because I've gone through the dreadful plateaus, and I want you guys to know why you are getting them and how to break them.
I see a lot of people advocating the whole "calories in vs. calories out" deal, but I want to tell you that sometimes it's a lot more complicated than that.
There are a couple of reasons why you might be plateauing. One reason might be that you are not accurately counting your calories. For most, this isn't the case. When I was in my plateau, people kept telling me that I probably wasn't counting my calories correctly, and they'd give me the cliche "calories in vs. calories out. It's science" bull crap. I was absolutely positive, without any shadow of a doubt that I was accurately counting my calories. So why wasn't I losing anymore weight?
This is why...
Your body produces a hormone called Lepin. Leptin, if you will, is kind of like the body's energy control panel. It basically regulates how much energy your body will give out. When you are on long periods of caloric deficits (or are at a lower body fat %), your body's Leptin levels will slowly start to decrease, consequently reducing your energy levels (BMR). So, the "calories in vs. calories out" rule still remains true, but people are highly overestimating their calories out.
In order to fix this, you need to have periodic "re-feed/cheat days," which are basically days of eating 100-200 calories over maintenance. Having these days will bring your Leptin levels back to normal, resulting in your BMR to bounce back to where it was before. The frequency of these "re-feed/cheat days" are really dependent on where you are at in your weight loss journey. If your body fat percentage is still relatively high, then you really shouldn't have these types of days too often. However, if you are trying to lose those last pesky 5-10lb, I would suggest having these days once a week.
Let me know if you guys have any questions!
I see a lot of people advocating the whole "calories in vs. calories out" deal, but I want to tell you that sometimes it's a lot more complicated than that.
There are a couple of reasons why you might be plateauing. One reason might be that you are not accurately counting your calories. For most, this isn't the case. When I was in my plateau, people kept telling me that I probably wasn't counting my calories correctly, and they'd give me the cliche "calories in vs. calories out. It's science" bull crap. I was absolutely positive, without any shadow of a doubt that I was accurately counting my calories. So why wasn't I losing anymore weight?
This is why...
Your body produces a hormone called Lepin. Leptin, if you will, is kind of like the body's energy control panel. It basically regulates how much energy your body will give out. When you are on long periods of caloric deficits (or are at a lower body fat %), your body's Leptin levels will slowly start to decrease, consequently reducing your energy levels (BMR). So, the "calories in vs. calories out" rule still remains true, but people are highly overestimating their calories out.
In order to fix this, you need to have periodic "re-feed/cheat days," which are basically days of eating 100-200 calories over maintenance. Having these days will bring your Leptin levels back to normal, resulting in your BMR to bounce back to where it was before. The frequency of these "re-feed/cheat days" are really dependent on where you are at in your weight loss journey. If your body fat percentage is still relatively high, then you really shouldn't have these types of days too often. However, if you are trying to lose those last pesky 5-10lb, I would suggest having these days once a week.
Let me know if you guys have any questions!
-1
Replies
-
This should be interesting.0
-
Your body produces a hormone called insulin. Insulin, if you will, is kind of like the body's energy control panel. It basically regulates how much energy your body will give out. When you are on long periods of caloric deficits (or are at a lower body fat %), your body's insulin levels will slowly start to decrease, consequently reducing your energy levels (BMR).
Insulin is the signal to store energy. The less you have the more energy is available. Insulin simply lowers the glucose concentration in the bloodstream. Your statement is contrary to science.0 -
Oh, God, here we go.
I'm sorry to announce that I don't have any cat, rolling-eyed celebrity guest or Jennifer Lawrence gifs available at the moment.0 -
-
Did this all come to you in a dream or...?0
-
Oh good, I was looking for some entertainment this afternoon.... ::gets comfy::0
-
Well, it is Friday after all...0
-
First - how do you define a plateau? (I'll give you a hint, it's longer than 6 weeks)
Next, as you lose weight, your BMR changes, that's true - but MFP takes that into consideration, when it tells you to adjust your calories every 20 pounds or so to reflect that. The less you weigh, the less your base caloric intake is going to be - I think that's common knowledge.
You should take out this bit:
because inaccuracy is almost always the case. When people post about "plateaus", most people on here say: you're eating more or burning less than you think. That's pretty much the standard answer.One reason might be that you are not accurately counting your calories. For most, this isn't the case.
I agree that metabolic adaptation is a thing and can happen, but it's usually seen after an extended period of being in a consistent deficit - a year or more. So the average Jane or John isn't experiencing that.
And I'm 99% certain that reverse dieting is a much better solution than "cheat days". If it takes upwards of a year for metabolic adaptation to occur, a few hundred extra calories isn't going to fix it.
As far as your statements about insulin - you should really read up on how your body works.0 -
I would love to know what science you have proving your theory. The human body doesn't stockpile insulin, insulin is "created" by a section of the pancreas on an AS NEEDED basis. If your pancreas isn't able to create insulin (or sufficient insulin) eating a few more calories isn't going to fix it. I do have lower than normal insulin levels I have the rarer form of hypoglycemia called fasting hypoglycemia where my body doesn't process glucose normally (due to my lower glucose numbers, my body produces a lower insulin response because less insulin is required).0
-
Please, tell us more. Should those 100-200 refeeds be strictly clean, or whatever fits in our macros? Do you know of a way to tell if you're really revving up your BMR or are simply experiencing an overdue whoosh? And finally, do you attribute the effects of this insulin-as-control-panel theory to body confusion?0 -
Hey everyone. I'm doing this post because I've gone through the dreadful plateaus, and I want you guys to know why you are getting them and how to break them.
I see a lot of people advocating the whole "calories in vs. calories out" deal, but I want to tell you that sometimes it's a lot more complicated than that.
There are a couple of reasons why you might be plateauing. One reason might be that you are not accurately counting your calories. For most, this isn't the case. When I was in my plateau, people kept telling me that I probably wasn't counting my calories correctly, and they'd give me the cliche "calories in vs. calories out. It's science" bull crap. I was absolutely positive, without any shadow of a doubt that I was accurately counting my calories. So why wasn't I losing anymore weight?
This is why...
Your body produces a hormone called insulin. Insulin, if you will, is kind of like the body's energy control panel. It basically regulates how much energy your body will give out. When you are on long periods of caloric deficits (or are at a lower body fat %), your body's insulin levels will slowly start to decrease, consequently reducing your energy levels (BMR). So, the "calories in vs. calories out" rule still remains true, but people are highly overestimating their calories out.
In order to fix this, you need to have periodic "re-feed/cheat days," which are basically days of eating 100-200 calories over maintenance. Having these days will bring your insulin levels back to normal, resulting in your BMR to bounce back to where it was before. The frequency of these "re-feed/cheat days" are really dependent on where you are at in your weight loss journey. If your body fat percentage is still relatively high, then you really shouldn't have these types of days too often. However, if you are trying to lose those last pesky 5-10lb, I would suggest having these days once a week.
Let me know if you guys have any questions!
You are talking out of both sides of your mouth. First it's "CICO is bull crap." Then "CICO is true." Bottom line, CICO is true. Your BMR might not be what the calculators give you, for various reasons, the biggest one being that they give you estimates, not actuals, but CICO is it.0 -
Okay guys... I made a mistake. Insulin was the wrong hormone. I meant to say Leptin0
-
New here?0
-
Leptin
noun
1.a hormone that is thought to suppress appetite and speed up metabolism.
(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/leptin ?s=t)
Sounds like it isn't 100% if it actually "speeds up metabolism" or not.0 -
well here we go
0 -
Comes to school MFP on hormones
Can't remember correct name of hormone
0 -
herrspoons wrote: »No.
Double no.0 -
Leptin
noun
1.a hormone that is thought to suppress appetite and speed up metabolism.
(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/leptin ?s=t)
Sounds like it isn't 100% if it actually "speeds up metabolism" or not.
Dig a little deeper into the functionality of Leptin. It also regulates your energy expenditure (BMR).0 -
0
-
Leptin
noun
1.a hormone that is thought to suppress appetite and speed up metabolism.
(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/leptin ?s=t)
Sounds like it isn't 100% if it actually "speeds up metabolism" or not.
Well, I just skimmed a Mercola article that says it also turns white fat into brown fat and if you eat 50-70% fat (including krill oil), you will speed up your metabolism.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/10/29/leptin-resistance.aspx
I can't believe my doctor didn't test me for leptin resistance
0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 392.1K Introduce Yourself
- 43.6K Getting Started
- 259.9K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.7K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 403 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.8K Motivation and Support
- 7.9K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.4K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 999 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.4K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions