Anyone else recently been stuck in a plateau?

mrnobodi95

Let's share some tips to move in from this frustrating time!

ninerbuff

Plateaus in weight loss are rare. Plateaus are 6 weeks or more of no weight movement IF one was consistent with diet and exercise. Any break in that consistency wouldn't make it a plateau, but a stall. Stalls are normal on long term weight loss. If you're stalled, first thing I would try is raising the intensity of your current workout program. If you're not on a workout program, start.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

mrnobodi95

Oh interesting, I never realized plateaus and stalls were two different things. Thanks for the insight!

diannethegeek

1. If it's been less than 3 weeks or so, don't sweat it! Normal fluctuations happen and unfortunately sometimes we stall for a week or two even when we're doing everything right. Give your body some time to catch up with the changes you're making.

2. If you aren't already, be sure that you're logging everything. Sometimes people forget about things like veggies, drinks, cooking oils, and condiments. For some people these can add up to enough to halt your weight loss progress.

3. Consider buying a food scale if you don't already have one. They're about $10-$20 dollars in the US and easily found at places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Measuring cups and spoons are great, but they do come with some degree of inaccuracy. A food scale will be more accurate, and for some people it makes a big difference.

4. Logging accurately also means choosing accurate entries in the database. There are a lot of user-entered entries that are off. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries.

5. Recalculate your goals if you haven't lately. As you lose weight your body requires fewer calories to run. Be sure you update your goals every ten pounds or so.

6. If you're eating back your exercise calories and you're relying on gym machine readouts or MFP's estimates, it might be best to eat back just 50-75% of those. Certain activities tend to be overestimated. If you're using an HRM or activity tracker, it might be a good idea to look into their accuracy and be sure that yours is calibrated properly.

7. If you're taking any cheat days that go over your calorie limits, it might be best to cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens. Some people go way over their calorie needs without realizing it when they don't track.

8. If you weigh yourself frequently, consider using a program like trendweight to even out the fluctuations. You could be losing weight but just don't see it because of the daily ups and downs.

9. Some people just burn fewer calories than the calculators predict. If you continue to have problems after 4-6 weeks, then it might be worth a trip to the doctor or a registered dietitian who can give you more specific advice.

MarcyKirkton

Last week, I only lost a couple of ounces, but I really know why. I know what my calorie goal has to be to lose, and even though I went over by just a little, it was enough to stop the losing trend.

Back on track now.......so no biggee.

Need2Exerc1se

I haven't lost any weight in a couple of months, though I have lost inches in that time. But even the inches seem to have stopped. I'm close to my goal so I'm worried that I may be in maintenance. I'm going to give it a bit longer before making any changes because I really like the way things are now diet and exercise wise..

enterdanger

I had a plateau in willpower for about 8months and gained 10-15lbs back. I've never had a plateau or stall caused by something other than me eating more than my allotted calories. That's probably because I still have plenty to lose. Maybe when I get closer to goal I'll have one.

NoIdea101NoIdea

I thought I was plateauing-for over a month I wasn't losing any weight, just fluctuating between the same 3lbs.

Turns out, I just needed to tighten up my logging as I was overeating. Weight has started coming right off again.