Weight loss plateau...

I defeated it! After a month long plateau of eating relatively well (not perfect) I had stalled losing weight at 274 lbs. It was even more frustrating as it was extremely early into my exercise and dieting. I had comments of "you are not logging correctly, you are not being honest about what you are eating, you aren't doing enough" etc. And I was absolutely positive I was honest with myself and my logging so I kept doing what I was doing. Finally this morning, I weighed myself multiple times and I am at 271.6 lbs! This post is just to tell those who have hit a plateau to KEEP going and you can overcome them, even if they may take a month (or more). The only thing I did differently was add in a little exercise, (30 minutes, 3 times a week). You may need to change up your routine a bit, but keep at it and I promise the changes will come! I do not know why plateaus happen, and they suck when they do! But just keep going!

Replies

  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    If its short term then its not a plateau. Its frustrating, but 3-4 weeks at the same weight when you are logging accurately most likely means there is water weight masking your efforts. Water weight comes from sodium, stress, TOM/hormones, sleep schedule disruption, new workout routine or more intense workout routine, etc. But is temporary. So yes, patience can eventually pay off.

    Congrats for sticking with it!
  • hiyomi
    hiyomi Posts: 906 Member
    In other words your exercise gave you the deficit you needed to lose :smile:

    Nice going :smile:

    I had exercised for 3 weeks and still had seen no results until just today. :) In the past, I had always seen immediate results on a weekly to sometimes a few day basis. This time the scale just wouldn't budge! lol
  • hiyomi
    hiyomi Posts: 906 Member
    If its short term then its not a plateau. Its frustrating, but 3-4 weeks at the same weight when you are logging accurately most likely means there is water weight masking your efforts. Water weight comes from sodium, stress, TOM/hormones, sleep schedule disruption, new workout routine or more intense workout routine, etc. But is temporary. So yes, patience can eventually pay off.

    Congrats for sticking with it!

    Interesting, the first two weeks I had just stalled, maybe it was from sodium, and then the last 3 weeks I had added in exercise and still was at a standstill, maybe the new workout routine further stalled my losses for a bit! lol
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    When we start a new workout it causes water retention for muscle repair...perfectly normal :smile:
  • hiyomi
    hiyomi Posts: 906 Member
    When we start a new workout it causes water retention for muscle repair...perfectly normal :smile:

    I never knew that until today, I just knew sodium and our monthly flow could, thanks for the info!
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    This process is a learning curve :smile: My mantra: knowledge is power :smile:
  • jkal1979
    jkal1979 Posts: 1,896 Member
    In other words your exercise gave you the deficit you needed to lose :smile:

    Nice going :smile:

    At first I was wondering why this was flagged, now I see we have "like" and "awesome" buttons.

    Great job OP!
  • hiyomi
    hiyomi Posts: 906 Member
    jkal1979 wrote: »
    In other words your exercise gave you the deficit you needed to lose :smile:

    Nice going :smile:

    At first I was wondering why this was flagged, now I see we have "like" and "awesome" buttons.

    Great job OP!

    Yea! I noticed that too, and its funny because yesterday I was wishing we had like buttons on here lol Wish granted :D
  • lasirena624
    lasirena624 Posts: 41 Member
    There seems to be a science to loosing weight that I have yet to get my head around. I started at 180lbs at 5'4" and currently I am at 168lbs. No gain/loss this week though for the second week. I am eating under my calorie goal at 1200 calories/day and exercising three to four days a week. Feeling frustrated about not seeing losses the last few weeks and stuck on the details of what to do to keep loosing.
  • hiyomi
    hiyomi Posts: 906 Member
    There seems to be a science to loosing weight that I have yet to get my head around. I started at 180lbs at 5'4" and currently I am at 168lbs. No gain/loss this week though for the second week. I am eating under my calorie goal at 1200 calories/day and exercising three to four days a week. Feeling frustrated about not seeing losses the last few weeks and stuck on the details of what to do to keep loosing.

    Yea, too many people experience plateaus for it not to be real. Many people said I was lying about my logging or being inaccurate, but I was not. I have lost weight many times before without issues. So when I stalled without reason, I could not figure out why. There are so many things that can cause it probably but for us to actually know what is a mystery. All we can keep doing is working hard to eventually get through it. >.<
  • Day_knee
    Day_knee Posts: 85 Member
    I know this thread is old...but I am frustrated for the same reason. Two weeks and no weight loss. No gain either but...still....no weight loss. I am doing everything I have been doing for the past few months, the same, weighing and measuring and exercising and for the past two weeks the scale has stood still. I want to kick my body's *kitten* right now!!!! ughhhh. I don't have a monthly flow any more, I am on hormones but have been since I started...I cannot figure it out. I just want to eat cake!!! haha.../sighs..continuing with it....
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Day_knee wrote: »
    I know this thread is old...but I am frustrated for the same reason. Two weeks and no weight loss. No gain either but...still....no weight loss. I am doing everything I have been doing for the past few months, the same, weighing and measuring and exercising and for the past two weeks the scale has stood still. I want to kick my body's *kitten* right now!!!! ughhhh. I don't have a monthly flow any more, I am on hormones but have been since I started...I cannot figure it out. I just want to eat cake!!! haha.../sighs..continuing with it....

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1