Plateau

Renonelarock

I’ve been the same weight now for what I think is about 2/3 weeks . I have had some rough weekends in there , but it’s still frustrating that my early morning weigh in doesn’t show any loss . Feeling frustrated

ejyennie

Me too! So frustrating. I have been measuring and weighing everything I eat, exercising diligently, yet I have a half pound gain. I am beyond frustrated.

Geocitiesuser

It happens. I've been at plateaus for as long as a full month before, but then it all whooshes out.

This is recommended reading. It's short, but valuable to consider. https://bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html/

quiksylver296

Rough weekends? As in over-eating? You can easily wipe out a calorie deficit that way. No calorie deficit, no weight loss.

VUA21

2-3 week plateaus are normal. Weight loss isn't linear, so don't worry about plateaus and normal weight fluctuations. Trend long terms and you'll see that overall, weight loss happens.

dhiammarath

I had a month long plateau (possibly longer; I only noticed after about a month). Felt like nothing was changing, but luckily I had taken pictures at various weights. Looking at the pictures helped immensely! And now that I'm through the plateau, I'm dropping the pounds pretty quick this week. I'm sure it's going to even out here soon and I'll be back to a steadier loss, but power through it.

The plateaus end eventually!

Cashmachine88

I hadn’t too long gotten out of my plateau period. At first I was losing about 2lbs a week. I was on a roll!

meganlfouts2013

I keep plateauing and it’s incredibly frustrating and makes me want to give up

itsgood

I'm not really sure what defines a plateau...several weeks? Month? I do know I have hovered within 2 lbs for nearly a month now. I also experience what I call "the bounce..." I lose 2 pounds, the next day one or both are right back and it takes several more days to return to the original loss. I do keep track of averages, as the trend is more relevant than the daily fluctuations. Since mid-January things are slowing down, from 3 lbs/week to 2.5/week to now, 2 lbs/week. I get the math but oh my! So frustrating!!!!! Not about to quit, but I think it's time to try weekly vs. daily weigh-ins.

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.