Define plateau

texasredreb

What is the generally accepted definition of a weight plateau? At what point in a typical weight loss diet does a plateau occur?

What would be some other reasons for a stall in weight loss?

Teabythesea_

Depends on how much the person has to lose. If someone has very little to lose and should be aiming for .5 lbs a week their loss can easily be masked by water weight fluctuations for weeks. In this case I wouldn't consider anything shorter than a couple of months to be a true plateau. If someone has a lot more to lose and has been losing at a steady pace of 1.5 to 2 lbs a week then anything longer than 3 weeks to a month can be considered a plateau.

Most of the time when someone plateaus (or thinks they have) it's because they have become lax in their logging or have gotten to the point where their deficit is becoming smaller and there is not as much room for error. In other cases it is because someone has lost a substantial amount of weight but has not updated their calorie goal to reflect their new, lower NEAT that comes as a result of lower BMR. Sometimes people take up various forms of exercise towards the end of their weight loss journey and that can cause water retention. There can be many reasons, but these are the most common ones I see.

ninerbuff

A weight plateau is 6 weeks or more of no significant weight movement IF (and that's IF) one has been totally consistent with diet and exercise. Many times people will THROW IN something they don't normally do (say a night out or party) eat a little more than usual, then get disappointed that their weight hasn't moved that week. Consistency is the whole difference.

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

tinkerbellang83

Personally I think a weight plateau is usually down to:

1) a lack of patience/knowledge by the person seeking to lose weight - not understanding weight loss isn't always visible on the scale/water weight fluctuations.
2) lack of accuracy whether it be through underestimating food intake or overestimating activity.

I don't think I've seen one post here over the years that doesn't fall into one or the other.

I'd only consider it an actual plateau if someone had logged everything accurately for several months and still hadn't managed to lose weight. Which would probably mean there was something more concerning to worry about than pounds on the scale.

NovusDies

What our dictator, @tinkerbellang83 said.

texasredreb

Thank you for your explanations. I'm not asking because I think I've plateaued; I haven't. I just see a lot of posts where people claim to have hit a plateau and the group says it's not necessarily so.

Right now I'm steadily losing. I weigh and measure everything except for prepackaged/pre-portioned foods. If I hit a "plateau" the first thing I will do is start weighing those items to see if it is making a difference.

emmamcgarity

Where’s the chart? I love the chart.

glassyo

emmamcgarity wrote: »

Where’s the chart? I love the chart.

Do we have a sticky that's all charts yet? Because that would be awesome.

diannethegeek

glassyo wrote: »

emmamcgarity wrote: »

Where’s the chart? I love the chart.

Do we have a sticky that's all charts yet? Because that would be awesome.

The flowchart has been stickied for a while. I think the infographics thread has been nominated but hasn't reached sticky status yet. You'd have to check the nominations thread to be sure.