I’ve Plateaued

Marisela170

I started the year at about 181 and as of right now I’m at 142 but I’m stuck there. And I don’t know what to do. I’m still eating the same and then I’m walking pretty much everywhere which adds up to 20- 30 miles a week. Any input helps

shaf238

If your plateau is anything less than 4-6 weeks than check back after that period of time.

BarbaraHelen2013

If you’re still eating the same it’s possible that it’s now too much to fuel your lower body weight. Which means you’ve actually reached maintenance point as far as your calorie level is concerned.

Without knowing your height, age and current calorie goal there’s not a lot more to suggest at this point.

Consider making your diary public too, as many people find that when they’ve dropped a bit of weight they need to tighten up their logging accuracy as ‘close enough is no longer good enough’. If we can peek at your diary we may find things that could be tripping you up and help you get on your way again.

cheryldumais

Alot of folks never reset their calories thinking that the app will do it automatically. Unfortunately I have found that is not the case. You need to go back through the guided setup to have your new weight taken into consideration. My next suggestion is if you have done that then try taking a diet break at maintenance calories for 2 weeks. That often gets things going again.

quiksylver296

Do you use a food scale?

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10697068/how-i-stopped-kidding-myself/p1

amy19355

I’ve hit the point where more than 1/2 pound a week loss is considered unhealthy. My weight fluctuates much more than before and the downward trend is much less perceptible.

One thing that helps me keep going is to look back at the graph of my weight loss over a year. It’s the proof that I’m on the right track.

THe other thing I do is characterize as maintain what you call plateau, and congratulate myself on that achievement. In the old days, I’d have been discouraged and eaten back all my hard work.

Good luck to you, and good fitness to us all.

suzyjmcd2

It happens! It's just part of the process. I don't think I have one friend on here who didn't have a few plateaus through the process. Just ride it out. Try to make a little change here and see if that breaks it; then try a different change there, and see if that helps. Don't try to do too much all at once to make a change... you don't want to throw in the towel because what you're doing is unsustainable. You'll get through it! Just keep dong your best

Lobsterboxtops

cheryldumais wrote: »

Alot of folks never reset their calories thinking that the app will do it automatically. Unfortunately I have found that is not the case. You need to go back through the guided setup to have your new weight taken into consideration. My next suggestion is if you have done that then try taking a diet break at maintenance calories for 2 weeks. That often gets things going again.

Hah...I found this out the hard way. I started with a calorie goal of 1240, one day I went in to remind myself what my loss rate goal was so I went through the guided setup and my new calorie goal was 1210 calories at the end (presumably because I lost some weight). I was so bummed...I wanted those 30 calories back!

Marisela170

quiksylver296 wrote: »

Do you use a food scale?

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10697068/how-i-stopped-kidding-myself/p1

I am not currently using a food scale. I've just been eyeballing it and only eating when I'm hungry, eating slowly and stopping when I'm full.

Marisela170

Lobsterboxtops wrote: »

cheryldumais wrote: »

Alot of folks never reset their calories thinking that the app will do it automatically. Unfortunately I have found that is not the case. You need to go back through the guided setup to have your new weight taken into consideration. My next suggestion is if you have done that then try taking a diet break at maintenance calories for 2 weeks. That often gets things going again.

Hah...I found this out the hard way. I started with a calorie goal of 1240, one day I went in to remind myself what my loss rate goal was so I went through the guided setup and my new calorie goal was 1210 calories at the end (presumably because I lost some weight). I was so bummed...I wanted those 30 calories back!

haha every calorie really does make a big difference, doesn't it.

jessalittlemore

Marisela170 wrote: »

I am not currently using a food scale. I've just been eyeballing it and only eating when I'm hungry, eating slowly and stopping when I'm full.

That's your problem, then. It really is important to use the scale.

Marisela170

Lobsterboxtops wrote: »

cheryldumais wrote: »

Alot of folks never reset their calories thinking that the app will do it automatically. Unfortunately I have found that is not the case. You need to go back through the guided setup to have your new weight taken into consideration. My next suggestion is if you have done that then try taking a diet break at maintenance calories for 2 weeks. That often gets things going again.

Hah...I found this out the hard way. I started with a calorie goal of 1240, one day I went in to remind myself what my loss rate goal was so I went through the guided setup and my new calorie goal was 1210 calories at the end (presumably because I lost some weight). I was so bummed...I wanted those 30 calories back!

So I did this and my suggested calorie intake went up by 200 calories. I'm think its probably because every single day I spend 2-3 hours walking to and from work, school, ect then I'm running around everywhere all day at work plus walking my dogs every morning.

amy19355

Marisela170 wrote: »

quiksylver296 wrote: »

Do you use a food scale?

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10697068/how-i-stopped-kidding-myself/p1

I am not currently using a food scale. I've just been eyeballing it and only eating when I'm hungry, eating slowly and stopping when I'm full.

I've been using a scale for over a year now, almost every day, and I still cannot "eyeball" a correct size portion.

Use MFP to figure out what your daily calorie goal should be, use a scale to weigh the food portions, (adjust as needed) and log everything you eat. Even log the food when you eat more than your calorie allotment for the day.

do this for a couple of weeks, and then have a fresh assessment of your situation.

fitoverfortymom

I think it's awesome that youve lost so we'll without a food scale. I never felt that confident and liked the certainty of being within goal.

You accide tally stumbled upon a good thing, which is knowing what maintenance looks/feels like.

A couple things you can do to continue to lose are: increase your exercise to widen your deficit, get a food scale and measure your intake more closely, or continue to eyeball portions but take a little off your plate each time. One (or combination of all) should get you back on a losing trend.

Also, if you are closer to goal weight and not doing this already, perhaps use am app like Libra or Happy Scale to log your weight daily to see the actual trend over time.