plateau

any tips on how to break through a plateau? i have been in a pre-diabetes program through my insurance company in which i monitor calories and exercise. The first 8 weeks i lost 8 pounds. For the last 3 weeks i haven't lost any more despite eating less and exercising more. I eat poultry and fish but no other meats. i have been careful to ensure i am getting enough protein and cutting back on carbs and sugar. Any tips?

Replies

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,721 Member
    What calorie level are you at, at what current height/weight and activity level? How do you estimate exercise calories? Do you use a food scale? Do you have so-called cheat meals or days?

    Did you significantly increase the exercise roughly 3 weeks ago, by any chance? What's your stress level? Do you feel cold, or fatigued?

    There are a few possibilities:
    * You're now eating at maintenance because your calorie level has caught up to your size
    * You're underestimating intake, and overestimating exercise, in some way, like most of us humans do
    * You're experiencing adaptive thermogenesis, from cutting calories too much/losing too fast (this is less likely at a pound a week, but still possible)
    * You have some water weight weirdness going on, hiding fat loss, for some reason

    There may be others I'm not thinking of, but that's some main ones. The questions in the first two paragraphs are asked to try to get some insight about what's likely.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,329 Member
    Yes, what AnnP wrote. The solution will be in these 4 points somewhere. Welcome here btw, and congratulations on your loss. Overall, a loss of 8lbs over 11 weeks is still brilliant! Well done!
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,048 Member
    FWIW, OP, when I am in a steady caloric deficit and really consistent about it, I often see no scale movement for 3 weeks then --whoosh-- 3 weeks worth of loss in 1 or 2 days. This correlates to Ann's 4th asterisk above- water weight weirdness. A further description: https://bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat

    Press on and give the math time to work. It always works, but not always on the exact time line we want it to.