How to get off the plateau?

KPagels

Hello everyone!

I have been stuck between 11 and 12 pounds lost. I am doing everything right. I upped my work outs hoping that would help, and started drinking a protein shake after wards, besides that one shake, all I drink is water, a ton of it. My calorie limit is 1520 and I eat that plus what I burn.. I don't go over my sodium.

I was losing weight very regularly. But the past few WEEKS I have been stuck on this plateau. So my patience has been wearing thin. So is there something I am doing wrong? Or do I just need more patience?? Please don't say more patience! Ha, I am running out of it!

Help please.

bikerbiz

That sounds about right...it was 3 weeks for me, then I lost 4 pounds in the last couple days. I did notice a big change in tone during that time, so maybe the bod was catching up replacing fat with muscle.

Don't get discouraged! It's just a plateau...mix up the exercise a little to break the routine, if you're in one.

Suedre

Try eating 1/2 of what you burn? Swtich workout routines? I don't know. I don't have any brilliant advice. For me, I've just had to wait, which sucks!

Good luck, I hope it starts moving again soon.

RMinVA

Eat your target cals but don't eat your exercise cals. Studies have shown that you don't need to eat any differently unless you are engaging in intense cardio sessions in excess of an hour.

Conversely, if you are exercising a lot, maybe you need to eat a little more. I had that problem last year. I started eating more (usually an extra piece of fruit or larger serving of healthy carbs) and that did the trick.

Shake up WHAT you eat. Not only in terms of food, but also carb/fat/protein ratios.

If you haven't done so, recalculate your calorie intake. Your target will go down by roughly 10 calories for every pound you lose.

And remember that a little patience goes a long way....looking at a marathon (keeping the weight off for the rest of your life) vs. a sprint.

RMinVA

And I forgot a biggie about exercise. If you are not doing any weight training, start. And work some intervals into your cardio routines.

bamagary

My advice...be patient. If you are logging all of your cals correctly, exercising, and eating your exercise cals, then the weight WILL come off. Don't listen to the scales, she is a harsh mistress. Do what I did, stop looking at the scales and take measurement, over the course of a month, I was SHOCKED at my progress, and that dirty wench, the scales, said that I hadn't lost anything. Best of luck.

udallmom101

My doctor gave me this advise recently, and I lost two pounds the week I weighed last.
I took two days off from eating healthy. Now don't get me wrong, I still ate my fruits and veggies, and I still cut out the butter and all that unnecessary fat, but if I wanted something I ate it. If I wanted a piece of fried chicken, I ate it, only 1/2 though. I continued to do LIGHT exercise, treadmill at a gently pace, a little 12 minute low impact video I have. Two days later I got back on the wagon. In the two days off I continued to log what I ate, and really it wasn't ALL bad.
Three days back at it, I weighed, had lost 2 pounds! It felt great to get over the hump.

Stir your exercises up. Your body will get used to the movements and not respond as well. Don't eat the same things day in and day out. Change one more thing about the way you eat and exercise.
But more importantly, don't starve yourself, and don't eat below what you are allowed a day. Your body will go into starvation mode and your weight and measurements will continue to stay the same.

Good luck!

elmct57

i am a heretic as far as the site recommendations go and don't eat my exercise calories or only a couple into it. i don't progress if i do--went thru that when i started. but everyone is different.

just went thru a plateau due to meds and sodium issues. longest was 7 weeks. finally able to begin weight reps and that kick started it again. there are some good tips in the posts above. eat over your limit for 2-3 days and then go back on your normal routine and see if that shakes it up enough. Don't rely on the same exercises--do zumba, stretches--different types. lots of video ideas on yourtube.

Good luck!

james3302

When hitting a plateau you need to change up your workout routine and or your diet. Since you have already tried upping the intensity of your workout next I would try changing up your routine. for example if you are lifting for endurance then do a week of strength workouts(4 sets of 5 reps with heavy weight). or you could take a week off from working out. As far as your diet you could try eating less/more. There is never a definite thing that will work 100% when someone is on a plateau. But one of these things will work, just gotta figure out what.

MadamaOpera

I am totally in your same boat! The last month, the scale has just waffled annoyingly around the same few numbers. I will take the advice of some of the replies here and hope they get that scale to be nicer. I did measure myself and I had gone down in waste and hip measurements so that was encouraging at least! But I only measure maybe once a month anyway. I just don't want to give up! I never lose weight and I've lost over 10 pounds so far! Its amazing and I love it! Common plateau! Start sloping again!