UGHHH PLATEAU

Fit4good85
Fit4good85 Posts: 133
in Motivation and Support
I am stuck at a weightloss plateau and it is driving me crazy!!! I am starting to do HIIT workouts (instead of my regular running) to try and see if I can get out of this. I have also been lowering my salt intake and I really drink nothing but water (aside from my after workout protein shake). I just hate it, I've lost 24lbs so far and now in the past 2-2 1/2 weeks NOTHING! :'(

Replies

  • JTick
    JTick Posts: 2,131 Member
    1. Open your diary.

    2. Two weeks is not a plateau.

    3. Patience.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    A plateau is generally considered 4-6+ weeks without a loss and no changes to your routine. Two weeks is well within the normal water weight/hormone/exercise type of fluctuations that you're going to see during this process. Especially if you're changing your exercise routine, which often causes a week or three of excess water weight.

    Make sure your logging is as accurate as possible. If you're eating back exercise calories then make sure that you're estimating those accurately. And give your body a few more weeks to adjust before you make any further changes to your routine.
  • He1loKitty
    He1loKitty Posts: 212 Member
    Two and a half weeks is not a plateau. Stick with it and the weight will eventually come off. I think HIIT is a great idea but also see what little changes you could make to your diet. For example, I notice a bit of a stall when I eat too much cheese.
  • Fit4good85
    Fit4good85 Posts: 133
    Looking back it's been about 3 weeks, I haven't changed my diet just my exercise (cause my treadmill is broke). I don't want to be gross but I am not regular either (but I haven't been eating cheese either). I've been steadily losing a lb to two lbs per week and now none in 3 weeks. But I've always been not regular.
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
    Looking back it's been about 3 weeks, I haven't changed my diet just my exercise (cause my treadmill is broke). I don't want to be gross but I am not regular either (but I haven't been eating cheese either). I've been steadily losing a lb to two lbs per week and now none in 3 weeks. But I've always been not regular.

    Treadmills break, but roads don't. Unless you live in Florida.
  • Pirate_chick
    Pirate_chick Posts: 1,216 Member
    1. Open your diary.

    2. Two weeks is not a plateau.

    3. Patience.


    this!
  • jkal1979
    jkal1979 Posts: 1,896 Member
    With your new exercise routine I'm betting that you are retaining water for muscle repair. Just be patient and give your body time to adjust to it.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Have you recalculated your calorie goal after you have lost weight?
  • Fit4good85
    Fit4good85 Posts: 133
    @ sonicdeathmon NC lol....so hot and humid, 97 today!
  • Fit4good85
    Fit4good85 Posts: 133
    Have you recalculated your calorie goal after you have lost weight?

    No I haven't
  • MelisRunning
    MelisRunning Posts: 819 Member
    My longest plateau was 6 very long months.

    As far as the TM not working and the weather being hot/humid: I live in Mississippi and will be doing a minimum of 22 tomorrow. It's supposed to be in the upper 90's tomorrow with matching humidity. I don't let weather be an excuse. It takes about 2 weeks to acclimate to new weather conditions. It CAN be done.

    Get out there! You CAN do it!
  • suetorrence
    suetorrence Posts: 163 Member
    I noticed that you are nine pounds from your goal. For me, when I was within ten pounds of my goal, my weight loss slowed considerably. Even an increase in activity - I was training for my first half marathon - was not enough to get me past the plateau. I was stuck for three full weeks. Don't let it discourage you.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    Related question: let's say you stall for two weeks or three or whatever, despite no changes in food or routine. After the stall ends, wouldn't the calorie deficit during the stall come back into play (and thus fat loss would be larger than the current deficit would explain) or does the deficit just go *poof* into some kind of thermodynamic black hole?
  • spider06c
    spider06c Posts: 67 Member
    just keep pushing through I plateaued for a good month and a half when i started to do T25 instead of 2 hours of walking on the treadmill. The change in routine will cause your muscles to swell and retain water. just have to give it time to adjust and it will start up again. From everything i have read the last few pounds are extremely slow.
  • Fit4good85
    Fit4good85 Posts: 133
    Thank yall so much! I didn't realize that a different workout routine could do that!!! It's just so frustrating/discouraging but I will keep at it!
  • Fit4good85
    Fit4good85 Posts: 133
    Jumped on the scale this morning and it finally moved!!! YEAHHH!!!
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    1. Open your diary.

    2. Two weeks is not a plateau.

    3. Patience.

    this
  • sarahsamuels82
    sarahsamuels82 Posts: 51 Member
    2 weeks isn't a plateau as such, but I would be frustrated too if I didn't lose for 2 weeks.

    I recently broke through a 6 week plateau with the following steps:

    1. Checked my calorie intake - turns out I was only eating 1000-1100. As I exercise regularly, I increased to 1450 per day and got the scales moving again! Your body needs energy to burn fat, and if you're not feeding it enough, it can sometimes stall.
    2. Cycled my carbs - so ate more carbs on days that I weight train and less carbs on rest days.
    3. Changed up my workout.

    I too am quite close to my goal weight, and a loss of around .5 - 1lb a week is average when you have less to lose.

    Looking at your posts, if you aren't 'regular', then I'd look at increasing fibre content in your diet to see if that helps - but this too could be down to a lack of overall calories.

    If you make your diary 'public', then we can have a look :)
  • fleetzz
    fleetzz Posts: 962 Member
    My longest plateau was 6 very long months.

    As far as the TM not working and the weather being hot/humid: I live in Mississippi and will be doing a minimum of 22 tomorrow. It's supposed to be in the upper 90's tomorrow with matching humidity. I don't let weather be an excuse. It takes about 2 weeks to acclimate to new weather conditions. It CAN be done.

    Get out there! You CAN do it!


    Mel makes things look easy when they aren't---ignore her until you have run your first marathon!

    But she makes a great point- your "plateau" isn't one.

    Recalculate your calorie requirements every 5 lbs, be patient with your stalls, persist, and make sure you measure and weigh everything! Don't forget to track salt because a tiny increase in salt intake will blow up your water weight.
  • fleetzz
    fleetzz Posts: 962 Member
    I noticed that you are nine pounds from your goal. For me, when I was within ten pounds of my goal, my weight loss slowed considerably. Even an increase in activity - I was training for my first half marathon - was not enough to get me past the plateau. I was stuck for three full weeks. Don't let it discourage you.

    Training for a long distance race has made my weight loss stall--I get so hungry, especially after the long runs!

    The last 10 lbs are hard, harder because you have to eat less because your body is moving less weight around. Have to rack up the exercise!

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