Hit Plateau

mporter44

So, My weigt loss was flying along. Lost 9 lbs in 3 weeks. Then all of a sudden it stopped. I actually gained 2 lbs. Whats going on? I will admit I am not at strict with what I eat, but I am staying under or around the 1200 mark. Like I was before. So why did the weight loss stop? I had cut out fats quite a bit when I first started. But that stopped my period. So i started putting the fats back into my diet. But I am staying around the goal intake.

Has this happened to you guys? if so what did you do to jump start?

xxxwings

"Under 1200" is the problem. You always need to eat a bit over that, or your body goes into starvation mode and you store fat.

ganache3

You really need to track what you are eating that is the only way to know if you are truly on target w/your 1200 calories. If you are truly at 1200 and at a plateau then you should change up your exercise routine so your body gets confused. When you do the same things over and over it gets smart. Must say I have never hear anyone complain about having their period but I guess I am past having kids.

mporter44

Even with Working out? If I burn 500 calories do i have to eat all of those back? If thats the case why do I work out? Just curious

anubis609

A plateau is always normal with weight loss, no matter who you are. A technical plateau is a stall that lasts at least for 2 weeks. As long as your weight is moving somewhere, then your metabolism is still actively doing something. Weight gain is just a fluctuation in your metabolism trying to adjust to the new change in body weight. If you lose weight pretty fast, i.e. eating under your net calorie goal, your body will try to counteract losing so fast and stabilize it at a weight it feels that it should be. That's the reason why eating those exercise calories back is always suggested. Slow weight loss is what keeps the weight off longer because the body isn't shocked into suddenly thinking it needs to eat more or hold onto more calories for stability.

Though, everyone has their own way of doing things, and I personally don't eat all of mine back, but I do take into account the consequences that will come with it, which are usually fluctuations that hit pretty hard, about half of what I initially lose. It's not recommended to do that, but we are who we are, and if you don't feel the necessity to eat all of them back, no one's going to force you.

To overcome a plateau, you either need to change your workout routine by either increasing the duration of your workouts or add some intensity, or both. Also, it could be the need to change up your diet, as you mentioned you're not "strict" with what you eat and that could be it. There are plenty of foods that can help keep your metabolism going, or temporarily boost metabolism for a short period of time, like hot sauce or peppers. Then there's the methodology of either increasing calorie intake by about 100 - 200, so your body feels it needs to burn more, or decreasing caloric intake by the same amount, so your body burns off what excess it thinks it doesn't need.

It's ultimately up to you with how you wanna combine diet and exercise as a partial self-experiment to see which one works, but in the long run, as long as you're still following a weight loss guideline for yourself, there will be a steady decline.

veromancha

Great Advice!!! your awesome!!!

CuteMommy88

Here is what you need to do:
1) make sure you are drinking plenty of water
2) make sure you eat atleast 1200 net calories everyday----this means if you workout and burn 500 calories you need to eat atleast 1700 calories for the day
3) Go over cals for a couple of days (I do two days) ---like eat around 2000 cals without working out

I know this sounds insane but it is the only thing that has ever worked for me!!! I only do the two "fat days" if I am stuck at the same weight for atleast 3 weeks!!But im telling you...it works for me :happy:

wpij25

your body needs a minimum of 1200 to survive...if you burn 500 with exercise that puts you at 700...body thinks it's starving and hold all as fat.

If you don't want your body to do that you need to eat those 500 you burned, which puts you back to your minimum required per day.

armywifeinpink

I feel ya, I was doing GREAT, I had 16 pounds come off like BUTTER, and now I am stuck at the same weight. But I have been working out more, so I may not be eating the right amount of calories like everyone is saying. But its hard, cause I went from not working out and staying right on 1200-1300 calories a day for about a month, and so Im not used to eating more than that so I dont feel hungry....anyone got any suggestions for snacks that have more calories in them???? Good luck for getting out of this plateau to us both!!!!! LOL

mporter44

Thanks everyone for your advice!! I will definetly try these things. I have 33 lbs to left to lose and my goal is to have them off by end of April. If I can get atleast 20 of them I would be one happy girl!!

Jrak1980

I hit a plateau for 6 weeks!!!! I couldn't understand what was going on, I was tracking my food and working out. I just couldn't get it in my head to eat those exercise calories. I looked at the reports on MFP and what a shock. I was WAY under the 1200 mark with my exercising. I was pretty scared to eat those calories but I did, and guess what, I'm dropping again! The people on this site are great, listen to their advice. I'm so glad I did.

sarah44254

Even with Working out? If I burn 500 calories do i have to eat all of those back? If thats the case why do I work out? Just curious

This is a popular question. You work out to get your muscles healthier, so that you can preform daily tasks like heart beating and liver functions properly. The healthier your organs are, the healthier you are! Working out is not just for burning calories (that is just an added benefit!)

So, you work out to get healthy. BUT as you work out, you use calories, or energy. Your body requires a certain amount of energy to function correctly, and if you eat -just- enough (usually, 1200 calories) your body is doing OK for that day. IF you work out, you use up some of that energy! 1200 - workout, let's say 300 calories. Now your body is trying to run on only 900 calories for the day since you used up some to do your workout.

It's highly recommended that you eat back those 300 calories. Not everyone likes to, not everyone is able to! If you are not hungry at ALL then don't force yourself to eat back those calories. If you are a little hungry, have a healthy high calorie snack like a handful of nuts or some peanut butter.

Plateaus happen!! Sometimes they last for months! Keep measurements of your body to help deter the feeling of failure, because you definitely are NOT failing! :happy: Keep tracking your foods, drinking lots of water, and getting plenty of sleep. You will become healthy if you keep this up!!

eylbrown

Just keep doing what you're doing.. I noticed, for me, that I "plateau" for 2 - 2.5 weeks then lose 1-4 lbs over 2-3 days, if I lose 4 then I usually gain 1 back but 1-3 is usually average, then "plateau" again for another 2 - 2.5 weeks.. that is the way my trend has been. I fluctuate 4-5 lbs in a day, every day, though.. I add up to 5lbs through each day until the plateau is over and I find I'm hungrier when I'm about to loose those few pounds.

My philosophy is if I'm taking in less calories than I need to live without getting out of bed, then I'm doing ok - I keep at it and eventually my body reacts. I like losing this slowly because I'm more apt to keep it off.

Keep it up and you'll be fine!