I just broke out of a 5 week plateau! Here's how!

mauryr

Hi all.

I'm posting this on the "Motivation" board, because I was starting to lose my motivation when I hit this hard plateau, less than 10 lbs from my goal weight. I hope that this might help some others who become discouraged when they hit a plateau.

Since I started my weight loss regimen in November 2010 it had been smooth sailing for me - losing about 13 lbs/month at the beginning, then as I got closer to my goal, the weight got harder to lose, but still between 8 and 10 lbs per month, pretty consistently... then, as I approached that last 10 lbs, thud... the scale stopped moving.

I wasn't doing anything differently - still consuming about 1200 cals/day, exercising at about 600-700 cals/day, 4 to 6 times/week... but nothing was moving the scale. As a matter of fact, about 3 weeks ago I GAINED about 5 lbs, suddenly. (turned out to be water weight, from a particularly salty meal... )

I tried amping up the exercise - nothing. I tried lowering the cals too - still, nothing.

Then, I started reading posts here about various issues such as "eating back exercise cals". The evidence is pretty convincing, even though it sounds counter-intuitive. I decided to give it a try... I have been so strict with myself about calorie restriction that I felt kinda "afraid" to consume all those extra calories... I had to repeatedly tell myself that it was OK...

Well, after about a week... nothing. I was actually relieved that "nothing" happened, instead of gaining weight.

I had been using the elliptical machine exclusively (aside from playing racquetball several times a week). This had been reliably helping me lose the weight - at least I was pretty sure that it was. But again, I read here that mixing up your exercise routine might give your metabolism the jolt it needed to break out of a plateau... so I tried the treadmill (much harder than I thought) and the rowing machine. I also lowered my calorie burn from 600-700 per session to 250 on each machine - treadmill and rowing, for a total of 500.

At about the same time, I started to up my water intake. I was really bad about this previously. I likely consumed only about 16 oz per day before this increase. I upped it to between 64 and 96 oz per day. I found that I like crystal light "on the go" packets. It makes the water go down much easier, and it's very inexpensive. (I found that I prefer half the suggested dose - in other words, one packet for 32 oz)

Well, I don't know for sure if it was the additional calories, the mixing up of the exercises or the added water, but my hunch is that it was the water increase that finally broke me out of the plateau. I've been drinking the increased amount for about 10 days or so. I've lost 4 lbs in just the last few days, and now I'm 1.5 lbs away from my goal.

Perhaps in reality, the cause is the additional exercise I now get from running to the bathroom about a million times a day.

snmonson

Thank you for posting that! I need to give this a try. I haven't been able to lose any more weight for the past 2-3 months.

TiniTurtle

great job! i'm in a crappy plateau right now too, hoping in time it'll fix itself )

ladonne73

Awesome!!! Thanks for sharing!!! I'm nowhere near my goal weight, but it's nice to get some tips on breaking thru a plateau. Congrats on your weight loss!!! :flowerforyou:

batty5

Thanks for sharing & well done.

Sharont213

thanks so much for posting this.. I was about 7 lbs from my goal and hit a plateau in January.. I have recently lost 2-3 lbs since then but that is only in the last 2 weeks. Like you, I made some subtle changes and I think it is starting to move again.. It's nice to see that we all go through this and something like this helps.
good luck with the rest of your journey!

patio1313

Water is HUGE...But I have also found that when I hit a plateau that I will "splurge" and give in to eating something that I wouldn't normally...That way I am feeling less deprived by treating myself without going overboard and that does usually seem to jumpstart the loss again. My nutritionist called it "tricking your body"

Your body gets used to the normal "habits" of the amount and kind of food that is being put in and then adjusts...So sometimes I think that it is perfectly ok to treat yourself without going crazy and I have found that it usually helps me by making my body think that it needs to work harder to burn off this strange new food.

deannarey13

Good for you!!!!!

I have been at a stand still for weeks now myself and even gained one pound this week. I am at a loss. I wish I could take some of your advice and run with it, but I am doing all of these things.

You have lost an amazing amount of weight! You should be so incredibly proud!

carrie145

Excellent!! Thanks for posting!!

HunnyLuvsJorge

Thanks for sharing! Hope that last 1.5 pounds just melts away soon!

Lollyvoddy

"Perhaps in reality, the cause is the additional exercise I now get from running to the bathroom about a million times a day."

-Lol, love it. Glad you have busted out of that plateau!

Kirstie_C26

bump thanx il re-read wen i hit a plateau

themommie

thanks for sharing. Hitting a plateau can be so frustrating. Glad to hear you broke through it

karilynn27

Awesome. SO glad you posted this because I have been in a plateau for a few weeks too and drinking a lot more water is what is helping me! I cut out soda completely too and lost a half a pound in a few days! So its definitely working!
Its nice to be reassured.:)

AdoraK

Thank you for sharing. I have hit a plateau for the last 3 week and I am still 30Lbs from my goal. I have also changed my exercise this week and increased my water. I hope I have the same success that you did.

Jillk1023

bump

tati111

Thanks for the post! It is so easy to get discouraged when you don't see that damn scale move!! Glad you stuck with it and shared your inspiring story!!

aks1985

thanks! i think im @ a plateau as well...this really helped

mrseash

Thank you so much for sharing. I am at that last 10 pounds as well and find it so difficult. I keep thinking, maybe I should decrease my calories but I don't want to. I already feel "deprived" as it is. So would you eat all your calories you "earned" from exercise?

paigemang♥

Thanks for posting...i have been in the same state for 4 months
no weight loss....I will try your technique :happy:

woja9640

Way to go. Congrats on being so close to your goal.

mauryr

Thank you so much for sharing. I am at that last 10 pounds as well and find it so difficult. I keep thinking, maybe I should decrease my calories but I don't want to. I already feel "deprived" as it is. So would you eat all your calories you "earned" from exercise?

@mrseash: I have been eating _most_ of my exercise calories, so my "net calories" are about 1200, or slightly lower. Before I started doing that, my net calories were about 600/day on most days, as I didn't "eat back" the exercise.

Net calories = consumed calories from food - exercise calories

If you search these forums for "eating exercise calories" or "net calories" you'll see lots of discussion about this topic. I had only heard of this recently, from this site - and apparently it's controversial.

afeveryear

Thank you for sharing! Congrats and I hope you hit your 1.5lbs to your goal very soon! I hope you have something wonderful planned for when you do hit your goal!!! What an accomplishment!!!!

JenabeeRose

bump

pen282

Hey

Thanks for this - I could have done with reading this sooner!
Up until about a week ago - i was at a plateau for around 6 long weeks..
I'm not entirely sure what got the scale moving again for me, prob like you, a combination of factors.

I think all of us at that plateau stage sounds be proud that we are working through it, week in week out even though the scale isn't moving,nknowing we are getting healthier and - eventually, the scale will move again!!

Good work everyone - that's what I say!
x

ps - like other finding this, I have less than 10 lbs to go....

Cookie22684

Bump

missb92

Bump

wigal23

I'm not an expert by any means, but I've done a bit of reading up on the subject of "eating back calories" and the water issue. First the eating back calories - most "experts" say that the body needs 1200 calories for basic function. That's "net" calories - if you are burning those off, then your body will begin to "hold on" to whatever it can, because it thinks it is starving. I have read quite a bit to support that you should keep your net calories at a minimum of 1200 (so if you are only consuming 1200, but burning 500, your body isn't getting enough and will plateau). And as you've read on this thread, not everyone will agree. What works for one doesn't always work for another.

Regarding the water - it really does help!!! A friend and I were discussing this just today. Again, i've read that you should consume half your body weight (in ounces) of water each day to aid in weight loss. So if you weigh 200 pounds, drink 100 ozs of water per day. Sounds like a lot, but it really gets results!! Just expect frequent trips to the restroom until you adjust. And the mix in packets are a life saver too!

Good luck and congrats on those breaking those plateaus!
Becky

healthyjen342

congrats for you!