Finally broke the plateau but confused

Jhensley2011

I don't exactly know how this happened, but it did. I have been around the same weight for the last month and a half, which boggled me since I was training for a marathon and eating exceptionally well. I am no bean pole so I still have weight to lose. Well, I completed the marathon over a week ago. After that I didn't work out for a week and didnt' eat the greatest things but still managed to somehow lose 4-5 lbs in that time. However, I confused as to why now? I'm just trying to wrap my head around how this could be happenening. Anyone have any thoughts? Should I have any cause for concern? Thanks for your help.

j

dlaplume2

Sometimes when you are working so hard you don't eat enough. I think you finally gave your body what it needed and it rewarded you.

Congrats on your marathon and your weightloss.

lulutm

Sometimes I find a good cheat resets my metabolism and I lose as well. Your body may have needed the rest.....

katy5692

bump - i'm interested to see what people say (i'm plateauing )

nyctraveler

I heard if you stop working out for a week or so, your muscles will release water they've been hanging on to

poustotah

So you're training for your marathon and you HAVE to eat to maintain a certain amount of energy. Then you take a break. No stress, you splurge a little bit, but not too much and you're off an running again. Now you're back to your 'normal' routine so yeah, you're gonna lose a little something. Now get back on track and keep on losing!!!

KristynStephens15

I always hear people on here talk about body confusing. Basically you stop working out, double your work out, or zig zag your calories to shock your body. Im a little affraid to try it though, even though it seems to work for everyone. Especially you, 4-5lbs is great!

Pandorian

Couple posts yesterday where people said that their weekend buffet finally broke the plateau. It "goes against" what we're taught through so much of life, but eating "more" of the right things can certainly help, if you're on a 1200 calorie diet and not losing, bumping calories up to 1500 may be what it takes to lose.

concordancia

Sometimes when we are working super hard (I am pretty sure marathon running counts!!) our bodies go into survival mode and hang on to what they can. Once you rested your body kind of relaxed and let the inevitable happen. This does not mean you should make no exercise and lax eating habits your new lifestyle, just allow it to happen once in awhile when you are running marathons.

Running a marathon?!?! WOW!! The only thing I even do for that amount of time is dancing and I get to take breaks and I have the music to keep me going - especially when it is a live band.

BobsJudy

When you are training, your muscles are worked harder. They tend to retain some fluid in the process. Taking the break allowed your body to lose the fluid associated with the muscle training (for the marathon). Plus running the marathon used a ton of calories so it broke the plateau as well. It's an accumulation of all your efforts to eat right & exercise. Good Job!

Just1forMe

Sometimes when we are working super hard (I am pretty sure marathon running counts!!) our bodies go into survival mode and hang on to what they can. Once you rested your body kind of relaxed and let the inevitable happen. This does not mean you should make no exercise and lax eating habits your new lifestyle, just allow it to happen once in awhile when you are running marathons.

Yep...you weren't eating enough! Research "Zig Zagging" on here...lots of good information. That way you can make it a "planned" increase instead of accidental...

lisapickering

I trained for a marathon a few years ago and didn't lose a pound. Knowing more now I think I probably wasn't eating enough. It seems to be a common theme here that most plateaus are broken by eating more... it's just difficult for us to wrap our head around! Congratulations on the marathon and the new weight loss!!

epj78

There is a great special out there (Nova I think - but definitely PBS) about marathon runners and how most find that it is very, very difficult to lose weight while training for a marathon. There a few different reasons on why - but it's a pretty good program. If I remember correctly, it's been a few years since I've watched it but I bet you can find it on line, is that you have to eat enough to have energy to run and your body doesn't like giving up the fat stores since it knows you are going to be using it to train everyday. Another is that you get so hungry you are actually eating more than you think you are......

Anyway, lots of reasons why it could be, I wouldn't worry - your body is a completely different place now than before/during the marathon so it is acting all wonky on you --- at least it is wonky in a good way, right?

4theking

I think its a combination of things that contribute to your release of water. Eating more and exercising less both would normalize hormones, particullary cortisol. I think this happens a lot with marathon runners as they put a lot of stress on their bodies. Chronic over production of cortisol can lead to quite a bit of water retention.

rileysowner

I'm guessing that various factors are part of this, but my guess is what was mentioned above, all the training needed for a marathon increased your cortisol level, and high cortisol will prevent fat loss. Now that the hard training is past your cortisol levels have gone back down and you can lose again. Not eating enough might have been part of it as well, but I am guessing the stress produced cortisol was the real culprit.

512cheangela

The same thing happened to me after the Portland Marathon and everyone (including the doc) told me it was perfectly normal. Just make sure you don't take more than a 2 week break... you start losing running fitness after 2 weeks and if you're anythign like me... your tushie will show it :-(.

Jhensley2011

Thanks for all the helpful replies! This is exactly why I love this site! I learn more and more through fellow MFPers. I appreciate the encouraging words, support, and advice. You all are great!

skypie23

I'd guess that nyctraveller is right. I remember in the past being really confused when dieting to have seemingly lost 3 to 4 pounds one day, and then put it back on in the week even though I was eating far too little. Turns out it was the binge drinking I was doing on a Friday night, meaning I was really dehydrated and that was the cause of the weight loss, and why it didn't stay off. Since someone let me know about that, I have noticed how much dehydration from exercise /heat/alcohol effects the scales.