Plateau

Kappyoc

Ive been on this "journey" for about three months and I've lost 26 pounds. I've been at a plateau for about two weeks and am getting frustrated. I've tried chaning my diet and walking faster, but still haven't gotten off it. Any suggestions???

melsinct

It may not be a true plateau if it has only been two weeks, though it may be. My plateau lasted 2 months and the only thing that broke it was upping my calories. I had MFP set at 1 pound/week loss and had to bump it to a 0.5 pound/week loss. I would wait it out a little longer though, your body may just naturally kick into gear again.

angstypirates

1. Try a completely different workout. Your body gets used to doing the same motions and workouts, and you begin to burn less calories over time. Can you ride a bike? Swim laps? Do any kind of pilates or yoga?

2. If you're not doing strength training, you should be!

3. Track your water intake and sodium intake for a week -- be very conscious about a) getting enough water, and b) not eating too much salt. It's possible that you're not drinking enough!

webdiva1

I had a three-week long dry spell about the same time in my journey, I think. Beyond frustrating.

What helped break it for me was upping my commitment to lose more weight each week (the opposite of what melsinct did above), which in turn lowered my daily calorie goal. Lowered it A LOT, actually, so much so I wasn't sure I was going to be able to make it. Turned out to be way easier than I thought.

So ... you might play around with your exercise and lbs. per week goals, just to shake things up a bit. It may take a week or so to find what works ... but I bet you'll find it.

Want some support? Friend me if you're so inclined. I'm happy to travel along the road with ya.

eates

I've been in a plateau for 3 months. I've gotten lots of suggestions about how to bust it.
Change up exercise- your body may have gotten used to what you're doing. If you walk every day then walk with some hand weights or add it a few jogs.
Increase your exercise- again your body may have gotten used to what you're doing. walk further or faster.
Increase or decrease your calories- Your body may have gotten used to the # of calories that you're eating. If you're goals are set at 2 lbs a week change it to 1 or 1.5. If they're set at .5 then change it to 1 per week.
Increase the amount of water you're drinking. I've boosted mine from a goal of 8 glasses a day to a goal of 10 glasses a day at least.
Take a break. Don't go crazy and binge on twinkies but take a break from exercise for watching every calorie for a week or so. Sometimes this will "reset" your body. Aim to eat at about maintenance.
Eat cleaner. I don't by any stretch of the imagination eat clean but I've been making a conscious effort to eat less processed foods.
Zig-zag your calories. This is where I'm at now in my attempt to bust through this. My weekly goal is 9800 calories but rather than my daily goal being 1400 it varies between 1200 & 1900. I'm only 4 days into this so I'm not sure yet how it'll work for me.
If this doesn't work I'm going to go see a nutritionist.

Good Luck!!

melsinct

What helped break it for me was upping my commitment to lose more weight each week (the opposite of what melsinct did above), which in turn lowered my daily calorie goal. Lowered it A LOT, actually, so much so I wasn't sure I was going to be able to make it. Turned out to be way easier than I thought.

That is a good point...I think it all depends where you are in your weight loss. I had 30 pounds to lose total, and plateaued when I was 15 pounds down: exactly half way. With only 15 pounds left to go, I knew from what I read on MFP and other places that aggressive weight loss was just not going to happen anymore. For example, if you still have a good 40 pounds to go, upping calories may not be the right thing to do.

Unfortunately there is no one road map for weight loss and all of our bodies respond differently to an increase or decrease in calories, different exercise routines, etc. My best advice would be to find people on MFP in similar situations (same weight loss goals) and friend them. It really has helped me to find people roughly the same height/weight with similar goals. Those are the people who got me through my plateau! It is easier to identify with their ups and downs rather than the person who is 5 inches shorter and 100 pounds heavier than me.