Plateau busters: zig-zagging or increasing?

bakersduzin

Hey MFP'ers! I've been using this site since February, and I've had a lot of success so far - I was consistently losing 1 lb/week up until the last month or so. Since then the scale has been stuck at 157-159. I've been keeping track of my measurements as well, and haven't really lost any inches or anything either. What gives? I work out 5-6 days/week - doing TurboFire now but will be changing it up to Jillian Michaels next week. I also eat back my exercise calories. My lifestyle setting is set to sedentary, because I'm pretty much sitting at my job all day. A friend of mine suggested that I zig-zag my calories, but then I have also heard that increasing overall calories as worked too (although I am terrified of putting on weight). For those of you who have dealt with the dreaded plateau, what worked for you? It's so frustrating because I'm down to those last 10 lbs that I want to lose....figures lol. Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated!

olag00

Increasing your calories is starting the zig zag method, so I would up the calories for one day and then do 3 days at a lower level than what you have been. This is known as the 3 low 1 high schedule and it is the one I am following now. I would eat 2000 calories on high days and 1700 on low days!

For a female trying to lose weight I would do 1600 on high day and then down to 1200 on the low day!

mlemonroe2

try only eating half of your exercise calories. i know everyone says eat them all, but a nutritionalist told me only eating half was fine. i eat around 1500 calories a day and exersice about 300-700 calories. if i burn 300 i don't eat them but if i burn closer to 700 i'll eat half. it started the scale moving again for me and i'm losing 1 to 1.5 pounds a week. aslo, someone posted this earlier and you can calculate what your body should need in terms of calories and it will give you a zig zag plan if you want to try it. http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm good luck!

geo999

I am actually in the middle of the plateau myself ...
been going down steadily from 80 kg to 72 kg , but now the fall stopped almost completely...
to overcome the plateau i am now lowering to 1300 from 1400 cal per day with 1 day peak to 1800-2000 to help rise metabolism ....i also increased jogging

elizamc

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DixieDarlin1987

zig zagging broke my plateau. I did 4 super low days (1200 net), 1 maintenance day (for me it's 2350 net) and 2 high days (which I kind of consider my cheat days) On those two days, I don't log my calories, I just eat what I want in moderation. It worked and I went from dropping 1/2 lb a week to 1 & 1/2 lbs per week....and reached my goal weight. I was also doing a rotation of Jillian Michaels dvds. Hope this helps!

Jillk1023

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Grimmerick

I raised my cals by 200 from 1200 to 1416 and started zigzagging as well. I love the zigzag because today is a 1700 calorie day so I get to treat myself and I am still not cheating still losing weight too

melsinct

Zig zagging did squat for me! I think plateauing is one of those things where different things work for different people.

I am 5'7" and had 30 pounds to lose when I started MFP in February. 15 pounds flew off and then BAM! Plateau. I bounced between 158-161 for 2 months. I searched for answers and what I found was the last chunk of weight (no pun intended!) is slow to come off, hence everyone complaining about those last stubborn ten pounds. I also learned you really can't lose 1 or 2 pounds/week in the final stretch.

I finally set MFP to lose 0.5 pounds/week and within 2 weeks the scale was moving again, albeit slowly. The plateau broke in June and since then I have pretty consistently lost 0.5 pounds week. It was scary upping my calories but I was weighing daily and knew if consistent gains started happening I would be able to nip it quickly. I work a desk job (sedentary) but walk a few miles a day so I have my activity level set to “moderately active” and don’t log my exercise unless I really go above and beyond, i.e. hiking, serious manual labor, etc.

I know this doesn’t work for everyone but it certainly worked for me. I know how frustrating plateaus are, I think that is all I posted/blogged about for 2 months, as I was obsessed with busting through it. It is so annoying to try and do everything right while the scale (or inches) won’t budge. It makes it worse when you see all of these MFP challenges like “lose 10 pounds in June!” and I just wanted to lose ONE POUND, lol.

Feel free to friend me if you need support!

PecanTanDiva

try only eating half of your exercise calories. i know everyone says eat them all, but a nutritionalist told me only eating half was fine. i eat around 1500 calories a day and exersice about 300-700 calories. if i burn 300 i don't eat them but if i burn closer to 700 i'll eat half. it started the scale moving again for me and i'm losing 1 to 1.5 pounds a week. aslo, someone posted this earlier and you can calculate what your body should need in terms of calories and it will give you a zig zag plan if you want to try it. http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm good luck!

Thanks Hun, I really needed that calculator. I've been having the same problem as well. I've been stuck at 186 for a while now and it goes up to 190 then back down to 186. I will try the zig zag method.

harlanJEN

I've been at a plateau for 3 weeks despite staying with low calories 1200/1300 depending on exercise. I do significant exercise, and eat back half or less. I recently changed my exercise routine, hoping that will help. Perhaps that combined with a little zig zag. Gonna try ! Thanks for the tips.

mlemonroe2

try only eating half of your exercise calories. i know everyone says eat them all, but a nutritionalist told me only eating half was fine. i eat around 1500 calories a day and exersice about 300-700 calories. if i burn 300 i don't eat them but if i burn closer to 700 i'll eat half. it started the scale moving again for me and i'm losing 1 to 1.5 pounds a week. aslo, someone posted this earlier and you can calculate what your body should need in terms of calories and it will give you a zig zag plan if you want to try it. http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm good luck!

Thanks Hun, I really needed that calculator. I've been having the same problem as well. I've been stuck at 186 for a while now and it goes up to 190 then back down to 186. I will try the zig zag method.

you're welcome!

Fabnover40Kat

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