Getting Past a Weight Loss Plateau

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astrosnider
astrosnider Posts: 151 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I saw some information from the Mayo Clinic at the gym today. Someone had printed out an article about overcoming a weight loss plateau. I looked it up online when I got home. Unlike many of us believe, it says your metabolism slows as you lose weight so you have to cut more calories or increase activity to keep losing. See full article at www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss-plateau. Here is part of the advice:

* Reassess your habits. Look back at your food and activity records. Make sure you haven't loosened the rules, letting yourself get by with larger portions or less exercise.
* Cut more calories. Reduce your daily calorie intake by 200 calories — provided this doesn't put you below 1,200 calories. Fewer than 1,200 calories a day may not be enough to keep you from feeling hungry all of the time, which increases your risk of overeating.
* Rev up your workout. Increase the amount of time you exercise by an additional 15 to 30 minutes. You might also try increasing the intensity of your exercise, if you feel that's possible. Additional exercise will cause you to burn more calories.
* Pack more activity into your day. Think outside the gym. Increase your general physical activity throughout the day by walking more and using your car less, or try doing more yardwork or vigorous spring cleaning.

Replies

  • microwoman999
    microwoman999 Posts: 545 Member
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    Thanks :)
  • karenleona
    karenleona Posts: 3,959 Member
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    i could not get the link to work so i just typed in mayoclinic.com then searched the site....thanks for posting this
  • arthurtom
    arthurtom Posts: 5
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    IDK...the Mayo Clinic is a pretty darned reputable place.

    I hit a plateau in the spring of 2009 and nothing was budging. My answer was (seems very close to the guidelines you posted from the Mayo Clinic) to increase my cardio from 8 hours a week to 12 hours a week and slice my daily caloric total from around 3200 calories to 2700.

    What did this do for me?

    It made so darned tired I didn't want to do anything after my workout and made me dread my cardio workouts. After speaking with a trainer, I cut the cardio workouts back to 6 hours per week and upped my caloric total to a daily average of 3500.

    What happened?

    I busted through my plateau and lost 20 pounds in 6 weeks.

    I believe that adding more exercise and taking away calories may set some people up for putting their metabolism into conservation mode.
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
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    Like with everything concerning weight loss, one size does not fit all. I upped my calories by 500/day and started losing again after a lengthy plateau.
  • grover0ca
    grover0ca Posts: 568 Member
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    Like with everything concerning weight loss, one size does not fit all. I upped my calories by 500/day and started losing again after a lengthy plateau.

    did you intially gain when you increased your calories?

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