Will I plateau? When?

sadlazarus

Please don't shout at me: I did search the term but all I could really find were people asking about how to break a plateau among the twenty kajillion (yes it's a real number) posts on the subject. I confess I couldn't be bothered reading absolutely all of them.

I crashed from about 259 to 220. Obviously that can't be maintained, so I started MFP. I'm whittling away at myself and I've got to 201. Thing is, will I reach a plateau necessarily? Is it something that everyone hits and has to overcome or is it not a universal thing? If I'm gonna hit it, d'you think it'll be soon? Is there some magic number, like 20lbs lost, brakes go on?

I'm running 3x per week (C25K FTW!) and doing some weight work 3x per week. Cals-wise, sometimes I go over, sometimes under and never by much.

cmriverside

Be prepared for anything.


Consult your crystal ball.

Contrarian

It isn't an exact science. If I were you, I would worry about it if/when it happens.

abbie017

No one can predict if/when you will hit a plateau. If you do hit one, though, read through some of the "20 kajillion" posts on breaking plateaus and you'll be fine.

sadlazarus

^
I'm guessing that's why there's not so many topics of this nature.
My crystal ball is on the blink but I just read the entrails of goat. It was inconclusive. Stupid bloody indecisive goats.

sunkiess

i think i hit my platue i swaer i get under the 220 i jump back up i dont understand y i am working out 3 times a week for 1 hr to 1.5 only thing i think i gaing muscle right now i rather just burn the fat and no mucle i try to only get 1769 calories a day this week i cut it down for 1729 for next week let see if that help that only allowes me 3 meals and to light snacks

sister_bear

I plateau pretty often because I'm a creature of habit. When I plateau I start using the tape measure and if I get antsy about dropping pounds I will zig zag calories a few days and spike my exercise. Usually gives my metabolism a kick start so I can go back to my routine. lol

MrsCon40

^
I'm guessing that's why there's not so many topics of this nature.
My crystal ball is on the blink but I just read the entrails of goat. It was inconclusive. Stupid bloody indecisive goats.

Excellent.

MFP Gold Stars for your use of search and your sense of humor! Welcome and we're glad you're here!

reepobob

I never plateaued...but, then again, I was OCD on all of the things needed to maintain healthy weight loss...I will probably get crucified for this post, but most people (key word, MOST) plateau when they let certain areas of fitness or diet slip. Maintain your calorie deficit, eat back your exercise calories, have a good macro breakdown (50% protein, 30% carb, 20% fat got me there), mix up cardio/strength training (P90X for me), drink your water, and measure EVERYTHING (food and calorie burn), and limit the cheating to special occasions or certain weight loss milestones and never for a full day only for certain singular meals and your chances for plateau will be minimized..

One last thing, if your exercise gets a little too easy, mix it up or do something to make your current exercise harder...up your weights, wear a weighted vest, increase your intensity, work out a little longer, mix in some doubles, run up hill. etc. etc.

I did two rounds of P90X, but needed a greater challenge and now am doing Insanity and it is DEFINITELY a challenge!

Good luck!

servilia

Don't stress too much about it or it may become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If it does happen, reevaluate your intake, including macro ratios, change up your workout routine, etc.

fteale

Not everyone plateaus. You need to keep readjusting your goals on MFP so your calorie allowance keeps up with your new weight. Otherwise you will eventually plateau naturally by diet. Eg, when I started out I could eat 1460 cals a day to lose 0.6lbs a week. Now I am on 1500 a day to maintain.

ATT949

Not to be pedantic but how do you define a plateau?

For me, it's an "extended period" where "extended" is at least two weeks.

When I was losing weight, I never went more than about a week without losing. I went through a series of "cycles", each cycle consisting of a "loss phase" and a "recovery phase". Some folks might call my recovery phase a plateau but they were extremely predictable and were almost all the same duration (8 days, I think)

My weight loss data is here:

http://cbeinfo.net/weight.htm

At the top of the page, you'll see a chart that lists "Cycle 1" through "Cycle 8". My recovery phases are in red.
In the upper right hand corner, it shows that I lost 83 pounds in 107 days which is about 0.8 pounds/day and each loss phase was 14 days.

Just updated the spreadsheet:
Avg Loss (days) 13.4
Avg Recovery (days) 6.6

In short, are plateaus inevitable - no.

Pangea250

And I thought I stressed over too many things! Don't put the cart before the horse. You are losing weight famously. It doesn't make sense to stress over a plateau that may or may not happen.

Don't worry. Be happy.

FitasBarbie

When you plateau zigzag your calories and vary your workouts to confuse your metabolism and your muscles.... At least that's what I read somewhere. Don't worry too much! Good luck

dedmon

Plateau's happen on both sides of exercise whether it's weight loss or muscle gain. It happens to most everyone and all you can do is reassess and improve. Not to say this will happen to you, but if it does...don't sweat it. The solution is different for everyone, but for me what usually works best is rest for a duration. If I take 2-3 weeks off of exercising (completely which is painful to do and painful to restart) while maintaining healthy eating, that usually kick starts the process of gain/loss all over again with improved results.

koosdel

The key to avoiding a plateau, is balancing diet excersize and recovery. If you hit a plateau, its because either the diet cannot support the exercise, or the recovery time is being neglected etc. etc..

sadlazarus

Thanks for your replies: I'm not in the least stressed about it, but I didn't know if it was something inevitable I ought to prepare for. Seems it mightn't be.