How do I break a plateau?

rondo60

I have been at the same weight for almost a year--I haven't followed the rigid diet that I was on--I got bored with that. I can not get past the lowest number. I get there and bounce up. I still exercise. What can I do to get past this number? I have 30 more to go. I lost 112 so far!!

d2footballJRC

I have been at the same weight for almost a year--I haven't followed the rigid diet that I was on--I got bored with that. I can not get past the lowest number. I get there and bounce up. I still exercise. What can I do to get past this number? I have 30 more to go. I lost 112 so far!!

Diet, you have to follow it.. If you aren't going to follow your diet forget it. Stop right now. You have to stay under your calories. Diet is the key component in losing weight.

When you say you exercise is it cardio or weights? If it's just cardio carve out some time for some weights as well if you can. HIIT training is also a great way to break through the plateau, if you don't have your diet and nutrition in order though you might as well stop now. That has to be priority.

gammybarb

Me also. I weighed 280 and lost down to 161. The 6 months ago I gained back 15 pounds and it has stuck to me like glue. I am finally losing some of it by drinking more water and exercising more and keeping track of my food. Seems I had become a "grazer" and those bites and chews added up to pounds.
good luck. You can do it and congrats on how far you have come. That is awesome!

micahcsmith

I would not think of dieting as something you do temporally otherwise there will be a time you get bored with it. I prefer to think of my "diet" as the way I should always be eating. That way when I eat something I'm not supposed to it was not something I was supposed to be eating to begin with. If I plateu I change my workout. For example if I'm running or spinning a lot then I hit a plateu then I switch to circut training then lifting. That way my body won't have time to adjust to just one type of excercise.

EuroDriver12

I would not think of dieting as something you do temporally otherwise there will be a time you get bored with it. I prefer to think of my "diet" as the way I should always be eating. That way when I eat something I'm not supposed to it was not something I was supposed to be eating to begin with. If I plateu I change my workout. For example if I'm running or spinning a lot then I hit a plateu then I switch to circut training then lifting. That way my body won't have time to adjust to just one type of excercise.

good advice... best thing to do is change ur workouts, intensitiy, and cardio times...

as for ur diet.. its good to count as u do need to be under maintance to burn fat.. buuut i think ppl think its like a god they have to count to the last .1cal or they will get fat... not the case.. if you have been counting for a while and your stomach is used to certin meals in a day and u can ball park it.. its good enuff.. atleast for me... i count like once every 2 weeks by eating like i did any other day those 2 weeks just to make sure im still on track and im always withing 200 cals over/under.. at the end of the week it ends up being pretty much right on my goal.. i just got bored of counting i think lol especially when i eat every 1.5hrs... still seeing good gains n lean results

lmelangley

I've run into plateaus twice on my weight loss journey and, believe it or not, got through both by eating more calories. After I had lost about 20 lbs, MFP had put me on 1200 calories a day to lose one pound a week. I discovered I actually need to eat closer to 1300. We're all different. MFP tries it's best to give goals, but it's really shooting for the average. So, my advice is to adjust your calories slightly for a couple of weeks and see where it puts you.

Helloitsdan

I have been at the same weight for almost a year--I haven't followed the rigid diet that I was on--I got bored with that. I can not get past the lowest number. I get there and bounce up. I still exercise. What can I do to get past this number? I have 30 more to go. I lost 112 so far!!

Diet, you have to follow it.. If you aren't going to follow your diet forget it. Stop right now. You have to stay under your calories. Diet is the key component in losing weight.

When you say you exercise is it cardio or weights? If it's just cardio carve out some time for some weights as well if you can. HIIT training is also a great way to break through the plateau, if you don't have your diet and nutrition in order though you might as well stop now. That has to be priority.

^^^This!

Also if you have been eating below maintenance for a while and stall out you may need a few days of higher caloric intake to jumpstart that metabolism.
Your body is smart and will try to trick you by holding onto its source of energy...your fat cells!
Oh yea...dont forget to open that diary once you start logging that food so we can give pointers!
Who knows...you could be on a "Fat Free Diet" thinking its helping but...thats just silliness!
=D

rondo60

I have been following a diet that was an exchange diet--very specific--no calorie counting--but I got bored with it after doing it for a year--I want some variety--so I thought I would count calories and eat what I wanted. Do you count calories or watch fat, carbs, and etc. along with counting the calories--thanks