Overcoming "The Plateau"
Athena413
Posts: 1,709 Member
For those of you who at one point or another have hit the dreaded plateau: How long did yours last? How much weight had you lost prior to hitting it? How did you get over it? How did you press on through it? I've been playing around with 218-222 since the end of October and it's just so frustrating.
I workout 5-6 days/week, I drink my water, I watch my sodium and calories, etc...in theory, I'm doing everything right, but the scale just won't budge. I know it's not all about the number on the scale - it really is about how I look and feel - but that doesn't make it any less frustrating.
And please don't bother responding to my question if you've hit the plateau after only losing 5-10 pounds but you're still eating like crap, not drinking enough water, and not exercising...that's not really a plateau, that's just lack of effort...I want to hear from people who have lost a significant amount of weight and/or have actually experienced what I'm talking about.
I workout 5-6 days/week, I drink my water, I watch my sodium and calories, etc...in theory, I'm doing everything right, but the scale just won't budge. I know it's not all about the number on the scale - it really is about how I look and feel - but that doesn't make it any less frustrating.
And please don't bother responding to my question if you've hit the plateau after only losing 5-10 pounds but you're still eating like crap, not drinking enough water, and not exercising...that's not really a plateau, that's just lack of effort...I want to hear from people who have lost a significant amount of weight and/or have actually experienced what I'm talking about.
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How many calories a day do you net?0
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Usually anywhere from 900-1,600. And that's NET, not consumed. I very rarely ever consume less than 1,200 - because that's just stupid. And I don't usually eat back all of my exercise calories. Some, yes, but I don't believe that eating back all of them is necessarily a good idea, especially since calories burned is just an estimate anyway.0
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Wow, that's a very long plateau!
Question about your workouts - are you doing strength/muscle-building exercises? If you're building muscle (which is denser than fat... & so it takes-up less space per pound), then the scale may tell you that you aren't progressing. So, are starting you to look leaner?0 -
I finally hit a plateau in the latter stages big loss last year. I was working out six days a week and eating about 1800 calories a day, about 1200 below maintenance. My weight loss stalled, my pulse rate slowed to 48, and I experienced some other symptoms that led me to believe I may have some issues with the hormone Leptin and my body was trying to hang on to my fat stores. After reading up I went to a carb rich diet and ate closer to maintenance intake. In just a few days my pulse rate went back up. Honestly I felt so good and my workouts and stamina improved so much I took a break from my diet for the month of January. I ate 3000calories per day and continued my workouts. I ate more than I have in six months and still managed to lose almost three pounds.
Anyway, I'd suggest trying a few high carb days. You will gain some water weight but it will come back off in a couple of days. You might also want to search here for what is commonly called spike days, or cheat days.. It's worth trying.
Google leptin for some information that may be of interest to you. Bodyrecomposition.com has some good articles on the subject.0 -
I started out at 169 lbs. I lost 24 before I plateaued. I was stuck at 145 for 3 months. I tried switching exercise, upping calories, dropping calories, changing up my food, etc. I finally went to eating maintenance (got this tip from Dan here on MFP) and did that for several weeks. Then I dropped back down to 1470 calories and started losing again. Since then I've hit my goal weight (135) and set a new one since I'm still feeling pretty satisfied in the 1400 calorie range. I do eat back my exercise calories.
ETA: I'm 5'4" and have my setting on sedentary, set to lose .5 lbs per week since I was reasonably close to my goal weight when I stalled out.0 -
Wow, that's a very long plateau!
Question about your workouts - are you doing strength/muscle-building exercises? If you're building muscle (which is denser than fat... & so it takes-up less space per pound), then the scale may tell you that you aren't progressing. So, are starting you to look leaner?
Body fat % has gone down some, but overall inches haven't really changed. As far as workouts go, I was running 3x/week, weight training 2x, spin class 2-3x, and some Zumba and toning classes here or there - a pretty decent mix of cardio and strength training. Within the last 3 weeks the schedule has changed a little...still running 2-3x/week, bike trainer ride on Tuesday, bootcamp on Wednesday, and swim group on Thursday...some extra swimming and weights here or there to fill in Friday and Saturday. I'm in a tri club, so most of my workouts are guided/led by trainers, coaches, and/or physical therapists, so I'm really not just playing around on these workouts. They're pretty intense!
I understand muscle is more dense than fat, but you wouldn't think it would take that long to adjust. And you'd think I'd at least lose a few pounds!0 -
I finally hit a plateau in the latter stages big loss last year. I was working out six days a week and eating about 1800 calories a day, about 1200 below maintenance. My weight loss stalled, my pulse rate slowed to 48, and I experienced some other symptoms that led me to believe I may have some issues with the hormone Leptin and my body was trying to hang on to my fat stores. After reading up I went to a carb rich diet and ate closer to maintenance intake. In just a few days my pulse rate went back up. Honestly I felt so good and my workouts and stamina improved so much I took a break from my diet for the month of January. I ate 3000calories per day and continued my workouts. I ate more than I have in six months and still managed to lose almost three pounds.
Anyway, I'd suggest trying a few high carb days. You will gain some water weight but it will come back off in a couple of days. You might also want to search here for what is commonly called spike days, or cheat days.. It's worth trying.
Google leptin for some information that may be of interest to you. Bodyrecomposition.com has some good articles on the subject.
I don't really believe in low-carb dieting unless you're specifically trying to build muscle. I'm a runner, and runners thrive on carbs, so my diet is by no means low-carb. I probably need to re-evaluate the value of my carbs and check out some of those articles. Thanks for the input!!0 -
I started out at 169 lbs. I lost 24 before I plateaued. I was stuck at 145 for 3 months. I tried switching exercise, upping calories, dropping calories, changing up my food, etc. I finally went to eating maintenance (got this tip from Dan here on MFP) and did that for several weeks. Then I dropped back down to 1470 calories and started losing again. Since then I've hit my goal weight (135) and set a new one since I'm still feeling pretty satisfied in the 1400 calorie range. I do eat back my exercise calories.
ETA: I'm 5'4" and have my setting on sedentary, set to lose .5 lbs per week since I was reasonably close to my goal weight when I stalled out.
I'm 5'3'' and MFP currently has me set at 1,410 calories/day. I'm set to sedentary because I'm an accountant and have it set to lose 1.5lbs/week. I had it set at 2lbs, but then I was only getting 1,210 calories/day and that just wasn't enough for all the working out I'm doing. I changed it to 1.5/week hoping the extra calorie allotment would help me feel more full and give my body more fuel to work with.0 -
Dial up to maintenance calories for 2 weeks. Then go back to regular loss-level calories.0
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Dial up to maintenance calories for 2 weeks. Then go back to regular loss-level calories.
I set it to maintenance and it says 2,130 calories/day - that seems like A LOT!0 -
Dial up to maintenance calories for 2 weeks. Then go back to regular loss-level calories.
This is what I'd try as well-- it worked for me when none of the other tips did.0 -
Dial up to maintenance calories for 2 weeks. Then go back to regular loss-level calories.
I set it to maintenance and it says 2,130 calories/day - that seems like A LOT!
hmmm maybe don't up it quite so much then-- you might try upping it gradually. My maintenance is only 1700 so that's about what I did. In the 1600-1700 range anyway. I didn't experience any weight gain when I went that high, I just stayed steady at 145, which made me kind of irrationally angry, like why couldn't I have been eating this much all along?
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Dial up to maintenance calories for 2 weeks. Then go back to regular loss-level calories.
I set it to maintenance and it says 2,130 calories/day - that seems like A LOT!
hmmm maybe don't up it quite so much then-- you might try upping it gradually. My maintenance is only 1700 so that's about what I did. In the 1600-1700 range anyway. I didn't experience any weight gain when I went that high, I just stayed steady at 145, which made me kind of irrationally angry, like why couldn't I have been eating this much all along?
Re-set it to 1lb/week and it's now saying 1,630/day - that seems more reasonable to me. When I was working with a personal trainer, she told me to consume between 1,400-1,600/day and 1,800 on days that I worked out really hard, but not to eat back all my exercise calories. We'll see what just upping the calories a little bit more does. :ohwell:0 -
nice oneI finally hit a plateau in the latter stages big loss last year. I was working out six days a week and eating about 1800 calories a day, about 1200 below maintenance. My weight loss stalled, my pulse rate slowed to 48, and I experienced some other symptoms that led me to believe I may have some issues with the hormone Leptin and my body was trying to hang on to my fat stores. After reading up I went to a carb rich diet and ate closer to maintenance intake. In just a few days my pulse rate went back up. Honestly I felt so good and my workouts and stamina improved so much I took a break from my diet for the month of January. I ate 3000calories per day and continued my workouts. I ate more than I have in six months and still managed to lose almost three pounds.
Anyway, I'd suggest trying a few high carb days. You will gain some water weight but it will come back off in a couple of days. You might also want to search here for what is commonly called spike days, or cheat days.. It's worth trying.
Google leptin for some information that may be of interest to you. Bodyrecomposition.com has some good articles on the subject.0 -
Dial up to maintenance calories for 2 weeks. Then go back to regular loss-level calories.
I set it to maintenance and it says 2,130 calories/day - that seems like A LOT!
hmmm maybe don't up it quite so much then-- you might try upping it gradually. My maintenance is only 1700 so that's about what I did. In the 1600-1700 range anyway. I didn't experience any weight gain when I went that high, I just stayed steady at 145, which made me kind of irrationally angry, like why couldn't I have been eating this much all along?
Re-set it to 1lb/week and it's now saying 1,630/day - that seems more reasonable to me. When I was working with a personal trainer, she told me to consume between 1,400-1,600/day and 1,800 on days that I worked out really hard, but not to eat back all my exercise calories. We'll see what just upping the calories a little bit more does. :ohwell:
I hope it works for you-- you've made a LOT of progress already so don't sell yourself short! I understand the frustration though-- during the last part of my plateau I wanted to strangle anyone who claimed to be plateauing at 2 weeks in. lol0 -
For those of you who at one point or another have hit the dreaded plateau: How long did yours last? How much weight had you lost prior to hitting it? How did you get over it? How did you press on through it? I've been playing around with 218-222 since the end of October and it's just so frustrating.
I workout 5-6 days/week, I drink my water, I watch my sodium and calories, etc...in theory, I'm doing everything right, but the scale just won't budge. I know it's not all about the number on the scale - it really is about how I look and feel - but that doesn't make it any less frustrating.
And please don't bother responding to my question if you've hit the plateau after only losing 5-10 pounds but you're still eating like crap, not drinking enough water, and not exercising...that's not really a plateau, that's just lack of effort...I want to hear from people who have lost a significant amount of weight and/or have actually experienced what I'm talking about.
me too! i lost 40 lbs prior to my plateau and its been horrible. i started watching my sodium and i managed to lose one pound in a week. but it was the best feeling ever! maybe changing your exercise routine will help, i also started doing longer cardio0 -
i know you said not to respond but ive lost 10 pounds and ive been trying to lose that very hard, ive been doing everything eating way more healthy then i did before and drinking water and tea and a little bit of only diet soda (i use to drink a 2 liter of regular soday a day and go to the next bottle.) and ive been exercising every night and ive even been going to the gym...i was 225 now 215 and i hit a plateau at 220 i was stuck there for a week and usually when that happens im like whatever its not working but im serious about this now and i didnt quit and thats why im at 215 now because i didnt quit, i know and i can do this ive seen so many people on here that dont make excuses do what they need to do and lose weight and thats what i want, thats what im doing now..and its not easy but im ready!0
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I lost over 60# so far (10 since joining this site). I would lose about 10# and plateau for a couple of months. I would just change up my eating a little bit. Add more protein and carbs. and then change my workout routine. Working "smarter" not "harder". If you have to do A LOT of something to get the same results you did when you first started, then obviously it's not working any more. Maybe talk to a personal trainer to help get you jump started again. I keep my muscles guessing by doing something different every day. Works great!!! Now, my plateaus are shorter than they used to be. I still get them every 10# though. 0
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Increase your calories to maintenance. It is a lot of calories, but what do you have to lose (if you will excuse the pun)? Sometimes the body needs a break. Or you can try maintenance one day and then regular loss-level calories one day and alternate. I never could do any workout more than 6 weeks without my body going into plateau mode. You can also try regular loss-level calories all week and do NO exercises. Shake things up a bit is the bottom line.
Hang tight. Plateaus do happen, but when they go on this long it is time to try something different because what you are doing presently obviously is not working. Best of luck!
Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods0 -
bump for later0
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How do you set to maintenance?0
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i know you said not to respond but ive lost 10 pounds and ive been trying to lose that very hard, ive been doing everything eating way more healthy then i did before and drinking water and tea and a little bit of only diet soda (i use to drink a 2 liter of regular soday a day and go to the next bottle.) and ive been exercising every night and ive even been going to the gym...i was 225 now 215 and i hit a plateau at 220 i was stuck there for a week and usually when that happens im like whatever its not working but im serious about this now and i didnt quit and thats why im at 215 now because i didnt quit, i know and i can do this ive seen so many people on here that dont make excuses do what they need to do and lose weight and thats what i want, thats what im doing now..and its not easy but im ready!
I only said don't respond IF you haven't been working at it. I hate when people are whiney about not losing weight only to find out they haven't been trying. Sounds like you're actually trying, so your input matters! 0 -
You can use MFP or use this calculator (for example):
http://www.fitwatch.com/qkcalc/caloriedeficitcalculator.php
They are all pretty close to the same.0 -
I lost over 60# so far (10 since joining this site). I would lose about 10# and plateau for a couple of months. I would just change up my eating a little bit. Add more protein and carbs. and then change my workout routine. Working "smarter" not "harder". If you have to do A LOT of something to get the same results you did when you first started, then obviously it's not working any more. Maybe talk to a personal trainer to help get you jump started again. I keep my muscles guessing by doing something different every day. Works great!!! Now, my plateaus are shorter than they used to be. I still get them every 10# though.
I was working with a personal trainer from July 2011 - January 2012 and my workouts are different every day because I'm in a tri club and do most of my workouts in a group setting. Training season just kicked off 2-3 weeks ago, though,so I may just be adjusting to the new workouts still. This is my (new) current schedule:
Monday - rest
Tuesday - trainer ride, 30 minute interval run
Wednesday - bootcamp (H.I.I.T.)
Thursday - swim group, 30 minute tempo run
Friday - rest
Saturday - swim, weight train
Sunday - long run
My workouts are pretty intense Tues-Thurs, thus the second rest day on Friday that I've implemented starting tonight. I'm really hoping upping my calories some will help...0 -
How do you set to maintenance?
Go in to your profile settings and change your goals.0 -
I plateaued for ten days about three weeks ago, so it's not in the league of months but I found that after I had a couple high carb/cal days that the weight started coming off and I've lost seven pounds since then.0
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I plateaued for ten days about three weeks ago, so it's not in the league of months but I found that after I had a couple high carb/cal days that the weight started coming off and I've lost seven pounds since then.
Hmm...I guess 10 days can be considered a plateau if you weigh in every day...I only weigh once a week, though...officially...0 -
Delete.0
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Hang tight. Plateaus do happen, but when they go on this long it is time to try something different because what you are doing presently obviously is not working. Best of luck!
Agreed - but I have been changing things along the way and nothing seems to be working yet - just trying to get ideas in case there's something I haven't tried that I should.0 -
Most likely you're body's so used to what you're doing it's decided to maintain your weight. Give yourself a 12 week window to do a new program. Do serious interval training. Keep your calories where they are or maintenance as some people advise. But seriously, whatever workouts you're doing, your body needs a change from the usual.
There are plenty of different things you can do, and there' s so much available online. If you're only running or walking, that's not necessarily going to work by itself anymore. Do you every run stairs or jump rope? Play any sports like soccer, or do any kickboxing?
You obviously have not read all of the posts...my workouts are very different, involve intervals, and my current schedule has only been what it is for the last 3 weeks...0
This discussion has been closed.
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