Overcoming "The Plateau"

amymarie8709

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...

That could very well be it too. All you can do is experiment with different cal amounts! Hope you jump your plateau soon!! And good luck on your training!

Athena413

If you're open to trying something a bit different, why not try EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique, or 'tapping') to remove any subconscious blocks you have to getting slimmer. Lots of people have done this with great success, and you can get free resources at eftuniverse.com and by googling "Carol Look EFT weight loss". It costs nothing and is very powerful.

What happened the last time you were at your ideal weight? Your body will hold onto weight in certain circumstances. If last time you were slim you had unwanted male attention, or were even attacked/abused, it will be hard to get slimmer without clearing the fear that it will happen again. Or if being slim is associated (in your subconscious) with unhappiness in any other way - if you were last thin because you were miserable after a relationship breakup, or if last time you successful shed some pounds you were criticized by jealous or unsupportive friends or family members.... there are many reasons why our bodies refuse to co-operate, but you can clear these reasons with a bit of gentle tapping. I've just written a blog post about it, check it out if you're curious. It could definitely be the answer to breakin your long plateau.

x

I've never been slim - even as a child I was overweight. :ohwell: I have no idea what it's like to be at my ideal weight, and quite frankly, I don't even know what my ideal weight really is...

Athena413

I was at a plateau till this week. I did a 1 day liquid detox drink and I lost 2 lbs that day and 1/2 lb the next day. Here is the plan.
1 cup unsweetened cranberry juice, 1 cup unsweetened pomegranted juice, 7 cups water, 1/2 cup orange juice, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground cardamom, and a pinch of ground cloves. In a large sauce pan bring all liquids to a boil. Reduce heat and stir in spices. simmer for 5 min. Warm juice before drinking. Makes 9.5 cups. This is a 2 step process. Every other hr you drink 1 cup of detox juice and the other hr you drink 1 cup water with 1 tbs of lemon juice. Sample schedule: 7 am 1 cup lemon water, 8 am 1 cup detox juice, 9 am 1 cup water, 10 am 1 cup detox juice.

I got this receipe from another mfp member. It works. Good luck.

Are you still consistently losing, though? Sounds to me like you just made yourself pee out any water you retaining, thus the sudden weight loss...

Helloitsdan

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.

Bump to TDEE for 2-4 weeks then resume dieting. BTW try to have at least 2 full rest days a week for recovery. Broken down muscles work half as hard as rested and recovered muscle.

Justkf

Mine has been going on for 6 weeks. I just switched to maintenace calories and am working out as usual. The hard part is I don't want to eat that many calories, just don't hunger for that load. The good part is that I am not worrying about it and that feels nice, the scale has been breaking my heart every single day. So I do my best and watch the sodium & make sure the fiber is high. In a week or so I will go back to weight loss calories and see what happens..

The plateau sucks, that I know. I am telling myself, it is my body's way of saying "OK, slow down, you lost some good chunks of fat, let the liver rest and we will get it done in the long haul"

CharityEaton

I'm not a pro but tis is what happeed to me.....I lost a decent amount of weight and decided not to stress over the holidays but to maintain.
Then after Jan. 1st back at it just like before. No luck at ALL! I managed to maintain my weight for SIX weeks, I was about to lose my mind. I was set at 1200 cals a day, working out 5 days a week(mostly cardio) No, I don't eat back all of my cals I don't believe in that either. I just ate. I do a pretty decent job of eating balanced meals...lean proteins, TONS of fruit and veg, and some carbs...I don't go crazy on carbs but I don't cut them either.

decided to UP my cals to 1 1/2 pound/week loss and it only gave me an additional TEN...yes TEN calories WTH!!! So i went to 1 pound/week weight loss goal and it jumped up to 1440 cals per day...now I am no pro here but that is quite a jump for half a pound difference! The thing is though it is SUPER easy for me to meet 1440 a day with no thought about it at all. LESS stress for me about what I'm eating creates a much happier person= weight loss again!
I too am trying to meet the 30-30-40 ratio and for me 30% protein is a hell of a lot of protein...and is very hard for me to accomplish. I am struggling to eat that much even with protein shakes every day.

Also, I was advised to cut back on my cardio...I am a cardio junkie! I LOVE to hit the treadmill and just go for it. I will also do some form of circuit training in addition to the treadmill....I was working out at least an hour 5 days a week and just not getting anywhere!
I took a leap of faith because of a dear friends suggestion and cut the cardio. I still do my 30 min. circuits in the morning, my jogs are cut back to 1 mile to maybe 1.25 miles then I walk on incline for the next 1.75 miles...I know it's not much but I am fairly new to all this and I used to HATE running just 4 months ago. I ONLY run 3 days a week and am trying to add in some weight work now( I am NOT at all experienced in this).
After six weeks of being stuck I finally started to see the numbers go down a tiny bit each day(I weighed every day to see what was going on). It worked and I have started to lose again.

I would suggest just cutting back a tiny bit...I know it is super hard, especially if you ar addicted to cardio like me! I think I had a mini anxiety attck when I thought about NOT working so hard making me lose weight. However, I feel like I put more effort into my workouts now. They aren't as long and I have tons of energy so I work harder.

You might try reading this book too:
Never Let Go by Dan John
it was free for the kindle this week and a wonderful read on training(specifically weight training but his approach to training in general is a good method for any of us)
Good luck. I hope things get easier for you!



Forgot to add that I take both Saturday and Sunday OFF I mean completely off, I lay around on the couch and read all weekend! You better believe that I KILL my Monday workouts though! I don't take off on eating though! I just try to stay within my cals but If I go over a bit oh well! I don't spike, I don't cheat because I don't really cut anything anyway. I eat what I want in moderation..I still eat ice cream and cookies just not the whole batch!
I do get out and play with the kids on the weekend and we go for walks and bike rides but I don't count it as exercise. I also practice listening to my body on the weekend. I only eat when I actually FEEL hungry...you know, the tummy is actually growling. I do this because it teaches me the difference in hunger and boredom.....usually I am busy enough on the weekends that food and exercise are not on my mind much.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

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.

Bump to TDEE for 2-4 weeks then resume dieting. BTW try to have at least 2 full rest days a week for recovery. Broken down muscles work half as hard as rested and recovered muscle.

This is the member whose advice I followed to break mine-- so I'd say listen to him Sorry, Dan, couldn't remember your username in my first post.

cdnclovr

Oh wow! I so feel for you. I'm excited to be hitting onederland too and the weight loss flat-lined near the beginning of December. Still working at it. Tried so many things! I know how hard it is to keep up the work but hang in there!!! You're not alone!

Wow, we could be twins. I've been beating my head against a wall for a long time - so glad to have found you!

I have lost a total of 60 lbs. (37 since joining MFP). It has taken me 2 1/2 years. I wore size 22 jeans, now I wear 16.

I am stuck at the same weight as you, and I've been stuck since last March, so almost a year. I started out walking, added Zumba, KettleWorx, and now I do TurboFire. I drink my water and eat as healthy as possible, staying under as often as possible. I'm not perfect, I do have days I go over.

I am interested to see what advice you get. I will say I've tried upping calories and every time I end up gaining.

On the bright side, I've kept off what I've lost for a long time (for me anyway). My frustration is that once I hit 220, I knew Onederland would be right around the corner. I was so excited! Still waiting.....

Thanks for posting. Can't wait to help you break this plateau!

MissHellsing

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.

Bump to TDEE for 2-4 weeks then resume dieting. BTW try to have at least 2 full rest days a week for recovery. Broken down muscles work half as hard as rested and recovered muscle.

I needed this. I've been in a Plateau since Jan! :noway: It's so frustrating. I even tried to up my cals to 1400 and nothing seems to be helping. I'll give this a try.