Do plateaus end by themselves?

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bexxgirl
bexxgirl Posts: 260 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hi everyone

I know there is a lot of different advice out there about changing up routines, spike days, eating at different times, exercise cals, etc etc.

What I'd like to know is whether I can wait out a plateau?

If I'm eating at the right level (ie at a reasonable deficit but not too huge a deficit from my daily intake requirements) and exercising, will I eventually start losing again if I'm patient?

I had been losing slowly and steadily for some months, then hit a plateau so tried to change things up, but it threw me off track completely. I'd like to try and wait it out, as long as that's not a futile endeavour!!

(and yes, the measurements have also plateaued - I'm not relying on the scale alone. I have also altered my intake requirements to my lower weight)

Replies

  • bexxgirl
    bexxgirl Posts: 260 Member
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    It would be awesome if everyone had collaborated to make me wait for any replies - testing that professed patience... Touché, Internet.... Touché.
  • epcorne
    epcorne Posts: 59 Member
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    Hey. I'd like to know the answer to this question as well. My guess would be that if you're still at a calorie deficit and switching up work-outs regularly, your body will still burn fat. But I'm no expert!
  • RestartThisRight
    RestartThisRight Posts: 115
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    YES! I had a plateau that lasted almost a month, but it ended on it's own :)
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,971 Member
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    I think you probably need to eat more.....at 40 ish pounds to lose, do you have your goal set at "Lose 1 pound per week"? That is how I finally broke my two month plateau - eating more.

    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.


    Also, make sure you are measuring and weighing everything you eat, don't just try to guesstimate. Other than that, you haven't really given us much to go on to help :ohwell:


    Be patient....it's dinner time in the States. . .
  • mishmash73
    mishmash73 Posts: 166 Member
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    I've had 2 plateaus. i typically do low calorie (avoiding rice, pasta, bread, crackers, potatoes anyway)... but both times I've significantly but back on my carbs to around 40 per day... and it worked. now that i broke thru, i've added back in foods like cottage cheese, fruit w/cottage cheese, Fage plain yogurt w/frozen berries, etc. I'd recommend just changing your food, but i'm not an expert... just relaying what my trainer has had me do...
  • Nikstergirl
    Nikstergirl Posts: 1,549 Member
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    In my experience, the answer is no. I've been on a plateau for the last six months and while I was doing everything I'd been doing before, nothing was changing. This week after talking to a friend of mine (who's a Beach Body coach so he kinda knows what he's talking about) I decided to really change up my routine. I'm adding in morning (early, 4:30am early) workouts three days a week for now along with the running I was already doing. I'm training for another half marathon so it's not a little running I'm doing, it's a lot! So on top of that I'm taking my food diary very seriously and adding more protein although I can't cut carbs too much or I'll conk out on my runs. So, in just a few days I've already lost a couple pounds! Hoping this continues!!!

    Good luck!
  • Artemis_Acorn
    Artemis_Acorn Posts: 836 Member
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    This is a troublesome question. At one point in 2005, I had lost 50 pounds and hit a plateau. Six months later, I was the same weight and I gave up.

    Since starting MFP, I have had 3 plateaus that lasted 2-3 weeks. Two ended on their own, one ended with a bit of mixing it up. I am currently at the 4 week mark on a plateau and not feeling so very patient and mixing it up isn't doing the trick.

    I think (and it really is just my opinion) it really all depends on what is going on biologically at the time. Our bodies really like to stabilize, and sometimes need that little push of the 'mix-up', but ultimately in the end, as long as we are nourishing them and moving them, they should cooperate. Medical conditions can mess with the loss too - my PCOS really does complicate matters sometimes.
  • ili_s
    ili_s Posts: 66
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    You know what a plateau is right? It's your body under stress and panicing about the weight loss. Exercising more while not eating more will only make matters worse. you need to EAT MORE!

    I was on a plateau not even two weeks ago and I have made a conscous decision to eat 20% more on top of my BMR and it is just coming off with ease because my body isn't stressed anymore. It has no need to hold onto the fat now that I am giving it more fuel to keep me alive in a healthy way. Also depending on the serverity and length of your plateau you might need to gain a pound or two before you start losing weight again. But it will benefit you in the long run

    Good luck... and how could anyone refuse eating more anyway? It's the best advice I've been given :D
  • bexxgirl
    bexxgirl Posts: 260 Member
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    I think you probably need to eat more.....at 40 ish pounds to lose, do you have your goal set at "Lose 1 pound per week"? That is how I finally broke my two month plateau - eating more.

    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal. :tongue:


    Also, make sure you are measuring and weighing everything you eat, don't just try to guesstimate. Other than that, you haven't really given us much to go on to help :ohwell:


    Be patient....it's dinner time in the States. . .

    I was being a bit facetious with my comment about patiently waiting for replies. :tongue:

    Yes I measure everything at home and try to be as accurate with logging as I possibly can. I err on the side of underestimating exercise and overestimating cals, just to be safe.

    I guess I know the reasons why people plateau - I don't know what you really mean by "giving you something to go on", because I'm not really asking for advice about what I can change- more asking whether if the plateau will come to an end as long as I'm still doing the same things that worked before! (and yes I have my settings to 0.8lb per week loss as a goal, so not looking for miracles!)
  • djkshdfd
    djkshdfd Posts: 443 Member
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    I think you probably need to eat more.....at 40 ish pounds to lose, do you have your goal set at "Lose 1 pound per week"? That is how I finally broke my two month plateau - eating more.

    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.


    Also, make sure you are measuring and weighing everything you eat, don't just try to guesstimate. Other than that, you haven't really given us much to go on to help :ohwell:


    Be patient....it's dinner time in the States. . .


    The booby always has good advice
  • jching29
    jching29 Posts: 163
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    I've only had one plateau so far, but it felt like it lasted forever...however, in the end, it did end on its own. When I started eating a bit more and working out a bit less, surprisingly, I dropped the weight like crazy.

    Also, depending on how long your plateau is, I find water fasting helps me. One to three days does the job just fine for me, and it keeps me feeling lovely :D
  • Justkf
    Justkf Posts: 208 Member
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    I really don't know the answer as I grew impatient with mine after 2+ months. I increased my calories from 1200 to 1520/day to break it and while I had a hard time eating more mentally and was not as hungry, it worked. So-my doctor recommended this and so have several people here on MFP.
  • bexxgirl
    bexxgirl Posts: 260 Member
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    Thanks all - I'm already eating higher than MFP suggests - it worked better for me from the beginning - worked out my daily needs and based my goals on a 20% deficit.

    Guess I'll just wait this puppy out and see what happens!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,535 Member
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    PLATEAU in weight loss is 6 weeks or more of no weight loss while in consistent calorie deficit. If it's less than this, it's a STALL. Stall can break themselves, but plateau's usually don't and you need to do something different to change it.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    If in your heart of hearts, you are doing things right and acting in the interests of your health, then yes, you will eventually break the plateau. If you're doing something chronically underfeeding or lyring to yourself about calories consumed then maybe not.
  • Mission2Me
    Mission2Me Posts: 208 Member
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    I am glad you asked this. I have gone through Two periods of weeks with no weight loss at all followed by a three or four pound loss instantly. Not sure why though. and I have recently been reminded to redo my goals every time I lose weight, because MFP does not automatically adjust your calorie deficit when you log weight loss. so keep that in mind too. good luck1

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