Help!!!! Why am I plateauing right now!!!

lau4491

Help!!! I have lost 25 pounds pretty steadily (about 2 pounds a week)
I started losing more weight a week recently, I guess because I kicked up my
workouts, I figured that would settle down soon
but this week, nothing!
recently every week my weight goes up a pound, down two, up two and then down three
so I end up losing 3 total but i know it fluctuates
I have stayed at the exact same weight all week
whats happening?
is it what im eating?
am i eating too much? not eating enough?
am i working out too much?
not enough?
what am i doing wrong here:( help!

Treesy72

I am experiencing the same frustrating thing right now. Lost .2 this week. Feeling very discouraged but I'm hoping that if I just trust the math and stick with it things wil even out.

Eagles802051

Try switching up your diet a bit. Up your protein and lower your carbs! do this for a week or too and it should break the mini plateu you've hit. You could also try switching your workout a bit. Youve done great so far but now you need to shock your body back into change

Drussander

Have you tried changing your eating pattern a bit? Maybe your body has your M.O. down now and is checkmating you, lol. Carb cycling sometimes works well at busting the plateau. There are other methods too. Try switching things up a bit, stay under calories and keep drinking that water.

Regardless 25 pounds down is tremendous! That's significant weight loss!

neverstray

This happens because your body is used tot he routine and what you are doing now has become normal. Your have to now shock your body. You can eat less, you can pig out for a couple days, you can kick up your workouts a few notches, you can do all of these things, or you can do nothing for a week,a nd then start back. But, you have to do something different, shock your body, knock it out of its rhythm to get things moving again.

Unfortunately, my body adjust to routine so fast, it's stupid. I have to change everything every few weeks or my progress halts.

MTBrob

Cycle your main food intake.. For example.. If you are doing higher protein.. Up your carbs for a week..

Also something to consider as you ramp your work outs up, perhaps you are building better muscle mass ( GOOD THING ) and that is throwing your scale numbers off..

Don't get all jacked up on the numbers.. Changing things up a bit should get you back on track... Keep creating a calorie deficit and working out hard and it will start to move again.

sarahjenkins77

maybe have a week or two off calorie counting, you can still make sensible choices but dont stress about it. This is kind of what i did on holiday and since then the weights started shifting again.

vypeters

Plateaus* happen. In the process of losing my weight I had 4 significant plateaus lasting from 2-4 weeks and they made me stark raving nuts. But typically if you are on plan they are just an adjustment time. Folks are skeptical until they pay attention to this, but I actually lost more inches when I was stalled than when I was losing.

Plateaus will break when they're ready. Sometimes changing anything (up calories, down calories, start working out, stop working out) will seem to trigger the break, but honestly keeping to plan is the best strategy.

*technically, what you're experiencing isn't a stall or plateau. It doesn't count unless you go a month without losing pounds or inches - that's a real plateau. But that doesn't make what you're experiencing any less frustrating.

Best strategy to handle a plateau: Step away from the scale for a few weeks. I had hubs hide mine.

1holegrouper

This is absolutely normal and more common as we approach the stubborn last few pounds to lose. The key is to stay your course. Make sure the intensity of your exercise program goes up a notch every week. Consider changing up the routine so that your body is not settled and used to it and watch sodium intake which can have a huge impact on weight with water retention.

bwdcjk

Maybe your body has your M.O. down now and is checkmating you, lol.

Love this analogy!

Mine is coming off much slower now too...fluxating and relosing the same couple lbs over and over. A friend is having success with South Beach so I might give it a try. Would be good for my hubby who is Type 2 Diabetic.

keeponkickin

Weight loss isn't linear. If you graph it out from start to finish you will see it go up and down but ultimately you will reach goal if you keep working at it. Also, a week with no loss isn't a plateau.

butterflylover527

Going through the same things Feel free to add me for support anyone!!

ChampsMom1205

Switch it up a bit, maybe your body has become immune to what your eating and the way your working out. Try something new, kick start it.

jenholle

Really great job on 25 pounds lost!! I am feeling your pain right now. Have pretty much maintain Ed for the last month. I will be up one week down the next all evening out to very little loss. Going to try interval training and upping protein to see if that works... Good lunch and I hiope some minor adjustments get you back on your way to weight loss!

elisa123gal

My vote is that it is because you just started working out hard. That makes your tissues retain fluid..and you can not show a loss for many weeks. This is why I'm not exercising until I hit a stall. That's just my thing...but if you want to get in shape overall..just don't weigh yourself and stick to your routine and in two months you'll be down and a lot smaller. I think the body goes into a holding pattern when you shock it too much. When I start exercising..I'm doing it slow and only a few days a week. I'm gonna sneak up on my body! haha. Who knows what will work.

Also... step into your tight jeans or shorts every morning..that helps when you see them fitting better.. it proves the scale can lie and you won't be so down. It also helped me when some forum member said.."no one knows the number on the scale but you..so who cares?" so true..it is not tattooed on our foreheads.

simonlcube

OK here's my suggestion. Go and get 25 lbs worth of weights and put it in a back pack. Carry it around for a while, and even try doing your exercises with this weight on you. That is how much more your body was working when you started! You are burning fewer calories than when you started: this is probably the main reason why people hit 'plateaus': their body has got healthier, and has adapted to a lighter weight. The need to either exercise with more intensity, or eat a little less (or both) or accept that your weight loss will be slower than before.

Either way, you have done a great job so far, and if you stick with it the pounds will indeed continue to get used up. Hang in there, and don't lose heart!

Good luck!

Lesa_Sass

I can not help you unless you open your diary.

lau4491

Thannk you everyone for your advice! i will try to do a little bit of everything that everyone said, and hopefully thatll do it:)
And thank you to all who congratulated me on the 25 lost<333 88 more pounds to go!
I love MFP and this is the best i have ever done in my life with weight loss, so thank you guys so much for the support<33
Ill update int he next week or two and let you all know how it goes:)!!

lau4491

Haha, I am totally going to try this!!
And thank you so much for the encouragement, you guys really made me feel better
I am going to work really hard this week, and ill keep you posted<33




Also to those who are saying they cant see my diary, just friend request me if you want and then youll be able to see it

brinkmad

Everyone here has great advice. To add a bit more, here are a few things that help to move me off a plateau:
(1) Have you reviewed you BMR? When I stall, I do some calculations with that. Most recently, it told me I was eating too few calories, so I might have been putting my body into starvation mode. To verify, I looked at my paper log from years ago working with a personal trainer (when I was at a similar weight/body fat % to now). He had me at about 200 more calories a day.
(2) What is the ratio of your calories (protein/carb/fat percentages)? Again, my trainer had my ratios structured much differently.
(3) Change up your exercise. I get obsessed with cardio, but ultimately see/feel better results when I integrate resistance/weight training.

As most people said, CELEBRATE and enjoy your success. Know that right now your body is getting accustomed to this NEW NORMAL - that is a great thing.

I can say all this because I get frustrated when I stall for 1-2 weeks too. Don't fall off the wagon, keep up the good work!

helenx55

I stayed the same for 2 weeks, yesterday i ate out with my kids and had mcdonalds, it upset me all night but in total i consumed all day 1680, and this morning whoosh im another 4lbs down, a big lesson to me i obvs wasnt eating enough.

freya33

i am also on a plateau and this is when I usually give up. I stupidly worked out that if I lost 1.5 lbs a week then I would be X lbs by a big event mid Sept. I had not factored in a plateau and now realise that I will not meet the weight I hoped to be. I am finding it difficult and half of me thinks "Oh blow it have a pizza" this is what has happened each previous time.
I am finding this site so supportive and there is usually someone who is going through or has been through my situation. I know I just have to keep going; I know my shape is chnging and my flab feels flabbier not such solid fat so hopefully it will go but it is just going to take longer.

gemmalianne84

Remember that muscle is heavier than fat so if you are working out more that might be why you gain. Try switching your foods. Eat differently. Try 5 small meals a day instead of 3 big ones. You should never go hungry and it will help your metabolism.

Hendrix7

Plateaus* happen. In the process of losing my weight I had 4 significant plateaus lasting from 2-4 weeks and they made me stark raving nuts. But typically if you are on plan they are just an adjustment time. Folks are skeptical until they pay attention to this, but I actually lost more inches when I was stalled than when I was losing.

Plateaus will break when they're ready. Sometimes changing anything (up calories, down calories, start working out, stop working out) will seem to trigger the break, but honestly keeping to plan is the best strategy.

*technically, what you're experiencing isn't a stall or plateau. It doesn't count unless you go a month without losing pounds or inches - that's a real plateau. But that doesn't make what you're experiencing any less frustrating.

Best strategy to handle a plateau: Step away from the scale for a few weeks. I had hubs hide mine.

Exactly.

Have you adjusted your calorie intake since you lost the initial weight?

So much terrible advice in this thread "eat more meals to speed your metabolism" " your body has become immune to what you are eating". Sorry, but that's rubbish.

simonlcube

I stayed the same for 2 weeks, yesterday i ate out with my kids and had mcdonalds, it upset me all night but in total i consumed all day 1680, and this morning whoosh im another 4lbs down, a big lesson to me i obvs wasnt eating enough.

You are confusing a correlation with a causation. It is not necessarily the case that it was eating at McDonald's / eating more that caused the plateau to break.