is it possible to hit a plateau after 3 weeks?

gabriellejayde

I started here a month ago.I have been eating around 1200 calories, and the first 3 weeks were great- I lost 12 lbs. Then I had one day where I had around 1500 calories. The next day, I was 1 pound higher. No big deal- we fluctuate. Since then, I have been really good for the past week and the scale isn't moving.

gabriellejayde

bump

tikafly

From the looks of your diary, you may not be eating enough. Additionally, one week without a loss isn't necessarily a plateau. Plateaus are typically several weeks without loss. Keep it up, the scale will move.

ninerbuff

No since a plateau is at least 6 weeks of no weight movement while being consistent. Any thing before that is a stall.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

gabriellejayde

thank you.
I see a lot of people say people should eat more than I do but I gain weight when I eat more. I probably ate around 1500-2000 calories a day before I started dieting (I have at least 60lbs to lose. It's not like I started close to my goal)

PisceanDream224

There are a few reasons why you may not be losing, some to include: hormones, monthly cycle, stress, previous weight loss is high, water retention, consuming more sodium, etc. You have lost a great number in this past 3 weeks! I do suggest playing with your calories though, because larger weight losses can have the reverse effect when you reach your goal and start consuming more calories. Sometimes people gain their weight back quickly afterwards. Anyways, playing with your daily calories by eating higher one day, then lower the next, and higher the day after that, and so forth keeps your body guessing and helps raise your metabolism. It is especially effective when you actually do hit a plateau. Always drink water! Water is a key element in weight loss. Don't stress any gains, because as long as you keep up with the exercise and consume enough calories to feed your metabolism, you will not only lose weight, but will tone up. Good luck!

pjeddy741

That happens to me from time to time- I'll lose nothing or next to nothing one week on scale day- but the next week I'll lose 3-4 pounds- you body fat lets go when it wants to I guess!!

geekyjock76

thank you.
I see a lot of people say people should eat more than I do but I gain weight when I eat more. I probably ate around 1500-2000 calories a day before I started dieting (I have at least 60lbs to lose. It's not like I started close to my goal)

It all depends on how large of a deficit you set up for yourself. The steeper the deficit, usually the more weight you'll gain back as you work towards maintenance. Nonetheless, a gain in weight while slightly upping calories does not necessarily equate gain in body fat. It could simply be additional water weight which will be used while adjusting to higher calories. Finally, keep in mind that the 1200 calorie suggestion is actually your net calories after subtracting exercise, it is not the gross total dietary calories you should eat while exercising.

gabriellejayde

I think I will try altnernating high and low days. I was sort of doing this, but it was a small variation and the low was under 1000, while the high was only around 1200, so maybe it wasn't enough of a difference.

I have been trying to eat as healthy as possible, and I think i do a pretty decent job. I drink a lot of water so I don't even log it. I also take a lot of vitamin d, calcium, biotin, and around 3000mg of vitamin c a day.

donnakcraig

I was eating soooo many cal. before myfitness, so guess that is why I have lost fast. I have lost 25 in 5 weeks. sounds crazy. I stay with the 1200 + I eat my exercise points. guess we should wait and only weight once a week. it is hard to wait, but not as disapointing to weight day after day and not loss. good luck

gabriellejayde

I was eating soooo many cal. before myfitness, so guess that is why I have lost fast. I have lost 25 in 5 weeks. sounds crazy. I stay with the 1200 + I eat my exercise points. guess we should wait and only weight once a week. it is hard to wait, but not as disapointing to weight day after day and not loss. good luck

Yeah, I think if i only weighed once a week and then found that I didn't lose a thing (or worse, went UP), i'd be really upset. At least now I know from day to day. I go back to work tomorrow (I've been either working from home or on vacation for the last 5 days), and even though I think i'm much more active at home, maybe my normal routine will be better.

The only real difference between how i used to eat and now is that I used to drink orange juice, would often have a small snack after dinner, and I would use mayo and butter freely. Oh, and I didn't drink water. About once a week I would eat some candy at my desk or on my drive to work.
So eating 1200 calories is pretty normal for me - I gave up stuff I should have been giving up anyway and now I have started walking.

I don't eat back my calories though... and now that I think of it... I have really ramped up my walking in the past week. maybe I should stop. lol

geekyjock76

Approximately, how many calories are you adding to your deficit via exercise? 1200 calories from your predicted TDEE is more than likely at least 40% or greater. With that degree of deficit from calorie restriction, you shouldn't be burning lots of calories doing a ton of activity.

gabriellejayde

Approximately, how many calories are you adding to your deficit via exercise? 1200 calories from your predicted TDEE is more than likely at least 40% or greater. With that degree of deficit from calorie restriction, you shouldn't be burning lots of calories doing a ton of activity.

I'm not doing much, relatively speaking. I was sedentary before I started dieting. very. Now I've been walking at 3.0 on the treadmill for 20-30 minutes a day. That's it. it's enough to get my heart going, raise my temp, and get me moving, but according to the treadmill, it's only around 100 calories.

caitlyn30

I'd say its your sodium, I'd try to keep it around 1100 the rest of the week and drink ALOT of water and see what happens.

em9371

You have lost 12lbs in 3 weeks which is fantastic, but the initial large losses don't last unfortunately as they are mainly the shock of dropping cals and a lot of water. You only gain from eating abouve your maintenance cals / TDEE. Eating 1500 for 1 day will NOT have caused you to gain fat.

With 60lbs to lose you should be aiming for 1.5-2lbs a week.
I'm 181lbs at the minute, down 63 so far and at the very least I eat around 1500 net (usually around 2100 total as I exercise a lot). When I was unable to exercise due to injury, I still had 1-2lb losses @ 1600 cals.

As others have said, you are probably eating too little. 1200 NET is the very minimum, so you should eat back exercise cals - alternatively check out helloitsdans post 'in place of a roadmap', work out your TDEE and take max 20% from that.

dawndw

Also be sure to drink minimum of 8 glasses of water. Look at my diary I sometimes drink 12. I notice when my water intake is lower my weightloss is slower. Your urine should be almost clear.

ARicho

As it's been said, plateaus rarely come about early, especially if this is your first time working out/dieting. Most plateaus occur in experienced athletes, bodybuilders, or generally anyone who has been at it for an extended period of time. However it does vary person to person

Onaughmae

I hit my first stall at around 3 weeks. I have found that I lose steadily for a couple of weeks now, and then no weight loss or even a 1-2 pound gain for about a week, then I start dropping again. During those times that i stall or have a slight gain, I can still notice my clothes getting looser and see changes going on in my body. I am guessing it is my body's way or sort of readjusting things. Keep track of your measurements and go by that as you hit those stalls. I bet you will see the differences there! Great job so far...and keep it up!

gabriellejayde

You have lost 12lbs in 3 weeks which is fantastic, but the initial large losses don't last unfortunately as they are mainly the shock of dropping cals and a lot of water. You only gain from eating abouve your maintenance cals / TDEE. Eating 1500 for 1 day will NOT have caused you to gain fat.

With 60lbs to lose you should be aiming for 1.5-2lbs a week.
I'm 181lbs at the minute, down 63 so far and at the very least I eat around 1500 net (usually around 2100 total as I exercise a lot). When I was unable to exercise due to injury, I still had 1-2lb losses @ 1600 cals.

As others have said, you are probably eating too little. 1200 NET is the very minimum, so you should eat back exercise cals - alternatively check out helloitsdans post 'in place of a roadmap', work out your TDEE and take max 20% from that.

I'll try it, although I never have luck eating that much- it's pretty much how I ate before I started dieting.

gabriellejayde

Also be sure to drink minimum of 8 glasses of water. Look at my diary I sometimes drink 12. I notice when my water intake is lower my weightloss is slower. Your urine should be almost clear.

I do drink a lot. I actually got a sodastream that makes selzer (I don't drink soda). the personal size bottles are 16oz and I have 3-4 a day. Sometimes more but rarely less.

em9371

You have lost 12lbs in 3 weeks which is fantastic, but the initial large losses don't last unfortunately as they are mainly the shock of dropping cals and a lot of water. You only gain from eating abouve your maintenance cals / TDEE. Eating 1500 for 1 day will NOT have caused you to gain fat.

With 60lbs to lose you should be aiming for 1.5-2lbs a week.
I'm 181lbs at the minute, down 63 so far and at the very least I eat around 1500 net (usually around 2100 total as I exercise a lot). When I was unable to exercise due to injury, I still had 1-2lb losses @ 1600 cals.

As others have said, you are probably eating too little. 1200 NET is the very minimum, so you should eat back exercise cals - alternatively check out helloitsdans post 'in place of a roadmap', work out your TDEE and take max 20% from that.

I'll try it, although I never have luck eating that much- it's pretty much how I ate before I started dieting.

you might have been eating more than you thought, mayo, butter and sugary drinks rack the cals up pretty quickly.
Eating too little long term will only slow your metabolism and make it real easy to regain the weight so its worth a try before you get too far :-)

gabriellejayde

I hit my first stall at around 3 weeks. I have found that I lose steadily for a couple of weeks now, and then no weight loss or even a 1-2 pound gain for about a week, then I start dropping again. During those times that i stall or have a slight gain, I can still notice my clothes getting looser and see changes going on in my body. I am guessing it is my body's way or sort of readjusting things. Keep track of your measurements and go by that as you hit those stalls. I bet you will see the differences there! Great job so far...and keep it up!

awww, that makes me feel a little better, thank you.
This morning, a coworker said I looked thinner, even though I'm the same weight I was a week ago. Maybe its my outfit, but maybe I am a little thinner and it's just not showing on the scale yet (doesn't make sense to me, but who knows.)

gabriellejayde

The scale moved! Yesterday i didnt exercise (my legs were a little sore) and i ate very close to 1250. So either i needed to eat closer to my daily allowance or my body just needed to catch up with the loss. Hopefully it continues. Thanks for your help!