How do you get over your plateaus?

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TexasDarling09
TexasDarling09 Posts: 210 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey y'all,

I've been doing this about 4 months now & have lost 35lbs. I get really frustrated because I seem to hit plateaus more often than my Mom & Aunt who are doing this with me. I hit one when I lost 31 lbs which took me two weeks to get over & now have hit one at 35, and actually gained 3lbs. I haven't gone over my calories one single day, and I exercise 4 to 5 days a week. I don't have a gym membership so I do zumba at home & walk at a park nearby. ANY advice you can give me as to what I'm doing wrong will be great. I also switched up the food I buy at the grocery store this week, so maybe that will make a difference.

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  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
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    if you have been at this for 4 months and lost 35 lbs, you haven't hit a plateau yet.

    Plateaus tend to get a lot of hype. You aren't in a plateau until you haven't budged in about 2 months. Actually, you are averaging about 2 lb/wk - far from a plateau.
  • TexasDarling09
    TexasDarling09 Posts: 210 Member
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    I guess I'm just ready to pull my hair out, being that I gained 3lbs. But thanks, Mark. :) Glad to know that's not a true plateau.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
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    there is a LOT of error in weighing yourself. Even when trying to do it consistently, it is hard to control everything.

    On this site, there seem to be 3 groups of people - those that weigh weekly or longer, those that don't weigh at all, and a smallish group of us (like me) that weigh daily. I am a data geek and NEED my numbers! But, what I get out of it is that I have a pretty good idea of how my body trends and fluctuates. I can tell you with certainty, that a single weight measurement means absolutely nothing - you need to average them and look for long term trends.

    If you do that with the numbers you gave, you are doing fantastic! But, you are stressing yourself out anyways! Look at the big picture, not just what happened today.
  • MommaRou56
    MommaRou56 Posts: 68 Member
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    I feel stuck right now, too. I've lost 50 lbs. but have been at that, up or down by a pound or two, for at least a couple of weeks. I also noticed that it's taken me nearly two months to lose about 5 lbs. So while I'm not technically at a plateau, my weight loss has slowed considerably. I think it has more to do with not accurately recording my calories, which can be really hard to do on some things that are just not in the database, and I have to estimate. I also changed gyms and my old routine. I used to go to my old gym, do a little cardio warm-up, then do a circuit of different weight training, and then finish up with at least 20-30 minutes of cardio. I signed up with a trainer at my new gym, and I only see him once a week, but I think I have depended too much on what he is going to show me and not kept up with my old routine which actually seemed to work well for me. So I'm rethinking everything because I really wanted to be down another 20 lbs. by Christmas, and I don't see that happening this late in the game. Bummer! But I can see another 10 lbs. down by then if I really push it. Hang in there! We all reach some slow-down points, but this is a journey, not a destination, per se. :)
  • julieh391
    julieh391 Posts: 683 Member
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    if you have been at this for 4 months and lost 35 lbs, you haven't hit a plateau yet.

    Plateaus tend to get a lot of hype. You aren't in a plateau until you haven't budged in about 2 months. Actually, you are averaging about 2 lb/wk - far from a plateau.

    This. You are actually losing at a pretty quick pace. No worries.

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