Plateau?

dducroc

I have been using MFP for almost 6 months now, at first I was ecstatic about the results. I was feeling better and the scale was moving, I have lost almost 10lbs now. But I have found that in that last month or two I haven't had anymore weight loss. I haven't really changed my eating habits and my exercises are varied but I usually work out 2-4 times a week and I walk my dog most days as well. I eat back most of my exercise calories and eat my goal or a little more most days. I'm just not sure what can do to kick start more progress. I am picking up more cardio this week. I usually eat over my goal calories on weekends if I have a social function. I have looked over some of the posts here but haven't really found any advice I felt applies to me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

timeforsomethingsweet

I am feeling in quite the same boat as you right now. I was losing weight steadily and now things have seem to be at a halt for me too. Grrrr...lol.
But I recently bought Jillian Michael's ripped in 30 dvd so Im giving that a try and seeing if I get past my plateau. I think maybe it will be a good idea for you to maybe switch things up a bit. Whether it be your diet, exercise plan or both. Maybe your body just needs a challenge. Atleast, thats what Im assuming my body is crying for. Let me know if anything works for you! Feel free to add me as a friend if you need more support. I do also have some dedicated friends on here who are in tip top shape and know what they are talking about, so maybe you can friend one of them too! Well, good luck!!
~Crystal

rebelandduke

Yeah, sadly I've plateaued as well and I have NO idea why. I'm watching everything I eat, I'm on a 1200 calorie diet, I'm exercising at least 4-5 times a week doing a little over a mile each time. I lost 8lbs in my first week! And haven't lost a flipping pound since. :-( It's been 3 weeks!

reneeeeeh

I'm at a plateau too. Ive been eating at about 1200 calories so have upped them a bit as a lot of people on here have said I need to eat more.
Not sure what your calories are set at but maybe you need to eat more/less?

avandy83

I am not a health expert and I'm sure others would not agree with me. But I got over my plateau by not eating back my exercise calories and adding three 30 minute extra cardio sessions a week.

Helloitsdan

Do the steps in this post:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

Eat at TDEE for 2 weeks then resume the diet.

Thank me later.

=D

babymine55

I was having this SAME issue, until a couple weeks ago. I was sticking close to the 1200 calories per day...working out 3x's a week, typically I never eat back all my exercise calories, but, for THREE months-nothin!

So, I decided to up my calories a bit, to 1400. I'm TRYING to watch my protein/fat/carb ratios...but, really, I'm happy so long as I stick with the 1400. I'm still working out 3x's a week and BAM-lost 3.6 pounds in less than 2 weeks.

Just don't give up!! Those plateau's can be so freaking frustrating, I know I was about to pull my hair out!

I'm no expert, by any stretch...all I can offer is my opinion and what has worked for me. So, maybe check your carbs/sodium intake. Change things up a bit. Or, like what worked for me, up your calories just a bit.

Best of luck to you all!

lmarshel

I have been using MFP for almost 6 months now, at first I was ecstatic about the results. I was feeling better and the scale was moving, I have lost almost 10lbs now. But I have found that in that last month or two I haven't had anymore weight loss. I haven't really changed my eating habits and my exercises are varied but I usually work out 2-4 times a week and I walk my dog most days as well. I eat back most of my exercise calories and eat my goal or a little more most days. I'm just not sure what can do to kick start more progress. I am picking up more cardio this week. I usually eat over my goal calories on weekends if I have a social function. I have looked over some of the posts here but haven't really found any advice I felt applies to me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

You didn't really say where you have your current settings in MFP. I would mention a couple of things. First of all, when you only have a little weight to lose it's going to come off MUCH slower. It's very hard to consistently lose 1 or 2 pounds per week when you only have 10 pounds to lose. I would recommend setting your goal in MFP to losing .5 pounds per week, since you're so close to your ultimate goal. Then, I would recmmend that you go into the MFP settings and recalculate your calorie goal every time your weight changes. If you're weighing in once per week, you need to reset every week. MFP does NOT automatically adjust your calorie goal when you post a loss. As you lose, you need to eat even less to continue losing. I think a lot of people run up against this situation and think they are in a plateau.

But you mention twice in your post that you tend to eat over your calorie goal. That may also be why you have stopped losing. If you started out being religious with your measuring and sticking to your calorie goal every day and have since relaxed that standard a little, it can make all the difference. Recommit to being meticulous in your weighing and measuring food and logging every single morsel you consume. I think you'll find that your weight loss picks back up again.

Best of luck!! :flowerforyou:

mmj26

I just read an article that says if you lift weights you will build more muscle and lose weight. Be sure to take your measurements. Sometimes you may not be losing weight, but you may be losing inches. That is worth more than gold. Seems to me, I don't care so much what I weigh, as being able to fit into my skinny jeans! What worked for me was using the rowing machine. I couldn't believe how small my waist got! Usually, I burned twice the calories of my husband who was using the execise bike.

Blueberry09

But I recently bought Jillian Michael's ripped in 30 dvd

Although my weight didn't change, I lost a whole bunch of inches when I started the 30DS.

smnassise

Agreed