Plateau 's - How long do they last

jnp96

I've been at the same weight now for 6 weeks. I've been exercising and keeping my calories in check. MFP has my calories at 1200 a day. It says not to go below this, but I am not getting anywhere. I am about 15 pounds to my goal and feel like it is farther away than it was 50 pounds ago. Ideas?

lin7604

i hit plateaus all the time. i think you need to up your calorie intake since you are closer to your goal. How much do you burn a day and with or without exercise? i find the closer you are to goal the harder it is or if you are like me it has been a struggle right from the get go. if you exercise regularly then change it up. all these little things will help. i haven't lost weight since sept so i just ordered a new exercise program to spice it up for me.

monty619

raise calories + add muscle =better physique.

Joycie13

Me too. I'm trying to take a look at the what kind of calories I'm consuming. A banana and an apple are about the same calories as 1 Twinkie. Banana and apple=good calories. Twinkie=baaaaaad calorie. (I have 1 left in the pantry, it's my emergency Twinkie) I think that for me, this may help me get off of this plateau.....I hope, plus exercising more often.

LadyRhodes01

I agree. You may need to increase cals and increase your workout. When I was losing I had to increase workouts weekly, either speed or time. Your body gets used to the same routine. Gotta up-it sometimes to get weight loss back into gear. Keep up the good work. Don't let it discourage you. Believe me it happens to all of us. We are all rooting for you.

jonmico

Refeed days are helpful.

bathsheba_c

Hard to tell without seeing your diary. It may be possible as you near your goal that you are eating too little. Go to the apps sections of the website, find the BMR calculator, and figure out your BMR. Except for the occasional off day, you should not be eating less than that because doing so for an extended period signals your body to tell your brain to lower your metabolism, which then causes plateaus.

Something you may also want to try is eating at maintenance for a month, then dropping back down. You'll see some initial weight gain, but that will go away after a while, so don't be afraid of it.

There's a lot of info on this website for increasing calories to break plateaus. The Eat More to Weight Less group is one of the most prominent sources of info, so you should definitely look there.

acm130

Refeed days, eating @ maintainence for a week, doing 2-a-days (cardio), calorie zig-zagging.... I'm actually on a plateau (one of many) the only way I've been able to break them seems counter-intuitive but it's been to take stress off my body for a week or so and then go back hard the next week, whatever you do (I've learned this from past mistakes) do not address a plateau by being more restrictive!

Ejourneys

The Mayo Clinic has a good article on plateaus here:
https://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss-plateau/MY01152

One thing the article says is, ”You burn fewer calories than you did at your heavier weight even doing the same activities. Your weight-loss efforts result in a new equilibrium with your now slower metabolism. At this new equilibrium, calories eaten equals calories expended. This means that to lose more weight, you need to increase activity or decrease the calories you eat. Using the same approach that worked initially may maintain your weight loss, but it won’t lead to more weight loss.”

I recently experienced a real-life example of this. The software I use to calculate the calories I burn on my mini-bike takes into account my height, weight, age, bike resistance level, speed, and duration.

In late October I was too sick to exercise for a week. When I started up again I dialed my resistance level down and then worked my way back up again. When I raised it to level 4 on Nov. 8 and biked for an hour at 13 mph, my software told me that I had burned 574 calories.

I checked my spreadsheet. I had done the exact same activity — biked for an hour at 13 mph at resistance level 4 — back on October 10.

But back on October 10 I had burned 747 calories! That’s a 173-calorie difference for the exact same activity!

Two things had changed in the interim:
1. I became a year older, and
2. I lost eight pounds.

Becoming a year older actually meant that I burned two additional calories during my November 8 workout than I otherwise would have. The main change occurred because I was eight pounds lighter on November 8 than I had been on October 10.

That means that to burn the same number of calories I had burned on October 10, all else being equal, I have to work harder! As it is, I’m quite content with having burned 574 calories. :-) But this is a concrete example of why weight loss can slow or plateau.

My strategy is patience, patience, patience. I'm still making sure that I'm eating fewer calories than I expend. I pay attention to how my clothes fit and to the changes in what I see, regardless of what the scale says. Even if my weight blips up (could be due to anything: water, sodium, etc.), I have full faith that as long as I keep doing the right things it will go down, and it invariably does. It might just take longer. The important thing is to stay the course and keep the faith -- and, if necessary, work harder to achieve the same result as your weight drops.

lin7604

The Mayo Clinic has a good article on plateaus here:
https://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss-plateau/MY01152

One thing the article says is, ”You burn fewer calories than you did at your heavier weight even doing the same activities. Your weight-loss efforts result in a new equilibrium with your now slower metabolism. At this new equilibrium, calories eaten equals calories expended. This means that to lose more weight, you need to increase activity or decrease the calories you eat. Using the same approach that worked initially may maintain your weight loss, but it won’t lead to more weight loss.”

I recently experienced a real-life example of this. The software I use to calculate the calories I burn on my mini-bike takes into account my height, weight, age, bike resistance level, speed, and duration.

In late October I was too sick to exercise for a week. When I started up again I dialed my resistance level down and then worked my way back up again. When I raised it to level 4 on Nov. 8 and biked for an hour at 13 mph, my software told me that I had burned 574 calories.

I checked my spreadsheet. I had done the exact same activity — biked for an hour at 13 mph at resistance level 4 — back on October 10.

But back on October 10 I had burned 747 calories! That’s a 173-calorie difference for the exact same activity!

Two things had changed in the interim:
1. I became a year older, and
2. I lost eight pounds.

Becoming a year older actually meant that I burned two additional calories during my November 8 workout than I otherwise would have. The main change occurred because I was eight pounds lighter on November 8 than I had been on October 10.

That means that to burn the same number of calories I had burned on October 10, all else being equal, I have to work harder! As it is, I’m quite content with having burned 574 calories. :-) But this is a concrete example of why weight loss can slow or plateau.

My strategy is patience, patience, patience. I'm still making sure that I'm eating fewer calories than I expend. I pay attention to how my clothes fit and to the changes in what I see, regardless of what the scale says. Even if my weight blips up (could be due to anything: water, sodium, etc.), I have full faith that as long as I keep doing the right things it will go down, and it invariably does. It might just take longer. The important thing is to stay the course and keep the faith -- and, if necessary, work harder to achieve the same result as your weight drops.

well said and well explained!

jnp96

Thanks for the support and input. I do keep calories low. Maybe too low, but I am so nervous to up them. To me eat more = weigh more. I am just going to keep going. Change to a new workout. I currently do a mix of Power 90, Insanity, Slim in 6 & Exercise for Your Body Type. I am thinking of buying Jillian Michael's Body Revolution & might look into an elliptical or Total Gym.

lin7604

that is so normal thinking. i too stuck at 1200 cals for a long time, then i realized that i upped it and my loss was no faster, just the same. what do you think of slim in 6? i just bought it yesterday and i am waiting for it to arrive within the next week or 2.

jnp96

Slim in 6 was a good overall workout. It is geared to women and it is more for slimming and toning.

lin7604

awesome, i hope to receive it next week and can't wait to start it

gilberts3

Hi this is gilberts3
I went thru a plateau for six month I just changed what I ate and exercise 15 min more three day a week you probably need to change your routine

kbogart1996

bump

Capt_Apollo

they last until they end.

Robin_Bin

I liked this quote from http://motiveweight.blogspot.com/ via Pinterest:

When you get to a plateau, think of it as a landing on the stairway to your goal. And maintenance is a lifelong plateau, so a bit of "rehearsal" for maintenance isn't the worst thing in the world.

Dave198lbs

invest about $40 and get a bod pod test to see what your body fat percentage is.

focus on getting to a healthy body fat level and you will no longer be worried about a stupid number on a scale that really has very little to do with how you look and your over all health

Sarauk2sf

How long have you been on a calorie deficit for?

Do you weigh, measure and log all your food?

lwagnitz

I just had a 2 month plateau and finally broke through it this week. I upped my calories from 1200 to 1500. Dropped 2.5lbs.