Plateau.. How long defines it, and what to do about it?

NareenaTheGypsy

Ok so first and foremost, at what point of no weight loss do you consider a plateau? Surely not a week or two. But I've been consistently losing 1-2 lbs a week since my weight loss began in Aug 2012. Now it's mid-Jan and I haven't lost a pound since Christmas Day. Three weeks isn't long, I know but with the regularity of me losing every single week practically, I am just a bit worried that it's slowing down already and I'm not even at my 1/2 way point in the journey (please read ... a bit worried. I'm not stressing out, freaking, or terrified I'll never lose another pound. I'm only thinking of the future of my weight loss and my health, not rapid I-have-to-lose-it-all-now!! ).
I've lost 42 lbs since Aug 2012. I'm just hovering under 200 lbs, from 197 up to 201, most days. While I don't stress that "omg I hit 200 again" I do weigh daily (record weekly) so I can watch trends in my loss/gains. The real concern I'm having is that I wasn't working out in Nov/Dec practically at all - but since 1Jan, I've worked out every day (ok, I missed ONE day, sheesh! lol). Since adding circuit training back into my daily life, my cals have gone up some of course, and I do eat some of them back (probably about 2/3rds or so).
Since I am working out more, and I'm still as active as I always have been, I don't understand why now I am slowing, almost not losing at all.. when I wasn't working out, I still lost 6-8 lbs a month. 42 lbs gone seems like a lot. It is. I'm happy and proud of myself for that much, but I still have another 60-70 lbs to go. I don't want to still be fighting off the next 10 or 20 lbs 4 months from now. Any suggestions?

Lyadeia

It might be "slowing" down because of the extra exercise. But, that does not mean that you are not making progress. It could be that you are retaining water to repair the muscles which adds weight on the scale.

Do you measure yourself in other ways that just the scale? You might want to wrap a tape measure around yourself and record those numbers as often times they change much more than the scale does.

I work off a 2 week feedback loop. If things do not change in 2 weeks (and that means measurements AND scale weight) then I tweak things a little bit whether it means increasing workout intensity or changing calorie goals. If something, anything really, is changing, then I don't change a thing cause that means that I am doing something right.

Case in point for the measurements...I weigh 4 pounds more right now than I did in January 2012. But last year I was wearing size 10 and this year I am wearing size 6. I lost size, but gained weight. If I went by the scale, I'd be frustrated and depressed! Thank God I measure other things, lol.

cfbuss29

I agree, you should make sure to measure yourself- the scale is a nice thing to see number wise, but so is your waist shrinking. I would suggest changing up your eating habits. Drink a lot of water- at least 80oz. Stay away from caffiene, this only masks your body into thinking you have energy when really all you're doing is packing your body with un-needed sugar. Also consider eating 6 small meals a day, stay in realistic ranges on proteins/carbs/fat/sodium. Condiments can be a huge thing too, that little bit of mayo/ranch/ketchup you put on something can be detrimental to what you are about to ingest. Stick to 100% Whole Grains-no bleached flour, etc. I took a glance at your diary from the most recent day- you have quite a high amount of sodium. That will make the body retain water- could be why you're not losing your weekly pound or two. Also it seems like you are eating a lot of processed foods, be careful with these because they pack on so much sodium. Try for a fresh option. Make a pizaa (100% whole wheat flat out, sauce, tear up a cheese stick) instead of getting a slice from somewhere. You know those special K bars you eat? Try replacing one or two per day with a fresh fruit or veggie. And try making your own healthy bars/cookies, they taste better and more guilt free! Hope this helped a bit.

shannonS108

Since you mentioned that the plateau started around the time you started excercising everyday, do you think it is possible that your calories burned is actually lower than your estimate?

Since you mentioned you are eating 2/3 of your calories back, if the calories burned estimate was off, it could cause you to break even on calories, or even eat more than you are actually burning in a day.

It looks like you wear a HRM when you exercise. I was considering getting an HRM, so I did some research last week on how accurate HRMs are at determining calories burned. From what I read they are more accurate at determining calories burned during cardio than during strength training. Since the 30 day shred contains a combo of strength and cardio, I wonder if the HRM might be over-estimating the calories burned during the strength portion?

Here's an explanation I came across when researching:

http://www.sparkpeople.com/community/ask_the_experts.asp?q=75

itstimetoeat

That happened to me! You're lucky your plateau didn't start until later on. I started in Sept and plateaued in November. I was losing 1-2 lbs consistently for 2ish months and then it just stop responding. I've been the same weight since November. Not up and not down. Just same spot! it's so frustrating. I'd love to know what to do. I do more weights now and started insanity but have lost motivation for the last couple days. Just tired and woman issues lol. Don't you hate that!

Only thing I could suggest is, KEEP trying and shock your body by changing your eating? The beginning of my diet, I cut out carbs completely (no bread/rice/dressing/sauce) and had 1 cheat day a week. Now I just even out my days and try to live normal. Make healthy choices whenever possible. Choose the healthy options if you must eat out.

Your workouts should tire you out and make you sore. At least for me, during my plateau, I need it to feel like my body is shocked and needs to start doing what I need it to do. Insanity helps, try it? Your body will def get shocked!