Think I hit a plateau

Valqis

I have steadily been losing 2-3 pounds a week for the last 4 weeks, until this week. For the last 3 days, the scales have stayed the same. I knew this would happen. It happened to me last year. I just can't remember what I did to jump start my body to get over it.

Currently, I work out 5-7 times a week: 2x on Mondays and Fridays, then 1x on Tues, Wed, and Thurs, and none on Sat or Sun, for at least 30 min each time, all cardio, no weights.

I am careful to try not to exceed my calorie intake intentionally, but it has happened occasionally (see Sunday, April 4). My food diary is public so I am definitely open to suggestions.

I am drinking 60-80 oz of water daily during the week, but have to admit I slack off during the weekends, mainly because I do not have my water bottle readily available like I do when I am at work.

Can anyone of you wonderful people please give me an idea as to what I need to do to get my body weight dropping again? Do I need to start doing weights? Eating more protein? Drinking more water? Doing more cardio? Doing less Cardio? What? My mind just can't recall what I did last year to get the ball rolling on my weight loss when I hit the wall.

Thanks in advance.

mamaof2girls

Bump your cardio up to 45 mins each time, or depending on what kind of cardio you are doing - just up the intensity a little bit. (resistance or incline)

mszSHOGAN

I checked out your diary and it doesn't appear as if you're eating nearly enough. You're consuming all of your calories but usually within 2-3 meals. Your body needs food every 4 hours or so to keep your metabolism going. If you don't eat your body goes into starvation mode and it'll be virtually impossible to lose weight. Be sure that the food you're eating every so often is "fuel" and not just "food". You want to put stuff in your body that is going to benefit you. Eat more protein and complex carbs to acheive that. Also be sure to get veggies and fruit too. I started logging my foods again this week (and my diary is public) so you can check it out for some ideas if you'd like.

squoozyq

Yup, you need the calories to burn the fat.....

leeslim4life

You may also want to look into cutting back in your sodium intake. Try keeping it under 2000g's per day!!!

acakeforawife

You may also want to look into cutting back in your sodium intake. Try keeping it under 2000g's per day!!!

That's what I was going to say too! To be honest, 3 days does not exactly equal a plateau, and chances are you're actually just retaining water from what you ate on Sunday. Give it a few more days of 'cleaner' eating and you should be fine!

sportygal

Sounds like you are overtraining......take 2 days off...let your body have a chance to recover...then do a different routine. You need to mix it up or your body gets used to it.

Valqis

One thing that I failed to mention was that my calorie counts were WAY off on my exercise. I was going by what the exercise bike was giving me, and did not get accurate calorie figures until I purchased a HRM this past weekend. sorry for the confusion about that.

angelwings2000

I have hit a plateau myself and as long as I keep active and eating healthy, eventually my body will have to kick back into gear and lose more weight. I think it needs a break. The tips I have heard is to just change thigns up. Eat more, do different activities and don't lose hope.

junipuni

3 days does not = a plateau. I wouldn't stress about it. I would just weigh in once a week and not worry about it being a plateau until it's been 2-3 (weekly) weigh ins where the scale isn't moving. I also wouldn't suggest upping your exercise as it sounds like you are already doing quite a bit of exercising.

Looking at your food diary I see a few things you could try - up the fiber and lower the sodium. There are some days where your fiber is VERY very low. I would up your daily goal to 35 for fiber and try to work on that along with lowering your sodium. I also think aiming for small meals throughout the day and adding a lot of fresh foods and trying to cut back on some of the processed stuff would help.

Also - how tall are you? Your calories seem low for a guy.

ETA: I looked at your food diary again and honestly, the quality of the food you are eating could be so much better! If you ate less processed foods (and I don't even mean anything extreme) you could be eating SO much more food with less sodium and better ingredients. I don't see a lot of fresh fruits or veggies. Also, the energy drink in the morning is something you could work on trying to eliminate and I think that would help a lot. But I also think you need to eat more - but not more of what you are already eating.

junipuni

You may also want to look into cutting back in your sodium intake. Try keeping it under 2000g's per day!!!

Not that this isn't a good idea - keeping it under 2000 is pretty difficult - especially when you are a guy and have quite a bit more calories that you need to consume.

lvfunandfit

I agree, your sodium is very high. Try incorporating more fresh foods and more fiber. Frozen and canned foods contain a lot of sodium. Start your day with a high protein breakfast (egg white omelet with ground turkey and low fat cheese, loaded with veggies) and try to decrease the amount of foods you eat that have added sugar. Make sure to eat every 2-3 hrs as well and if you can, incorporate weight training. You're doing great though!!!

jennylynn84

Hello! One suggestion I have - switch to low carb monster! If you really need the drink to get going in the morning (and I know the feeling, I have to have coffee in the a.m. and use sweetener and such), then this might be a better switch. Its only 20 calories for the whole drink and only 6 carbs. They're still very good. Ever since finding these I allow myself one every now and then.

And I second the motion on the sodium. I FEEL heavier and have even gained about 5 pounds from eating salty.


Good luck!

kicklikeaGIRL

A plateau is a long-lasting situation. 3 days is definitely not long enough to call a plateau. Once you reach about 7 consecutive weeks, that would be considered a plateau. If you are getting frustrated as you step on the scale each day, try doing it once a week, or bi-weekly. That will give you a better estimate of how much weight you are losing. Since your goals are set by the week, 3 days really isn't going to give you accurate information. There are so many factors as to why people couldn't be losing weight, and other times there are no obvious reasons. Don't stress about not losing weight after 3 days, its just not worth the effort to stress out about it.

courtney_love2001

A plateau is a long-lasting situation. 3 days is definitely not long enough to call a plateau. Once you reach about 7 consecutive weeks, that would be considered a plateau. If you are getting frustrated as you step on the scale each day, try doing it once a week, or bi-weekly. That will give you a better estimate of how much weight you are losing. Since your goals are set by the week, 3 days really isn't going to give you accurate information. There are so many factors as to why people couldn't be losing weight, and other times there are no obvious reasons. Don't stress about not losing weight after 3 days, its just not worth the effort to stress out about it.

agreed!! Don't change anything you are doing...you shouldn't expect to lose weight in 3 days anyway. Don't stress over it!

MercuryBlue

A plateau is a long-lasting situation. 3 days is definitely not long enough to call a plateau. Once you reach about 7 consecutive weeks, that would be considered a plateau. If you are getting frustrated as you step on the scale each day, try doing it once a week, or bi-weekly. That will give you a better estimate of how much weight you are losing. Since your goals are set by the week, 3 days really isn't going to give you accurate information. There are so many factors as to why people couldn't be losing weight, and other times there are no obvious reasons. Don't stress about not losing weight after 3 days, its just not worth the effort to stress out about it.

agreed!! Don't change anything you are doing...you shouldn't expect to lose weight in 3 days anyway. Don't stress over it!

I agree with the above two posters.

I'm just coming off a plateau. That is, about 6 weeks of no change. Nothing. Zip. Three days is NOTHING, in the world of weight loss.... so don't stress! :flowerforyou:


I finally managed to drop about 3 pounds over the past two weeks. I did this by taking a couple of weeks to just eat normally- still counting calories, but eating to maintain. Then, I started creating a deficit again. Basically, I 'reassured' my body that, no, I'm not starving to death (I lost 20 pounds in a pretty short period of time, so a plateau was probably inevitable), so that when I started cutting back calories again, my body was more willing to let go of the weight. Seems to be working for me so far.....

Also, it was nice to take a wee break from everything and recover mentally.

kicklikeaGIRL

I too, have been on a plateau...I've been on the plateau for about 18 weeks. So, rather than stressing about the scale as much I decided to get an Overall Fitness test done. I got my flexibility, body fat %, muslce strength, muscle endurance, VO2 submax, and a few other things tested. This has helped me focus on other things rather than just the pounds on the scale. i won't lie and say I've never been frustrated that the scale hasn't moved. But, on a positive note, the scale hasn't jumped up either. It was hard not to see the pounds come off, but after trying just about everything, I've come to the conclusion that this is going to be a long journey and even though I may not be losing weight, I am feeling so much better about myself and I am in such great shape. So, now my big goal is to get my body fat % down :bigsmile: Since that is something that changes over a longer period of time....I am just being persistent---eating healthy, cardio, strength training and.... rest. My body needs a rest day, and like Carrie said, sometimes our body needs to get more calories in!! Good luck on your journey...overtime you'll learn so much more about your body! :flowerforyou: Keep chuggin along! Persistence, Sweat & Determination