UGH! THINK I'VE HIT A PLATEAU.

MeIShouldB

I HIT MY FIRST PLATEAU AT THE 10 LB MARK, THAT IS WHY I JOINED MFP. I AM NOW AT THE 21 LB MARK AND I THINK IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN. ON THE 27TH I HIT 203.6 AND THEN WASN'T ABLE TO WEIGH IN FOR A LITTLE OVER A WEEK. WHEN I DID, I HAD ONLY LOST .6 POUNDS AND IT DOESN'T SEEM TO BE BUDGING. ANY ADVICE?

da_bears10089

Your diary isn't public so we can't see what you are taking in. It takes more than a couple weeks to really be a plateau.

lilred806

I had a plateau for 2 weeks. I ended up with a stomach bug so I lost weight but knew it was water weight. So I just considered the 2 weeks as a maintenance. I increased my calories and relaxed on exercise because I was recovering from the stomach bug. I started back this week and I am loosing again. I guess I am just trying to say take your time and you will see the change as long as you are still keeping your calories in check. This small break will seem like a faint memory when you reach your goal weight. At least that's what I tell myself.

JoanB5

Some things to think about, not knowing what you are doing or how many calories you are netting:

1. Be consistent. Results follow.
2. Re-evaluate whether you are dividing your foods among the needed essentials well (fats, protein, carbs)
3. Change up your exercise routine...the body gets used to one thing.
4. Check salt intake. Even though I seldom go over, if I eat pretzels, I always put in water weight for a while. That's why I choose to weigh daily right now: to follow trends. If I hit a low, I record that. It's much more motivating for me, personally.
5. Follow MFP recommendations. Trying to do it too fast will bottom you out fast.

Hope that helps, and best of luck!

MeIShouldB

I'll make my diar public if anyone wants to check it an gives me tips (always been scared to make it public)

MeIShouldB

Some things to think about, not knowing what you are doing or how many calories you are netting:

1. Be consistent. Results follow.
2. Re-evaluate whether you are dividing your foods among the needed essentials well (fats, protein, carbs)
3. Change up your exercise routine...the body gets used to one thing.
4. Check salt intake. Even though I seldom go over, if I eat pretzels, I always put in water weight for a while. That's why I choose to weigh daily right now: to follow trends. If I hit a low, I record that. It's much more motivating for me, personally.
5. Follow MFP recommendations. Trying to do it too fast will bottom you out fast.

Hope that helps, and best of luck!

So I changed my settings to track my sodium. Turns out I've been taking in too much without noticing. I'm going to watch that, may be the culprit. Thanks for the tip.

ercarroll311

I'm sitting at a plateau right now too, 5 lbs from my goal--I feel your pain.

Switch up the exercise routine, not just like going from the elliptical to treadmill, but maybe try something completely new like a kickboxing video or try some weights (I'm not sure what you're currently doing, just speaking from my usual stuff vs. what I need to be doing).

Switch up some types of foods you're eating, or try changing calories a little bit. You definitely want to try eating some more. I got to my first plateau because I wasn't eating enough. I was around 1000-1200/day. I moved those up by eating my exercise calories and realizing that fewer calories does not equal a bigger loss. Look into your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) number instead of your BMR. Taking that number and multiplying it by .8 should show youm where you should be eating. That is to say, eating about 80% of what you're expend each day so your metabolism stays high and you keep losing. Eating too little does not work as a long term weight loss plan. That's one flaw with myfitnesspal, but they do at least give you the exercise calories that you NEED to eat.

Finally, realize that hard work will eventually pay off. Maybe your weight isn't budging because you're retaining water after exercise. There are all kinds of causes, but stick with it!