Best way to break through a plateau?????????

2

Replies

  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    I ate my exercise calories for 3 months and gained weight back. It does not work for everyone. A 3 week plateau is ok. It usually takes about a month to break through it.

    This is the most common response from people who undereat for a long time. It is totally normal to gain weight back while your body repairs itself and gets used to eating more calories. It can take just as long to repair your metabolism back to a healthy level as it took to lower it in the first place.

    If you want to start repairing the damage you have done by severe under eating I would suggest slowly adding calories instead of just jumping straight to what you should be eating. Add like 50-100 calories per week to minimize weight gain and allow your body to adapt to eating healthy again. Also add in some resistance training instead of traditional cardio to regain some of the lean mass you have lost.


    What foods do you suggest to add more healthy calories?? I ask this because I don't feel like I am undereating as far as hunger goes, so there isn't anything I am craving. So I need good ideas on foods that I can snack on throughout the day in order to add more calories. I really appreciate you explaining everything the way you have, it makes sense. I am really trying to achieve great results and am determined to get to my goal.

    I would worry more about actually eating than the source myself but anything calorie dense like nuts would make it easy to get a lot of calories in a smaller amount of food.

    In my opinion eating a candy bar or chips is healthier than under eating.
  • Glissenklw
    Glissenklw Posts: 40 Member
    I need advice on things I can do to break through a weight loss plateau. I have been at this for 100 days now. I have lost 36 lbs, which I know, is great!! But the past 3 weeks have been very frustrating, because the scale hasn't shown a loss, but I'm still doing killer work-outs and eating pretty well. I know the whole theory about muscle weighs more than fat, but I still have enough weight to lose that I should still be losing, even if gaining muscle, right? I am currently on a 7 day cycle of low carbs to see if that helps, but so far, no change. Any ideas to shake things up where I am losing weight again??
    Need more information...what are you eating and what is a killer work out? I just overcame a three week plateau.
    I didn't change anything up except for my activity level, which I had already been doing gradually. I think it just happens.
    Just keep at it. Just make sure you are eating around your recommended calories and keep intensifying your exercise.
    Your body will adjust.

    Here is an example of my workout schedule:

    Monday- Crosstrainer/elliptical 60 minutes, weights 20 minutes, core 10 minutes
    Tuesday- Zumba 60 minutes, weights 20 minutes, core 10 minutes
    Wednesday- weights 20 minutes, core 10 minutes
    Thursday- Zumba 60 minutes, weights 20 minutes, core 10 minutes
    Friday- rest
    Saturday- Crosstrainer/elliptical 60 minutes, weights 30 minutes
    Sunday- Crosstrainer/elliptical 60 minutes

    I have been using the goals set by MFP (not just for calories but all macros too), and I adjust once a month based on weight lost. I have been limiting bad carbs and sugar, but definitely have not been on a low carb or low sugar diet (except I have been doing under 40g carbs per day since Thursday just to shake things up a little... grasping at straws to break this plateau!!)

    What exactly worked for you to break your plateau? What exercising, etc? Thanks for helping.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    What do you suggest for good foods to add additional healthy calories?

    Put together actual meals...also, nutrient dense foods like nuts, nut butters, avocados, etc. Cook with some olive oil, coconut oil, peanut oil,, etc...I love roasting my veggies in olive oil. You don't really eat more, but a Tbsp of olive oil is about 110 calories and much tastier than steamed veggies.
  • CM9178
    CM9178 Posts: 1,251 Member
    I am keeping calories under 1340 and I DO NOT eat back any exercise calories. I exercise 5 or 6 days a week, usually between 750-1000 calories burned during workouts (Zumba, elliptical, crosstrainer, weights).
    I am surprised you can get out of bed in the morning, if you are only netting 340 calories per day!
    Input your numbers on the Scooby Calculator - it will tell you exactly how many calories to consume.
    If you need to increase your calories, just eat more in general. A little bit bigger portions, more protein, more healthy snacks, etc. It shouldn't be that hard. I just recently increased my calories from about 1200 to 1550 and had no problem finding more to eat!
  • CM9178
    CM9178 Posts: 1,251 Member
    I ate my exercise calories for 3 months and gained weight back. It does not work for everyone. A 3 week plateau is ok. It usually takes about a month to break through it.

    This is the most common response from people who undereat for a long time. It is totally normal to gain weight back while your body repairs itself and gets used to eating more calories. It can take just as long to repair your metabolism back to a healthy level as it took to lower it in the first place.


    If you want to start repairing the damage you have done by severe under eating I would suggest slowly adding calories instead of just jumping straight to what you should be eating. Add like 50-100 calories per week to minimize weight gain and allow your body to adapt to eating healthy again. Also add in some resistance training instead of traditional cardio to regain some of the lean mass you have lost.


    What foods do you suggest to add more healthy calories?? I ask this because I don't feel like I am undereating as far as hunger goes, so there isn't anything I am craving. So I need good ideas on foods that I can snack on throughout the day in order to add more calories. I really appreciate you explaining everything the way you have, it makes sense. I am really trying to achieve great results and am determined to get to my goal.

    If you could share your diary with us, we can suggest things based on what you area already eating.
  • krhn
    krhn Posts: 781 Member
    You can try eating your maintenance calories to kick start your metabolism for 1/2 weeks then drop it back down!
  • ecw3780
    ecw3780 Posts: 608 Member
    I am keeping calories under 1340 and I DO NOT eat back any exercise calories. I exercise 5 or 6 days a week, usually between 750-1000 calories burned during workouts (Zumba, elliptical, crosstrainer, weights).

    how have you not murdered anyone yet? You need to eat back those exercise calories. Give it 6 weeks of eating exercise calories and then reevaluate. Also, where are you getting your numbers for calories burned from? When you eat back exercise calories, I highly recommend wearing some sort of monitor so you know what you are actually burning.

    Also, I have heard when you go from not eating your exercise calories to eating them, to slowly add in in exercise calories of the course of a few days/week. The allows your metabolism to adjust instead of suddenly getting 700 calories extra per day.
  • girlfromOklahoma
    girlfromOklahoma Posts: 129 Member
    I have found that having a cheat meal works for me. I only do it like once a week, at dinner time. And for whatever reason everytime I have a cheat meal when I wake up the next morning, I'm lighter than I was the day before. Maybe it's a coincidence? Not sure but it's working for now. :)
  • chrisvinci
    chrisvinci Posts: 49
    Up the carbs
  • JanaCanada
    JanaCanada Posts: 917 Member
    I am keeping calories under 1340 and I DO NOT eat back any exercise calories. I exercise 5 or 6 days a week, usually between 750-1000 calories burned during workouts (Zumba, elliptical, crosstrainer, weights).

    There's your issue. You barely fuel your body. Also, I would think you are not burning that many calories unless you are working out 2 hours a day. I am a 195 lb man and it's hard for me to burn that many calories. Most likely, you will need to eat another 400 ish calories a day so you can fuel your workouts. What are your stats? Height, weight, age.

    THIS!

    I hit a plateau after losing around 35 lbs. I increased my calories and ate back half my exercise calories, and in a week, the plateau broke and I have lost steadily (again) since.
  • atb0821
    atb0821 Posts: 458 Member
    What do you suggest for good foods to add additional healthy calories?

    Peanut butter!!!! Or, all kinds of nuts, full fat cheese and yogurt, avocado, oils, beans. The first day I started tracking calories, I went to log my breakfast which consisted of home-made trail mix and a ton of peanut butter. I was already over my (too low) goal of 1200 for the day before 9 am! You don't have to eat a ton of the high calorie healthy foods, they add up surprisingly quick!!!!
  • FluffyMcNutter
    FluffyMcNutter Posts: 68
    I appreciate all of the advice. It is scary to think about eating that many more calories though. Based on those calculations I should be eating about 1920 calories a day. How do I even eat that much? If I snack more frequently, can I eat more fruit? Is eating more sugar (even if staying in my calorie limits) going to be counter productive?

    I agree with what most of the people here are saying - that you aren't eating enough. It's not scary to eat more calories. Really try to think about how the body works and not how so many of us have created weight loss in our heads. Our bodies don't know what our brains know - that we are trying to lose weight. The body just knows that things are changing and it's trying to figure out how to not let them change. So, when you have a large deficit and your NET calories are significantly lower than your BMR, your body is going to try to figure out how to hang on to what it thinks it needs/will need. That's what will lead to losing lean body mass (LBM) and decreasing your metabolism and it looks like a plateau. Your body is fighting against what you are doing. If you slowly start eating more calories, then your body will start to figure out that it can start burning fat again and your metabolism will start increasing again.

    Unless you have a medical reason to be worrisome about your sugar intake, ignore the sugar counter on the food diary. The food diary can't tell the difference between naturally occurring sugars and added sugars, so it makes it look you're having a lot of the undesirable stuff when you're actually eating well. I wasn't getting too hung up on my sugar intake, but I decided to drop it from my food diary anyway just so I don't have to look at it. I replaced it with Fiber. You can change what shows up in your diary by going to Food, Settings.

    To get up to eating a more desirable amount, increase your daily calorie goals by 50-100 and hold it there for a week. The next week, increase your goal again by 50-100. It's really easy to do and your appetite will respond. Weigh yourself once a week at the same time (I weigh on Friday mornings). Keep track of what's happening on the scale over a period of time and don't be discouraged if the weight comes off slower than it did at the beginning because your body is adjusting to actually being fed. It's okay to gain a little bit in the short run as long as the overall trend is still going down. Take your measurements and pay attention to how your clothes fit. Don't let your brain tell you that something is wrong if you are shrinking but the scale says you've gained a pound or two. Good luck!
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    I ate my exercise calories for 3 months and gained weight back. It does not work for everyone. A 3 week plateau is ok. It usually takes about a month to break through it.

    This is the most common response from people who undereat for a long time. It is totally normal to gain weight back while your body repairs itself and gets used to eating more calories. It can take just as long to repair your metabolism back to a healthy level as it took to lower it in the first place.

    If you want to start repairing the damage you have done by severe under eating I would suggest slowly adding calories instead of just jumping straight to what you should be eating. Add like 50-100 calories per week to minimize weight gain and allow your body to adapt to eating healthy again. Also add in some resistance training instead of traditional cardio to regain some of the lean mass you have lost.

    AND
    In my opinion eating a candy bar or chips is healthier than under eating.

    Great advice!

    OP, with no more than what you are eating, you must have a medical condition if you are gaining weight eating less than average calories. I agree that a damaged metabolism is the most likely suspect. Gradually eating more over a period of time *will* help. And it will be much healthier in the long run.
  • m76b
    m76b Posts: 1,498 Member
    160 pounds here for almost 4 months.... and I tried everything... up calories... zig zag calories... I tried to eat 1500.. now 1300.... so... I really dont know what else I can do!! :grumble: :grumble: :grumble:
  • Glissenklw
    Glissenklw Posts: 40 Member
    Thanks everybody for the awesome advice and support. I am learning new things daily through this journey to being healthier :) I am taking a few days to "reset" and will up the calories. I hope it works.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,430 MFP Moderator
    160 pounds here for almost 4 months.... and I tried everything... up calories... zig zag calories... I tried to eat 1500.. now 1300.... so... I really dont know what else I can do!! :grumble: :grumble: :grumble:

    How long have you tried each of these things? If it's not 4-6 weeks, you aren't doing things for a long enough period of time. After that, if none of those work, I suggest doing elimination diets; cutting out one thing (gluten, dairy, go low carb) to see if there is an under lying intolerance that hasn't been diagnosed (this is how my wife found out she had to be gluten free as well as several others on my FL).
  • malena43
    malena43 Posts: 31
    I was going to say what one of the other posters stated, you likely need to change your routine. If you have been doing a lot of cardio, switch to weight training for three or four weeks and see what happens. My girlfriend hit a plateau when she lost like 75-80 lbs. No matter what she did she just could not lose more weight, and she had about 35 more lbs to lose. She changed up her routine and started running out doors, bought the book eat to live and almost like magic the weight came off. She has run several marathons now and she lost an additional like 36 lbs and went from a size 8-10 at her plateau to a size 4 now. It only took her three months to get there, that is what was crazy, but she looks awesome.

    Uh Thanks I will read that book. Thanks for the recommendation :)
  • Roll_Tide_Meg
    Roll_Tide_Meg Posts: 255 Member
    Go to this website and read it and watch the video at the top...it helps a lot! I feel so much better. I was eating 1200 calories a day and now I know what it was doing to me. :) Good luck and congrats on the weight loss!

    http://funeralformyfat.tumblr.com/eatingenough
  • ash8184
    ash8184 Posts: 701 Member
    Add in strength training!

    Also, to up your calories, consider nuts, avocado, coconut.
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
    Try 2 things:

    1. Take a one or two week diet break and eat close to maintenance calories during that time. You may gain some weight, but its mostly water and you lose it right away once you are back to a deficit.

    2. Begin measuring all your food using a scale to be sure you're eating the portions you're logging. People tend to overestimate their calories, which creates less of a calorie deficit (or no deficit at all).

    I agree.
  • jourdanerin
    jourdanerin Posts: 69
    I am no expert but if you are eating under 1340 calories and are burning 750-1000 calories you are eating WAY to little. Boost up your calorie intake.

    Read here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/937709-in-place-of-a-road-map-ver-3-0

    ^^^ True.

    It is not healthy to eat less than 1200 calories a day. If you don't NET at least 1200 calories a day then your body is going to hold on to whatever you do eat for dear life!
    Start eating back at least some of the calories you burn until your net is at least 1200 calories.

    I'm no expert either just an avid researcher!
  • ducky715
    ducky715 Posts: 38
    You could try a "spike day." :) You eat a lot more carbs, calories, whatever one day per week.
  • breeshabebe
    breeshabebe Posts: 580
    I was seriously discouraged last week about weight loss for these same reasons... its hard to work your tail off and feel like your not getting anywhere. So, Tuesday, I spoke to a friend of mine that is a trainer. I told showed him my food diary and told him what I was doing, and he told me to eat more carbs (50%!) and up my calorie intake(At least 2,000!). I was freaked out to do it... but I was just tired of not seeing results so I tried it. Just since last Tuesday, I've lost a half of a pound- which is a big deal because I thought that my body would have to adjust and that I would see a higher number than normal. I'm excited to see more results in the future!
  • meadow_sage
    meadow_sage Posts: 308 Member
    I need advice on things I can do to break through a weight loss plateau. I have been at this for 100 days now. I have lost 36 lbs, which I know, is great!! But the past 3 weeks have been very frustrating, because the scale hasn't shown a loss, but I'm still doing killer work-outs and eating pretty well. I know the whole theory about muscle weighs more than fat, but I still have enough weight to lose that I should still be losing, even if gaining muscle, right? I am currently on a 7 day cycle of low carbs to see if that helps, but so far, no change. Any ideas to shake things up where I am losing weight again??
    Need more information...what are you eating and what is a killer work out? I just overcame a three week plateau.
    I didn't change anything up except for my activity level, which I had already been doing gradually. I think it just happens.
    Just keep at it. Just make sure you are eating around your recommended calories and keep intensifying your exercise.
    Your body will adjust.

    Here is an example of my workout schedule:

    Monday- Crosstrainer/elliptical 60 minutes, weights 20 minutes, core 10 minutes
    Tuesday- Zumba 60 minutes, weights 20 minutes, core 10 minutes
    Wednesday- weights 20 minutes, core 10 minutes
    Thursday- Zumba 60 minutes, weights 20 minutes, core 10 minutes
    Friday- rest
    Saturday- Crosstrainer/elliptical 60 minutes, weights 30 minutes
    Sunday- Crosstrainer/elliptical 60 minutes

    I have been using the goals set by MFP (not just for calories but all macros too), and I adjust once a month based on weight lost. I have been limiting bad carbs and sugar, but definitely have not been on a low carb or low sugar diet (except I have been doing under 40g carbs per day since Thursday just to shake things up a little... grasping at straws to break this plateau!!)

    What exactly worked for you to break your plateau? What exercising, etc? Thanks for helping.
    I took a week off and then just stuck to the plan after that. Eating around my allotted calories and increasing my fitness level as I moved forward.
  • jessetmia
    jessetmia Posts: 19
    I think it's also worth mentioning that if you eat the same amount and types of food every day your body (metabolism) will adapt to it, so it's always good to change it up and vary your diet/calorie intake.
  • meadow_sage
    meadow_sage Posts: 308 Member
    I think it's also worth mentioning that if you eat the same amount and types of food every day your body (metabolism) will adapt to it, so it's always good to change it up and vary your diet/calorie intake.
    People will argue with this, but I totally agree.
  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member
    I am keeping calories under 1340 and I DO NOT eat back any exercise calories. I exercise 5 or 6 days a week, usually between 750-1000 calories burned during workouts (Zumba, elliptical, crosstrainer, weights).

    1. definitely NOT eating enough to support that workout routine.
    2. 3 weeks of stall is not a plateau (months of no loss would be), but you are likely headed that way because you are underfeeding yourself.
    3. Calculate your BMR and TDEE with a moderately active modifier at least.

    You may gain 1 or 2 at first, but when your body adjusts to having enough fuel, the weight will start falling off again.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    BOOZE WORKS
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,430 MFP Moderator
    I think it's also worth mentioning that if you eat the same amount and types of food every day your body (metabolism) will adapt to it, so it's always good to change it up and vary your diet/calorie intake.
    People will argue with this, but I totally agree.

    I would be one of those who argue. Because I eat pretty much the same stuff weekly and never had this issue. But it doesn't really matter either way.
  • CM9178
    CM9178 Posts: 1,251 Member
    I think it's also worth mentioning that if you eat the same amount and types of food every day your body (metabolism) will adapt to it, so it's always good to change it up and vary your diet/calorie intake.
    People will argue with this, but I totally agree.

    I would be one of those who argue. Because I eat pretty much the same stuff weekly and never had this issue. But it doesn't really matter either way.
    I have found that if I eat the same foods and/or number of calories every day, my weight loss stalls. The only way I've been successful is by zig zagging my calories throughout the week - with one very high calorie day mixed in.
    Of course now I've been at a plateau for the last 3 months that I'm still trying to break.

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