Platue?

knucklescasey
knucklescasey Posts: 69
in Health and Weight Loss
I have a few ? if i lose weight and i hit a platue am i supposed to up my calories or lower them. also when i hit my goal weight do i keep my calories the same to maintain my weight or what?

im so confused

Replies

  • Coyoteldy
    Coyoteldy Posts: 219 Member
    I hit one that lasted for weeks.. it was so bad I bought the scale a new battery because I thought THAT was the problem LOL. Actually if you do hit up your exercise and possibly up your calories ( sounds crazy I know).. I did both for several days and started losing again. Often the body will hit a metabolic rate to protect itself ...kick start it with a bit more food and a bit more exercise!:bigsmile:
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
    You have a few what?
  • Crankstr
    Crankstr Posts: 3,958 Member
    You have a few what?

    this, huh?
  • Ramberta
    Ramberta Posts: 1,312 Member
    You have a few what?

    It took me a second but I'm assuming she inserted a ? in place of the word "questions"
  • charovnitza
    charovnitza Posts: 689
    Plateau
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
    You have a few what?

    It took me a second but I'm assuming she inserted a ? in place of the word "questions"

    Right. Thank you for translating. :smile:
  • Ramberta
    Ramberta Posts: 1,312 Member
    I have a few ? if i lose weight and i hit a platue am i supposed to up my calories or lower them. also when i hit my goal weight do i keep my calories the same to maintain my weight or what?

    im so confused

    Firstly it's 'plateau'. It's tricky but you'll get the hang of it. Second, there are many variables that go into a weight plateau, so you just have to tweak your plan until you find something that spurs loss again. If you normally work out for 30 minutes, try 45. If you cut your calories do it in SMALL amounts (don't drop from 1600 to 1200), and actually I usually find that I have to eat more to break out of a stall. Third, it would be a good idea to calculate your BMR and TDEE. This will help you understand what to do when you reach the "maintenance" stage. Go here http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/mbf/ (you'll need a flexible tape measure) and here http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/ to figure out and understand those numbers.
  • kimosabe1
    kimosabe1 Posts: 2,467 Member
    I thought I hit mine and went from 1200 calories to 1500 and gained 3 pounds in a week. I went back to 1200 this week and dropped one of those pounds.
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
    Really, it depends on what you were doing to begin with. How long has it been since you noticed a weight loss? How often do you exercise and for how long? How many calories are you consuming?

    No one can help you unless we have more information.
  • nerdyandilikeit
    nerdyandilikeit Posts: 2,185 Member
    You have a few what?

    It took me a second but I'm assuming she inserted a ? in place of the word "questions"

    This could not possibly be the explanation. People never do that. Ever.
  • Denise_Valentine
    Denise_Valentine Posts: 93 Member
    I wish everyone would stop picking apart the lead poster's spelling and grammer! she has some questions and it's pretty obvious what she means.

    I had the same problem not too long ago and the main thing to remember is to not give up!!! keep at it and make small adjustments until the numbers start to move again. don't let it discourage you. it is natural for your body to do this and you will start loosing again. good luck and keep up the great work!!!
  • cmcollins001
    cmcollins001 Posts: 3,472 Member
    A plateau isn't usually a week or two weeks, it's more along the lines of a couple of months. Your body is going through changes and it's going to adjust with weight loss, and sometimes the changes will result in a stall, but there isn't any need to make any adjustments unless that stall is over an extended period of time. Losing weight is not linear. While MFP says you are set up to lose 1 or 2 lbs a week, it may not happen that way. It may be that you lose 3 to 4 lbs every other week. You may be the type that experiences a "swoosh" type effect in weight loss.

    If you do happen to hit a true plateau, you may want to try to up your calories a little and then wait to see if that helps. Don't expect it to help in a couple of days or even a week or two. Gaining a few pounds or losing a few pounds according to the scale isn't an indicator of success or failure...the scale is more for overall trending over a period of time. This is also one of the reasons why watching the scale is not a good idea. You can gain "weight" during the day and lose "weight" over night for some it can be as much as 8 to 10 lbs...the best judge for success is keeping focus on measurement, pictures, how clothes fit, and how you feel.

    When you do finally reach your goal weight, you will want to increase your calories to your maintenance level. However, this may seem to add a few pounds, but what you need to realize is this again is a change that your body will need to adjust.

    Bottom line, set your goals, stay as close to your goals as you can about 90% of the time, allow yourself to go over without guilt from time to time, because it will happen, and be patient. It's not going to happen overnight. Basically, if you need to focus on something, focus on the end result, not the day to day happenings.

    Hope some of this make sense and I hope it helps.
  • knucklescasey
    knucklescasey Posts: 69
    Thank you guys for all the help. It is really appreciated.

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