So you've hit a plateu, Heres why. (Tips included)
marydhastings
Posts: 132 Member
You've hit a plateau and that's quite normal.
This happens when your body becomes regulated to everything your doing and not longer burns fat, but maintains your current weight.
Don't freak out or get down hearted, this happens to all of us at some point or another, you just need to push past it, and heres how:
The best way to push past a plateau is by doing different exercise. For instance, if you're a runner and all you do is cardio all the time, add some strength training into that mix ( I would suggest starting with about 3 or 4 times a week for a start).
Changing up your cardio is another way too, HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) will also help. HIIT is simply doing a burst of really fast really hard cardio for a short period of time (say a minute or so), then continuing with the rest of your cardio for about 3-5 minutes then hitting the hard stuff again for another minute. Lather, Rinse, Repeat until your workout is complete.
Anything that pushes your body that you feel (and trust me you'll feel it lol) will cause your body to work harder and burn more calories.
I hope this helped a little (:
This happens when your body becomes regulated to everything your doing and not longer burns fat, but maintains your current weight.
Don't freak out or get down hearted, this happens to all of us at some point or another, you just need to push past it, and heres how:
The best way to push past a plateau is by doing different exercise. For instance, if you're a runner and all you do is cardio all the time, add some strength training into that mix ( I would suggest starting with about 3 or 4 times a week for a start).
Changing up your cardio is another way too, HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) will also help. HIIT is simply doing a burst of really fast really hard cardio for a short period of time (say a minute or so), then continuing with the rest of your cardio for about 3-5 minutes then hitting the hard stuff again for another minute. Lather, Rinse, Repeat until your workout is complete.
Anything that pushes your body that you feel (and trust me you'll feel it lol) will cause your body to work harder and burn more calories.
I hope this helped a little (:
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Replies
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Self Bump :P0
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It also helps if you eat over your TDEE for a few days then go back into fat burning mode. Like pushing a reset button.0
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I tend to think that most plateaus happen because people get lazy.
They slack with their logging (don't log everything as honestly or as accurately as they did when they started), so their diet isn't as dialed in as it was)
They slack with their workouts... either they lose the desire to push themselves, or they don't increase intensity (weight, speed, whatever) as their body gets faster and stronger, so as a result they aren't challenging their body like they were at the beginning.0 -
I tend to think that most plateaus happen because people get lazy.
They slack with their logging (don't log everything as honestly or as accurately as they did when they started), so their diet isn't as dialed in as it was)
They slack with their workouts... either they lose the desire to push themselves, or they don't increase intensity (weight, speed, whatever) as their body gets faster and stronger, so as a result they aren't challenging their body like they were at the beginning.
^^^ This. (and for the record, the "plateau" I experienced was due to this!)0 -
I tend to think that most plateaus happen because people get lazy.
They slack with their logging (don't log everything as honestly or as accurately as they did when they started), so their diet isn't as dialed in as it was)
They slack with their workouts... either they lose the desire to push themselves, or they don't increase intensity (weight, speed, whatever) as their body gets faster and stronger, so as a result they aren't challenging their body like they were at the beginning.
While I do agree and respect what you're saying, it isn't ALWAYS the case. If you're still dedicated and working hard and yet you don't seem to loose the weight it is very well possible that you're body has just gotten used to the exercise you always do, and it's time to switch it up some.0 -
I tend to think that most plateaus happen because people get lazy.
They slack with their logging (don't log everything as honestly or as accurately as they did when they started), so their diet isn't as dialed in as it was)
They slack with their workouts... either they lose the desire to push themselves, or they don't increase intensity (weight, speed, whatever) as their body gets faster and stronger, so as a result they aren't challenging their body like they were at the beginning.
While I do agree and respect what you're saying, it isn't ALWAYS the case. If you're still dedicated and working hard and yet you don't seem to loose the weight it is very well possible that you're body has just gotten used to the exercise you always do, and it's time to switch it up some.
agree to disagree I guess.
The body doesn't adapt to exercise, it adapts to stress. If you continually increase the stress, you'll continue to progress.0 -
I tend to think that most plateaus happen because people get lazy.
They slack with their logging (don't log everything as honestly or as accurately as they did when they started), so their diet isn't as dialed in as it was)
They slack with their workouts... either they lose the desire to push themselves, or they don't increase intensity (weight, speed, whatever) as their body gets faster and stronger, so as a result they aren't challenging their body like they were at the beginning.
While I do agree and respect what you're saying, it isn't ALWAYS the case. If you're still dedicated and working hard and yet you don't seem to loose the weight it is very well possible that you're body has just gotten used to the exercise you always do, and it's time to switch it up some.
agree to disagree I guess.
The body doesn't adapt to exercise, it adapts to stress. If you continually increase the stress, you'll continue to progress.
Yes!0 -
I like the idea of HiiT. I'm a runner and working on distance atm but might throw in some HiiT when i get to a new distance milestone
i think it might help get my overall speed down to 9 min mile rather than 9.5/ 10.0 -
The progression from initial weight loss to a weight-loss plateau follows a typical pattern. During the first few weeks of losing weight, a rapid drop is normal. In part this is because when calories from food are reduced, the body gets needed energy by releasing its stores of glycogen, a type of carbohydrate found in the muscles and liver. Glycogen holds on to water, so when glycogen is burned for energy, it also releases water, resulting in substantial weight loss that's mostly water.
A plateau occurs because your metabolism — the process of burning calories for energy — slows as you lose muscle. You burn fewer calories than you did at your heavier weight even doing the same activities. Your weight-loss efforts result in a new equilibrium with your now slower metabolism.
At this new equilibrium, calories eaten equals calories expended. This means that to lose more weight, you need to increase activity or decrease the calories you eat. Using the same approach that worked initially may maintain your weight loss, but it won't lead to more weight loss.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss-plateau/MY011520 -
HiiT kicks my butt. lol I love the feeling afterward thoughI like the idea of HiiT. I'm a runner and working on distance atm but might throw in some HiiT when i get to a new distance milestone
i think it might help get my overall speed down to 9 min mile rather than 9.5/ 10.0 -
The progression from initial weight loss to a weight-loss plateau follows a typical pattern. During the first few weeks of losing weight, a rapid drop is normal. In part this is because when calories from food are reduced, the body gets needed energy by releasing its stores of glycogen, a type of carbohydrate found in the muscles and liver. Glycogen holds on to water, so when glycogen is burned for energy, it also releases water, resulting in substantial weight loss that's mostly water.
A plateau occurs because your metabolism — the process of burning calories for energy — slows as you lose muscle. You burn fewer calories than you did at your heavier weight even doing the same activities. Your weight-loss efforts result in a new equilibrium with your now slower metabolism.
At this new equilibrium, calories eaten equals calories expended. This means that to lose more weight, you need to increase activity or decrease the calories you eat. Using the same approach that worked initially may maintain your weight loss, but it won't lead to more weight loss.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss-plateau/MY01152
You just proved Jacksonpt's point... it isn't about changing activity, it is about increasing intensity.0 -
well, my weight has remained the same for the last 2 weeks, but in 4 weeks I have lost an inch off my thighs and 1/2 inch everywhere else! I'll take it!0
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People do hit plateaus. I've been stuck at 46 lbs lost for ages now which is why I'm increasing my exercise and training for a half marathon soon.
I'm not weighing for a while and just concentrating on the fitness and seeing what happens once I've progressed from running a 9km to a 13 or 15km and throwing in insanity on my rest days (i do 2 days running and one day off).0 -
Let's define Plateu.... One or two weeks without a weight loss is NOT a plateu as many people think. When you have these moments they will pass as long as you are eating at a deficit and at the same or higher level of motion. That being said, I see a lot of people at the gym who are doing two hours of cardio to undo the damage they do with a poor diet.0
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You just proved Jacksonpt's point... it isn't about changing activity, it is about increasing intensity.
But I didn't. He claims that all weightloss plateaus occur because they get lazy and stop eating as healthy as they did and workout as hard as they did.
If your still working out at the same pace, and eating the same healthy way you did when you first began to loose weight (like the website suggests), and you hit a plateau the website described why.
Not that they stopped eating right and working out as hard.
I never claimed that his theory is wrong, because in a lot of cases that's what happens. This post was simply to help those who hit a plateau when they were doing exactly what they were doing when they lost the first half of their goal, and not the second half.0 -
you mention pace, so I assume we're talking about cardio. if you work out at the same pace overtime, you are necessarily not increasing intensity, which is my point. as time goes on your body get stronger, and you need to increase the pace ( or add Hills or increase weight or something) to maintain the same level of intensity is when you started.
so once again, you continue to support my point.0 -
You just proved Jacksonpt's point... it isn't about changing activity, it is about increasing intensity.
But I didn't. He claims that all weightloss plateaus occur because they get lazy and stop eating as healthy as they did and workout as hard as they did.
If your still working out at the same pace, and eating the same healthy way you did when you first began to loose weight (like the website suggests), and you hit a plateau the website described why.
Not that they stopped eating right and working out as hard.
I never claimed that his theory is wrong, because in a lot of cases that's what happens. This post was simply to help those who hit a plateau when they were doing exactly what they were doing when they lost the first half of their goal, and not the second half.
Maybe I misinterpreted what he said, but I took it as:
you start a routine, you lose weight, the routine gets easier, so you are burning less calories, you never increase intensity or challenge yourself to do more, and hit a "plateau". OR you get complacent logging or whatever. At any rate, that is how I read being lazy.0 -
The progression from initial weight loss to a weight-loss plateau follows a typical pattern. During the first few weeks of losing weight, a rapid drop is normal. In part this is because when calories from food are reduced, the body gets needed energy by releasing its stores of glycogen, a type of carbohydrate found in the muscles and liver. Glycogen holds on to water, so when glycogen is burned for energy, it also releases water, resulting in substantial weight loss that's mostly water.
A plateau occurs because your metabolism — the process of burning calories for energy — slows as you lose muscle. You burn fewer calories than you did at your heavier weight even doing the same activities. Your weight-loss efforts result in a new equilibrium with your now slower metabolism.
At this new equilibrium, calories eaten equals calories expended. This means that to lose more weight, you need to increase activity or decrease the calories you eat. Using the same approach that worked initially may maintain your weight loss, but it won't lead to more weight loss.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss-plateau/MY01152
That's not about burning less because of metabolism, that's just the fact that it takes less calories to move less mass.
Unless you increase the intensity.
If your weight is the same and you are doing the exact same workout, you are burning the same amount of calories. Even if the HR goes lower doing it, that just means it's easier on your heart to provide the oxygen, not on your body moving your mass and burning calories.
The reason your metabolism slows down and causes the plateau effect is usually 2 fold (outside the logging aspect already mentioned):
1 - You ate way too little for your level of activity, you didn't eat enough protein, and didn't do any resistance training - result is you lost muscle mass, bad news.
2 - Your body slows everything down because of the stress of everything - result is less burned all day, bad news.
Usually a combo of the two if you do things wrong.
Eat enough for your level with reasonable deficit (20% off TDEE is great line in the sand to start with), eat enough protein (0.75 gram per lb of weight is enough), and do strength training (lifting would be great).
And if you still do cardio just for the sake of burning calories - you'll need to increase the pace as weight comes down - which frankly usually happens anyway if someone is motivated to exercise at all. Walking is the main one that falls short there, usually can only walk so fast, so you'll keep burning less and less as you lose weight.
And real plateau usually needs to be 3 weeks minimum with NO change of exercise or diet where neither weight nor many measurements change. With women though and monthly hormone changes, good 4 weeks minimum.0 -
Techincally, your supporting my point, considering I made this post with the same message I'm still giving now. :P Just sayingyou mention pace, so I assume we're talking about cardio. if you work out at the same pace overtime, you are necessarily not increasing intensity, which is my point. as time goes on your body get stronger, and you need to increase the pace ( or add Hills or increase weight or something) to maintain the same level of intensity is when you started.
so once again, you continue to support my point.0 -
Techincally, your supporting my point, considering I made this post with the same message I'm still giving now. :P Just sayingyou mention pace, so I assume we're talking about cardio. if you work out at the same pace overtime, you are necessarily not increasing intensity, which is my point. as time goes on your body get stronger, and you need to increase the pace ( or add Hills or increase weight or something) to maintain the same level of intensity is when you started.
so once again, you continue to support my point.
Jus let her "win", Jacksonpt!0 -
I tend to think that most plateaus happen because people get lazy.
They slack with their logging (don't log everything as honestly or as accurately as they did when they started), so their diet isn't as dialed in as it was)
They slack with their workouts... either they lose the desire to push themselves, or they don't increase intensity (weight, speed, whatever) as their body gets faster and stronger, so as a result they aren't challenging their body like they were at the beginning.
I use to think this as well. And I am sure in a lot of cases it is still true. However I have hit a plateau twice now and both times I was very dedicated and regular in everything I did. I didn't use any fancy tricks to get the weight going again though. I am sure this will be hailed as terrible but I stopped exercising for 4-5 days each time and when I started up again weight started to fall again. May have been fluke, may have been water weight. Who knows. All I can say is I wasn't being lazy.0 -
I think I realized you may not have actually read the threads of topics that say plateau, because in the vast majority, you'll find they have correctly lowered their calories as weight is lost, because MFP does this automatically.
Which also means their logged exercise is correctly showing less calorie burn.
In fact was usually happens is they never were eating enough, weight loss slowed, and they started exercising more without increasing calories, making the situation worse.
Majority did follow your initial advice, changed to different dvd program, did more, ate less. And kept their plateau going good and strong.0 -
Techincally, your supporting my point, considering I made this post with the same message I'm still giving now. :P Just sayingyou mention pace, so I assume we're talking about cardio. if you work out at the same pace overtime, you are necessarily not increasing intensity, which is my point. as time goes on your body get stronger, and you need to increase the pace ( or add Hills or increase weight or something) to maintain the same level of intensity is when you started.
so once again, you continue to support my point.
yes, dear.
lol. sarcasm or no this made me laugh.
Do know, I'm not picking a fight. I'm just stubborn. I do and always will respect yours, and everyone elses opinion, however (:0 -
I think I realized you may not have actually read the threads of topics that say plateau, because in the vast majority, you'll find they have correctly lowered their calories as weight is lost.
In fact was usually happens is they never were eating enough, weight loss slowed, and they started exercising more without increasing calories, making the situation worse.
Majority did follow your initial advice, changed to different dvd program, did more, ate less. And kept their plateau going good and strong.
There's many different reasons as to why people hit plateaus, everyone is different. I'm not saying my tips are the only ones out there. If I hit that position where doing all these things still didn't change anything, Personally I would visit a doctor, trainer, or a nutritionist to see what was going on in my body.0 -
I apologize if this was already posted in this forum, but I don't want to read all of it lol... I don't understand how a plateu can happen if all you need to lose weight is to have a calorie deficit. I hear all the time "calories in calories out" etc... so i don't understand how this can happen.... and if it's because your body just does sometimes... then it's not just calories in calories out is it?0
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I apologize if this was already posted in this forum, but I don't want to read all of it lol... I don't understand how a plateu can happen if all you need to lose weight is to have a calorie deficit. I hear all the time "calories in calories out" etc... so i don't understand how this can happen.... and if it's because your body just does sometimes... then it's not just calories in calories out is it?
It's because if you make it too extreme a difference, and doing others things badly, your body will adapt and you can log as accurate as you can with the calories in part of the equation, but your body adapted and changed the calories out part on you.
Making it match, stopping weight loss.
And if you caused the adaptation by extreme deficit, take more deficit off may indeed eventually work, but it's going to be a harder battle.
Better to just make it a reasonable deficit.
Purposeful reasonable deficit for slow weight loss many times end up beating the extreme deficit and then stalled weight loss for who knows how long.0
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