Question about plateau

ladyofivy

So I am kind of at a plateau right now, and I'm working at it. I may have broken it (I think I'm finally like a fraction of a pound less than my former weight) but my question isn't about breaking it, it's about afterwards.

When you finally do break the plateau, and the number goes down, what happens after that? I mean, I was literally losing weight EVERY DAY for a while (which I know is common when you first start out, but I'm working out at LEAST 90 minutes a day, so I should be losing fairly rapidly anyway). So, can I expect for that to pick up again, or is it like, I'll lose just a small amount , plateau for 2 weeks, small amount, plateau for 2 weeks kind of pattern?

Thanks in advance! :flowerforyou:

CreativeRedhead

I'm not certain how it will be for you. For me, I seem to lose a few (maybe even just a pound) then plateau for a week or two. I think it's important to just be patient and keep at it! Keep track of when you lose and when you stop losing to see if there's a pattern. Hope that helps a little!:flowerforyou:

aippolito1

No, you can't just keep doing what you're doing when you plateau. You have to make minor (or major) changes and keep those changes because your body got used to what you were doing to it before... so now you have to start a new pattern.

I was doing cardio for 30 minutes everyday, strength training about 30 minutes every other day, eating 1200 calories, eating MOST of my exercise calories but consistently leaving 200-300. I plateaued for a month (still kind of on it but I can see changes so I know I'm coming off it). So, I made my strength routine more intense and pushed myself on the elliptical, stopped doing cardio after strength and increased to 1400 and try to leave no more than 50-60 calories at the end of the day. NOW, I'm still doing my intense strength routine, but am doing walk/run intervals outside afterwards, and aiming for twice a day cardio sessions (so one hour a day instead of half of one).

I was doing Turbo Kick (an intensely fast kickboxing class) every Wednesday but for various reasons, now I'm going to be doing yoga on that day... hoping that really helps.

SimonLondon

Our bodies are ridiculously clever at adapting to what we do. I am constantly having to change my routines as my body gets used to them (often in a matter of days). I love cardio work but not so much strength so I tend to do this:

Day 1 - Treadmill - 10k in under 50 minutes
Day 2 - Elliptical - 60 minutes on Random or Hill
Day 3 - Elliptical - 10k in under 50 minutes
Day 4 - Treadmill - HIT (High Intensity Training so super fast sprints followed by slower pace)

I also mix in extra rowing or some weights. I just keep my body always guessing as to what it is about to endure and it works well.

ladyofivy

I appreciate everyone's advice on what works for them for plateaus. Thank you.

So my question is still: what happens after you break a plateau?

4me2sibiai

I read where Jillian (The Biggest Loser) trainer said to eat slightly more calories in the week and then go back to the normal amount the following week. Don't go crazy, but the body will be forced to react to the change. Just don't go under calories because they you may go into "starvation" mode. Really examine if you are eating all of your calories per day and per week. It could be that easy.

disneyfetishboy

In the two mini-plateaus I experienced, my weight decrease increased for a day or two and then slowed back to the normal (non-plateau) decrease rate.

In other words, if you could glance at my weight chart, it looks overall like a long steady decrease. However, when you look more closely, you see two plateaus followed by sharp decreases. The two drops "caught me back up" to my original weight loss trajectory.