Weight Plateau - Please Help!!

Options
cmaggies
cmaggies Posts: 12
in Health and Weight Loss
Have been using My Fitness Pal for 7 1/2 weeks and have lost 5.6kg (12lb). But I have reached a plateau with my weight - have been the same for about 1 1/2 to 2 weeks. What do I need to do to move past this and keep losing weight? Currently my main forms of exercise are walking and stationary bike riding. Is it as simple as adding some strength training to my routine? All ideas gratefully received!
«1

Replies

  • IbiH
    IbiH Posts: 250 Member
    Options
    I've been hovering for the past 3 months....... time to reassess. Re checked my BMR on another website, so I'm upping my calories by 300 should be a little more but not sure if I can increase by a further 500 cals as I work out 4/5 times a week.

    Hope this helps.

    http://www.muscleandstrength.com/tools/bmr-and-daily-calorie-calculator.html
  • nexangelus
    nexangelus Posts: 2,080 Member
    Options
    Take a diet break for a couple of weeks and then go back to it. Break does not mean binge or all you can eat, just eat higher calories than in diet mode.

    Or take a couple of days out to eat more calories per week...
  • SorchaRavenlock
    SorchaRavenlock Posts: 220 Member
    Options
    It's hard to tell without seeing your diary to be honest.

    Personally I started eating more and doing the 30 day shred on top of my daily walks and that broke my plateau. It feels a bit backward to eat more to start losing again, but my body just seems happier to let go of those extra pounds when it's sure it will won't starve :wink:
  • cmaggies
    cmaggies Posts: 12
    Options
    :happy: Thanks for your reply! The web link you provided is most interesting.
  • cmaggies
    cmaggies Posts: 12
    Options
    Thank you! I will read and research further on your idea.
  • thriftycupl
    thriftycupl Posts: 310 Member
    Options
    There is a ton of great information on this site. Click on search in the message boards and type in plateau. Read it all and remember what works for one person, may or may not work for you. Try what you think you can sustain and if that doesn't work (it might take a few weeks for your body to adjust), try something new. Depending on what you are eating now and your current level of activity, I would definitely try upping your calories a bit.

    Good luck with your plateau. Stay strong and you'll break it.
  • cmaggies
    cmaggies Posts: 12
    Options
    It's hard to tell without seeing your diary to be honest.

    Personally I started eating more and doing the 30 day shred on top of my daily walks and that broke my plateau. It feels a bit backward to eat more to start losing again, but my body just seems happier to let go of those extra pounds when it's sure it will won't starve :wink:

    Thanks for your input! I have some research and reading to do!:happy:
  • witchy_wife
    witchy_wife Posts: 792 Member
    Options
    Honestly I would say 2 weeks isn't really a plateau. Weight loss doesn't always happen week after week and it may be that if you continue doing exactly what you have been then next week you might drop 2-3lbs.

    I wouldn't worry too much if I didn't lose for 2 weeks. If it was 8 weeks I would try shaking things up a bit. But what you have been doing obviously works for you.
  • cleanandlean2012
    cleanandlean2012 Posts: 71 Member
    Options
    I recently hit a plateau too - I have been at MFP since 1st August and about 4 weeks ago I stuck at the same weight for around 3 weeks (irrespective of what I did.) and even managed to gain a couple of pounds. I then began drinking a lot more water and all of a sudden things began to move, now I have lost the couple of pounds and a couple more on top.

    Other things to check:
    1. Make sure not too many refined carbs / sugar
    2. Mix up the exercise
    3. Minimise coffee
    4. lots of fresh leafy green veg
    5. Omit alcohol

    Hope that helps
  • bodyrollin
    bodyrollin Posts: 215 Member
    Options
    Have been using My Fitness Pal for 7 1/2 weeks and have lost 5.6kg (12lb). But I have reached a plateau with my weight - have been the same for about 1 1/2 to 2 weeks. What do I need to do to move past this and keep losing weight? Currently my main forms of exercise are walking and stationary bike riding. Is it as simple as adding some strength training to my routine? All ideas gratefully received!
    Try a 10 day juice fast...sounds drastic, but with the right things it has tremendous health effects, and is over before you know it.
  • forwesgar13
    forwesgar13 Posts: 56 Member
    Options
    When I hit a plateau I found a site called nowloss.com that had alot of great tips. I also listened to the advice on this site. I was not eating back my exercise calories not on purpose just didnt know to. So I stayed at the calorie count that I was doing and ate back my exercise calories. I've also tried to eat three meals and two snacks to keep my metabolism going.Started walking five days a week sometimes with a exercise vest. You have to out smart your body and change it up a bit its getting used to what your doing
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
    Options
    What has worked for me as well as many others i have helped. Set your account to maintain for 2 weeks. Try to eat lots higher protein foods (to help your body to repair) and concentrate on eating whole natural foods and try to stay away from fast foods. Once you come off the break, set your account to a more moderate "per weight loss" goal (if it was at 2 lbs per week, set it at 1.5 or even 1). Also, if you are exercising and have not been eating exercise calories, start eating 50% of them. This will help fuel your body.

    Additionally, alter your macro's. Do around 35% carbs, 40% protein and 25% fats. This site is low on protein as it's based on the US standard.
  • fraya1
    fraya1 Posts: 34
    Options
    Strength training will boost your metabolism for sure! Cut carbs?
  • painauxraisin
    painauxraisin Posts: 299 Member
    Options
    I think you've done really well in seven weeks! I wish I'd lost as much as that!!!
  • mulderpf
    mulderpf Posts: 209 Member
    Options
    But I have reached a plateau with my weight - have been the same for about 1 1/2 to 2 weeks.
    To be fair - 1 1/2 to 2 weeks isn't really enough time to determine whether or not you have hit a plateau. You've been losing 1.6 lbs on average per week, but the scale can vary by more than that just based on time of day, nevermind other factors. Just stick to it and keep on - two weeks of the same weight in a row isn't necessarily a plateau.
  • onyxgirl17
    onyxgirl17 Posts: 1,721 Member
    Options
    I recently hit a plateau too - I have been at MFP since 1st August and about 4 weeks ago I stuck at the same weight for around 3 weeks (irrespective of what I did.) and even managed to gain a couple of pounds. I then began drinking a lot more water and all of a sudden things began to move, now I have lost the couple of pounds and a couple more on top.

    Other things to check:
    1. Make sure not too many refined carbs / sugar
    2. Mix up the exercise
    3. Minimise coffee
    4. lots of fresh leafy green veg
    5. Omit alcohol

    Hope that helps

    Minimize coffee? minimize coffee? Where did you get that from?
  • onyxgirl17
    onyxgirl17 Posts: 1,721 Member
    Options
    I've been at this since May. In August my weight loss appeared to stall but then picked back up again in September. I think of it as an evenning out because I lost more than I thought I should in June/July and then I guess I picked back up any extra water weight I lost in August and then in September things started moving again. I've lost an additional 10 pounds since that initial plateau.

    Fat loss depends on exercise combined with a caloric deficit. If you have those two things in check you should see the scale move again soon. 1.5 weeks is not long enough to have a plateau, given that water weight can shift by up to 5 pounds in a single day.
  • cebreisch
    cebreisch Posts: 1,340 Member
    Options
    Sometimes it's time to "change it up" - add something different to the exercise routine, do something different with your menu's, whatever. If you always walk a path that's pretty level, then change your route to add a few hills. (Part of the premise for things like P90X and Insanity is to not let your body get used to the routine....or get in a rut.)

    One thing that I've noticed with my weight loss (I've lost 103.6 pounds) is that it goes in waves....I'll go for 3 weeks with 1.5 pound losses, then go for about 3-4 weeks with 0-1 pound losses. I just hit 1.4 pounds this week after a few weeks of .2 or .4 pound losses a week. I just knew I was in that mode, and that if I kept doing what I was supposed to do, the scale would eventually catch up with me.

    The other thing to do would be to get a Fitbit. It monitors your activity, and syncs with MFP. (They're coming out with a new one in a couple of weeks that'll sync with your iPhone/iPad.) It'll give you a chart of "calories burned" vs. "calorie intake" - as long as you make sure you burn more than you take in, you're going to lose weight. That part I've found definitely to be true.

    It doesn't matter how much a week I lose, as long as it's going in that direction! :)
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
    Options
    I recently hit a plateau too - I have been at MFP since 1st August and about 4 weeks ago I stuck at the same weight for around 3 weeks (irrespective of what I did.) and even managed to gain a couple of pounds. I then began drinking a lot more water and all of a sudden things began to move, now I have lost the couple of pounds and a couple more on top.

    Other things to check:
    1. Make sure not too many refined carbs / sugar
    2. Mix up the exercise
    3. Minimise coffee
    4. lots of fresh leafy green veg
    5. Omit alcohol

    Hope that helps

    Minimize coffee? minimize coffee? Where did you get that from?

    you also don't have to omit alcohol (well Wine & spirits at least).

    http://www.leangains.com/2010/07/truth-about-alcohol-fat-loss-and-muscle.html
  • cmaggies
    cmaggies Posts: 12
    Options
    Thank you to all who contributed ideas to my question. I was really excited to see so many responses to my first question! I have read all with great interest and done some research myself. Interesting reading on Weight Watcher's web site (http://www.weightwatchers.com.au) - search for "plateaus and physical activity". Their article talks about breaking a plateau by increasing your exercise time, increasing the intensity of your exercise and varying your exercise type.
    Thanks also to those who thought I wasn't really experiencing a plateau after 1 1/2 to 2 weeks. After further thought you are probably right.
    Here's to us all successfully continuing on our weight loss journey:happy:

Categories