How to fix a plateau

rajekred
rajekred Posts: 31
edited September 20 in Health and Weight Loss
Recently I sent out a message about hitting a plateau, and instead of help, I got other people who are having the same issue, so I've done a little research. The biggest key to keeping out of the plateau is change. Well duh, what I'm doing now isn't working obviously, but here's what I found. I split it into Exercise and Eating, since that's the basics.

1. Exercise - change it up. If you are currently doing low impact cardio, or just walking, you need to ramp it up a little, or add strength training if your not doing it already.

2 Eating - Although its important to watch the calories, the main goal is to stay within a weekly range. If you are alotted 1200 calories a day, think of it as 8400 a week. Eat more calories on some days than others to keep your body guessing. Or switch up the types of foods you are eating. If you seem to eat quite a few carbs, lower the carbs and up the protein. Or add more fruits and veggies. Not all calories are the same. You can also change your meal frequency. If you are eating 3 meals, change it to 5 meals in smaller portions.

I know, a lot of this is duh. Many of us know this but when your facing the big level line you panic. So I hope this helps you out. :smile:

Replies

  • Gailey
    Gailey Posts: 36 Member
    Fab advice ...Thanks :)
  • donovan002
    donovan002 Posts: 1 Member
    Drinking a lot of water helps get through a plateau also. Good luck!
  • carrieliz81
    carrieliz81 Posts: 489 Member
    Thanks for this, because I read about people hitting plateaus when I first started, and am currently experiencing my first one right now!!! No weight lost in 2 weeks! So, I will see about making some changes and drinking more water and hopefully things will start to happen.
  • SydKaty
    SydKaty Posts: 75 Member
    I'm kind of on a plateau myself, but I'm trying to switch up when I go to the gym. Today I did it in the morning before work. Tomorrow I will do the treadmill at home, Wed & Thurs I will go to the fitness classes at the gym and Friday the treadmill at home.

    I need help with the food idea. I get stuck in the rut of eating the same foods.
  • weidner
    weidner Posts: 127
    Thanks for the great advice! I was stuck at 15 a few weeks ago and I finally it 17; I was so excited. I will keep your advise handy so the next time I hit a halt in weight loss, I will switch it up.
  • rajekred
    rajekred Posts: 31
    I'm with you on the food thing. I look at diet plans but it always has foods I hate, and absolutely can't stomach, like oatmeal, yogurt, cottage cheese, tuna and salmon. Yuck...lol.
  • AllisonMS
    AllisonMS Posts: 104
    Just broke out of a 4-week plateau, and here's how I did it.

    1. Hubby went away for 3 days, so I took it as a "spa" time food-wise, since I didn't have to make a good meal every night.
    2. Replaced raisin bran with oatmeal and reduced breakfast calories by 100.
    3. Ate salads twice a day for a few days, with egg whites. Really bulked up on the veggies and didn't eat the bread I normally eat.
    4. Bought a bag of Hershey's kisses. 23 calories each. On big exercise days, I have 3.

    The weight started dropping off, quickly. At the same rate as when I started this weight-loss project. Which feels great, especially after being so frustrated for a month.

    He's home now and I'm cooking dinners again, but I'll keep going with the oatmeal and super-healthy salads (tons of greens, tomato, carrots, peppers, egg whites, balsamic vinegar, that's it) for lunch.
  • HonestOmnivore
    HonestOmnivore Posts: 1,356 Member
    I've hit some tough spots but so far they've been user error. I've wondered if eating maintenance calories for a week or two could shock your system out of a plateau?

    Uhg! It's bedtime already! Which makes me wonder if adding a couple hours of sleep to a night might not help with busting up a plateau too?
  • hiddensecant
    hiddensecant Posts: 2,446 Member
    Increasing the calories is also effective in breaking through a plateau. You can either increase the calories by 100-200 ... or switch to maintenance for a week or two before going back to a deficit. It keeps the metabolism from getting used to living on your "weight-loss" calories.
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