The dreaded "plateau"

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lc52820
lc52820 Posts: 76 Member
in Motivation and Support
So I've been working on my weight loss goal for the past year. I've had my share of successes & disappointments but one of the most frustrating things is when you are doing everything right but not making any progress.

I had been steadily losing weight from Jan-July of this year but then felt like I hit a wall in August. I wasn't losing any weight despite eating right and exercising, so ended up taking a break in September. I started back up in October and sure enough the weight started coming off again.

I'm not sure if this is the right answer for everyone but does anyone else have tips for kick-starting your weight loss when it feels like you're in a bit of a slump?

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  • letjog
    letjog Posts: 260 Member
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    i'd like to know as well as i'm stuck at 21kg lost. the usual answer is eat more but hen i do i gain, quickly! ANd i already work out like a b*tch. ;)
  • FawnAnnette
    FawnAnnette Posts: 12
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    Plateau is awful. Am very worried.
  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,870 Member
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    Right after Thanksgiving I started doing the zig zag diet. You add up all your calories for the the week and then eat high for a day, then low for a day or two, etc. making sure you don't go over your weekly caloric goal. I also started a new exercise routine. I've lost 3 lbs in the last 2 weeks. I don't know if the zig zag helping, but breaking up my usual routine got me back on track.
  • mgobluetx12
    mgobluetx12 Posts: 1,326 Member
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    I was on a plateau for the month of September and tried everything - zig zagging calories, changing my workouts, eating more, eating less and nothing worked. Sometimes our bodies just need time to work through the plateau and the weight will start coming off again. Be patient and hang in there. I was and in October, the weight just started coming off again and I lost 7.5lbs that month.
  • samanthag1016
    samanthag1016 Posts: 15
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    It's really common for plateaus to happen because your body adapts to what you're doing. From an evolutionary standpoint, our ability to adapt kept us alive - but from a dieting standpoint it's really frustrating! The key to breaking through a plateau is changing something. Depending on what you're used to eating, you can try cutting out (or cutting back on) starch. It forces your body to use a different fuel source, even if you're consuming the same amount of calories as normal. You can also try changing up your exercise - adding in interval training or heavy weight lifting if you don't do it already. Intense exercise forces your body to use its anaerobic systems, which are completely different than the aerobic ones used in light or moderate exercise and can change how your body burns fat. Hope that advice helps!
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    So I've been working on my weight loss goal for the past year. I've had my share of successes & disappointments but one of the most frustrating things is when you are doing everything right but not making any progress.

    I had been steadily losing weight from Jan-July of this year but then felt like I hit a wall in August. I wasn't losing any weight despite eating right and exercising, so ended up taking a break in September. I started back up in October and sure enough the weight started coming off again.

    I'm not sure if this is the right answer for everyone but does anyone else have tips for kick-starting your weight loss when it feels like you're in a bit of a slump?

    you're losing weight. it's not a plateau.

    but a way to bust threw a real one is to up the calories and to strength train or just train harder.
  • Natihilator
    Natihilator Posts: 1,778 Member
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    I had been steadily losing weight from Jan-July of this year but then felt like I hit a wall in August. I wasn't losing any weight despite eating right and exercising, so ended up taking a break in September. I started back up in October and sure enough the weight started coming off again.

    Your year sounds EXACTLY like mine. August was brutal, took September off (most of October too), and lost another 8lbs in November.

    What are you doing for exercise, and how often do you change it up? I also found that when my weight slowed a lot, I was doing mostly strength training and low-intensity endurance cardio like hiking. HIIT intervals and intense cardio got things moving again.
  • Mcgrawhaha
    Mcgrawhaha Posts: 1,596 Member
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    i notice that when i give myself a cheat day every 2 weeks, my weight loss the following week after the cheat day is higher than the week when i dont have a cheat day. im thinking maybe im tricking my body every 2 weeks by an overload of un-usual calories, and its revving up my metabolism... thats my theory atleast...

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