Plateaus Suck!

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currierand
currierand Posts: 155 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm trying to be patient, but after a couple of frustrating weeks of no loss, I decided to "up" my calories from the dreaded 1200 to 1350 (I changed my weight loss goal from 1 pound a week to half a pound and this was MFP calculation). Anyway, after the first week I was UP 2 pounds and this week I am up ANOTHER pound! That means after 65 days I am only down 4#! I don't even have the heart to enter the gain on my ticker, it makes me feel like a failure. No, my diet isn't perfect and yes, it's only been a couple of weeks since the new changes but dammit I feel like I'm doing everything right and it isn't working!!! Sometimes I feel like all the "eat more to weigh less" crowd is just telling that to us noobs to see if they can get another one to fall for it.

Just kidding with that one of course. This is really just a rant. I know I just need to keep at it, but Mondays suck and they suck more when the scale I'd not your friend.

Thanks for listening.

Kelly
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Replies

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    Well it could be anything... including your expectations are too high. If you goal is to only lose 7 more lbs, then why don't you just work on body recomposition (losing body fat) and stop worrying about an erroneous number. What is your current stats and workout routine anyways?
  • Juliet_622
    Juliet_622 Posts: 165 Member
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    I feel your pain! I've been on a plateau for about 4 months now. I tried upping calories... that hasn't worked. The only good news is that I haven't really gained from it.

    The only advice I can give is keep at it! According to the other posts I've read (when I'm depressed about my plateau) is that eventually something's gotta give!
  • savlyon
    savlyon Posts: 474 Member
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    I'm with ya...I lost 10lbs, and gained it all back this year. I've lost 65 all together... but I've been plateaued for months and NOW I have adrenal fatigue and I'm realizing that my hormones are all messed up. I'm pretty much eating at maintenance until I'm better and hopefully my metabolism will kick in again.

    Good luck to you!
  • sophayz
    sophayz Posts: 592 Member
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    omg.. i know what you are saying the same is happening to me . well happened then i went ape **** and lowered my calories to 800 (stupid i know) i lost the pound i gained from upping my calories but i am still stuck at that evil plateau and with christmas coming its really depressing cos i know i will gain a couple pounds then
  • krickeyuu
    krickeyuu Posts: 344 Member
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    You only have 20 lbs to lose, so it is not going to come off as fast as someone who needs to lose 50lbs or 100lbs. 4 lbs in 65 days is 0.5 lbs a week (average) and is a reasonable weight loss schedule. Weight loss is not linear--you are not guranteed 0.5 lbs every single week. I lost 20 lbs at this slow rate--0.5 lbs per week. Just be patient and don't weigh yourself daily or even weekly--weigh in once a month. I guarantee you did not gain 3 lbs of fat in a week (or even 2 weeks.) Hang in there!
  • Zangpakto
    Zangpakto Posts: 336 Member
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    I want to get to just under 100 pounds... Just... just because it sounds nice... Oh and I am short, so umm yea, I would weigh less anyway at ideal weight :P

    And yes they darn well do suck! Last 2 months I been trying to get under 130 pounds... I'm hovering now at 138 after getting back up to 145 for a few weeks "upping my calls" I gained 15 pounds, upped for a good few weeks some like 3000c a day so umm yea...

    It did suck however I am "hoping" it was worth it, as in one week now I have lost 6.5 pounds since adjusting back to normal diet method... And that included 2 days of eating roughly 2000c...

    I hope it keeps it up, though mind you, I also run until I wanna get sick sometimes... Tempo runs that say hard I take to be run as fast and hard until you feel like dying, and if your not dying or dead, then keep pushing haha

    But yea, a few weeks of gaining was corrected after one week cutting back again... So keep that in mind, in might be or seem bad "now" but for me I'm hoping it was worth it...

    Besides, I lost most my weight (HW in Jan was 205lbs) by liquid diet and apparent "fad" diets that people say do not work... but hey... It did I haven't gained it back like people say you will etc, I adjusted my eating after it... I am currently in training phase for an ultra marathon so can't do that again, else for these last 30-40lbs I would gladly do a liquid diet for a month again... I was losing about 1lb a day every day sometimes more... I just can't run or train at full capacity like that, so yea...

    Stick with it, plateaus suck, they do, but we will get over them and prevail! We will! :)
  • currierand
    currierand Posts: 155 Member
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    Well it could be anything... including your expectations are too high. If you goal is to only lose 7 more lbs, then why don't you just work on body recomposition (losing body fat) and stop worrying about an erroneous number. What is your current stats and workout routine anyways?

    To be honest, this is the first time in my life I've ever really "dieted" so this is a whole new world and I'm a competitive person by nature, so that may be part of my problem. I started MFP at 150# and today weighed in at 146#. My goal weight is 130, so i still have a way to go. I am 49 years old and 65.5 inches tall. I am "semi retired" so i dont do much during the day,but I do work out at the gym 4 days at week (2 days cardio (Zumba) and 2 days strength training - lighter weights, many reps and lots of lunges, squats, push ups, ab work, etc).

    Yes, it would be great if I, like many of us here could stop worrying about what the scale says and just be happy with our bodies, but I can't be the only one who is frustrated.
  • konerusp
    konerusp Posts: 247 Member
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    Eating less protein and literally very minimal vegetables and fruit i dont see how you are expecting to lose,if at all that loss will be from muscle mass.

    the eat more to weight less philosophy doesnt say eat anything and lose weight-that fundamental is supported by clean eating(with enough fruits and vegetables in your diet(ie fiber)),lifting weights and get enough protein in(atleast as much as your lean body mass).

    Try increasing your protein intake to atleast a 100gms a day(you can change your macros in your goals).
  • hummingbird71
    hummingbird71 Posts: 298 Member
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    I know you said it was just a rant but... I was in the same boat for MONTHS! Yes I did the same thing, upped my calories- worked for a couple of weeks then hit one again! Changed up my workouts...nothing... lowered my calories...nothing...added strength training...nothing... THEN I got Shingles... yes this should be a bad thing, and it was while dealing with them, but... I had to NOT WORK OUT FOR 2 WEEKS. No cardio...I was simply not able to! I did some upper body weights here and there but nothing major. Keep my food the same, calorie wise. Then after 2 weeks of not working out I started up again.... first week=a loss, second week=a loss, third week=nothing, this was Thanksgiving week, fouth week=a loss, fifth week=a loss. Within the last 5 weeks I have lost 4.5 pounds! Doing nothing different than before. So it stands to reason then 2 weeks off is what my body needed to get though my plateau. Good luck to you!
  • sarahharmintx
    sarahharmintx Posts: 868 Member
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    I stalled at 1320 calories and upped to 1690. Its falling off again.
  • poedunk65
    poedunk65 Posts: 1,336 Member
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    i am going thru one too, but am losing inches. I went from a 3X to XL now.

    remember it's about being healthy and the weight loss will come
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
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    Protein intake is very important for weight loss. It also burns more calories naturally... Fats and Carbohydrates require very few calories to process (3 to 6% roughly of the calories ingested are required for processing) while protein requires significantly more (upwards of 30%).

    Additionally, when exercising, more protein is required to facilitate repairs to the body. Without the extra protein, the repairs do not get done and the energy is not spent. So, there's a second way more protein helps with weight loss.

    Finally, being smaller means weight loss has to be at a smaller rate. Most people that are within 20 pounds of their goal weight should be aiming for 0.5 pounds a week loss.

    As for eating more and weight gain from it... most of the time when we eat more after eating too little for too long, we gain a good portion of water weight, as the extra nutrition helps restore energy stores in the muscles which require water for storage.
  • prettymomma16
    prettymomma16 Posts: 92
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    I did the stupid 1200 calories and lost 13 pounds right away, but then it stopped for a whole month. I figured out my BMR and TDE and I upped my calories to between that number. so now I am eating between 1600-1700 calorie and the weight is falling off again. Starvation mode was most likely the cause. I also read " eat more to weigh less" and now I have a whole new perspective on weight loss. good luck!
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
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    Watch the video. It really explains what is happening to a LOT of people on here.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/815934-layne-norton-on-metabolic-damage?page=1#posts-12229544
  • Melo1966
    Melo1966 Posts: 881 Member
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    1350 is still too low try Net 1450, eating exercise calories with more protein, fiber and water. I just broke a short term plateau with this. I am 46 and menopausal. Good luck. Friend me if you want tough love support.
  • prettymomma16
    prettymomma16 Posts: 92
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    oops sorry.. I am not trying to be all " do the eat more to weigh less thing" because I am a "newbie" too. I actually stumbled across it myself and decided why not! I did read that it can lead to water weight initially while your body repairs the damage, so hang in there.. in a few weeks the scale should tip the other way :) it's a marathon not a sprint (but I completely understand where you are coming from, it gets frustrating when you don't see results)
  • Zangpakto
    Zangpakto Posts: 336 Member
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    Wait... my net today is 778... not hungry, so if you MUST eat more than 1200, does that mean I can use vodka + beer to increase my daily cals? I mean that 4-5 beers I can have to be AT MINIMUM, maybe a few vodka shots too...

    What should I do? lol..
  • Melo1966
    Melo1966 Posts: 881 Member
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    Wait... my net today is 778... not hungry, so if you MUST eat more than 1200, does that mean I can use vodka + beer to increase my daily cals? I mean that 4-5 beers I can have to be AT MINIMUM, maybe a few vodka shots too...

    What should I do? lol..

    :drinker:
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
    Options
    Well it could be anything... including your expectations are too high. If you goal is to only lose 7 more lbs, then why don't you just work on body recomposition (losing body fat) and stop worrying about an erroneous number. What is your current stats and workout routine anyways?

    To be honest, this is the first time in my life I've ever really "dieted" so this is a whole new world and I'm a competitive person by nature, so that may be part of my problem. I started MFP at 150# and today weighed in at 146#. My goal weight is 130, so i still have a way to go. I am 49 years old and 65.5 inches tall. I am "semi retired" so i dont do much during the day,but I do work out at the gym 4 days at week (2 days cardio (Zumba) and 2 days strength training - lighter weights, many reps and lots of lunges, squats, push ups, ab work, etc).

    Yes, it would be great if I, like many of us here could stop worrying about what the scale says and just be happy with our bodies, but I can't be the only one who is frustrated.

    I would suggest dropping the light weight, high rep routine and flip it to heavy weight low rep. It's much better for strength gains. Anything over 15 reps really won't benefit in terms of fat loss. Also, i would try to eat 1500-1600 calories a day (based on your stats. Set your macro's to 35% carbs, 40% protein and 25% fats. This shoudl help with some recomposition.
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
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    I would suggest dropping the light weight, high rep routine and flip it to heavy weight low rep. It's much better for strength gains. Anything over 15 reps really won't benefit in terms of fat loss. Also, i would try to eat 1500-1600 calories a day (based on your stats. Set your macro's to 35% carbs, 40% protein and 25% fats. This shoudl help with some recomposition.

    ^Yep that sounds good.

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