Breaking a plateau

That's not really a plateau so to speak. That's a "whoosh" http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html

I always lose weight that way, it usually happens after you've been dieting awhile. When you average it out, it's usually a lb or so a week for those weeks you didn't lose.

Ugh. Two weeks is not a "plateau".

A "plateau" is generally six weeks or more. It's common for some people to go 2-3 weeks without a loss, especially if you lose 3-4 pounds the next time you step on the scale. Some people lose in whooshes like that. Weight loss isn't linear.

I plateaued after 6 weeks in....my weight loss calorie goal was 1200 calories, but I was eating less when I netted the daily calories burned from exercising....my metabolism shut down because I was not eating enough. Within a week of eating my exercise calories back, I was dropping weight again....and did all the way to my goal weight! Almost one year later....I am still maintaining my weight loss. I set my calories for the number given from the bmr calculator and add my daily exercise calories. Other than my monthly holidays ;-), I stay consistent...no weight gain :-)

I was plateau'd for 3 months, it SUCKED!!! Got IPOARM and 3 more weeks I was losing again. Not eating ENOUGH is the issue 90% of the time!!!

I've plateaued for more than 2 months. Stuck at the same spot since Nov 2012. Changed my diet, my workout, the times I go workout, still nothing. I have no idea how to break this monster.

I just know I can't quit! It makes me sad because I'm not even halfway to my goal weight. sigh. IF you know how to break it, pls share.

Please don't give up!!! I was in the same exact spot and it was SO discouraging. I said this above but make sure you eat enough. It's the ONLY thing I changed that finally worked.

Thanks! I won't give up. I increased my calories since I was at 1200 during the time I had lost weight and during my plateau. I upped it so that I could see if there was change. Still waiting and waiting..waiting forever but I know, I MUST NOT GIVE UP.

formerprin wrote: »

I always thought that I ate enough, but when i started using the app, I found I ate less than 1000 calories a day. I have eaten this way for years. I am trying for about three months now to eat between 1000 and 1200, and the scale is moving slowly UPWARD, not DOWN. I am only 5'2" inches tall and currently weigh about 125. I really need to weigh 119 or less so that my clothes are comfortable. It doesn't seem like much to lose, but when one is only my height, it can mean a size. Any suggestions???

I'd start with suggesting you post your own thread, rather than replying to one from 2013 (that has some howlingly bad advice/comments in it, BTW).

I don't know how old you are, but if you're 30, we'd expect you to burn 1500-1600 or so calories per day with a quite-sedentary life (desk job, little/no exercise), so 1000-1200 should result in weight loss. (I picked 30 out of the air because you say you've been eating this way "for years" . . . but you could be older. Even if my age - 66 - the estimate only goes down a couple of hundred calories.)

TBH, I think the two most probable general explanations are:

1. Extreme inactivity, or possibly some health problem resulting in low calorie burn (including the possibility of adaptive thermogenesis from eating too little for years), or
2. Inaccurate calorie estimates (which is not a diss: Calorie counting is a surprisingly subtle skill that can take time & experience to refine).

If you're logging here, making your diary MFP-public would help us help you, because there are some common logging pitfalls that some of the MFP old hands might be able to spot.

For starters, have you seen your doctor, gotten blood tests, etc., to look into your unusually low calorie expenditure? Also, how do you estimate foods: Eyeball, cups/spoons, food scale? Do you use other people's recipe entries from the database ("ham sandwich", "lasagna") or create your own that are more exact?

At 125, you're already well within the healthy weight range for your height. 119 would still be in that range, so I'm not saying that's unreasonable as a goal. But that would imply that trying for slow weight loss (like half a pound a week) would be the best plan, and that kind of weight loss can take a month or more to show up on the scale amongst normal daily water & digestive contents fluctuations of a few pounds up and down.

If this is coming across as harsh, that's my intention. I really would like to help, but am just being blunt rather than beating around the bush. I'm not far from your size (5'5"), and right now I'm around the same BMI you're going for, so the situation isn't super far from my experience.

formerprin wrote: »

Inactivity is not the problem. I walk 4 miles three times a week. I do an hour and a half weight workout three times a week, and I am mowing (push mower) my lawn for over two hours once a week. I also do all my own garden work and housework. I am 70 years old. I have exercised daily for about 40 years. I have also been on Synthroid for almost 40 years. I have an upcoming appointment with an endocrinologist. So, I am not just complaining. I measure using a food scale and measuring cups or spoons.

Stop using cups and spoons and just weigh everything, the calories are in relation to the weight and not the volume of items.
If that doesn't change anything making your diary public would give people far more data to work with.

formerprin wrote: »

Inactivity is not the problem. I walk 4 miles three times a week. I do an hour and a half weight workout three times a week, and I am mowing (push mower) my lawn for over two hours once a week. I also do all my own garden work and housework. I am 70 years old. I have exercised daily for about 40 years. I have also been on Synthroid for almost 40 years. I have an upcoming appointment with an endocrinologist. So, I am not just complaining. I measure using a food scale and measuring cups or spoons.

Endocrinologist sounds like a good plan.

Beyond that, shorter run, I'd encourage meticulous food scale use for everything, and making your MFP food diary open - even for a limited time period - so others can consider more concrete suggestions.

I'm close to your age (I'm 66), close in weight (130.6 this morning at 5'5", so at about your goal BMI), on levothyroxine (generic of Synthroid) for 20+ years because I'm quite severely hypothyroid. Even in our demographic, with your activity level, a TDEE calculator suggests the average woman would burn 1500-1600 calories daily, perhaps more. It's certainly possible that you're multiple standard deviations away from average on the low end of the bell curve, but that would be statistically quite unusual.

(If it matters, I referenced https://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/.)