Possible Plateau

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Alright, I may be at a plateau. Any suggestions? I eat 1200-1500 calories a day, exercise many days a week, drink about 100 oz of water a day. So confused. I started dieting March 9 and am down 27 lbs so far. I would like to be down another 30 by December, but it seems like things are stalling and taking forever! Help?

Replies

  • meredithkrueger
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    same issue here! I was down 20 lbs and then started Jillian's 90-day body revolution 6 weeks ago. Since then, I have not lost any pounds but am down 7 inches. I am happy about the inches but I have a lot of weight to lose and want to see the pounds gone too! I am also at 1200 calories PLUS eating back all the exercise calories. I have a HRM and use it to monitor calories so that I know I am calculating correctly. How long is a plateau supposed to last?
  • stacetherainbow
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    27 pounds in three months is really great! Particularly if you don't have a ton of weight to lose.
    How long since you had a loss? You might just be getting impatient. If it's only been a week or two (and I guessing it's on been one), you just need to give it more time
    Keep doing all the right things and you'll continue seeing progress, but you have to do it at a healthy pace.
    Make sure you're journaling every single thing so you know how many calories you're really eating
    Don't overestimate the calories burned from exercise, but do eat extra (protein) on the days you work out
    Watch the salt intake, you might be retaining water this week
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    How long has it been since you last saw a drop on the scale? A couple of weeks without a drop is well-within the usual fluctuations you'll see thanks to water retention, hormones, etc. A plateau is generally defined as 4-6 weeks without any loss.
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
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    - It's not a plateau until the weight loss stalls for 6 weeks.

    - you've lost a lot in a short period of time. It's natural for the losses to stall occasionally. Weight loss isn't linear.

    - be patient. If you're really concerned, run your numbers again, to make sure you're eating the right amounts, and make sure you're weighing everything you eat.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,701 Member
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    Alright, I may be at a plateau. Any suggestions? I eat 1200-1500 calories a day, exercise many days a week, drink about 100 oz of water a day. So confused. I started dieting March 9 and am down 27 lbs so far. I would like to be down another 30 by December, but it seems like things are stalling and taking forever! Help?
    Well that's about an average loss of 9lbs per month and about 2lbs per week. So are you over 200lbs?

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • michellechawner
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    Just push through.

    Change up your exercise routines and your eating a tiny bit - throw the body off.

    Also, don't go by MFP calorie counts for exercise. I was in "plateau" for 4 weeks and I finally got a FitBit. Turns out I wasn't really burning all those calories it said I was, no wonder I stopped losing weight. Now I use the calorie counts off that (I have FitBit One), and I seem to be losing slowly again.

    Could also be you are gaining muscle and that's why you are not seeing the weight drop.
  • amalzingsong
    amalzingsong Posts: 62 Member
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    Alright, I may be at a plateau. Any suggestions? I eat 1200-1500 calories a day, exercise many days a week, drink about 100 oz of water a day. So confused. I started dieting March 9 and am down 27 lbs so far. I would like to be down another 30 by December, but it seems like things are stalling and taking forever! Help?
    Well that's about an average loss of 9lbs per month and about 2lbs per week. So are you over 200lbs?

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Yep. I'm 203. I also have been watching my salt and stuff. There have been days I go over and yeah maybe I'm getting impatient. I do log everything I eat, I weigh my food, and do my best to exercise well. I actually don't log my exercise calories. I just set a base of 1500 calories without logging exercise and I watch my FitBit for how many I should really eat depending on the day's activities.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,701 Member
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    Alright, I may be at a plateau. Any suggestions? I eat 1200-1500 calories a day, exercise many days a week, drink about 100 oz of water a day. So confused. I started dieting March 9 and am down 27 lbs so far. I would like to be down another 30 by December, but it seems like things are stalling and taking forever! Help?
    Well that's about an average loss of 9lbs per month and about 2lbs per week. So are you over 200lbs?

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Yep. I'm 203. I also have been watching my salt and stuff. There have been days I go over and yeah maybe I'm getting impatient. I do log everything I eat, I weigh my food, and do my best to exercise well. I actually don't log my exercise calories. I just set a base of 1500 calories without logging exercise and I watch my FitBit for how many I should really eat depending on the day's activities.
    Then you're doing fine. It's not uncommon to stall a couple of months in because the bodies metabolic rate does start to slow when calorie restriction happens. Try bumping the INTENSITY of your exercise. A little more resistance/less rest time between sets usually works.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • in2theblu
    in2theblu Posts: 42
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    When I started I was 225.. I was losing like crazy by clean eating and an hour on the tread mill everyday almost. Now that I'm 195lbs I've been working out the same and changing it up but since late April I have stayed between 193-196 .. What happened?!!! I'll admit to a few cheat days but not enough to make a crazy difference.. My diary is open.. If someone could check it out.. Maybe help me figure this plateau crap out... Getting frustrated. Thanks!