Busting out of a plateau

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This seems to be a common topic on here. There is a lot of advice on increasing calories for awhile.
I am currently at 1230Kcal/d and an religious about how accurate I am - very motivated. Lost 18lbs in 2 months and was feeling fantastic until it all came to a screaching halt. I have changed up my fitness routine to see if that helps. No movement on the scale now for 3.5 weeks.
I am considering "waking up" my metabolism by increasing calories to 1400-1500/d for awhile. What I would like to know is if anyone has tried this and been successful with it? How long did you increase your calories for and did you ever reduce back down again or stay at the higher calorie goal? Did you plateau more than once on your journey? I just don't want risk increasing my calories and start to gain the lost weight back. I'm sure you can understand my hesitation.
Thanks :smile:

Replies

  • LadyIntrepid
    LadyIntrepid Posts: 399 Member
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    When I was losing weight, I lost fastest (1-2 pounds a week) when I was netting 1400 calories a week. Lost more slowly when (1/2 pound a week) when netting 1200 a week. Everyone's different, but increasing calories helped me.
  • fooninie
    fooninie Posts: 291 Member
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    Hi! Thanks for posting this, I'm interested as well as I have reached a plateau. I'm at 1200Kcal/day 5 days per week and about 1500-1700 on weekends. I'm kind of stuck at current weight and have been 100% following my meal plans.
  • soysauce6626
    soysauce6626 Posts: 118 Member
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    When I hit a plateau I like to play around with my carbs. I usually up my carbs by 20%. If all else fails you should add in high intensity interval training.
  • iarelarry
    iarelarry Posts: 201 Member
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    take a break.

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  • katiej080810
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    What about alternating calories every other day? You could have 1400 one day, 1200 the next, 1600 the next, then 1200. Just a suggestion, I have heard that calorie cycling helps to convince your body to let go of some of its fat stores. Good luck!
  • romyo47
    romyo47 Posts: 3
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    Thanks all. Took a break for the weekend and will see if I lose on 1300-1400 calories a day now. I'll keep you posted if it works or not.
  • LMick1986
    LMick1986 Posts: 431
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    Yeah, I don't know how to increase without gaining weight back. I did so well for so long....then I got stuck. For several months I was stuck. I upped my cals by a couple hundred (like many suggested) and I ended up gaining five pounds back in a month. That's not the way I wanted to go.
  • romyo47
    romyo47 Posts: 3
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    Well the update is it took another week of 1300-1400 calorie eating after my weekend splurge and finally over the last 2 days the scale is on its way down again. Hooray. Although I am not convinced that the increase in calories really reset my metabolism, but I did enjoy it and regardless of what I ate the number on the scale remained the same throughout it. Hopefully the scale keeps going in the downward direction. It is very hard to keep faith over a period of a month that one day you'll lose again.