Plateau HELP

msqueenofpain
msqueenofpain Posts: 34 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Weightloss plateaus, are they real? Has anyone experienced this ??? I used to have a personal trainer. I was on paleo diet and lost 30 pounds in 2 months. With my trainer I would lose 3-6 pounds per week by weight training and cardio 4 hours per week. I decided i was ready to do this on my own. Now I work out sometimes 5-6 times per week, vigourously and have a low carb intake but have only lost 1 or 2 pounds in serveral weeks. My weight goes up 2 pounds and then then i lose the 2 pounds . It's a reoccuring cycle. Please provide any input. I am getting discouraged and this is fustrating.

Replies

  • daniellegwilliam
    daniellegwilliam Posts: 122 Member
    Im on the same boat..been fluctuating up and down with the same 3-4 lbs for the past 2 months almost! UGH
    Sorry no help :(
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    Hard to offer advice without seeing your diary and having more info on you - height, current weight, type of workout, etc.

    But it could be that having lost the initial 30lbs, losses have just slowed, which is normal as the weight comes off. The closer you get to goal, the slower it is to go. Do you also take measurements? Progress photos? Notice any difference in how clothes fit?
  • priscygut
    priscygut Posts: 3 Member
    I've been stuck at the same weight for 5 months its depressing I changed my eating I started running and I lose 2 and gain 2. I don't stop working out though. But I need some motivation here also. HELP!!!!
  • cindysevilla
    cindysevilla Posts: 1 Member
    the trainer at my gym suggested I stop working out for a week. To reset my body. Guess what, it worked. After I did that. I lost 5 more lbs. 6 weeks later. I was at another plateau...Ugh!!!!!. So I took another week off. Guess what??? I lost a few more lbs. I work out 3 times a week. And eat a low cal, low carb diet. even when I am taking the week off. I have 13 more lbs to reach my healthy goal weight...Its hard to take the week off. Because you get use to working out hard. But its worked for me. Maybe try that...
  • moorednorham
    moorednorham Posts: 18
    Weightloss plateaus, are they real? Has anyone experienced this ??? I used to have a personal trainer. I was on paleo diet and lost 30 pounds in 2 months. With my trainer I would lose 3-6 pounds per week by weight training and cardio 4 hours per week. I decided i was ready to do this on my own. Now I work out sometimes 5-6 times per week, vigourously and have a low carb intake but have only lost 1 or 2 pounds in serveral weeks. My weight goes up 2 pounds and then then i lose the 2 pounds . It's a reoccuring cycle. Please provide any input. I am getting discouraged and this is fustrating.

    Hi,

    If you're still eating low carb, what would you say your fat/protein/carb ratio would look like?
  • Trytotryharder
    Trytotryharder Posts: 41
    Weightloss plateaus, are they real? Has anyone experienced this ??? I used to have a personal trainer. I was on paleo diet and lost 30 pounds in 2 months. With my trainer I would lose 3-6 pounds per week by weight training and cardio 4 hours per week. I decided i was ready to do this on my own. Now I work out sometimes 5-6 times per week, vigourously and have a low carb intake but have only lost 1 or 2 pounds in serveral weeks. My weight goes up 2 pounds and then then i lose the 2 pounds . It's a reoccuring cycle. Please provide any input. I am getting discouraged and this is fustrating.

    I had exactly the same thing recently, I increased the amount of gym sessions from 3 a week to 5/6 however I wasnt seeing much improvement, definitely not to justify doing all that extra work. However I did a lot of reading and your body is very efficient in the way that it adapts to exercising.

    If you havn't changed your work out you need to do this! This is done by either increasing the intensity or using different equipment/different type of exercise. I have read that its completely different for each individual but anything from 4-16 weeks. I went from running for 40mins and rowing for 10mins to running a LOT faster for 10mins, rowing for 20mins and 20mins on the elliptical machine. Also its VERY important to do strength training, doing a lot of cardio you will lose muscle mass which means you burn up less calories per day (if you dont know about this already i suggest you read into it) I have also just started to incorporate HIIT training which has been proven to be the quickest way to burn fat (again if you havnt already you should read into this).

    Also make sure your eating enough, I was eating way too little for the amount of work I was doing, your body will try and reserve fat if your not giving it enough food.

    I only started my new routine about 3 weeks ago but I can already see that its an improvement.
  • msqueenofpain
    msqueenofpain Posts: 34 Member
    Weightloss plateaus, are they real? Has anyone experienced this ??? I used to have a personal trainer. I was on paleo diet and lost 30 pounds in 2 months. With my trainer I would lose 3-6 pounds per week by weight training and cardio 4 hours per week. I decided i was ready to do this on my own. Now I work out sometimes 5-6 times per week, vigourously and have a low carb intake but have only lost 1 or 2 pounds in serveral weeks. My weight goes up 2 pounds and then then i lose the 2 pounds . It's a reoccuring cycle. Please provide any input. I am getting discouraged and this is fustrating.

    I had exactly the same thing recently, I increased the amount of gym sessions from 3 a week to 5/6 however I wasnt seeing much improvement, definitely not to justify doing all that extra work. However I did a lot of reading and your body is very efficient in the way that it adapts to exercising.

    If you havn't changed your work out you need to do this! This is done by either increasing the intensity or using different equipment/different type of exercise. I have read that its completely different for each individual but anything from 4-16 weeks. I went from running for 40mins and rowing for 10mins to running a LOT faster for 10mins, rowing for 20mins and 20mins on the elliptical machine. Also its VERY important to do strength training, doing a lot of cardio you will lose muscle mass which means you burn up less calories per day (if you dont know about this already i suggest you read into it) I have also just started to incorporate HIIT training which has been proven to be the quickest way to burn fat (again if you havnt already you should read into this).

    Also make sure your eating enough, I was eating way too little for the amount of work I was doing, your body will try and reserve fat if your not giving it enough food.

    I only started my new routine about 3 weeks ago but I can already see that its an improvement.



    great thank you, with my trainer it was all weight training and cardio. Now that I went off on my own I joined a boxing class about a month ago and I do that 3-4 times per week along with weights and Fridays I usually attend a zumba class. I am pretty active. I have been using MFP for about 1 month constantly and usually i am just a tad under my daily intake. This is why i am confused. I feel I should have lost more by now. I am kinda stuck in the same spot i was a month ago.
  • msqueenofpain
    msqueenofpain Posts: 34 Member
    Weightloss plateaus, are they real? Has anyone experienced this ??? I used to have a personal trainer. I was on paleo diet and lost 30 pounds in 2 months. With my trainer I would lose 3-6 pounds per week by weight training and cardio 4 hours per week. I decided i was ready to do this on my own. Now I work out sometimes 5-6 times per week, vigourously and have a low carb intake but have only lost 1 or 2 pounds in serveral weeks. My weight goes up 2 pounds and then then i lose the 2 pounds . It's a reoccuring cycle. Please provide any input. I am getting discouraged and this is fustrating.

    Hi,

    If you're still eating low carb, what would you say your fat/protein/carb ratio would look like?


    well i just checked the graph section on MFP and according to the pie chart i ate 36% carbs, 38% fat and 26% protein . Not as low carb as i thougth i was .
  • moorednorham
    moorednorham Posts: 18
    well i just checked the graph section on MFP and according to the pie chart i ate 36% carbs, 38% fat and 26% protein . Not as low carb as i thougth i was .

    That may be your problem; fiber intake probably won't offset it much.

    Since you've done Paleo, what's the general guidelines on carb intake per day? I've never done it myself, standard low carb works fine for me, with only occasional drops below 20g (like now).
  • born2drum
    born2drum Posts: 731 Member
    Not 100% sure what the paleo diet is but if it's anything like a Keto diet (low carb) then either a) you've shot your metabolism or b) you could use a refeed which is a day or maybe even a week of eating at maintenance to help jumpstart your weight loss and metabolism.
  • moorednorham
    moorednorham Posts: 18
    What is "shot your metabolism"?
  • beauTfully_free
    beauTfully_free Posts: 2
    Im currently plateau'ing doing Insanity....my body adjusts really quickly. So frustrating because I'm sweating my *kitten* off 6x a week and no change! I'm hoping when I get to disc 2 it'll shock my body and I'll get whipped into shape :(

    I think I might try the "reset" thing someone else above mentioned....
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    The reason I asked about whether you're measuring or noticing any changes in how your clothes fit, meaning are they any looser, is because I went through a six month period of bouncing up and down the same few pounds. During that time, I was eating well and exercising 5-6 days a week, and while the scale wasn't budging, I was losing inches, fat, and dropped a full size. The scale doesn't always tell ya the whole story - measuring and progress photos are where it's at.
    Im currently plateau'ing doing Insanity....my body adjusts really quickly. So frustrating because I'm sweating my *kitten* off 6x a week and no change! I'm hoping when I get to disc 2 it'll shock my body and I'll get whipped into shape :(

    I think I might try the "reset" thing someone else above mentioned....
    As for this one - from a quick glance at the past week or two of your diary, I would say your problem is under eating, especially if you're busting your butt through Insanity six days a week. Your daily calorie goal is just that, a GOAL, not a suggestion, not something to stay way under. MFP is set up that you are supposed to come as close to goal as possible, and that you eat back your exercise cals. Your daily goal has a deficit built in already - eat that and do zero exercise and you'd lose. Factor in the burned exercise cals, and you're creating too large a deficit, under fueling yourself, and giving your body a reason to store fat rather than burn it.

    Edited to add: You could also do with more protein in your diet! :smile:
  • starchaser1922
    starchaser1922 Posts: 4 Member
    Hi Yes they do happened and the best way to beat them is to change your routine .
    this is a sample if you workout at 1:30 in the afternoon than start at 11:30 instead.
    if you eat after you get dressed in the morning than try this eat breakfast than get ready for the day.
    If you Change your routine it will thought your body into a shock and you will lose.
    try to get more workouts in too it will help with the up and down weight. I'm sure of this.
  • FitnessBeverlyHills
    FitnessBeverlyHills Posts: 189
    I wanted to add...now that you are training on your own you are probably not doing as much weight training. It really makes a huge difference so be sure to add in 30 minutes of weight training on your workout days. At least 3x a week. I like to do legs, arms, chest/back

    Also what some of the other ladies mentioned is correct. It is ok once every few months to take several days off. Eat healthy but give your body a break and instead go on long brisk walks for a week, then jump right back into it. It also helps to try a new activity like Pilates, Yoga, Boxing....just something new that your body isn't used to. Or switch your goals from "weight loss" to "this month I'm going to improve my flexibility, or become stronger.

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