How did you break you plateau?

fausto412
fausto412 Posts: 100 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
How did you break you plateau?

How long did it last?


Heard a story on NPR about how the reason we plateau is that our body gets used to having less food and also that some people are having success on something called the 5/2 diet where you fast 2 days a week. what do you guys think?

I had a huge drop first 4 months on mfp...at my peak i had lost 58 lbs. How did you break out of the pleateau?

Replies

  • sunshinemouse34
    sunshinemouse34 Posts: 17 Member
    At certain points, your body does readjust and take some time. I too was frustrated with a plateau as I am closing in on a goal.

    A friend of mine who is a personal trainer suggested going 5 days on a low carb diet - trying to stay at 80 carbs or less a day.
    It isn't easy!! I decided to give it a try and started yesterday.

    Keeping the same exercise routine and the low carb option, the scale moved a bit even with just one day.
    But let me repeat, it isn't easy to eat only 80 carbs a day!
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
    Are you readjusting your intake based on your new weight? In studies done under clinical conditions where consumption and burn are monitored, the metabolism only drops 4% to 10% when eating at a deficit and does so gradually so there is no point at which decreasing calories doesn't increase deficit. And when monitored, all people eating at a calorie deficit lose weight. So a plateau is a period of time at which you are not eating at a deficit through inaccuracies in tracking or planning.
  • fausto412
    fausto412 Posts: 100 Member
    yeah I'm still eating at a calorie deficit like mfp says. about 1400 calories net a day.

    I wouldn't consider a 1 day move to mean anything. I progressive drop over a couple of week is what means something to me.

    I never tried going low carb...guess than means no fruits?
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
    yeah I'm still eating at a calorie deficit
    With all due respect, no, you're not. If you were eating at a deficit you would lose weight over time. Minor fluctuations from water even out after a few days. If after weeks of eating at the same level you have no loss, then you are not at a deficit. You need to examine the numbers you are using that lead you to believe it is a deficit.

    Make sure you are adjusting burn numbers for new weight. I have lost over 50 pounds and the amount I burn per mile of running has dropped quite a bit.
  • forevermaryb
    forevermaryb Posts: 108 Member
    yeah I'm still eating at a calorie deficit like mfp says. about 1400 calories net a day.

    I wouldn't consider a 1 day move to mean anything. I progressive drop over a couple of week is what means something to me.

    I never tried going low carb...guess than means no fruits?

    I usually try to keep my carbs around 80g per day. I do have fruit, but I watch portions and types of fruit. Any berries are lower carb and it's easier to adjust your serving. I try to avoid eating anything that has a big number of carbs in it (say over 14g) to allow for all the smaller amounts of carbs to add up without going over 80g.
  • fausto412
    fausto412 Posts: 100 Member
    yeah I'm still eating at a calorie deficit
    With all due respect, no, you're not. If you were eating at a deficit you would lose weight over time. Minor fluctuations from water even out after a few days. If after weeks of eating at the same level you have no loss, then you are not at a deficit. You need to examine the numbers you are using that lead you to believe it is a deficit.

    Make sure you are adjusting burn numbers for new weight. I have lost over 50 pounds and the amount I burn per mile of running has dropped quite a bit.


    i have been adjusting for all that. and yes the amount you burn goes down as you get lighter. I was losing 4 lbs a week for like 3 months and then it slowed and eventually came a to half in April. I was down to 210, now i'm 217. I started lifting weights so i don't know if that's what's causing me to plateau. Recently I haven't had the same discipline but I'm not eating enough to gave weight. I hope it is muscle but the seeing the scale go up instead of down does mess with my head even though my jeans are still size 36 and I started at 42.
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
    Recently I haven't had the same discipline
    No disrespect intended, but there is your answer. When you were very disciplined, you ate at a deficit and lost weight. Do that again.
  • javajinny
    javajinny Posts: 78
    Most YMCA's have a TANITA scale that not only weighs you, but tells you how much is fat and how much is not fat (muscle, organs, bones). if you're concerned that you're gaining because you're putting on muscle, look into something like that. From my experience, when I'm eating at a deficit, even though I'm lifting, the scale either stays the same or goes down. One can plateau, though. I've done it about 4 times in 3 years. The pros say to "shake it up" to end it. Either have an awesome weekend where you just don't care what you eat and that shakes up your body's metabolism/expectations or GO TO TOWN exercising, doing things you don't normally do and pretty cardio heavy. It's worked for me.

    And don't worry about not being as disciplined for a time. It's a lifestyle change and no one is 100% disciplined all the time.
  • STrooper
    STrooper Posts: 659 Member
    First of all, it isn't a race.

    I started from 250 and wandered around in weight for a couple of years. When I got "serious" (in that I focused not on food intake but on exercise with only slight adjustment to food intake), I dropped from 232 to 190.

    I continued to exercise (even gradually ramping it up) and still my weight went nowhere for over a year. But weight is such a poor measure if you are doing other things. It took 4 inches off my waist during that year, 6 inches off my chest, 1-1/2 inches off my neck. I did not log everything until late in the year.

    It took two things.

    First, it took a step change from the level of activity that I was doing 7 days a week. I was measuring steps, and I step changed that by 10% so that it was really a challenge to achieve that 10% increase.

    Second, I got really accurate and no exceptions on my food log. Measurement by weight rather than volume where serving size is specified by weight. The serving by volume is approximate. Take a teaspoon of sugar. A measuring teaspoon of sugar give me a weight of sugar that is much higher than the approximately a teaspoon. Every package says 4g is a 15 calorie serving. But a teaspoon ranges from 6-9 grams. And the calorie content of varies processed foods don't require a high degree of precision.

    I set MFP to 1 pound per week loss. As a practical matter, it was an average that was half that once I took those two steps. Finally, towards the end of this journey I began doing core strengthening exercises.

    Right now I am tracking my weight daily.
  • Doodlewhopper
    Doodlewhopper Posts: 1,018 Member
    bump
  • cee134
    cee134 Posts: 33,711 Member
    I calorie cycle, eat more (not too much 200-300, something like that) one day, even calorie count, and then less the amount I was over the third. Do things like that. I base it on a 7 day week and look at the amount I eat and if I'm over, eat under and so on so that it all evens out to -3500 cal a week. For example, I save calories for the end of the week. It all works out. Makes sure the body doesn't get use to anything so that I can lose weight. I have sat on a plateau for as long as 2 months. Sometimes I just have to lower my calorie count for per day because I'm not as active as usual. But usually the plateau goes away and I end up losing 2-3 lbs after 3 weeks of waiting.

    At this point I don't really weight myself but once every other week. And I weight myself after I eat, fully clothed. I want to see what my weight is at its max for the day. IF i'm losing weight from last time, then I know I'm doing something right.
  • Doodlewhopper
    Doodlewhopper Posts: 1,018 Member
    I calorie cycle, eat more (not too much 200-300, something like that) one day, even calorie count, and then less the amount I was over the third. Do things like that. I base it on a 7 day week and look at the amount I eat and if I'm over, eat under and so on so that it all evens out to -3500 cal a week. For example, I save calories for the end of the week. It all works out. Makes sure the body doesn't get use to anything so that I can lose weight. I have sat on a plateau for as long as 2 months. Sometimes I just have to lower my calorie count for per day because I'm not as active as usual. But usually the plateau goes away and I end up losing 2-3 lbs after 3 weeks of waiting.

    At this point I don't really weight myself but once every other week. And I weight myself after I eat, fully clothed. I want to see what my weight is at its max for the day. IF i'm losing weight from last time, then I know I'm doing something right.

    I had good success with calorie cycling, then the wheels fell off and I hit a 3 month plateau that began when I lowered my calories for my lower weight.

    I was disciplined and tracked everything I ate. I have just recently switched to TDEE. I also have an appointment to have my RMR tested next week.

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