How to get out of a long-term plateau

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ElizabethMCampbell
ElizabethMCampbell Posts: 36
in Health and Weight Loss
Sooooo... I've been on MFP for over a year now, and it was wonderful in the beginning. Weight came off, and then I decreased my intake some more. I've since upped to 1390/day, and I exercise at least 2x/week. I've gained some from being at a deficit for so long I suppose. Does anyone have tips for me to eat more without gaining?

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  • ElizabethMCampbell
    ElizabethMCampbell Posts: 36
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    I'm gonna need some help, y'all
  • thatsillyshana
    thatsillyshana Posts: 141
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    I'm on the same boat. Have you tried eating more and drinking more water? That seems to be the answer most people give.
  • ElizabethMCampbell
    ElizabethMCampbell Posts: 36
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    Somewhat. I just don't know how to increase incrementally without gaining, because I want to eat more
  • OsricTheKnight
    OsricTheKnight Posts: 340 Member
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    You could try 1-2 "fast days" per week where you deliberately eat very low calorie (like 600 kcals). Then you'll be able to indulge a fair bit more on the other days and still come out even.

    You could try eating foods that have few calories per gram to increase the volume but not the calories of what you eat.

    You could try a serious strength building program, and use the measuring tape instead of the scale (but doing this, you should gain weight and lose inches). I like starting strength, personally.

    But at the end of the day I don't think you can cheat the rules of energy. If you're gaining at 1400 kcals, there's not much you can do but eat less, or gain the right kind of tissue.

    Osric
  • JCHH88
    JCHH88 Posts: 37 Member
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    Like the above poster mentioned. Fast Days are great for breaking a plateau .. it worked for me and I'm loving it. Two days at an attempted 500 calories each. I also added HITT to my exercise repertoire and have never felt better :) Upping my calories didn't really work for me, but confusing my body with 2 low days per week did.
  • ElizabethMCampbell
    ElizabethMCampbell Posts: 36
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    I tried that once, and it did work, but it just didn't seem healthy
  • Soyajam
    Soyajam Posts: 22 Member
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    I can't see any diary info or anything so I'm not sure what you're eating precisely...

    If you're hungry, perhaps you might need to change the nature of the food you're eating?

    I've been finding bulky vegetables have been really helpful for that.

    For example, sometimes I will go nuts on a vegetable stir fry for dinner. Just pack my bowl full of the greens and capsicum, broccoli etc... and by the end I'm bursting full. No noodles or meat, just veg and a bit of soy + oyster sauce.

    Feels like I've eaten a tonne, but it doesn't break down to much and it's quite nutrient dense (particularly if you include broccoli, or spinach/kale/buk choy and other dark greens).
  • candiceh3
    candiceh3 Posts: 379
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    I don't think IF is unhealthy - did it just feel wrong for you?

    More cardio could help :) then you could eat more.
  • hedgiie
    hedgiie Posts: 1,245 Member
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    it's normal for your weight to swing back and forth for certain perioud of time you didn't mention how long has it been when you describe the plateau, if it's been a couple of week then it's not a plateau yet. or maybe if your converting fats into lean muscle then that's normal that scale won't budge
  • WaterBunnie
    WaterBunnie Posts: 1,370 Member
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    Make sure you're measuring rather than estimating quantities. It's surprising how far out measuring 'by eye' can be even after months of measuring properly.

    Upping your activity might help too?
  • rrrrobyn
    rrrrobyn Posts: 5 Member
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    I found intermittent fasting made me feel great and helped me lose weight steadily after gaining a lot of weight this past year. I don't think of them as "diet" days, but detox days, around 600 cals two or three times a week and the other days I eat normally. You can juggle the days to ensure the detox days do not fall on special occasions or weekends. And because you are eating normally most of the time, your metabolism doesn't go into starvation mode and reduce your survival calories.
    I don't think it would have worked without starting a vigorous cardio program with weights regularly, to keep metabolism going at a good rate and build some muscle .
    I agree with one of the other posters that it's important to measure the amounts to avoid calorie creep
  • vuco1990
    vuco1990 Posts: 29 Member
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    When my weight does not go down for longer period of time I do not cut calorie intake because I do not want to go in starvation mode and feeling of constant hunger has major impact on my mind. Usually, I get so mad I just increase intensity of workouts and frequency like from 3x a week to 6 or 7 times a week.
  • ElizabethMCampbell
    ElizabethMCampbell Posts: 36
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    it's normal for your weight to swing back and forth for certain perioud of time you didn't mention how long has it been when you describe the plateau, if it's been a couple of week then it's not a plateau yet. or maybe if your converting fats into lean muscle then that's normal that scale won't budge

    It's been months, probably 4-6

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