Weight loss plateau?!

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m301
m301 Posts: 8 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi guys! I hear people talking about a weight loss plateau all the time. When is it that you reach your plateau? And how do you get by it? Any answers would be helpful! Thank you! :)

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  • errorist
    errorist Posts: 142 Member
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    I've been at the same weight for around a month now (admittedly over the festive season), after fairly consistently dropping one or two pounds a week for the last six months. There's no mystery behind it, my food intake has been a little higher, and my logging a little laxer. A little multiplied by a little equals a lot! I thought that I had increased my exercising to match it, but clearly not. It is possible I have increased my lean body mass over this period. I hope so.

    I'm trying to tighten up the ship a little now. I'm back at home all the time, so it's easier to keep track of what I'm eating, and I'm trying to get a bit more of a deficit going. I'm still exercising at the higher level. I think the scale is starting to respond - I will have to see on Monday, when I weigh in formally.
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
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    For MFP discussion purposes, a plateau is used to describe a prolonged period of time where there has been no weight loss, usually due to the person's inaccuracies in logging. Whether it is inaccurately logging food, calories burned, or activity level.

    A "stall" is used to describe normal periods of no weight loss due to the body's natural response to you cutting calories or beginning a new exercise routine. These happen a lot with people with little weight to lose, but for myself, usually didn't last longer than a couple of weeks.
  • p4ulmiller
    p4ulmiller Posts: 588 Member
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    In the normal sense of the word, there's no such thing as being on a plateau.

    Those who claim to be are either underlogging calories, overestimating exercise or a combination of both.

    If you keep to a real deficit, adjusting your daily goal as you go, you will always lose weight.

    (Yes, yes, thermogenic adaptation and all that. But the above still holds true)
  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
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    Happens at the time people get complacent and dont record a net calorie loss.....
  • m301
    m301 Posts: 8 Member
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    Oh! I've been having a freak out session cause of people telling me that I'll be hitting my plateau soon! :/ So thank you for your much needed answers! :D
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
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    I often see plateaus on here from people that have already lost a significant amount of weight and suddenly stop. I think that's because when they were at a heavier weight, they were able to get away with inaccuracies and non-detailed logging and still lose weight. When you are at a lower weight, your margin for error narrows and detailed weighing and logging is absolutely necessary. If you are doing that much, I wouldn't worry about it. You may stall for a couple of weeks, but a month or more, I'd re-examine my food diary.

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