C'mon...really...a plateau?...for FOUR WEEKS?!

pines2palms
pines2palms Posts: 51
edited September 22 in Health and Weight Loss
It was four weeks ago today that I did my last weigh-in. I lost 4 lbs my first week on MFP and 3 lbs the second week. A total of 7 lbs in 2 weeks! I was so excited! The next week, my weight began to fluctuate daily...there is seriously a 4 lb flucuation for the past 4 weeks...sometimes I will be at the "high" end of the fluctuation, and sometimes I will be at the "low" end. I haven't yet weighed lower than the last recorded weight... :(

What changed after those initial two weeks, you may ask... Well, I know 2 things for a fact.
1. I have PCOS. My dr had prescribed phentermine for me. I took it during the first two weeks, but stopped because the "anger" side effect was more than I could stand...I couldn't deal with myself, my children, or even my hubby! I HATED it! My eating didn't change much though. Even though the med was an appetite suppressant, I am not eating much differently now than I was then... Was it really making THAT much of a difference?!

2. I started exercising more! I had only been doing walking in the first two weeks. After that, I did walking, Biggest Loser Wii, and whatever I could get my hands on for "free" online.

I am beginning to get very discouraged, and I let it show up in my eating yesterday. I went over my calorie goal, which is at the very bottom of the "totem pole" anyway. I have been under my calorie goal at least 95% of my 8 weeks here...and I have only lost 7 lbs. That is less than a pound a week!!! I did start drinking more water these past couple of weeks. I am anywhere between 12 to 16 cups a day now...

Is there anyone who has this same struggle? Anyone who has any advice/tips to begin losing weight again? What can I do to break through this "plateau"--which I have serious doubts about calling it that since it has been 4 weeks since I have lost anything...???

Replies

  • eillamarie
    eillamarie Posts: 862 Member
    Are you going way over any of your nutrient counts? Check fats, sugar, sodium, protein, and carbs (that's where most ppl go wrong, myself included-fats anyway). If that doesn't work try doing something differently for a few days, whether that's a few fitness class or a different variation of your favorite gym move. Sometimes the body needs a SHOCK!
  • ErinMarie25
    ErinMarie25 Posts: 733 Member
    Girl, join the club!!

    I am having the SAME problem. For the past 3 weeks I have been fluctuating 2-3 pounds and haven't gotten below my last recorded weight. I have been doing pretty much the same things. I just don't get it!!
  • Ding724
    Ding724 Posts: 791 Member
    I hit a plateau for 4 weeks during the month of October...I just kept exercising & I started drinking at least 2 liters of water everyday. Don't give up!!! Since November 1st I have been losing 2-3lbs a week and i'm doing the same thing I was doing before. If you want to, you can switch up your exercise routine or try less of sodium or fat or something in your diet. Everyone is SO different, so you just have to find what works for you! Don't give up!!!
  • clahut
    clahut Posts: 211 Member
    Not sure if this helps, but I usually seem to go for about 3 weeks of losing nothing, then drop a few pounds. I seem to be in my third cycle of this pattern, so I guess it is just the way I lose weight.

    Don't get disheartened, if you are making changes your body will catch up!

    C
  • ErinMarie25
    ErinMarie25 Posts: 733 Member
    I actually called the gym here on base and they are offering 3 free sessions with a personal trainer and then $10 sessions after that. I called for more information and left a message so they can call me back. Hopefully they do this sometime after my husband gets home so he can watch our daughter because I'd LOVE to add in some extra workouts besides the Turbo Fire program I am doing and hopefully hear what s/he has to say about my calorie intake.
  • amyfly
    amyfly Posts: 137
    If it is just a plateau 4 weeks isn't that uncommon. It's the body's way of practicing for maintaining your weight. Keep doing what you're doing, maybe mix up or increase your cardio work outs and increasing strength training to help break through it.
  • catcrazy
    catcrazy Posts: 1,740 Member
    What calories are you on? What fluid apart from water are you drinking?

    Phentermine is an amphetamine based medication so you may have crashed your metabolic rate coming off it, especially if you just stopped taking it without weaning down a little. (I had a friend addicted to speed, she had to wean herself down the dose before she could give it up or she literally just crashed!) Read up on how to boost your metabolic rate...body building websites might be a good place to look.
  • ashley_h10
    ashley_h10 Posts: 110 Member
    Not sure if this helps, but I usually seem to go for about 3 weeks of losing nothing, then drop a few pounds. I seem to be in my third cycle of this pattern, so I guess it is just the way I lose weight.

    Don't get disheartened, if you are making changes your body will catch up!

    C

    That makes two of us!
  • tigerblue
    tigerblue Posts: 1,526 Member
    I know that everyone says don't weigh every day, but perhaps your weigh-in days are falling on times when your weight is up, for several reasons (water, hormones, lack of elimination, need I go on?). It may be that you have actually dipped below your last recorded weight, but it did not happen on weigh in days. I like to weigh every day, just for this reason. I might go up a pound or two for a couple of days, and then lose for the next 3, and so on. So if I was only weighing once a week, or less, I might not see those encouraging drops. Of course, if you decide to do this, you have to make sure you are watching the general trend, and not get caught up in worrying about a gain for a couple of days. To help me with this, I have only recorded drops in my weight, not gains. Of course, I may have to change this now that I am maintaining. . .

    Anyway, I hope this gives you another way to look at things.

    And by the way, your loss is really a nice, slow, loss, which is what you want. Hang in there!
  • garedds
    garedds Posts: 251
    I had the same thing happen after I lost 26 pounds, I stayed there for bout 4-5 weeks. I also upped my exersice at that point. However today there was a 2.5 pound weight loss!! I continued eating well and exercising 5-6 days a week and I knew eventually there would be weight loss and there is . The other thing is I lost lots of inches during that time. So check and see if you have lost inches, are your cothes fitting looser? It seems I lose weight, then inches, weight, then inches.
  • mommyjos
    mommyjos Posts: 98 Member
    Well, I just glanced through the last week of your posts, since now we're friends :), and I notice you've had a lot of emotions and stress going on this past week. THAT will FOR SURE affect you! It could be any number of things and medication changes could also be to blame. I know you read through my last blog post and I def. understand!
    Keep making good choices, even if you're not seeing the number on the scale change. Eventually it will catch up and you'll have good habits! You can do it!
  • Bamacraft
    Bamacraft Posts: 175 Member
    You need to stop getting so frustrated. Easier said than done i know BUT...look at the Biggest Loser. Sometimes they have a weight gain and look at the vigorous exercise they do compared to your walking/Wii etc.. When i first started i had like a 1-2lb loss for the first couple weeks, then i had one week where i dropped 7 or 8 lbs. Then it stopped for a month..up/down up/down. Losing weight wasnt my only goal so i kept going and battled through the frustration. I finally lost about 16lbs in 4 months. BUT i could now run 30 minutes or so continous without stopping (compared to 5 minutes at beginning). Once i got down a total of 25lbs or so I hit a wall again. I got really determined (or mad) and went crazy on cardio eventually getting up to a few 6 mile runs per week, cholesterol went from 235 to 180, Blood Pressure is 120/70. The extra miles helped get off another 8 - 10lbs. I started in January so its been 11 months and have lost 33lbs. I am in the best shape of my life and still have another 10 - 15 to go.

    I say all this in order to help you focus on other benefits you are getting aside from the weight loss. If you continue to work hard, build your cardio up every week you will be fine. Stay off the phentermine and other pills. Set other goals not "scale" oriented. I dont know how far you walk and at what pace but for example: Have a goal of walking 3 miles four times this week in less than 45 minutes. Next week replace a day of walking with a jog/walk/jog etc..The following week replace two walk days with jog/walks. The next week go 3 miles in less than 40 minutes. IF thats as fast as you can do it, up your mileage to 4.

    We carry this extra weight for years and to be honest there is no quick fix. it takes months and months, sometimes years. Think about it this way. We want to lose weight, be healthy and stay fit and healthy. Given that is the case then we have to accept the fact that even if we drop to our goal it doesnt stop there, we have to keep the new life style or we'll go back to where we were. So, keep working and eating healthy.

    How far and how long do you walk? How many days per week? What your exertion factor when walking?
  • pines2palms
    pines2palms Posts: 51
    Thanks for all of the replies! I will try to answer all of the questions...

    MFP allotted 1200 calories per day for me. I guess that is as low as it gets from what I have heard/seen from others on this site...
    I don't drink any other fluids besides water. I will rarely have a cherry 7-up or Sprite with hubby...but it is rare!
    I weigh daily...if not, every other day...
    As far as inches...I hadn't even recorded inches until a couple of weeks ago. I would like to measure again in 2 weeks. I had measured previously before joining MFP, but it was MONTHS ago. I still had those recordings...and from those to these recent ones, I had lost 6.5 inches. So, I understand about keeping up with that. I am just very "depressed" at seeing the scale go down, down, and then up, down, up, down, stay... It is irritating!
    I currently only count and record calories, fat, carbs, and protein. I will add sodium and fiber as well to see if that is something I need to work on.
    As for my walks...I generally walk 3 miles per hour for 1.5 miles. My goal was to do that twice daily...morning and evening, but that hasn't quite panned out. :( Hubby, kids, schedule...lots of reasons... As for how many days per week...my goal is 5. Sometimes I exceed that...sometimes I don't quite get there... Exertion...well, I am pushing myself...and huffing and puffing along the way...if that answers your question. BUT more bad news...it is getting REALLY cold here in the mornings, and by the time hubby gets home, it is dark...and the area isn't well lit...he doesn't like for me to go for a walk after hours...and honestly, I get a little scared and spooked from time to time as well. So, my walking days may have to be on the "backburner" for a while... What will I do then??!!

    Also, when I look at my exercise "log," there are times that I have met my goal or exceeded it in amount of TIME and DAYS exercising, but as the number of calories goal that MFP has set, I never meet that. So, I guess whatever I am doing isn't buring the calories it should... Is there an exercise that I should/could do to burn more calories in my workout time?
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