Eat more to break your plateau!

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BFDeal
BFDeal Posts: 3,160 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Wait. Or not since that what I did and gained 5-6lbs. So much for that advice. Anyone else got any pearls of wisdom they can share to help out? I realize helping a guy out who has 40lbs to lose isn't as rewarding as helping a 125lb chick get to 123 so she can squeeze in to a slightly smaller bikini but perhaps someone can throw me a bone. IIFYM and lifting lost me 20lbs from the end of May until October. Until it stopped. For. No. Reason. Yes I have a food scale. Even with my 5lb regain I've lost 130lbs total over the course of a few years. Let's say I'm a tad familiar with the concept of weighing food. Other ideas besides buying a food scale?
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  • obscuremusicreference
    obscuremusicreference Posts: 1,320 Member
    edited January 2015
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    What size bikini do you wear currently, and are you losing inches?

    ETA: I don't have any specific advice. I would change my exercise, get in more cardio to widen the deficit, but perhaps you've considered that.
  • silverteacup
    silverteacup Posts: 46 Member
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    Good question! When you get some suggestions let me know. I have hit a hard plateau that I simply cannot get past. I am in the process of gradually increasing my calories before I cut back to see if it gets me back on track. I am also changing my exercise routine from aqua athletics and weight training to rowing and cycling. If it works I'll let you know.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    BFDeal wrote: »
    Wait. Or not since that what I did and gained 5-6lbs. So much for that advice. Anyone else got any pearls of wisdom they can share to help out? I realize helping a guy out who has 40lbs to lose isn't as rewarding as helping a 125lb chick get to 123 so she can squeeze in to a slightly smaller bikini but perhaps someone can throw me a bone. IIFYM and lifting lost me 20lbs from the end of May until October. Until it stopped. For. No. Reason. Yes I have a food scale. Even with my 5lb regain I've lost 130lbs total over the course of a few years. Let's say I'm a tad familiar with the concept of weighing food. Other ideas besides buying a food scale?

    Congratulations on your weight loss!

    Plateau, huh? You're simply eating at maintenance. Have you adjusted your weight loss goals since losing all that weight? You are a small guy now, which means you need less calories to function. Adjust accordingly.

    Love my food scale. It really does help to keep calories in track. :)
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Do you log everything, I only went a couple of days back but it looks like you don't log any vegetables at all and lots of potentially high sodium foods

    How long was your "plateau"?

    Do you recalculate your calorie defecit when you lose weight? Are you eating back exercise calories to 100%

    If you're eating 2-3k calories daily why would you increase to lose more? Try cutting a few hundred calories and refocusing on what you eat

    And I couldn't care less about anybody's bikini but my own so maybe the chip on your shoulder is weighing you down?

  • JoKessho
    JoKessho Posts: 108 Member
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    I'm guessing that you've plateaud since October.. Losing weight gets harder the more you lose, so plateaus are bound to happen, but there are ways to break them. Have you updated your stats on IIFYM and MFP? Try low-carb (at first it will be water weight that's lost, but it can kick-start more fat-loss). Also, try changing your workout regime - sometimes you plateau because your body gets used to the exercises. Drink lots of water. Are you measuring? Plateaus might just be muscle gain and fat loss, but that will show in inches/cms, not on the scale.
    Hope some of this helps
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
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    Under no circumstances will eating more calories lead to greater weight loss.

    None.

    If it does, you have broken fundamental laws of physics, and have permanently solved the problem of the world's future energy needs.

    Who gave you this (non)advice and why on earth would you believe it?
  • bjabdullah
    bjabdullah Posts: 26 Member
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    Yes eat more, but, doing more is what worked for me . I'd hit a six week plateau and knew I needed to monitor my foods better and do more exercise. So I joined the Y and started taking classes. I went from 150 minutes to 360 minutes of exercise ; the first two weeks nothing happened, same weight. My appetite also increase and I ate more and then finally this week boom I dropped 3 lbs. I also weighed and measured better. I also drank more water. I'm half way to my goal.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    bjabdullah wrote: »
    Yes eat more, but, doing more is what worked for me . I'd hit a six week plateau and knew I needed to monitor my foods better and do more exercise. So I joined the Y and started taking classes. I went from 150 minutes to 360 minutes of exercise ; the first two weeks nothing happened, same weight. My appetite also increase and I ate more and then finally this week boom I dropped 3 lbs. I also weighed and measured better. I also drank more water. I'm half way to my goal.

    Right, but adding more exercise, and then eating more to compensate for the extra exercise, you were still in a calorie deficit.

    Never does eating more lead to weight loss.
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
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    Hey! Who says bikinis are a female only garment? :-p.

    My advice would be to make sure you weigh and record everything that passes your lips. Sad to say but eating more does not help a plateau. A plateau simple means you have found the maintance amount of calories for that weight. Only way to lose again is to create a bigger deficit (whether it be from eating less or moving more).
  • alanlmarshall
    alanlmarshall Posts: 587 Member
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    Eat fewer calories.

    I'll send you my bill.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Never made sense to me how people can actually tell someone to "eat more and you'll lose"...cuz science.
    How long has your plateau lasted?
  • chouflour
    chouflour Posts: 193 Member
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    Changing your exercise can help - over time your body gets more efficient at doing the same things, so you're going to burn fewer calories. Otherwise - eat less. It looks like you were eating 5-600 fewer calories per day in September.

    I've had anecdotal experience with "eat more and lose", but it's two very specific circumstances, neither of which applies here. First is when my fat feels a specific kind of squishy and a single day of higher calories triggers the loss of water weight. The other is when I'm feeling very low energy from excessively low calories - my NEAT goes to near-zero. I eat more, NEAT rises, and the net energy change is negative.
  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
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    I know this works for some people, but personally, it has never worked for me. Generally, I just wait it out and wait it out and wait it out, making sure I'm tracking accurately and all my settings are correct (sedentary for me), and eventually things move again.

    OTOH, I have a lot of weight to lose. It may get tougher as I get closer to goal...but I do know that thus far, anyway, eating more to get weight loss going again hasn't worked.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    They say that many people hit a point where the weight loss becomes ridiculously difficult. If you maintain for a few months (or gain a smidge), then start dieting again, it gets easier again.

    It works for some people, anyway.

    A lot of people report success by eating more, then dropping back down and losing easier, too. Some may lie about it, but I don't think they're all lying.

    I think there is something to all of it and if I were a betting girl, my money would be on the fact that they'll learn more and it will bear out what everyone says and what some studies have found.

    I'm not saying it will work for you! No way for me to know.

    I know none of that will be exceedingly (or at all) helpful, but there you go.

    I hope you lose your forty pounds. When you do, you should fit into a bikini and post a pic. :)
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
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    The only thing that has worked for me in this regard is to switch up types of exercise. It doesn't even have to be harder, it just has to be something different that your body is totally unaccustomed to. Is there a YMCA or something with an indoor pool where you can swim laps, or something like that? If you swim at a good pace it will burn fat off of you and it will leave you quite tired. You won't know how tired you are until you get out of the pool and into the shower and suddenly OMG! haha.... before I developed all these annoying skin problems and could stand the chlorine, I used to swim and it kept me quite lean back in the day. won't bang up your joints, either. Good for the lungs. You breathe every 4th stroke, not every other stroke. Or if breast stroke, every other stroke and not every one.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    I will second switching up the exercise. That helps me every time and if I had a plan, would have to say that was part of it.

    Swimming is never excluded, though. :) If you haven't tried swimming, DO IT. It's easy on the joints. You don't feel hot and sweaty like you will with any other cardio. And nothing burns fat like swimming.

    Start swimming and watch the fat melt away. :)
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    The only way changing up exercise to get past a plateau is if you choose something that burns more calories than what you're currently doing. Otherwise, keep the same exercise and increase time or intensity to create your calorie deficit. Your body doesn't get used to the same exercise and decide to stall weight loss.
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
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    You've lost a lot of weight.
    Your previous deficit has now become your maintenance.
    Eat fewer calories.


  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    SergeantSausage wrote: »
    Under no circumstances will eating more calories lead to greater weight loss.

    None.

    If it does, you have broken fundamental laws of physics, and have permanently solved the problem of the world's future energy needs.

    Who gave you this (non)advice and why on earth would you believe it?

    Not strictly true, any time I plateaued I upped my cals by 100 and lost. Currently I'm maintaining eating more than ever before, 2100 cals a day and I'm petite/very active).

    Changing workouts help, change them up, try something different etc. Circuits/HIIT worked great when I plateaued.

    The last few pounds are hardest to lose and we do have to be very accurate with food tracking at that stage or else we stall - inaccurate logging can lead to you maintaining instead of losing.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    SLLRunner wrote: »
    The only way changing up exercise to get past a plateau is if you choose something that burns more calories than what you're currently doing. Otherwise, keep the same exercise and increase time or intensity to create your calorie deficit. Your body doesn't get used to the same exercise and decide to stall weight loss.

    The body gets used to the same exercise in around 8 weeks, that's why changing things works, even just for a few weeks of something else then returning to preferred or previous exercise. Always works for me ☺

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