PLATEAU

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Yanesmy89
Yanesmy89 Posts: 19 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
It's official! I've reached my first plateau. Any tips on how to overcome the dreadful plateau??
I'm working out and eating as healthy as I possibly can. My routine consists of 1 mile warm up and then working on one body part per day ( Arms, abs, legs, back, etc). Should I do more cardio?? Thank you! :)
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  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    How long since you've lost?
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    How long have you been stuck?
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    How long is this plateau been going on for? If it's been less than 3 weeks, just give it time.

    And if that doesn't work, you lose weight in the kitchen, not at the gym. Changing up your exercise routine could help, but eating fewer calories will help more.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    do you have a food scale and weigh all solid foods?
    how long have you been dieting for?
    what is your current daily calorie intake?
  • AskTracyAnnK28
    AskTracyAnnK28 Posts: 2,834 Member
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    I wouldn't worry too much...sometimes the scale goes wonky on us for a week or 2, then the pounds start dropping again.
  • mattyc772014
    mattyc772014 Posts: 3,543 Member
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    Try taking a week off if you have not for awhile (3 months straight). It may kick start you again. Mentally it helps too.
  • extra_medium
    extra_medium Posts: 1,525 Member
    edited February 2015
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    Not really enough info to tell, but plataeus often happen when you've lost enough weight to hit a new equilibrium level. If you don't see any new loss for a while, try simply consuming a few fewer calories or burning a few more calories to get back into a deficit.
  • Yanesmy89
    Yanesmy89 Posts: 19 Member
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    My caloric intake is 1200 calories... I weigh my food. I've been stuck for a little over a week. I guess I'm expecting to lose just as much as I lost my first month. I lost 1 lb over the weekend but last month I lost 16 lbs.
  • Nice2BFitAgain
    Nice2BFitAgain Posts: 319 Member
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    a week is not a plateau - if you don't have any scale movement for more than 4 weeks come back then... You are having great success, don't give up so quickly! The fact that you've lost 1# this week proves this.
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
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    Yanesmy89 wrote: »
    My caloric intake is 1200 calories... I weigh my food. I've been stuck for a little over a week. I guess I'm expecting to lose just as much as I lost my first month. I lost 1 lb over the weekend but last month I lost 16 lbs.

    Less than a week, does not a plateau make.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Yanesmy89 wrote: »
    My caloric intake is 1200 calories... I weigh my food. I've been stuck for a little over a week. I guess I'm expecting to lose just as much as I lost my first month. I lost 1 lb over the weekend but last month I lost 16 lbs.

    Come back in 7 weeks
  • Arliah
    Arliah Posts: 266 Member
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    Yeah, a week is nothing. And remember, depending on TOM you may actually see a gain in certain weeks. Fluctuation is normal (albeit annoying). I weigh myself every week (and sometimes a bit more), but I try to look at the monthly statistics. If I've lost around 4lbs after my monthly check-in, then I know that things went well, no matter how wacky some weeks may have been.
  • pplastics
    pplastics Posts: 135 Member
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    You will not maintain an average of four pounds per week. From here on out, you will probably average one pound per week, if that. It is normal. How much do you have to lose?
  • neaneacc
    neaneacc Posts: 224 Member
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    One week isn't really a lot of time to not see weight loss. I do have some suggestions that might help, but don't be too eager to make drastic changes. 1) make sure you get 8 x 8 oz glasses of water a day. I know water is boring, but it is vital for almost all bodily functions. My solution is to add lime or lemon to make it a little bit more interesting. 2) Try to make sure you get enough protein that your body doesn't breakdown your muscles. If you are trying to add muscle you should try to have at least 1 gram of protein for each pound of lean muscle you already have per day. I need to consume roughly 111 grams of protein a day to not lose muscle mass. You may need to experiment with this a little, but I am fairly certain that the MFP site guesses low on protein. 3) Try to get 8 hours of sleep a night. I know it seems silly but research shows that good sleep, 8 hours, reduces stress. Stress causes all sorts of negative hormonal things to happen.
    I hope this helps!

    Renee
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,624 Member
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    I continuously weighed between 162 and 160 for like.. 2 months. Now I'm down into the 150s. Be patient.
  • Yanesmy89
    Yanesmy89 Posts: 19 Member
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    ana3067 wrote: »
    I continuously weighed between 162 and 160 for like.. 2 months. Now I'm down into the 150s. Be patient.

    That's where I'm sitting... between 163 to 161 ( as of today). Thank you, I thought for sure with my hard work I could keep up my 4 lb per week weightloss. Thank you for the motivation and tips/advice! My SW is 182, CW 161, GW is 120ish. (I'm 5'1)
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    4 pounds one week and 0 pounds the next week is still an average of 2 pounds per week.

    Look at the long term trends, not the short-term fluctuations.
  • obscuremusicreference
    obscuremusicreference Posts: 1,320 Member
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    ana3067 wrote: »
    I continuously weighed between 162 and 160 for like.. 2 months. Now I'm down into the 150s. Be patient.

    This is exactly where I'm stuck (for almost 2 weeks). Frustrating. I'm down a pants size and I really wish the scale movement didn't bug me.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    I have a theory that the scale knows when it's on the verge of entering a new tens digit, and hangs onto the higher range tooth and nail. :)

    I feel like I hovered at 140-142 practically forever before dropping into the 130s. Then it felt like forever at 130-131 before I finally hit 129 this week. I expect I'll get stuck at 121-120 when the time comes, too.
  • Yanesmy89
    Yanesmy89 Posts: 19 Member
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    obscuremusicreference wrote: »
    ana3067 wrote: »
    I continuously weighed between 162 and 160 for like.. 2 months. Now I'm down into the 150s. Be patient.

    This is exactly where I'm stuck (for almost 2 weeks). Frustrating. I'm down a pants size and I really wish the scale movement didn't bug me.

    I think frustrating is an understatement. I guess I have to also learn to be patient as well as disciplined.

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