Weight Loss Plateau
toyrobot78
Posts: 15 Member
Over the last 3 weeks I've experienced a complete hault in weight loss. Up until then I'd managed to shed 28-30lb. In these 3 weeks I've not made any changes to my diet (still counting via mfp and staying with my calorie / ratio goal on a daily basis) and I'm exercising regularly. I'd like to lose another 14-20lb. At the moment I'm feeling positive about that which I've lost but it won't be long before I start to feel negative about that which I can't. I've read this a common phenomena. Any other 'sufferers'? How long did it last? Did you make changes to move beyond or did it rectify itself over time?
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What's your daily calorie consumption?
How much do you currently weigh?
How tall are you?
What's you're activity level?
There's a number of reasons to have a plateau; I've run into a number of them. They're terribly frustrating, and there's often not one "silver bullet" to solve them; sometimes all it takes is doing something different to shock the system a bit.0 -
As your body weight drops, you need less calories to just maintain day to day; your body doesn't work as hard to keep itself alive. So, you have to drop your calories to take into account how far you've come, or up your exercise. Then you'll start shedding weight again.0
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My calorie consumption over last week varied from 1650 up to 1950 a day. My exercise consisted of mountain biking - out 4 times and done apx 11 miles off road each time (it's very hilly where I live so it's not an easy 11 miles). I could probably drop the calories a bit but I don't want to start feeling like I'm cutting out too much or giving myself a hard time in that regard because I worry it will make me feel hard done by so that I 'rebel' and start to undo the work I've already done. I'd be more inclined toward upping exercise than dropping cals. Plus, as weather improves and my fitness levels rise, I'll be doing more anyway.
Currently I'm at 13st 3lb - and have been for 3 weeks. I'm 5'9" - I'd like to be 12st or a few pounds less.
My hope is that it's a temporary slump and I'll start to see changes soon. I had a similar but shorted plateau previously that was followed by a period of regular loss. Fingers crossed I'll see the same happen again.0 -
I was stalled for 4 weeks.. I was only a month into my weight loss when it started, so you can imagine how discouraged I was. I was doing everything the same as I had been.
I cleaned up my diary.. Weighing EVERYTHING I put in my mouth. Kicked up my water intake to an extra 2 glasses a day..then I waited. I broke the stall a week later and dropped 5 inches 2 weeks later
Good luck!0 -
I've had several plateaus throughout my journey, lasting up to 6 weeks, 3 weeks isn't really a plateau, you could find a whoosh in the next few days as you drop some weight
The question to ask yourself, are you still logging your food accurately? have you changed your exercise routine any?
Usually when we stall its because we've gotten slack with watching our intake and over estimating our calorie burn.
The nearer you get to goal - and 14-16lbs is considered near, then you have to be much more accurate to leave you at deficit and losing.
- Wishing you continued success on your weight loss journey 0 -
Thanks megsta91 & RunRutheeRun. My exercise has increased and will continue to do so but there's always the chance that I've allowed myself to become slightly complacent with my input count - I'll double my efforts there I think. I know that some days I'm not drinking as much water as I should, so I'll have to be more vigilant there too.
I supposed I should take some satisfaction in the fact that whilst I've not dropped a pound, neither have I gained.0 -
@toyrobot78 yes keeping chugging down that water, it really does make a difference. Also if you are doing more exercise your muscles hold onto extra water for repair and that makes us weigh heavier.
Be more vigilant logging, every morsel and weigh it all....and the scale will go down
and yes maintaining weight is better than gaining
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Does MFP automatically reduce the calorie targets as we get lighter? I suppose a better question is, As we get lighter do we require fewer calories?0
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I had a stall for the last three months of February. My logging was tight, and I really didn't do anything to come out of it.
I got a recommendation (from one of the very knowledgeable pros on the site) to try cutting my carbs by about 25 to 50 grams, but I came out of the stall before I could give that a try.
Do tighten up your logging, chug your water, and keep on keeping on. Also make sure that you check your settings and that you've updated them recently for where you're at now. You should redo them every ten pounds or so.0 -
I have had three stalls so far, two for 3 weeks and one for 4 weeks. (96 lb gone in 14-1/2 months so far) Make sure you are weighing, measuring, and logging accurately. If all of that is up to snuff, don't worry. The human body is weird and sometimes it just doesn't let go of the weight. Keep doing what you are doing and the weight loss will start up again, sometimes with a "whoosh" where you have a bigger than normal loss, then go back to your usual pattern.
Stalls happen, you just have to be patient.
BYW: my four week stall wasn't helped by me getting a bit fast and loose with my food. The three week ones had no obvious cause.0 -
racingislife97 wrote: »Does MFP automatically reduce the calorie targets as we get lighter? I suppose a better question is, As we get lighter do we require fewer calories?
Yes, we require fewer calories as we get lighter. MFP does not do it automatically, but it does give you a reminder that you have not recalculated your calorie intake after 10 lb. lost. Usually the reminder pops up on the check-in page when you enter your weight.
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Are you weighing your meals? Do you eat out at restaurants a lot? I just started weighing my food and it was eye-opening to say the least. Restaurants may post their nutrition and calorie counts, but often times the reality is the food is more caloric than advertised. Higher sodium will cause you to hold onto water weight, too. So ... eat more home-prepped foods, use your scale, log honestly and make sure you are drinking plenty of water and getting your exercise in.
PS - 1650 is very low calorie for an active man, you may need to rethink your calorie goal. Try this: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/0 -
1650 is not low...lord, I need to stop reading these message boards, the misinformation here just never ends...you need to run a deficit of 1000 calories PER DAY to lose 2 lbs in a week...I am a 252 lb guy and my BMR is 2500 calories a day..if I was 200lbs it would be 2050 calories a day...everyone seems to be under some delusion that an office job or regular wandering around burns like 1000 calories a day, it doesn't...1650 is a totally acceptable calorie goal.0
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thatguyalex wrote: »1650 is not low...lord, I need to stop reading these message boards, the misinformation here just never ends...you need to run a deficit of 1000 calories PER DAY to lose 2 lbs in a week...I am a 252 lb guy and my BMR is 2500 calories a day..if I was 200lbs it would be 2050 calories a day...everyone seems to be under some delusion that an office job or regular wandering around burns like 1000 calories a day, it doesn't...1650 is a totally acceptable calorie goal.
He only has about 15 lb to go. A loss of 2 lb a week is too aggressive for his stage of weight loss.
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thatguyalex wrote: »1650 is not low...lord, I need to stop reading these message boards, the misinformation here just never ends...you need to run a deficit of 1000 calories PER DAY to lose 2 lbs in a week...I am a 252 lb guy and my BMR is 2500 calories a day..if I was 200lbs it would be 2050 calories a day...everyone seems to be under some delusion that an office job or regular wandering around burns like 1000 calories a day, it doesn't...1650 is a totally acceptable calorie goal.
He only has about 15 lb to go. A loss of 2 lb a week is too aggressive for his stage of weight loss.
No, probably not. It is a little over 1% of his body weight, but probably not enough to worry about, unless he has some kind of health problem.0 -
thatguyalex wrote: »1650 is not low...lord, I need to stop reading these message boards, the misinformation here just never ends...you need to run a deficit of 1000 calories PER DAY to lose 2 lbs in a week...I am a 252 lb guy and my BMR is 2500 calories a day..if I was 200lbs it would be 2050 calories a day...everyone seems to be under some delusion that an office job or regular wandering around burns like 1000 calories a day, it doesn't...1650 is a totally acceptable calorie goal.
How tall are you?
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Hi toyrobot,toyrobot78 wrote: »Over the last 3 weeks I've experienced a complete hault in weight loss. Up until then I'd managed to shed 28-30lb. In these 3 weeks I've not made any changes to my diet (still counting via mfp and staying with my calorie / ratio goal on a daily basis) and I'm exercising regularly. I'd like to lose another 14-20lb. At the moment I'm feeling positive about that which I've lost but it won't be long before I start to feel negative about that which I can't. I've read this a common phenomena. Any other 'sufferers'? How long did it last? Did you make changes to move beyond or did it rectify itself over time?
Congratulations on how far you've come!
Your ticker says you have 2 pounds to lose, but above you say you'd like to lose just a bit more. This leads me to believe that you are probably pretty much within a healthy weight range now. As you get closer to your goal, or if you are on the high end of your healthy BMI and are trying to get to the lower end of the same, it will take a bit longer to come off.
At this juncture, you weight loss goal should be for .5 pounds per week, otherwise your goals are too aggressive and most likely not sustainable in the long run.
Weight loss is not linear, and you will not lose weight every week. I remember when I was dieting, there were times when the scale did not move for 3 or 4 weeks. Since I was weighing all food and logging every single bite, and using a heart rate monitor or my calorie burns and logging those, and eating a certain amount of calories back, I just kept doing what I was doing, and the went eventually started coming off again.
ETA: I see you answered the question about input and weighing food. Yep, getting lax in our weighing food, logging, etc. often creates errors, killing that deficit.
Do you count cardio burns, and where do you get those calories from?
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Timothy, I disagree. it is too aggressive.TimothyFish wrote: »thatguyalex wrote: »1650 is not low...lord, I need to stop reading these message boards, the misinformation here just never ends...you need to run a deficit of 1000 calories PER DAY to lose 2 lbs in a week...I am a 252 lb guy and my BMR is 2500 calories a day..if I was 200lbs it would be 2050 calories a day...everyone seems to be under some delusion that an office job or regular wandering around burns like 1000 calories a day, it doesn't...1650 is a totally acceptable calorie goal.
He only has about 15 lb to go. A loss of 2 lb a week is too aggressive for his stage of weight loss.
No, probably not. It is a little over 1% of his body weight, but probably not enough to worry about, unless he has some kind of health problem.
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Very normal! Everyone is different, but a stall 3-4 weeks in is pretty typical. Usually you've dumped more weight than what matched your calorie in/calorie out. I think it's pretty typical to spend a couple weeks stalled after that as your body plays catch up. For me, it always happens at week three.0
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thatguyalex wrote: »1650 is not low...lord, I need to stop reading these message boards, the misinformation here just never ends...you need to run a deficit of 1000 calories PER DAY to lose 2 lbs in a week...I am a 252 lb guy and my BMR is 2500 calories a day..if I was 200lbs it would be 2050 calories a day...everyone seems to be under some delusion that an office job or regular wandering around burns like 1000 calories a day, it doesn't...1650 is a totally acceptable calorie goal.
Alex, really?
I believe that you're missing the point.
The OP has just a few more pounds to go. 2 pounds a week is too aggressive for how much weight he has to lose.
It would be different for you. You are 252 calories, therefore it is reasonable for you to have a goal of losing 2 pounds a week.
Let me use me as an example: I weigh 139 pounds and would love to lose an extra 4 pounds just to see that magic 135 on the scale (that part is not real, I am happy where am now). My BMR with my exercise level is around 2200.
If I were to set my goals to lose 2 pounds a week, I would be at 1200 calories a day. Does that seems sustainable to you for a woman at a healthy BMI who heavy weight lifts three times a week, runs 3 days a week, and does other cardio type activity, plus is always on the go? Do you think that's enough to fuel my body?
I suggest looking at the bigger picture and taking into account people's goals and where they are at any stage in their weight loss before accusing people of spreading misinformation, especially when they are not doing so.
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Plateaus happen you need to keep the faith. However......
Make sure your activity calories are not overestimated. I did this last year training for a marathon, by using the exaggerated Strava numbers, and didn't really lose much. I am not convinced by some of the MFP database calorie burn estimates either. Safest is to use a HRM I think....for me I found the Garmin calculations with one of these lower and hence more effective in terms of MFP.
I think your macros ( carbs vs fat vs protein ) also have more effect as you get closer to target weight. When I started out all I needed was a moderate deficit but as I've got fitter the details seem to have made more difference. After some trial and error I've settled on balanced ratios ( 35:40:25 ) that work for me with a moderate deficit although we are all different!0 -
Paul_Collyer wrote: »Plateaus happen you need to keep the faith. However......
Make sure your activity calories are not overestimated. I did this last year training for a marathon, by using the exaggerated Strava numbers, and didn't really lose much. I am not convinced by some of the MFP database calorie burn estimates either. Safest is to use a HRM I think....for me I found the Garmin calculations with one of these lower and hence more effective in terms of MFP.
I think your macros ( carbs vs fat vs protein ) also have more effect as you get closer to target weight. When I started out all I needed was a moderate deficit but as I've got fitter the details seem to have made more difference. After some trial and error I've settled on balanced ratios ( 35:40:25 ) that work for me with a moderate deficit although we are all different!
Love what you say about accuracy in counting for both food and exercise.
Macros would certainly have an effect on energy levels, which in turn determines how much steam you put into those exercise sessions, as well as nutrition toals, but as far as calories in/calories out, I would say they don't matter at all.
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Thanks folks, some great advice and above all else, encouragement. There's seems to be a bit of confusion with regard to my daily calorie intake. I never stated that 1650 was my goal. I said that over last week that my intake ranged from 1650 to 1950. Some days I ended up having less due to differing meals and circumstances. I have no intention of setting such a low daily goal, simply because I'd be creating a problem for myself. I'd be miserable which would make me want what I can't have. I'd far rather control the quality of what I'm eating and increase my exercise.
As has been pointed out, I'm getting down to the heavier end of 'healthy weight' and am happy - feeling good, visibly changed and enjoying exercise because of my increased fitness. I'd simply like to drop that little bit more for fitness reasons. Summer's coming and I'd love to be able to have a right blast on the bike during my time off work.
My initial goal was to drop 1lb a week. I want whatever I do to be maintainable so don't have interest in 'extreme' measures. I understand that my intake will drop and perhaps it's time to recalibrate mfp to take my loss into account. Also, my calorie burns come from strava but I had already decided that the predictions are quite generous.
I'll keep going and am confident I'll see the next drop soon.0 -
i have 17lbs to go and losing now on average of .5lbs per week. 1200 calories is too low for me right now and increasing was better for my nutrition and energy levels. i stalled on 1200 for 5 weeks and then started losing after the increase i was doing 5-6 days of HIIT and still not losing. different things work for different people. one day the weight just came off0
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I don't think the calorie intake is your problem - you're well within a range that will lose weight based on your activity level.
At this point, I would suggest mixing in some strength training - have a look at the Stronglifts 5x5 program. It's easy, requires very little time, and is pretty effective.
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fnoblebrown wrote: »I don't think the calorie intake is your problem - you're well within a range that will lose weight based on your activity level.
At this point, I would suggest mixing in some strength training - have a look at the Stronglifts 5x5 program. It's easy, requires very little time, and is pretty effective.
What are you using to base that on? What makes you say that is fine for a grown man that bikes so many miles per week should be eating as low as 1650 calories?
I dunno, maybe the fact that, as a grown man myself, I've lost weight consuming in that same calorie range while running 20 miles a week?
He's trying to lose weight. Good on him for not being a cupcake about it and eating all his calories back. Honestly, I think it's a bit delusional to think that you can crush 2200 calories a day and really see much in the way of weight loss over any reasonable measure of time, especially in cases like his where he's not morbidly obese or anything.0 -
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