Help!! Breaking a plateau

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Shannon_hemminger
Shannon_hemminger Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi guys!
I have been in a plateau now for 2 weeks. I dropped my first 20lbs in three months, and now the scale fluctuates .2oz up or down. I have tried lowering my cals, and as of the last four days I have upp'ed by cals to where they were, I have limited my carb intake to 110g a day, lowered my sodium intake to below 1500mg a day, drinking 4 liters of water, and for exercise, I am doing between 30 - 45 mins total of elliptical intervals, running, and taking the dog for a walk.

I am 5'7, 215lbs, my average TDEE is 2600 (according to my fitbit charge HR) and have been trying to have between a 800-1000 cal deficit? Is that too aggressive of a deficit?

Please suggest what I should do to break through this plateau and be on my marry way to 'onederland'!

Replies

  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
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    2 weeks isn't a plateau, a plateau is 5-6 weeks. We all have stalls every now and again, and weight loss isn't linear. Just keep at it and it'll probably start coming off again soon!

    That said, do you weigh everything you eat? If you're not using scales you may be eating more than you think.
  • Shannon_hemminger
    Shannon_hemminger Posts: 9 Member
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    DemoraFairy wrote: »
    2 weeks isn't a plateau, a plateau is 5-6 weeks. We all have stalls every now and again, and weight loss isn't linear. Just keep at it and it'll probably start coming off again soon!

    That said, do you weigh everything you eat? If you're not using scales you may be eating more than you think.

    Hi there, I guess the two week stall is the beginning of the plateau then and would love to break it before the 5th or 6th week!! :) Yes, I have always been very diligent about weighing everyone that can be weighed/should be weighed.
  • Camo_xxx
    Camo_xxx Posts: 1,082 Member
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    At about week 3 I will have a couple of cocktails after dinner. Next morning my week long whoosh begins. Weird I know but has has worked several times for me. As a matter of fact, Check back with me this comming Friday. As its that time again.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    I can't say I care whether people call it a plateau or a stall. That is just MFP jargon. That being said, a 2 week plateau or stall or whatever you want to call it is somewhat typical, because changes in exercise, illness, time of the month, or the phase of the moon can cause our bodies to hang on to water for a little longer than normal. As long as you continue eating at a deficit, you'll eventually start losing again. You may even lose very quickly after a while because the water is leaving your system.
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
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    Shannon_hemminger wrote: »
    DemoraFairy wrote: »
    2 weeks isn't a plateau, a plateau is 5-6 weeks. We all have stalls every now and again, and weight loss isn't linear. Just keep at it and it'll probably start coming off again soon!

    That said, do you weigh everything you eat? If you're not using scales you may be eating more than you think.

    Hi there, I guess the two week stall is the beginning of the plateau then and would love to break it before the 5th or 6th week!! :) Yes, I have always been very diligent about weighing everyone that can be weighed/should be weighed.

    While you could say the 2 weeks is just the beginning of the plateau, you could also say that 2 days without loss is the first 2 days of a plateau, but you wouldn't be worrying after 2 days! It's more likely that the weight will start coming off soon. Ultimately if you are weighing everything and not eating back too many exercise calories you'll lose weight. As @TimothyFish said, many things can make us hang on to water. You have to leave it a bit longer to be able to eliminate these things as potential causes! :)

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