How do you avoid the "plateau"?

godofcable
godofcable Posts: 1 Member
edited November 2024 in Motivation and Support
I started using MyFitnessPal On April 27. As of this writing i'm down 37.8 lbs. I'm not doing anything special, I'm just watching the calories, exercising regularly which I never used to do. My wife is amazing because she cooks everything for me, giving me the right stuff to eat in the right portions. She is doing this weightloss thing with me.

Eventually I am going to stop losing weight. What I need to know is what you do when you hit that plateau, how do you kickstart it again to get losing again?

Replies

  • allyphoe
    allyphoe Posts: 618 Member
    There's no reason to think you'll stop. I've never had a plateau, defined as, "lack of weight loss as determined by rolling trend, over a period long enough that random water weight fluctuation wouldn't mask underlying loss, unexplained by change in intake or activity."

    I've had plenty of times where my scale reading on Day X was lower than my scale reading on Day X+30, because I have an intentionally small deficit so random fluctuation can mask a long period of underlying loss. But that's not a plateau.

    As long as you know you have a deficit, keep on keeping on, and the scale will eventually catch up. If you aren't sure you have a deficit, time + math is all you need to figure it out. If you don't have a deficit, get yourself one.
  • brandyosu
    brandyosu Posts: 257 Member
    I think you and I started the same day (although I started logging a week or so later but the 27th is when I cut out my daily sodas cold turkey). I haven't hit a plateau yet, either. I've done well enough so far that it somehow feels like I am cheating. I've read enough feedback about plateaus from other threads on here that I feel like when/if it happens, I will just check everything to make sure I haven't made any changes that would cause it and then keep doing what I'm doing along with any tweaks that may be needed.
  • ibamosaserreinas
    ibamosaserreinas Posts: 294 Member
    Avoiding the plateau is as simple as being honest with your calorie tracking, weighing and measuring portions, and readjusting your caloric intake as you lose weight. The only plateaus I have had have been when I got lazy about measuring and tracking and was eating more than I should.
  • missh1967
    missh1967 Posts: 661 Member
    ibamosaserreinas wrote: »
    Avoiding the plateau is as simple as being honest with your calorie tracking, weighing and measuring portions, and readjusting your caloric intake as you lose weight. The only plateaus I have had have been when I got lazy about measuring and tracking and was eating more than I should.

    x2
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 26,067 Member
    godofcable wrote: »
    Eventually I am going to stop losing weight. What I need to know is what you do when you hit that plateau, how do you kickstart it again to get losing again?

    You may not plateau. I reached my goal weight after 16 weeks without plateauing.

    But you may very well have to decrease your max calories at some point ... and you may want to gradually increase your exercise.

  • peterjens
    peterjens Posts: 235 Member
    godofcable wrote: »
    As of this writing i'm down 37.8 lbs.

    Way to go!
    I have been at a calorie deficit since Feb 15 and am down around 30 lbs and have never hit a plateau. I have experienced daily fluctuations of 4 lbs but with an overall downward trend. (https://trendweight.com/dashboard/) I also readjust my TDEE minus 20% with every 10 lb loss. So I am eating less calories as I lose weight.
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  • kavossler
    kavossler Posts: 1 Member
    well - for some of us - there are plateaus. I think it just depends on your individual metabolism and your limitations re: exercize. I'm struggling through one now - and am trying to reduce carbs a bit more to jump start things. When you are already at 1200 calories and cannot increase the intensity of excercise due to physical issues - it isn't necessarily easy. Also - I think post-menopausal women struggle a bit more (its like my metabolism almost stopped - grrr) - in fact my weight gain (30 lbs) happened after "the change" with no change in eating or exercise patterns - just a more sluggish metabolism. I don't ever remember really dealing with this when I was younger. I do think, though, that if you extend the trackng period out long enough - the plateau disappears - but a consistent loss - every week - just isn't in the cards for everyone.
  • allyphoe
    allyphoe Posts: 618 Member
    That's my point, though - a plateau isn't "the scale didn't go down from one Sunday to the next."

    My scale weight 6/21 was XX6.2. My scale weight 7/12 was XX6.6. But I know from looking at the trend that I didn't gain 0.4 pounds in 3 weeks; I actually lost 1.8 pounds (a bit more than the 0.5 pounds a week that's my rough target).

    If you've got a relatively slow rate of loss, looking just at isolated scale readings is asking for disappointment. But disappointment isn't a plateau.
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    There's a 20% degree of error in nutritional labeling, which explain most people's plateaus. There really is no such thing, but people tend to underestimate their caloric intake and overestimate their exercise. If you find yourself in a plateau simply change things up. Try a new exercise routine and push yourself or take a closer look at what you're eating.
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