Hit a plateau, ugh!

skylersmom1
skylersmom1 Posts: 1 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
i am 5'11" and started at 322 in March 21st. I've been trying to lose weight for years and finally got into the groove in March. I haven't looked back and am now 261. I cut out the processed foods, breads, pastas, and sugar and feel really good. Last week I maintained and this week I actually gained 2 lbs. I mentally understand that I can't gain when I only eat 1100-1200 calories a day. I continue to work out about an hour a day. I'm just going to keep on doing what I am doing because I know it works for me and trust that my body will adjust. I am vegetarian as well. I am going to start tracking what I eat here so I can make sure I'm getting enough of Tyne good stuff.

Replies

  • fogurina
    fogurina Posts: 39 Member
    Yes,do u weigh your food?IT HELPS.I like what u said about u mentally understand that u can't gain weight on said calories.Lol I feel same way,haven't lost nada last two days:-( frustrating,I know,but stick to it.when I really do hit mine,I'll eat a bit more a few days,then back down.damn weight.lol
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    edited July 2015
    Plateau's almost always occur for a limited number of reasons. If it's less then a month, it's not a plateau and you should just wait longer. If it's more then a month with no weight loss, examine these things. I can say with 99.99% certainty that one of the following points is cause for the plateau:
    • Are you actually losing weight and the nonlinear nature of weight loss is just disguising the loss? Weight does not drop off in a linear fashion. This is why it is important to take daily weights and watch the trend, not the number. I prefer to weigh daily, take an average of a week's worth of weights, then compare those weekly averages over the course of a month. You might notice while the current number doesn't indicate loss on a particular day, the trend of the overall weight is moving down.
    • Are your calorie goals and exercise goals putting you in a deficit? You may need to simply reduce your intake, increase your activity, or both.
    • Is your calorie count and/or calories burned count (if you eat back burned calories) accurate? Even if your goals are correct, you might not lose weight if your counts are off. If you aren't weighing all your food on a scale (not using estimation or cups/spoons) your count is very likely inaccurate. This includes eating out and eating food you did not prepare/weigh yourself. Give this guide a read: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1 As to calories burned, no matter what MFP, a cardio machine, or even an expensive fitness device tells you, your calories burned count is probably off to some degree. Consider not eating back exercise calories and using a TDEE method to calculate a calorie goal that takes exercise into account
    • Are you actually meeting your calorie and exercise goals consistently? Having a perfect count, and goals that create a deficit don't matter one bit if you are not hitting them on a fairly consistent basis. How many days do you simply go over or not track at all? How many cheat days? It's very common to see diaries that are iron clad Monday thru Friday and then have no info at all for the weekend.
    • Do you have a medical condition that you are unaware of that you aren't taking into account? This is LEAST likely. Do not jump to this conclusion first. Examine and reexamine the previous points before you explore this one. If you do think you have a medical condition go see a doctor. Do not waste time self diagnosing, self medicating, or asking people on the forum to diagnose/treat you.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    When I hit mine, I took a break. It happened to coincide with a time that I was up to here (pretty high, forehead level) with weighing and logging. I was so sick of weighing and logging that I'd skip snacks because I didn't want to bother going through all the trouble, lol.

    After the break, I was refreshed and happy to weigh and log again. And the weight began coming off. It came off at a good chop for a while, too. Now it's back to slogging along, eensy weensy bit by bit coming off.

    I don't know how long you've been at it or if a break is right for you, but it worked wonders for me.

    Another person who lost like 200 pounds posted that they plateaued for like five months, but stuck with the weighing and logging and after those months, the weight started coming off again.

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