what causes a plateau?

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Suhrah623
Suhrah623 Posts: 65 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I see a lot of people say that they are experiencing a plateau, or that it's normal to have one.

Does anybody know the reasoning behind this?

Replies

  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    An actual true to life plateau? Eating at maintenance.
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
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    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    An actual true to life plateau? Eating at maintenance.

    Bingo ! People toss that word around here so often its ridiculous.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    edited August 2015
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    If you've truly been eating at a sustained calorie deficit, and all of the sudden that same calorie intake has you maintaining your weight for a sustained period of time, that means your metabolism has adapted to that intake and that's your new maintenance.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    People stop losing for a week and they're panicking and calling it a plateau, but weight loss just isn't linear. Some weeks you lose, some weeks you gain, some weeks you maintain...

    So people who are experiencing a plateau are either just hitting a stall (very common for women considering we retain water around our period), or they're eating too much.
  • jkal1979
    jkal1979 Posts: 1,896 Member
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    Some of the things that I have seen cause a plateau:

    1. Sloppy logging (not using the correct entries and/or not weighing portions)
    2. Not adjusting calorie goals as weight is lost (unless they are already at the minimum)
    3. Unrealistic expectations. Some people think that a plateau is going a few days without a loss.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    An actual true to life plateau? Eating at maintenance.
    jkal1979 wrote: »
    Some of the things that I have seen cause a plateau:

    1. Sloppy logging (not using the correct entries and/or not weighing portions)
    2. Not adjusting calorie goals as weight is lost (unless they are already at the minimum)
    3. Unrealistic expectations. Some people think that a plateau is going a few days without a loss.

    Nailed it
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
    edited August 2015
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    I don't know. I do know that I was advised to take a break. I did it and six months later, when I started losing again, the weight began coming off at a good chop again.

    I believe in the plateau because it happened to me. Weight loss experts also believe in them. Some actually advise dieting six months on, six months off to avoid the issue. Me, I'll keep losing. If I plateau again, I'll take another break, but if I don't, I'll keep going. I want the fat gone, lol. :)
  • booksandchocolate12
    booksandchocolate12 Posts: 1,741 Member
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    When I have gone a long period of time (read: more than a month) without the scale budging, it has always--ALWAYS--been because I've gotten careless with my logging. Tighten up the logging and "miraculously" the number on the scale starts moving downward again.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    booksandchocolate12 wrote: »
    When I have gone a long period of time (read: more than a month) without the scale budging, it has always--ALWAYS--been because I've gotten careless with my logging. Tighten up the logging and "miraculously" the number on the scale starts moving downward again.

    Exactly the same for me. If you're honest/or not with your logging, the answers usually lie in your diary.

  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    People aren't logging accurately, is what.
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
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    Usually people logging in more exercise calories than they burn, coupled with logging in less calories than they eat. Such as not logging in that extra helping of fettuccine because they didn't log in 10 minutes of walking their dog.
  • Suhrah623
    Suhrah623 Posts: 65 Member
    edited August 2015
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    Thanks for the replies!
    A friend of mine told me that your body "adjusting to the new routine" is what causes a plateau. It sounds like it's more of a logging issue though to me.
  • jkal1979
    jkal1979 Posts: 1,896 Member
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    Suhrah623 wrote: »
    Thanks for the replies!
    A friend of mine told me that your body "adjusting to the new routine" is what causes a plateau. It sounds like it's more of a logging issue though to me.

    That explanation is a big pet peeve of mine. It sounds nice but it doesn't get to the root of the problem.

    If you are going through one now, I would highly suggest that you provide your stats, your daily calorie goal, and open up your food diary so others can take a look at it so they can give you suggestions on how to tighten up your logging.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
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    One other cause that's not common at all.

    If you're really close to goal and have a very small deficit (<250 cals/wk) you can be losing slowly enough for normal water weight fluctuations to mask the loss for a month or two even if you are logging properly.
  • azucker88
    azucker88 Posts: 108 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    People stop losing for a week and they're panicking and calling it a plateau, but weight loss just isn't linear. Some weeks you lose, some weeks you gain, some weeks you maintain...

    So people who are experiencing a plateau are either just hitting a stall (very common for women considering we retain water around our period), or they're eating too much.

    True that, I'm retaining water right now it's the worsssstttt
  • besee_2000
    besee_2000 Posts: 365 Member
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    It is also known as homeostasis. The body's need to create balance.

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