When did you hit your first plateau?

During my last run of weight loss, I dropped nearly 70 lbs without a solid plateau (there were weeks here and there). Then I went three months of less than 1lb a month lost. What had happened was that I had left one job and become much more sedentary, but I never thought to adjust my calories (I had a lot on my mind at the time).

I've never hit one. I definitely took a break of sorts, but I just lost the right mindset.

Plateaus don't have to be part of your weight loss like a lot of people seem to think. As you lose, keep adjusting your calories (and weighing your food!) and you'll never plateau.

You can actually tell when I hit that ice cream hard:



I think that as long as you log what you eat, you're not going to have any mystery plateaus. Health issues and exercise water weight stalls aside, of course. Weigh your food, adjust your calories when you've lost a fair amount, know where your maintenance is and don't go over that too often (although I definitely go to parties and enjoy holidays).

The majority of people who come on here crying "plateau!!" should just take a diet break and come back with a fresh mind for accuracy.

I remember my 1st plateau...I started at 250lbs and I got to 210lbs. 40lbs in - and I sat there for 8 long months. I tried decreasing my calories because "you are eating too much!" was the go to the response of the sheeple of MFP. This did not work. I tried taking a diet break - nothing. I tried fasting, drinking more water, changing my exercise, exercised less, lifted more, lifted less. Ate more protein, ate less carbs, ate more carbs, changed the macros...8 months was a long time to try different things! None of it was working. I even went to the DR. to check for medical issues - nothing. Perfect in everything.

I then purchased the bodymedia armband (a calorie tracking device) because I had come too damn far to just give up! I found out that I was under eating by about 500-800 calories, basically - my deficit was too large. I was burning way more than what I thought.

I increased my calorie intake (drastically) for a month and BAM - weight slides off. I have never really been in another plateau that bad since then. 8 months was a long time...and it was discouraging. I had decided to think of it as "practicing for maintenance mode." which really made it easier to keep pushing through.

I am a firm believer that "you are over eating/over estimating your exercise calories" is not always the answer. I will also recommend you purchase a calorie tracking device. Not just a HRM - but one that you can wear 24 hours to get a good idea of how much you are burning. Without one...I would have been going blind this whole time. Fitbit is also a good choice. I no longer use a tracking device...as after a year of wearing one, I have a pretty good idea of where my TDEE is at.

Good luck. It is 100% worth it to keep trying no matter what happens - because if you give up, only regrets follow.

I forgot to mention for those who can not afford a calorie tracker, if you google "Scooby's Calorie Calculator" a website will pop up where you put your information in and it gives you an approximation of how many calories you should be eating. This website was very close to the numbers provided by my bodymedia armband.

At one point I actually gave my bodymedia to my boyfriend to use, then I was just relying on the numbers provided to me through this website and I was still losing weight just fine.

My 'plateaus' happened every month from the time I started ovulating to the end of my period... so 2/3 weeks at a time, every single month.

eshnna wrote: »

Steve_ApexNC wrote: »

not sure I understand your response. Adipose is a correct biological term is it not?

I am confused too.

I hit my first one at 40 days. Lasted almost three weeks. I kept logging and exercising. Then all of a sudden my body got the memo and I lost 2 lbs in a week by doing exactly the same thing I was doing when I was losing .5lbs a week.

ditto

No plateau in 14 months, -100 pounds. I do not depart from my eating plan and I rarely miss a workout or steps goal. Consistency and discipline are key for me. Good luck! F60 y/o.

I had a 2 month wait after I had lost about 55 or so pounds before I got under 200. Even with meticulous logging. It was worth it to push through!

The only time I've ever hit a "plateau" was when I got sloppy with my logging and was actually eating at maintenance.

In other words, I've never hit a plateau that wasn't self-inflicted.

Isn't a plateau defined as something which lasts 6 weeks or more?

Remaining the same weight for a few days or even a week or two isn't a plateau ... it's just part of normal weight fluctuations.

I camped for a while once I lost about 30 # - then I added weight training and tightened up tracking and ended up slowly loosing another 12 or so. I would like to lose about 5 more - I am figuring it will take me until the end of the year just because I am now within healthy weight range (upper third - I could lose #18 and still be in range) and my actual deficit is probably only 150 calories a day. I aim for 250 but don't make it every day.