Weight loss plateaus

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lthur714
lthur714 Posts: 105 Member
in Motivation and Support
What can you tell me about these weight loss plateaus? I figured maybe I'd reach that point after a couple of months of dieting. However, it seems like every single month I stall for about a week or so. Anybody else do this?

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  • Remilia_Scarlet
    Remilia_Scarlet Posts: 55 Member
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    If you're female, stalling once a month due to fluctuations in water retention is perfectly normal. It's a side effect of the menstrual cycle.

    If you're sure it's not water, then make sure you're extra diligent about weighing and logging every bite.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    a week isn't a plateau. your problem is that you have unrealistic expectations of linear weight loss...weight loss isn't a linear function...weight loss and weight management in general is all about looking at trends over time. body weight isn't a static thing and thus weight loss cannot be a linear function.
  • CyberTone
    CyberTone Posts: 7,337 Member
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    I would say a week or even three weeks is not a plateau, I would call it a recovery or stall, which is perfectly normal.

    Many people use online charting tools (such as TrendWeight, Happy Scale, or others) that use a moving average line, usually 7 or 10 days, which will smooth out the inherent noise of daily weigh-ins.

    Here is my TrendWeight chart, where I noted how many days it could appear that I was at a "plateau," but I really wasn't, it was just a normal recovery from a particularly low weigh-in.

    j6xcilwdbr2y.jpg
  • lthur714
    lthur714 Posts: 105 Member
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    Remilia_Scarlet wrote: »
    If you're female, stalling once a month due to fluctuations in water retention is perfectly normal. It's a side effect of the menstrual cycle.

    If you're sure it's not water, then make sure you're extra diligent about weighing and logging every bite.

    I don't have menstrual cycles anymore, so it's probably not that. Every bite is logged religiously so maybe it's the fact that I don't have a thyroid messing with me.
  • lthur714
    lthur714 Posts: 105 Member
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    CyberTone wrote: »
    I would say a week or even three weeks is not a plateau, I would call it a recovery or stall, which is perfectly normal.

    Many people use online charting tools (such as TrendWeight, Happy Scale, or others) that use a moving average line, usually 7 or 10 days, which will smooth out the inherent noise of daily weigh-ins.

    Here is my TrendWeight chart, where I noted how many days it could appear that I was at a "plateau," but I really wasn't, it was just a normal recovery from a particularly low weigh-in.

    j6xcilwdbr2y.jpg

    Thank you so much for this information! I'll check out Trendweight!
  • fiddletime
    fiddletime Posts: 1,862 Member
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    As I get closer to goal weight it gets slower to lose a pound. Since I'm not going below 1200 calories I regularly stay the same weight for a week, or go up and down slightly. But overall, I'm still going down, which I can see on MFP line. I have Happy Scales installed for trending, but haven't used it yet.
  • lthur714
    lthur714 Posts: 105 Member
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    fiddletime wrote: »
    As I get closer to goal weight it gets slower to lose a pound. Since I'm not going below 1200 calories I regularly stay the same weight for a week, or go up and down slightly. But overall, I'm still going down, which I can see on MFP line. I have Happy Scales installed for trending, but haven't used it yet.

    Thanks. It is encouraging!

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