morning everyone let's talk plateaus
leahcollett1
Posts: 807 Member
what's classed as a plateau I've officially not lost in 3 weeks I gained in the middle week stayed the same the other 2 weeks I still have 2 stone to lose. I go by the tdee method with a deficit as I do body combat consistently every week. do I keep plugging away at it or do I start to look over my stats again and re look at my logging?
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Replies
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Plateau in weight loss is 6 or more weeks of no weight movement IF one has been consistent with diet and exercise. If you detoured in any way from consistency, then it's not a plateau. A plateau is actually quite hard to achieve.
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Nope, 3 weeks is not a plateau. That's just a normal month for me these days.
It's usually followed by a "whoosh", if you're weighing and logging your food accurately and eating at a deficit.0 -
OK thanks guys I guess I shall just
keep plugging away at it and hopefully a loss will come soon I'm just the type of person to get motivation from seeing the scales going down without that I feel down in the dumps and question what I'm doing too easily I must have it tattooed on my for head that weight loss isn't linear lol
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I've lost 42kgs (around 93lbs). I would ideally like to lose a bit more but have slowed down to small amounts over long periods - I am aware that I am reluctant to eat less and or eat differently. I exercise regularly. I'm not complaining just explaining how I have "plateaued". I eat roughly the same but to be honest would say I have eaten a little too much on some occasions. My general trend is still down and this seems fine to me. My last loss was 3 weeks ago and before that 3 months prior. I just don't give up.
I'm 56 so I do eat less than someone younger but I am not deprived and I eat out regularly. I weigh and measure everything. I feel great.0 -
Well my weigh in day is a Friday and Ive stayed the same AGAIN - about three weeks for me too. Im feeling down in the dumps, fed up, and feel like saying "forget it - ill have a takeaway tonight" .......... But i wont..... in the hope ill see a difference on the scales next week. Overall, i feel better in my self this week even if the scales arent saying what I hoped they would. Keep at it, we will get there in the end x0
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I went several weeks without a loss (actually saw a gain after drinking some salty bouillon for several days), but recently started seeing a small loss again.
I believe that if one eats at a deficit, loss is inevitable, but since there are other factors involved such as salt and water, not completely predictable.0 -
Plateau in weight loss is 6 or more weeks of no weight movement IF one has been consistent with diet and exercise. If you detoured in any way from consistency, then it's not a plateau. A plateau is actually quite hard to achieve.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Your activity level has to be consistent and you also have to have a calculable deficit for it to qualify as a plateau. Otherwise you are just eating at maintenance. I mean, if you lose 40lb, TDEE can drop by over 200 calories/day, combine that with slightly less daily activity (while diet and exercise remain fixed), and you can easily eliminate a reasonable deficit. It would take a long time to hit this point, but based on some posts on MFP I believe some people do.
I think the only way to can say you hit a plateau is to have metabolic adaptation kick in, at which point it wouldn't easily be explainable with an objective 3rd party view of your 24hr day. And metabolic adaptation shouldn't really happen unless you are eating at too aggressive of a deficit to start with.0 -
nordlead2005 wrote: »Plateau in weight loss is 6 or more weeks of no weight movement IF one has been consistent with diet and exercise. If you detoured in any way from consistency, then it's not a plateau. A plateau is actually quite hard to achieve.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Your activity level has to be consistent and you also have to have a calculable deficit for it to qualify as a plateau. Otherwise you are just eating at maintenance. I mean, if you lose 40lb, TDEE can drop by over 200 calories/day, combine that with slightly less daily activity (while diet and exercise remain fixed), and you can easily eliminate a reasonable deficit. It would take a long time to hit this point, but based on some posts on MFP I believe some people do.
I think the only way to can say you hit a plateau is to have metabolic adaptation kick in, at which point it wouldn't easily be explainable with an objective 3rd party view of your 24hr day. And metabolic adaptation shouldn't really happen unless you are eating at too aggressive of a deficit to start with.
I believe you have just explained why I was at a practical standstill for 3 weeks and it feels like a 'duh' moment for me. I hit 38 lost fairly quickly, my calorie total was lowered, and I was at a period of increased desk work resulting in less activity. I've not been able to exercise much due to a stress fracture in my foot and had not put the lowered calories/less activity together in my mind, although now I'm laughing at myself because it seems like common sense. I fought through it mentally and when I finally lost a pound you would've thought I'd hit the lottery.
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I only lost the week after my period, so I had a 3 week stall every single month.0
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I've had a couple of those stalls. When I look at the overall trend though I get a very different picture. A few weeks is really not as bad as it seems.
Notice the blue line that goes flat for several weeks in July and August... I thought I was at a standstill. But I wasn't.
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thanks everyone that's amazing0
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I have the same problem. I have been at a standstill for 4 weeks. It is hard to keep going when the scale just won't move. Best of luck to you.0
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Whatever one callS it, I started looking for solutions. Some ideas I found were:
Drink more water.
Intnsify workouts
Drop calorie count in small increments
GOOD LUCK!0 -
MarcyKirkton wrote: »Whatever one callS it, I started looking for solutions. Some ideas I found were:
Drink more water.
Intnsify workouts
Drop calorie count in small increments
GOOD LUCK!
Yeah people take a lot of crap for wanting to drop their calories when they "plateau", you know what, I think it's a good practice. I'm not saying go below 1200 or anything, but a small, slow drop in caloric intake can nip a "plateau"in the bud, which keeps up motivation, and if you're logging isn't totally flawless, it can make up for that a little. Great advice here0 -
A great thread that everyone should read on "plateaus" and non-linear weight loss:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p10 -
leahcollett1 wrote: »OK thanks guys I guess I shall just
keep plugging away at it and hopefully a loss will come soon I'm just the type of person to get motivation from seeing the scales going down without that I feel down in the dumps and question what I'm doing too easily I must have it tattooed on my for head that weight loss isn't linear lol
I have to come on here and read it every day. I do! I try to read posts and remind myself that this can be a very long process, my body will do what it wants when it wants to and as long as I keep up on my end I know it will get there!
I had felt so discouraged at gaining yesterday only to see it all plus a half pound whoosh off. Be patient and stay the course! You wont regret it!0 -
CoffeeNCardio wrote: »MarcyKirkton wrote: »Whatever one callS it, I started looking for solutions. Some ideas I found were:
Drink more water.
Intnsify workouts
Drop calorie count in small increments
GOOD LUCK!
Yeah people take a lot of crap for wanting to drop their calories when they "plateau", you know what, I think it's a good practice. I'm not saying go below 1200 or anything, but a small, slow drop in caloric intake can nip a "plateau"in the bud, which keeps up motivation, and if you're logging isn't totally flawless, it can make up for that a little. Great advice here
It's just not necessary most of the time, that's the thing. It's very common for the body to just hold on to water weight for a couple weeks then drop it all at once, especially for women. It doesn't mean there is anything wrong with the calorie intake. I mean some months, the week after my period, I lost 4 pounds in 3 days. As I said above, I hit those stalls every month for 6 months (until I reached my current weight). I would have killed myself working out if I had to intensify my workouts every single time, or I would have ended up eating 1200 calories or something if I reduced my calories every time, and I would never have stuck to it.
So if you're a woman and your period is due soon, wait until a week after it ends, then re-evaluate. If it's not, and it's only been 3 weeks without loss, I'd still wait a couple weeks before changing anything.
Bottom line is that as long as you KNOW you're logging accurately and that you're not overestimating your activity level, and you know that you have a deficit... you will lose. It just takes patience.
But again... just IMO.0 -
holly_roman wrote: »I have the same problem. I have been at a standstill for 4 weeks. It is hard to keep going when the scale just won't move. Best of luck to you.
Don't worry, there are other ways to gauge your progress!
-The mirror
-Comments from other people
-Tape measure measurements
-Photos
-Clothes fit
All of these could show changes when the scale appears to not move. There are lots of ways to see progress!0
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