The Dreaded Plateau

jagodfrey08
jagodfrey08 Posts: 425 Member
edited December 2 in Motivation and Support
I have lost 15 lbs in the past 5 weeks, but now I am not losing any weight. I have not changed anything except increasing the amount and intensity of my workout routine. I still keep my calories between 1100 and 1300. I eat 92+ grams of protein a day. I walk 4-5 miles a day, but sometimes I also run a mile of that. I have started doing core strengthening exercises and body weight exercises for about 10 minutes in the morning. The only other thing that has changed is that I am not drinking a gallon of water a day anymore...only because I am getting tired of water all the time or I get too busy. I don't use artifical sugars, enriched/bleached flour, hydrogenated oils, or refined sugar anymore. I am trying to maintain a low glycemic index style of eating because I was prediabetic when I started this journey. I am just getting so frustrated right now.

Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member

    1. If it's been less than 3 weeks or so, don't sweat it! Normal fluctuations happen and unfortunately sometimes we stall for a week or two even when we're doing everything right. Give your body some time to catch up with the changes you're making.

    2. If you aren't already, be sure that you're logging everything. Sometimes people forget about things like veggies, drinks, cooking oils, and condiments. For some people these can add up to enough to halt your weight loss progress.

    3. Consider buying a food scale if you don't already have one. They're about $10-$20 dollars in the US and easily found at places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Measuring cups and spoons are great, but they do come with some degree of inaccuracy. A food scale will be more accurate, and for some people it makes a big difference.

    4. Logging accurately also means choosing accurate entries in the database. There are a lot of user-entered entries that are off. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries.

    5. Recalculate your goals if you haven't lately. As you lose weight your body requires fewer calories to run. Be sure you update your goals every ten pounds or so.

    6. If you're eating back your exercise calories and you're relying on gym machine readouts or MFP's estimates, it might be best to eat back just 50-75% of those. Certain activities tend to be overestimated. If you're using an HRM or activity tracker, it might be a good idea to look into their accuracy and be sure that yours is calibrated properly.

    7. If you're taking any cheat days that go over your calorie limits, it might be best to cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens. Some people go way over their calorie needs without realizing it when they don't track.

    8. If you weigh yourself frequently, consider using a program like trendweight to even out the fluctuations. You could be losing weight but just don't see it because of the daily ups and downs.

    9. Some people just burn fewer calories than the calculators predict. If you continue to have problems after 4-6 weeks, then it might be worth a trip to the doctor or a registered dietitian who can give you more specific advice.
  • st476
    st476 Posts: 357 Member
    When you increase exercise, you retain water sometimes. Are you getting your period soon? That could cause you to retain water. Don't worry if it hasn't been at least 3 weeks. Just as a side note, do you eat back exercise calories? Seems like you're undereating by a lot if you don't
  • jagodfrey08
    jagodfrey08 Posts: 425 Member
    diannethegeek wrote: »
    1. If it's been less than 3 weeks or so, don't sweat it! Normal fluctuations happen and unfortunately sometimes we stall for a week or two even when we're doing everything right. Give your body some time to catch up with the changes you're making.

    2. If you aren't already, be sure that you're logging everything. Sometimes people forget about things like veggies, drinks, cooking oils, and condiments. For some people these can add up to enough to halt your weight loss progress.

    3. Consider buying a food scale if you don't already have one. They're about $10-$20 dollars in the US and easily found at places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Measuring cups and spoons are great, but they do come with some degree of inaccuracy. A food scale will be more accurate, and for some people it makes a big difference.

    4. Logging accurately also means choosing accurate entries in the database. There are a lot of user-entered entries that are off. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries.

    5. Recalculate your goals if you haven't lately. As you lose weight your body requires fewer calories to run. Be sure you update your goals every ten pounds or so.

    6. If you're eating back your exercise calories and you're relying on gym machine readouts or MFP's estimates, it might be best to eat back just 50-75% of those. Certain activities tend to be overestimated. If you're using an HRM or activity tracker, it might be a good idea to look into their accuracy and be sure that yours is calibrated properly.

    7. If you're taking any cheat days that go over your calorie limits, it might be best to cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens. Some people go way over their calorie needs without realizing it when they don't track.

    8. If you weigh yourself frequently, consider using a program like trendweight to even out the fluctuations. You could be losing weight but just don't see it because of the daily ups and downs.

    9. Some people just burn fewer calories than the calculators predict. If you continue to have problems after 4-6 weeks, then it might be worth a trip to the doctor or a registered dietitian who can give you more specific advice.

    Thanks for this. I log everything and scan from the barcode. While I don't weigh my food, I do use measuring cups for things like my carbs. I do the "deck of cards" size portions for my meats. I absolutely log my oils and fats. No cheat days. I don't eat back my exercise calories. I just weighed in with my nutritionist/dietician a week ago, and her scale shows fat/water loss in addition to scale weight. My scale just shows the pounds or kg.

    I will definitely track it for a while longer. I have a weigh-in on the 25th. Hopefully, there will be weight loss at that weigh in. I guess because I am so used to seeing 4-5 lbs falling off at a time and suddenly nothing, it's frustrating. I have been traveling, too. I eat the same when I am traveling and exercise the same, but maybe there is fluid retention going on that I am not accounting for.

    Thank you all for your advice!
  • jagodfrey08
    jagodfrey08 Posts: 425 Member
    st476 wrote: »
    When you increase exercise, you retain water sometimes. Are you getting your period soon? That could cause you to retain water. Don't worry if it hasn't been at least 3 weeks. Just as a side note, do you eat back exercise calories? Seems like you're undereating by a lot if you don't

    I didn't even consider my period coming up in a week...or the water retention. Stupid hormones.

    I do not eat back my calories. My BMR is about 1600, and my dietician told me to eat between 1100-1300 calories for weight loss. I have a considerable amount of weight to lose. I am down 15, but I have about 40-45 lbs left to get to my final goal weight.

    Thanks for the tip!
  • dahye_diet
    dahye_diet Posts: 18 Member
    I've been stuck at the same weight for the past week now, and I am assuming that water retention is the culprit. I have been faithful to the caloric deficit needed for weight loss, and for the past couple days I couldn't understand why the scale wasn't getting any lower. However, when I compared my measurements from seven days ago and today, and there was a huge difference! I lost 1.5 inches around my waist, so from 27.5 to 26 inches in that time frame! I highly suggest you start measuring as well!
  • berolcolour
    berolcolour Posts: 140 Member
    I've been reading you have to drink water to stop water retention! Seems counter intuitive but apparently your body holds onto water if it isn't getting enough.
  • ivylyon
    ivylyon Posts: 172 Member
    Keep up the water, esp if you've upped your exercise, you may retain more if you drink less.
    How much are you looking to lose? 15lbs in 5 weeks is quite a large loss, and it might be that this will slow down a little, especially as your weight gets lower.
    But you've done really well so far, so don't be discouraged! Keep it up
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    edited July 2016
    15# in 5 weeks is 3# a week. That's pretty fast loss. You'll have days/weeks where you won't lose. Look at the big picture and be patient.
  • jagodfrey08
    jagodfrey08 Posts: 425 Member
    ivylyon wrote: »
    Keep up the water, esp if you've upped your exercise, you may retain more if you drink less.
    How much are you looking to lose? 15lbs in 5 weeks is quite a large loss, and it might be that this will slow down a little, especially as your weight gets lower.
    But you've done really well so far, so don't be discouraged! Keep it up

    I want to lose another 40-45 lbs. I am guessing the fast drop was just part of my dropping calories and eating healthy.

    I was down half a pound this morning, so I guess things are moving in the right direction.

    I started drinking more water again. I found this sparkling raspberry lime water from Deer Park. No added sugar, no artificial sugar, zero calories. So, at least that switches things up for me in the water department.

    Thanks for motivation, everyone!
  • jagodfrey08
    jagodfrey08 Posts: 425 Member
    Just an update. I worry too much. Down another 1.5 lbs this morning out of nowhere. Thanks for the support, everyone!
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