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How do you know when you've hit a plateau? (Besides the scale telling you)

Fatvaporizer
Fatvaporizer Posts: 139 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I was wondering how we know when we start to hit that weight-loss 'plateau' everyone dreads. Based on information, you can tell when your scale doesn't budge, when the numbers don't go down anymore. But besides the scale, is there any other way to tell? Such as being able to tell from the workout that you're doing. Maybe being less tired from it? I don't know. What do you think?

Replies

  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    Up to three weeks of non scale weight changes.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    4-6 weeks with no change in weight. For the most part, this means you're eating at maintenance and need to adjust your logging.
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    4-6 weeks with no change in weight. For the most part, this means you're eating at maintenance and need to adjust your logging.

    Adjust logging?

    Okay two things to consider when experiencing a plateau.

    1). Maintain food intake and increase exercise or increase movement.

    2). Maintain current exercise and decrease food intake little by little till you start losing again.

    Logging has little to do with it.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    edited October 2016
    Helloitsdan wrote: »
    malibu927 wrote: »
    4-6 weeks with no change in weight. For the most part, this means you're eating at maintenance and need to adjust your logging.

    Adjust logging?

    Okay two things to consider when experiencing a plateau.

    1). Maintain food intake and increase exercise or increase movement.

    2). Maintain current exercise and decrease food intake little by little till you start losing again.

    Logging has little to do with it.

    Which is fine if your logging is 100% accurate, which for most of the users on MFP who experience plateaus it is not. Plus that does usually lead to a lowered intake if they improve their accuracy.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    Helloitsdan wrote: »
    malibu927 wrote: »
    4-6 weeks with no change in weight. For the most part, this means you're eating at maintenance and need to adjust your logging.

    Adjust logging?

    Okay two things to consider when experiencing a plateau.

    1). Maintain food intake and increase exercise or increase movement.

    2). Maintain current exercise and decrease food intake little by little till you start losing again.

    Logging has little to do with it.

    I've noticed most people on here who think they hit a plateau are not logging accurately, so for them logging has everything to do with it. There are a few exceptions of course, but in general it's a good idea for people who haven't lost weight to double check their logging accuracy first.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,487 Member
    edited October 2016
    Must wait it out at least 4 weeks.

    Next determine your calorie deficit. Are you logging properly and honestly?

    This is usually where it comes down to, and sometimes if a person has not adjusted their weight loss at each 10 pounds and even the possibility they are still doing the same exercising and even with exercising and changing that up from time to time, their NEAT has decreased, meaning they are moving around less than they were when they started losing weight..

    Plateaus are really not plateaus if you are 100% on point with food and exercise and your NEAT.
  • JennieMaeK
    JennieMaeK Posts: 474 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    Helloitsdan wrote: »
    malibu927 wrote: »
    4-6 weeks with no change in weight. For the most part, this means you're eating at maintenance and need to adjust your logging.

    Adjust logging?

    Okay two things to consider when experiencing a plateau.

    1). Maintain food intake and increase exercise or increase movement.

    2). Maintain current exercise and decrease food intake little by little till you start losing again.

    Logging has little to do with it.

    Which is fine if your logging is 100% accurate, which for most of the users on MFP who experience plateaus it is not. Plus that does usually lead to a lowered intake if they improve their accuracy.

    ^This.

    I've been using MFP consistently now for almost 2 years and have lost almost 84 lbs and have never had a plateau. Any time I've not lost weight or gain, I knew why it was and it came down to what I was eating and how accurately I was logging.

    As someone else mentioned, I'm sure there are some people that experience plateaus and are extremely accurate with their logging, but I think for the most part people can tighten up their logging and be more accurate, which then means they will be at the deficit they thought they were at.
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