Has anyone got to their goal or close to it without plateuing?
Nmarine1996
Posts: 166 Member
Every person I've talk to who has lost a whole bunch of weight has plateued at one point. Wondering if its possible to never get stuck at a specific weight. Thanks for responses in advanced!
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Replies
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I personally have never seen a plateau that wasn't due to logging issues. Log accurately consistently, update your calorie goal as you lose weight, etc.. and you're less likely to get stuck.6
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A lot of people have the wrong idea about what a plateau is, which is probably why everyone you spoke to has said that they have. Weight loss isn't linear and though it may appear to stall from time-to-time it's often because of the following:
- water retention
- inaccurate food logging*
- inaccurate calorie burns*
- not adjusting goals in line with current weight (MFP should adjust but doesn't always)
*which becomes more apparent the closer you get to your goal as you have less margin for error
I had intended initially to get down to 95kg from 116kg (I've since changed my goal to 85kg) and I am currently at 99kg, I've had a couple of weeks where the scale hasn't moved but I don't consider that a plateau, a plateau in my opinion is when the scale hasn't moved downwards for at least 4-6 weeks.5 -
The only plateaus I ever had were of my own doing...mostly towards the end of things when I got a little lazy with things. Did I lose every single week? No...but that's not a plateau...going months on end without losing weight when you think you're doing everything right is generally a result of user error and inaccuracies.11
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I've gotten pretty close to where I want to be and have not plateaued at all since I started.2
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It's a great question. Like R2R said.
I've always planned ahead, the longest I stayed with one program was 10 weeks, other then a maintenance phase. The closer I get to the goal weight the harder it is and you have to trick the body.9 -
I think you need to define what a plateau is.
Fluctuations happen. But a tend line will show the real results. That is why the weight tracking apps are so handy.
Sure you might hit a week where nothing happens. I had a spot of 5 days where I lost nothing at all. But it caught up by the end of the month and I was roughly where I should be mathematically.0 -
Lost 50lbs and transitioned to maintenance without a plateau. I didn't even know that was even a thing until after I was in maintenance and joined MFP for the first time (I hung out on an IF forum for my weight loss phase).1
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blakejohn, how do you "trick the body"? interested.
I started in December and have gone from 170 to 153.4. In the last few weeks all I do is go up and down and back up. I am exercising more than ever and try to be conservative when logging the burn. I know there is a lot of inaccuracy due to eating a lot of food others have cooked and not really knowing how much butter they put in and not going to be a pain and ask!
I try to focus on my NSVs (non-scale victories, like feeling better and dropping dress sizes) which I am killing. But that doesn't mean I don't want to see the scale get down to 142, which is my goal.2 -
I had periods where i wouldn't lose for two weeks or something or I'd be losing really slow but it's been pretty good other than that3
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Only intentional ones so far. I prioritize being able to breastfeed my baby over my weight loss. She's been sick for 3 weeks (infection and cold) so I've upped my calories to maintenance and -surprise - I've been maintaining (+/-3 pounds) for nearly 3 weeks. But I've continued to lose inches in my midsection and thighs so it doesn't really feel like maintenance to me.0
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The weight loss adventures I have been on were either losing baby weight--which came off very quickly and I only stalled at the very end, most likely due to diet boredom--and trying to shave off 5-10 lbs put on during the holidays or stress or whatever. The 5-10 lbs usually comes off slowly, and with life (vacations, birthdays etc.) getting in the way, I've never really been able to tell if it was a "plateau" or my own "user error." So I guess for me....no?1
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152 pounds lost and no plateaus. Plateau is just a fancy way of saying you aren't maintaining a calorie deficit. Weight loss will fluctuate but fat loss is pretty consistent if you are. My weight fluctuates but the long term trend has held true.9
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MeredithDeVoe1 wrote: »blakejohn, how do you "trick the body"? interested.
I started in December and have gone from 170 to 153.4. In the last few weeks all I do is go up and down and back up. I am exercising more than ever and try to be conservative when logging the burn. I know there is a lot of inaccuracy due to eating a lot of food others have cooked and not really knowing how much butter they put in and not going to be a pain and ask!
I try to focus on my NSVs (non-scale victories, like feeling better and dropping dress sizes) which I am killing. But that doesn't mean I don't want to see the scale get down to 142, which is my goal.
I have a few questions? why do you have a scale? do you have to make weight for a job? are you in competition?
Tricking the body is a thing from the old school bodybuilders. If you goal is just to drop pounds then something like sprint and jog, I would suggest outside on the road not on a treadmill inside and AC gym. I'm not a crossfitter but they have a lot good programs that shock the body. High intensity followed by the next day low intensity. The body is not sure how to respond to workouts that are up and down. go to the gym and just work abs the ways are endless. Today they have a million different ways to trick the body.
I want to make something clear, I'm not a trainer or a doctor. I'm just a guy that has been working out for the past 30 years.
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MeredithDeVoe1 wrote: »blakejohn, how do you "trick the body"? interested.
I started in December and have gone from 170 to 153.4. In the last few weeks all I do is go up and down and back up. I am exercising more than ever and try to be conservative when logging the burn. I know there is a lot of inaccuracy due to eating a lot of food others have cooked and not really knowing how much butter they put in and not going to be a pain and ask!
I try to focus on my NSVs (non-scale victories, like feeling better and dropping dress sizes) which I am killing. But that doesn't mean I don't want to see the scale get down to 142, which is my goal.
I have a few questions? why do you have a scale? do you have to make weight for a job? are you in competition?
Tricking the body is a thing from the old school bodybuilders. If you goal is just to drop pounds then something like sprint and jog, I would suggest outside on the road not on a treadmill inside and AC gym. I'm not a crossfitter but they have a lot good programs that shock the body. High intensity followed by the next day low intensity. The body is not sure how to respond to workouts that are up and down. go to the gym and just work abs the ways are endless. Today they have a million different ways to trick the body.
I want to make something clear, I'm not a trainer or a doctor. I'm just a guy that has been working out for the past 30 years.
'Shocking the body' isn't gong to help with weight loss or body composition. There are good reasons to include both high and low intensity workouts - you are focusing on different aspects of fitness depending on intensity, and having a well-rounded program suited to your fitness goals is generally a good thing*, but it has nothing to do with 'your body not knowing how to respond'.
*High intensity workouts may be ill-advised until a base level of cardiovascular fitness and general conditioning is reached.4 -
I'm close to my goal and at the top of my goal range.
A "plateau" is 4 weeks with no weight decline below the weight of the first day in that span and accurate, consistent logging of food and exercise to prove that a calorie deficit has been growing for 4 weeks and has reached a total cumulative deficit size of 28,000 calories and still there is no weight change.
In those terms, no one has ever had a plateau, not even me. That's for those people who are set to lose 2 lb per week. It's a very high bar. I'll adjust the bar to 14,000 calories. For those people who have a goal of losing 1 lb per week and they have failed to lose 4 lb in 4 weeks, normal bodily fluctuations especially of women can be obscuring the actual fat loss. I really wish these people had paid for a high quality body fat analysis on the first day of their plateau and on the 28th day. There are more people, like me, who want a 0.5 lb per week loss and need only prove that they have built up a deficit of 7000 calories in 4 weeks and still haven't fallen below the weight of the first day of the span. I haven't had a plateau. I have had a month of not losing weight, but that included major American holidays and I did eat a lot.
Every single person claiming to 'plateau' has either failed to wait 4 weeks or failed to log their food and exercise or failed to prove that they have accumulated a big deficit in 4 weeks.4 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »The only plateaus I ever had were of my own doing...mostly towards the end of things when I got a little lazy with things. Did I lose every single week? No...but that's not a plateau...going months on end without losing weight when you think you're doing everything right is generally a result of user error and inaccuracies.
This, I've been in a plateau for a bit. Mostly because I hit both a scale and 2 NSVs in about 2 months.
Instead of spiking my motivation it kind of stalled it.0 -
Nmarine1996 wrote: »Every person I've talk to who has lost a whole bunch of weight has plateued at one point. Wondering if its possible to never get stuck at a specific weight. Thanks for responses in advanced!
I lost ~50 over the course of 9.5 months. Never plateaued. Does not mean I lost weight every week, but month by month: my weight continued to trend downward. Accurate, honest food logging and patience.2 -
I have experienced this plateau phenomenon and have found that in many cases as i intensify training the body responds almost by fighting back. The surprising thing is when you have a good night's rest and take it easy for a day or two the weight comes off. I also found that Spinning/Indoor Bike yielded some remarkable results as far as weight loss is concerned. Since Starting with MFP I have lost 28KG (62lbs) over Last 8 Months.2
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MeredithDeVoe1 wrote: »blakejohn, how do you "trick the body"? interested.
I started in December and have gone from 170 to 153.4. In the last few weeks all I do is go up and down and back up. I am exercising more than ever and try to be conservative when logging the burn. I know there is a lot of inaccuracy due to eating a lot of food others have cooked and not really knowing how much butter they put in and not going to be a pain and ask!
I try to focus on my NSVs (non-scale victories, like feeling better and dropping dress sizes) which I am killing. But that doesn't mean I don't want to see the scale get down to 142, which is my goal.
This is why the scale isn't moving. It has nothing to do with tricking the body or keeping it guessing.2 -
I love to read the responses on here. So much information. I do not know that I would really say that I have ever truly had a plateau in the past 2 years. However, I have had periods where I was following everything to the letter and I did not lose weight. Then again I have not changed my calorie goal in two years either. At this point I am fine with where I am and as long as I do not start gaining weight I am fine where I am.2
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No plateaus here, but I have learned that my body does not drop weight consistently every week. I will see exactly the same number on the scale for 2-3 weeks and then "whoosh!" It all catches up.4
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Just goes to show...... "the only thing I'm certain of is my own ignorance"0
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As a woman I have had the odd week when I haven't lost ( guess what was to blame) but I've lost 44lbs since Jan, I'm 8lbs to goal weight of 140lbs and no plateau here0
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Nope the only time I don't loose is when I quit logging or am not honest about my logging. Down 71lbs as of today3
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I lost 60 pounds in just less than a year (while hypothyroid, at age 59-60) without a genuine plateau. Overall, my daily weights made a jagged line of tiny up and down fluctuations, with an overall downward trend.
Sure, losses leveled off a bit around my 60th birthday/Thanksgiving (a week apart). That's not a plateau. That's because I ate and drank like a starving longshoreman, even though I'm a li'l ol' lady . . . just for fun. And it was worth it.
Trick your body??!? <eye roll>2 -
agree with @mpmangana on the rest part. Sometimes a few days of rest, good sleep and refueling your body is enough to get things rolling again.0
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Nmarine1996 wrote: »Every person I've talk to who has lost a whole bunch of weight has plateued at one point. Wondering if its possible to never get stuck at a specific weight. Thanks for responses in advanced!
I lost all my weight without a single solitary plateau.
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Down 57 pounds since February. Nothing here really looks like a plateau. Yeah, I've had to retake a hill occasionally, when I went crazy off the rails, but when I'm on track the loss is pretty consistent. This graph is me weighing (almost) every day.
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I lost 145 lbs over 2 1/2 years and never had a plateau. Lost weight every single month.2
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I seemed to plateau at 173 7lbs in. Didn't lose for a month. Then I bought a food scale, and bingo I'm down 10 more pounds3
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