Weight loss plateaus.

sara23541
sara23541 Posts: 1 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello everyone! My name is Cristina and recently I’ve started a weight loss challenge for myself to lose 50 lbs. My highest weight was 196 lbs and I currently weigh 187. However, I used to weigh 148 lbs this year and when I was younger I was around 130lbs. So about a year ago I gained 30 lbs because I was overeating, undergoing mental health issues, and having problems with my close group of friends. I got over it and lost 12 lbs which put me at 148 lbs, which is now my goal weight. Yet, at that time, I soon realized after a month I could not lose any weight at all despite running outside 5x a week and eating low calories. I tried almost everything and nothing worked; from increasing my calories to exercising more frequently. I was so upset about my failure that I decided to ease into the comfort of food. Which ultimately brought me to a whooping 196lbs. I realize that my fear of failure ultimately instigated me to gain back not only to my original weight but additional pounds. I also realize it may be too soon to ask for theoretical help about a weight loss plateau that I’m not even at but I want to settle my worries and hear everyone else’s opinion about what to do when I get there so that if the same cycle of events were to happen that I wouldn’t turn my disappointment to overeating. Any comments pertaining to similar experiences, questions, advice or even remarks would be extremely helpful. Thank you!

Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    These are the things I wish someone had told me when I plateaued for 8 weeks:

    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.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,453 Spam Moderator
    Weight loss PLATEAUS are actually rare. An actual plateau is 6 weeks or more of no weight movement IF one was consistent with exercise and diet. Problem is, if any change in that 6 weeks happens to diet and exercise (eat a little more, exercise a little more or less, etc.) then it no longer is designated as a plateau because the actual 6 weeks was
    changed.
    Many run into STALLS and they can last for a week or more, however like a PLATEAU, changing up your routine can restart a new STALL.
    Here's the deal. The body adjusts to changes pretty quickly especially if they are extreme. It adjusts less if it's more subtle. If you do a MODERATE calorie deficit (which includes the calories you burn from exercise), then stalls should be none to far in between.

    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
    9285851.png
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    If you’re logging everything as accurately as possible (weighing on a food scale, using correct entries, recipe builder, being careful about exercise calories, adjusting your intake as you lose) then you shouldn’t experience a plateau. Stalls of 1-2 weeks will happen, but if you stay on top of everything it shouldn’t go longer.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    sara23541 wrote: »
    Hello everyone! My name is Cristina and recently I’ve started a weight loss challenge for myself to lose 50 lbs. My highest weight was 196 lbs and I currently weigh 187. However, I used to weigh 148 lbs this year and when I was younger I was around 130lbs. So about a year ago I gained 30 lbs because I was overeating, undergoing mental health issues, and having problems with my close group of friends. I got over it and lost 12 lbs which put me at 148 lbs, which is now my goal weight. Yet, at that time, I soon realized after a month I could not lose any weight at all despite running outside 5x a week and eating low calories. I tried almost everything and nothing worked; from increasing my calories to exercising more frequently. I was so upset about my failure that I decided to ease into the comfort of food. Which ultimately brought me to a whooping 196lbs. I realize that my fear of failure ultimately instigated me to gain back not only to my original weight but additional pounds. I also realize it may be too soon to ask for theoretical help about a weight loss plateau that I’m not even at but I want to settle my worries and hear everyone else’s opinion about what to do when I get there so that if the same cycle of events were to happen that I wouldn’t turn my disappointment to overeating. Any comments pertaining to similar experiences, questions, advice or even remarks would be extremely helpful. Thank you!

    "I got over it and lost 12 lbs which put me at 148 lbs, which is now my goal weight. Yet, at that time, I soon realized after a month I could not lose any weight at all despite running outside 5x a week and eating low calories. I tried almost everything and nothing worked; from increasing my calories to exercising more frequently. "

    How long did this period last? This thread might be relevant:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks
This discussion has been closed.

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