How do I overcome a weight loss plateau?

wchull · January 2018

I started my dieting back December 16th at a weight of 283 lbs. and during the first 3 weeks I dropped to 263.6 but in the last 7 days I have gained and lost weight and I've plateaued at about 264.8. There has not been a single day that I have not met my calorie goal for the day and burned off over 2000 calories at the gym and I just seem to be hovering at about 265. I read online that during the first few weeks you'll burn off the easy pounds and then you may reach a plateau and it appears that this is the situation in my case but I'm a bit frustrated staying at the same weight. Is there a way to jump start my system again so that I can keep on burning pounds as opposed to staying at this plateau weight? At this point I'd be happy to loose a couple of pounds a week but so far exercising doesn't seem to be the trigger as I didn't exercise any in the last 2 days and I 'm still hovering. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks.

malibu927 · January 2018

A week is not a plateau. It's a normal stall that happens to pretty much everyone. You aren't going to lose every day or even every week. Be patient and keep to what you're doing...if you go another couple weeks without losing, then you'll want to take a look at your diary to see what you can tighten up.

Poisonedpawn78 · January 2018

recalculate your calorie target with your new weight. you will likely go down a bit. Tighten up your logging and weighing of food so that you know you are hitting your goals.

Most of all, be patient and dont give up. 3 weeks from December 16th is still only about a week and half which is NOT a plateau. just impatience. weight loss is not linear and you wont lose every single week. you might even gain water weight. Give it time and your body will flush it all out and you will have a new low.

Trust in the process, give it time to work.

bogwoppt1 · January 2018

Great job on the 20 pounds lost

It is very hard to imagine burning off 2000 calories a day in the gym. Can you describe what you do in the gym for that burn? Many calculators for activity overestimate by a lot.

How are you counting your calories? Do you weight on a scale or guesstimate? Eyeballing portions is definitely a recipe for plateauing.

The only way to lose is to eat less than your body needs.

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld · January 2018

How are you measuring your calories burned?

bisky · January 2018

When I have days or even weeks when the scale is not moving but I know I have been good I get out my tape measurer. I measure at least monthly. Our bodies have the ability to retain several pounds of water weight. You lost 20 lbs, some of it water and some fat. That is awesome. Just be patient with your body as it tries to regulate itself. Someone here mentioned the "whoosh" effect and I think that is what happens when the scale is not moving for a while. I have lost almost 40 lbs and there are days when I will be up 1-3 lbs from a previous low. As long as I know I am exercising and eating at a deficit then I refuse to worry about it. I just log it. Looking back it seems as if there is a "stall" then a big weight loss and then a small gain...but overall the numbers are going down. Hang in there, try to weigh you food for accurate calorie count. Just don't let that number on the scale dictate your diet and exercise or attitude!

sssgilbe · January 2018

It appears that you are weighing yourself daily and that's fine. Be sure to do it at the same time every day, in the same clothing (or lack of). Then enter your weight into MFP check-in but only look at the reports in the long view; i.e. look at your weight since mid-December in the 90 day view. When you hit 60 days, look at the 180 day view. That will help with the long-term perspective you need to develop to mentally deal with daily fluctuations and plateaus. It will also help you determine your pattern for weight loss. It's likely to be as bisky describes--up a bit, stall, down a lot, up a bit, stall, etc. etc.

aeloine · January 2018

stanmann571 · January 2018

7 pounds a week is neither healthy nor sustainable for a man your size.

You would do well to set your goal more realistically.

That said, 1 week isn't a plateau, or even a stall really, when put up against your radical lifestyle changes.

wchull · March 2018

Thank you all for the replies. My plateau was resolved after talking to a body builder who is also a trainer in our gym. She asked me about my workouts and my eating habits and she told me two things. The first thing I needed to do was stop skipping lunch. The second was to to do strength training along with the cardio. Since then I've been losing about 2 pounds a week and I'm now down to 248. Because I was skipping lunch my brain was convinced that it needed to conserve instead of lose fat. She suggested that 6 small meals was ideal but if I would at least eat lunch along with breakfast and dinner it would help. She told me that my cardio workout was good but when it was done I was not burning any additional calories but strength training with heavy weights would cause those muscles to burn calories all day long. I started off with a comfortable amount of weight and worked up a bit more each week. Now in addition to losing weight the endorphins have made me feel better than I have in years. What helps me with the motivation now is looking at that 25 lb barbell weight and realize that I had been carrying that around for years and how much better I feel without it.

MalkinMagic71 · March 2018

Skipping lunch has no bearing on you not losing weight. Meal timing is irrelevant. You don't have to eat 6 meals s day. Your body isn't conserving fat by skipping lunch.

Strength training in sdditio to doing cardio is a good thing though. Helping to maintain some muscle as you lose.

You need to adjust your thinking and not try to lose so aggressively. A week is not a plateau. You will have dips and valleys and stalls throughout this journey. You can skip lunch if you want or breakfast or whatever you want. Be consistent in your intake and weighing your food and the pounds will slowly come off over time.

Redordeadhead · March 2018

wchull wrote: »

Thank you all for the replies. My plateau was resolved after talking to a body builder who is also a trainer in our gym. She asked me about my workouts and my eating habits and she told me two things. The first thing I needed to do was stop skipping lunch. The second was to to do strength training along with the cardio. Since then I've been losing about 2 pounds a week and I'm now down to 248. Because I was skipping lunch my brain was convinced that it needed to conserve instead of lose fat. She suggested that 6 small meals was ideal but if I would at least eat lunch along with breakfast and dinner it would help. She told me that my cardio workout was good but when it was done I was not burning any additional calories but strength training with heavy weights would cause those muscles to burn calories all day long. I started off with a comfortable amount of weight and worked up a bit more each week. Now in addition to losing weight the endorphins have made me feel better than I have in years. What helps me with the motivation now is looking at that 25 lb barbell weight and realize that I had been carrying that around for years and how much better I feel without it.

This is terrible and incorrect advice.

Muscleflex79 · March 2018

wchull wrote: »

Thank you all for the replies. My plateau was resolved after talking to a body builder who is also a trainer in our gym. She asked me about my workouts and my eating habits and she told me two things. The first thing I needed to do was stop skipping lunch. The second was to to do strength training along with the cardio. Since then I've been losing about 2 pounds a week and I'm now down to 248. Because I was skipping lunch my brain was convinced that it needed to conserve instead of lose fat. She suggested that 6 small meals was ideal but if I would at least eat lunch along with breakfast and dinner it would help. She told me that my cardio workout was good but when it was done I was not burning any additional calories but strength training with heavy weights would cause those muscles to burn calories all day long. I started off with a comfortable amount of weight and worked up a bit more each week. Now in addition to losing weight the endorphins have made me feel better than I have in years. What helps me with the motivation now is looking at that 25 lb barbell weight and realize that I had been carrying that around for years and how much better I feel without it.

all terrible bro-science advice.'

and you didn't answer what you are doing to burn 2000 calories per day at the gym??

Kst76 · March 2018

This is what i do to keep things moving.
I fast for a day or two. I mean, I will eat, just much less than normal. That usually gets things going for me.

Kst76 · March 2018

Muscleflex79 wrote: »

wchull wrote: »

Thank you all for the replies. My plateau was resolved after talking to a body builder who is also a trainer in our gym. She asked me about my workouts and my eating habits and she told me two things. The first thing I needed to do was stop skipping lunch. The second was to to do strength training along with the cardio. Since then I've been losing about 2 pounds a week and I'm now down to 248. Because I was skipping lunch my brain was convinced that it needed to conserve instead of lose fat. She suggested that 6 small meals was ideal but if I would at least eat lunch along with breakfast and dinner it would help. She told me that my cardio workout was good but when it was done I was not burning any additional calories but strength training with heavy weights would cause those muscles to burn calories all day long. I started off with a comfortable amount of weight and worked up a bit more each week. Now in addition to losing weight the endorphins have made me feel better than I have in years. What helps me with the motivation now is looking at that 25 lb barbell weight and realize that I had been carrying that around for years and how much better I feel without it.

all terrible bro-science advice.'

and you didn't answer what you are doing to burn 2000 calories per day at the gym??

Yeah..so bad because it worked for her....

stanmann571 · March 2018

karintalley wrote: »

Muscleflex79 wrote: »

wchull wrote: »

Thank you all for the replies. My plateau was resolved after talking to a body builder who is also a trainer in our gym. She asked me about my workouts and my eating habits and she told me two things. The first thing I needed to do was stop skipping lunch. The second was to to do strength training along with the cardio. Since then I've been losing about 2 pounds a week and I'm now down to 248. Because I was skipping lunch my brain was convinced that it needed to conserve instead of lose fat. She suggested that 6 small meals was ideal but if I would at least eat lunch along with breakfast and dinner it would help. She told me that my cardio workout was good but when it was done I was not burning any additional calories but strength training with heavy weights would cause those muscles to burn calories all day long. I started off with a comfortable amount of weight and worked up a bit more each week. Now in addition to losing weight the endorphins have made me feel better than I have in years. What helps me with the motivation now is looking at that 25 lb barbell weight and realize that I had been carrying that around for years and how much better I feel without it.

all terrible bro-science advice.'

and you didn't answer what you are doing to burn 2000 calories per day at the gym??

Yeah..so bad because it worked for her....

Well, I think, she is a he, and second. It's bad advice whether it worked or not, because there's no way of knowing how or why it's working.

Kst76 · March 2018

Well, we just don't know then...
all we know it worked for OP. Why change something that works.

Tacklewasher · March 2018

stanmann571 wrote: »

karintalley wrote: »

Muscleflex79 wrote: »

wchull wrote: »

Thank you all for the replies. My plateau was resolved after talking to a body builder who is also a trainer in our gym. She asked me about my workouts and my eating habits and she told me two things. The first thing I needed to do was stop skipping lunch. The second was to to do strength training along with the cardio. Since then I've been losing about 2 pounds a week and I'm now down to 248. Because I was skipping lunch my brain was convinced that it needed to conserve instead of lose fat. She suggested that 6 small meals was ideal but if I would at least eat lunch along with breakfast and dinner it would help. She told me that my cardio workout was good but when it was done I was not burning any additional calories but strength training with heavy weights would cause those muscles to burn calories all day long. I started off with a comfortable amount of weight and worked up a bit more each week. Now in addition to losing weight the endorphins have made me feel better than I have in years. What helps me with the motivation now is looking at that 25 lb barbell weight and realize that I had been carrying that around for years and how much better I feel without it.

all terrible bro-science advice.'

and you didn't answer what you are doing to burn 2000 calories per day at the gym??

Yeah..so bad because it worked for her....

Well, I think, she is a he, and second. It's bad advice whether it worked or not, because there's no way of knowing how or why it's working.

It's funny, but the advice itself isn't that bad. The explanation behind it is bro-science, but not the actual suggestions. The lunch I could take or leave, but not skipping lunch can (for some) prevent over-doing dinner and snacks. But the advice to life is spot on, and increasing the weight slowly is also spot on. So, while the explanation is crap, I think most would echo the advice to some extent.

Also, @wchull we all really doubt you are burning 2000 cals in the gym. That is a hell of a lot. I'm ~205 lbs and that would be over a half marathon for me.

MegaMooseEsq · March 2018

karintalley wrote: »

Well, we just don't know then...
all we know it worked for OP. Why change something that works.

Clearly something is working, but it may not be for the reasons the OP thinks, as much of the advice they were given is based on disproved theories and just flat misinformation. Wouldn't you rather know the actual reason something happens rather than believing something that is incorrect?

sijomial · March 2018

2000 calories burn would be about four hours of brisk cycling - sorry but you aren't burning that off in the gym.

The advice you received from the bodybuilder was twaddle.

There's loads of accurate information in the sticky threads pinned to the top of the various forums, really well worth spending some time reading. Best of luck.

wchull · March 2018

First, the 2000 Cal included in my first post was a typo. I do spend a at least an hour per day on an elliptical machine and according to the readouts on the machines that are pretty consistent from machine to machine I'm burning about 600 Cal's.

Perhaps I didn't explain the advice given in regard to skipping lunch. The explanation was that skipping meals can mess with ones metabolism and can trigger the body to go into starvation mode and prevent weight loss. This behavior is referenced on the internet so I don't think it's bad advise. The advice given was that eating meals vs. skipping a meal will help prevent the body from experiencing starvation mode and eating instead of skipping helps prevent overeating whenever you do eat again.

The point is that regardless of whether you agree or disagree with the advice I was given it worked as started to lose weight again after struggling to lose and seeing no progress no matter how few calories I consumed or how hard I worked out in the gym.

How do I overcome a weight loss plateau?

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