Hitting the Plateau Wall - any suggestions
tryan27
Posts: 13 Member
I have been on a successful life change plan since Feb 2018, I am down 72 of the 97 lbs I want to lose. But in the last 3 months, I have been going 4-5 weeks at a time with no change in my weight. I went down 100 calories a day and have incorporated my cardio to go along with my strength training. Still plateauing and getting very frustrated. Anyone have an idea to help me re start my consistent weight loss again to get the last 25 lbs off? Please feel free to make suggestions. T.
0
Replies
-
If you are losing weight then it's not a plateau, it's just not as fast as you would like.
Have you recalculated your calorie goal since losing 72lbs?7 -
You're still losing weight, it's slower because you are now eating closer to your maintenance calories and only have a tiny deficit.
As @tavistock says, have you recalculated your goal recently in the app settings?2 -
yes, calories down to 1000 per day. hard to maintain. hungry all the time but sticking to it.1
-
are you using a food scale? if not get one and weigh every solid and semi solid and use measuring cups for liquids. and weigh everything you are eating now,do that for a week and see how much you are really eating. if you are down to 1000 calories a day you would be losing even at 1200 most likely. how tall are you? and if you are going to the gym you could be retaining water that is masking the weight loss. Trust me its really easy to eat more calorie than you think you are if not using a food scale. its what helped me to start losing weight again, I realized I was eating more than I thought.1
-
You need to accept that weight loss is slower the closer you get to goal.
You have to get more accurate with your logging2 -
-
Have you taken any planned diet breaks?5
-
Weight loss plateaus are normal. You lose X amount of weight and your body has to recalibrate itself to your new lighter body. Give it time, you will break through it. Just keep going and keep up the great work. I recommend changing up your exercise routine to shake things up a bit.5
-
I have been on a successful life change plan since Feb 2018, I am down 72 of the 97 lbs I want to lose. But in the last 3 months, I have been going 4-5 weeks at a time with no change in my weight. I went down 100 calories a day and have incorporated my cardio to go along with my strength training. Still plateauing and getting very frustrated. Anyone have an idea to help me re start my consistent weight loss again to get the last 25 lbs off? Please feel free to make suggestions. T.
I am at a plateau right now. 3rd this year. It's a normal part of weight loss. Don't stress, don't overcompensate. Recalculate your ideal caloric intake, and if you are still static wait it out a little longer, and you'll probably continue to lose. If not, perhaps you may need to seek a professional nutritionist/dietician for assistance. I will do the double check that you weigh everything, as that's a common issue. If you have pre-prepared meals from the store, I recently learned that the weight of items can be off by as much as 20%, which can drastically affect your caloric intake.3 -
You need to change it up a bit - too low a calorie intake and the body just grabs them all. Eat a few hundred more for a few days (but still in deficit) and then reduce a little. If you do this every few weeks you might see fewer plateaus but they are rather a fact of weight loss14
-
I began my journey through a Bariatric MD lifestyle change program of 1200 cals per day. No drugs, No surgery, just better choices in a more realistic manner in hopes of keeping the weight off once I reach my goal. I have been successful in the past of losing over 140 lbs on Atkins, but maintaining it was the issue because I was on a diet. This program allows me to do more daily things like go out to restaurants or Fast Food places and simply make healthy choices. The Bariatric program is designed to have you lose 1-2 lbs per week. I averaged 7-12 pounds at each of my 5 wk checkins in the beginning, but have slowed to only about 5 lbs per check in at 7-10 wk intervals. I did break the plateau yesterday. I lost one pound yesterday and one pound today, so I guess I have recalibrated. To the question do I take breaks. Occasionally, if I go over my 1000 calories, I don't do so by more than 400 calories. I allow myself a few treat days but they are only about once a month. I know from past experience if you confuse your body, it won't be so stingy with giving up the fat. I guess it is just the overwhelming frustration giving up my comfort mechanism has been. I find the anger and frustration levels I am reaching are at all time highs since I gave up using food as a comfort therapy. I have discussed this with my Bariatric MD and she is sending me to a Bariatric psychologist to see what I can do when it gets really bad. Thanks for the tips, I will try them too.3
-
I crossed out the part about confusing the body because you cant confuse your body. it doesnt work that way.I began my journey through a Bariatric MD lifestyle change program of 1200 cals per day. No drugs, No surgery, just better choices in a more realistic manner in hopes of keeping the weight off once I reach my goal. I have been successful in the past of losing over 140 lbs on Atkins, but maintaining it was the issue because I was on a diet. This program allows me to do more daily things like go out to restaurants or Fast Food places and simply make healthy choices. The Bariatric program is designed to have you lose 1-2 lbs per week. I averaged 7-12 pounds at each of my 5 wk checkins in the beginning, but have slowed to only about 5 lbs per check in at 7-10 wk intervals. I did break the plateau yesterday. I lost one pound yesterday and one pound today, so I guess I have recalibrated. To the question do I take breaks. Occasionally, if I go over my 1000 calories, I don't do so by more than 400 calories. I allow myself a few treat days but they are only about once a month. I know from past experience if you confuse your body, it won't be so stingy with giving up the fat. I guess it is just the overwhelming frustration giving up my comfort mechanism has been. I find the anger and frustration levels I am reaching are at all time highs since I gave up using food as a comfort therapy. I have discussed this with my Bariatric MD and she is sending me to a Bariatric psychologist to see what I can do when it gets really bad. Thanks for the tips, I will try them too.
2 -
yes, calories down to 1000 per day. hard to maintain. hungry all the time but sticking to it.
This is too low. You might want to consider a diet break. When I hit a plateau (6 weeks or more at the same weight) I did a week at maintenance calories and although I gained a couple pounds once I went back to a reasonable calorie level to lose at I started dropping again and finally got to goal. Give that a try.
4 -
Thanks Charles and Cheryl for the advise. I will try them0
-
lowering your caloric intake is not the answer. Nor is it sustainable. Have you ever bothered to ask yourself whether or not you will be living on a diet of 1000-1200 calories per day every single day? its not a lifestyle change if you are malnourished. It's also not sustainable in the long term and you will eventually gain some or all of it back.
you could in fact be forcing your body to lose water and muscle weight because it sees that calories are not plentiful so it begins to store fat instead of burning it. These past couple of days could have easily been water loss because it is extremely difficult to lose a pound per day.
Increase your calories to at a level where you are not feeling hungry (more protein) and change your exercise routine. Your body gets used to the same exercises so you need to introduce different types of exercise...swimming is a great addition if you are not doing it already. Try water walking/calisthenics too.2 -
I've been told that muscle weighs more than fat, so as you work out and get fit, you might not lose weight. Check how your clothes fit, or take your measurements.
I'm doing a 1000 calories a day, but I'm short and sedentary. That's not much at all, and you need to fuel your body. You don't want to sacrifice muscle to lose weight, so you need an accurate calculation of your calorie needs. If you're working out, 1000 calories is probably too little--unless you're extremely short. I'm not sure if it's scientific, but your body goes into starvation mode, and conserves as much as possible. It will start shutting down to conserve energy.
And if you're hungry all the time, you need to EAT! There's a difference between hunger and cravings. Give your body what it needs.3 -
cariwaldick wrote: »I've been told that muscle weighs more than fat, so as you work out and get fit, you might not lose weight. Check how your clothes fit, or take your measurements.
I'm doing a 1000 calories a day, but I'm short and sedentary. That's not much at all, and you need to fuel your body. You don't want to sacrifice muscle to lose weight, so you need an accurate calculation of your calorie needs. If you're working out, 1000 calories is probably too little--unless you're extremely short. I'm not sure if it's scientific, but your body goes into starvation mode, and conserves as much as possible. It will start shutting down to conserve energy.
And if you're hungry all the time, you need to EAT! There's a difference between hunger and cravings. Give your body what it needs.
lb for ln muscle weighs the same as fat, per cubic inch its more. if you arent losing weight it has nothing to do with gaining muscle. and you arent going to do it on a 1000 calories a day. and the body does NOT go into starvation mode. There is a thing called adaptive thermogenesis but that can be reversed and if you are truly starving your body will take energy from whatever it can(muscle,lean mass,fat,etc, which means organs can be basically cannibalized if not getting enough calories). it doesnt shut down to conserve energy,if its starts shutting down you are in some serious danger and you would be really really thin in most cases. how many anorexics, and starving third world people do you see who are retaining fat and weight?
even if a person is very short,sedentary,elderly or a combo of the 3 and working out they are going to need more than 1000 calories to fuel their body appropriately.Maybe not large numbers.2 -
I have begun doing more aerobic activities, like bowling and water aerobics. I am hoping to restart the decreasing . Still plateaued from the last two pounds I lost about a week ago. Feels good mentally to get more distracted by fun activities. Even if I am not losing lbs, losing a lot of the frustration and anger is a welcome change. Thanks for the advice. T.0
-
Have dropped 2 more lbs since I added the two activities (bowling and water aerobics) to my circuit weight training. Holding calories between 1000 and 1200 though until I go back to see my bariatric MD. 21lbs to goal weight. T2
-
-
measure mostly. My scale is broken0
-
-
1000 calories a day is way too little. People have this idea in their head that if they knock it back it'll help. Sometimes you need to INCREASE calories to see change. I wouldn't take it below 1200. You're basically starving off weight. Not only that, eating so little can cause you binge, and also cause you to give up, and also you're more likely to gain weight back after giving up. Just don't do it. Be nice to yourself. Be kind to your body. Time will pass no matter what. Whether you're losing slowly, losing quickly, or not losing at all. Next weeks is going to get here. And those little numbers - .1, .3, ect - they add up!1
-
true tavistock. I will look at buying a new food scale, With the activity, down another 1.5 lbs. 20 lbs left.0
-
Got the scale and have been super strict about measuring. Still plateauing and even gaining a pound or two here and there, but losing it back within a day or two. My Bariatric MD says that is water and to watch my sodium intake. Still very frustrated. I am holding at 1200 calories a day for now.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.2K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 426 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.7K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions