Have I hit a plateau?

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martinh78
martinh78 Posts: 601
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,

I'm four weeks in to my exercise and weight loss plan and for three weeks lost steadily (9lbs in all) and my body fat went down from 25.2% to 24.8%. Muscle mass went up from 40.8% to 41.1%

This week (for seven days now) I've not lost any weight at all, and my body fat/muscle mass have remained the same.

I've actually worked out HARDER this week than any other, having a "burn out" for three days, so runnng, rowing, weights each day, three workouts a day, whilst I had some support and equipment. Every intention of making Saturday a rest day.travel home, and Sunday a VERY gentle cardio day.

I have stuck to my diet, except for last Sunday when I had a cooked breakfast (friends wedding) which increased my fats but still kept within my calories.

Anyway, how do I snap out of this plateau? Any tricks? Anything I can do to my body to say "hey, start loosing again!"

Replies

  • FatDadSlim
    FatDadSlim Posts: 497 Member
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    No one week of no loss is not a plateau, give it another 2 weeks at least.
  • TinaDay1114
    TinaDay1114 Posts: 1,328 Member
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    I wouldn't worry after 1 week. Your body needs to adjust to what you've been doing, so it may take a weight loss "break" once in a while to adjust to the new calorie intake, the increased workouts, the muscle confusion, etc. Especially if you upped your workouts significantly in the past week.

    I hit a plateau for 6 weeks, and some of that was because I wasn't eating enough calories overall to support my increased workouts. I was running a lot, and my settings were too low for a while (I changed from "sedentary" to "lightly active" and then upped my protein %age). I was also pretty close to my goal weight, so I dropped the settings from 1 lb. a week down to 1/2 lb. loss per week. That helped.

    I wouldn't call 1 week a plateau at all -- hang in there, and keep doing what you're doing.
  • martinh78
    martinh78 Posts: 601
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    Thanks for the replies.

    Tina, that's a good point. I have been down on my calories this week, although still eating plenty to avoid "starvation mode". I do feel like even with the extra food from exercise (and I'm plenty full enough!) I haven't had enough "energy" for the jogging, and if I'm honest, my last rowing session was pretty poor because of low energy.

    Next week should be back to my normal rowing routine so I'll see what my weigh-in looks like then.

    I know a week isn't a lot, but I also know how easily/quickly it can become two, then three, then four....


    Thanks, Martin
  • Markus718
    Markus718 Posts: 6 Member
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    I would suggest that you try the low carb approach. The more carbs you eat, the more insulin your pancreas produces. Having too much insulin flowing around (amongst many other side effects) tells your body to store more water and fat.

    I went low carb with exercise I am averaged about 3-4 pounds a week now. My daily full carb intake is between 10-20 grams, and that is it; and I am enjoying a shot or two of rye everyday as well....:smile:

    Good luck!
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
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    I would suggest that you try the low carb approach. The more carbs you eat, the more insulin your pancreas produces. Having too much insulin flowing around (amongst many other side effects) tells your body to store more water and fat.

    I went low carb with exercise I am averaged about 3-4 pounds a week now. My daily full carb intake is between 10-20 grams, and that is it; and I am enjoying a shot or two of rye everyday as well....:smile:

    Good luck!

    But when you start maintaining, and the carbs go back up again, doesnt it put the weight back on quickly? I heard this was the problem with Atkins..you can never have carbs ever, ever again, else the weight will just jump back on.
  • Markus718
    Markus718 Posts: 6 Member
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    It would be a life style change. When you are on maintenance, you raise your carb intake to something like 60-80 grams a day. (I lent the book out, so I don't have the exact number on me...)

    The Protein Power book goes into a lot of medical detail. Basically, after you get to your goal, you can have a "healthy" intake of carbs agin. Instead of the standard "65%" carb diet which is declared as healthy by the FDA, they suggest you put protein as the majority of food, and carbs last.

    The book is rather fascinating, and they include lots of medical findings. The one about the two guys eatting 2800 calories a day for one year at 75% fat and 25% protein, is quite amazing. (Each man apparently lost 7 lbs, and had zero carbs for one year, and were perfectly healthy.)

    The part that sucks is that everything with carbs taste sooooooooooo good.... :smile: .

    I guess the bottom line is that at the end of any weight loss diet, you have to exhibit some control if you want to keep the pounds off for life. For me, DQ on a hot summery day is a tough place to avoid, but I have managed so far.... :smile:
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,719 Member
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    Hi all,

    I'm four weeks in to my exercise and weight loss plan and for three weeks lost steadily (9lbs in all) and my body fat went down from 25.2% to 24.8%. Muscle mass went up from 40.8% to 41.1%

    This week (for seven days now) I've not lost any weight at all, and my body fat/muscle mass have remained the same.

    I've actually worked out HARDER this week than any other, having a "burn out" for three days, so runnng, rowing, weights each day, three workouts a day, whilst I had some support and equipment. Every intention of making Saturday a rest day.travel home, and Sunday a VERY gentle cardio day.

    I have stuck to my diet, except for last Sunday when I had a cooked breakfast (friends wedding) which increased my fats but still kept within my calories.

    Anyway, how do I snap out of this plateau? Any tricks? Anything I can do to my body to say "hey, start loosing again!"
    It's a stall. And maybe might not be one at that. Working out 3 times a day? The body can't recover and when that happens, your body will work against losing any energy because it's sensing a calorie deficit with hard output. Lighten up, and make sure you're eating to restore some of those calories.
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
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    It does seem to be REALLY important to have a smaller calorie deficit (0.5 lbs / week and the right activity level, as in not "sedentary") and make sure you eat ALL your exercise calories when you work out a lot (like 500+ burned a day). Most successful people I've seen do this.
  • martinh78
    martinh78 Posts: 601
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    Not sure I understand the carbs bit, I'm on low fat/high protein as I know low fat (less than 30grms per day) works at shifting weight. I was put on that diet when at school and it worked then.

    ninerbuff - I had the chance to use a gym for a couple of days whilst I was away, and my sister took me out running (something I NEVER do). I worked different things during each session but it's not something I'd be doing every day. I'm on my second recovery day today!

    I would like to do cardio in the morning and weights in the evening from now on though, I definiately liked the weight training!

    I do try to eat my calories, failed over those two days though and felt like I was out of energy at the end.

    Rachel, I'll see how the new training plan goes, with two workouts a day, and adjust my calories if I need. I need to get a HRM so I can be more accurate with my calorie burn.


    Thanks again, happy it's just a stall. I was supposed to be leaving the weights for a few months until I'd lost my weight, but just couldn't resist!

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