grrrr... stupid plateaus

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jacksonpt
jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Been stuck here for almost 2 weeks now... I think I'm going to move some of my workouts to later in the day/after dinner. It has worked for me in the past, hopefully it yields some results.

For those who have had success getting past plateaus, did you find its more about changing up diet or exercise?

Replies

  • sophjakesmom
    sophjakesmom Posts: 904 Member
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    I have heard it isn't really a plateau unless you have been there for 3 weeks or more. That is why weighing only once a week can help you keep you sanity. I think changing up your work out or eating differently would be a good idea. Anything to confuse your body and keep it interesting is a good thing. Good luck!:drinker:
  • morganadk2_deleted
    morganadk2_deleted Posts: 1,696 Member
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    Are you eating to enough?

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficit


    This is just a part of it! please read the link above


    Generally someone with a BMI over 32 can do a 1000 calorie a day (2 lbs a week) deficit
    With a BMI of 30 to 32 a deficit of 750 calories is generally correct (about 1.5 lbs a week)
    With a BMI of 28 to 30 a deficit of 500 calories is about right (about 1 lb a week)
    With a BMI of 26 to 28 a deficit of about 300 calories is perfect (about 1/2 lb a week)
    and below 26... well this is where we get fuzzy. See now you're no longer talking about being overweight, so while it's still ok to have a small deficit, you really should shift your focus more towards muscle tone, and reducing fat. This means is EXTRA important to eat your exercise calories as your body needs to KNOW it's ok to burn fat stores, and the only way it will know is if you keep giving it the calories it needs to not enter the famine response (starvation mode)


    Also this might be helpful http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/00trayn/view/how-to-bust-a-3-month-plateau-87677

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/153704-myth-or-fact-simple-math-3500-calories-one-pound-eat



    Good luck on your journey
  • Ashleypeterson37
    Ashleypeterson37 Posts: 347 Member
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    Been in a plateau for 3 weeks now and about sick and tired of it!
  • mindy14456
    mindy14456 Posts: 552 Member
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    I hear you!! I have been stalled for 3 weeks now, so I just added running to my current workout, hopefully that will get the scale moving down again. Good luck to you!
  • HoLynne
    HoLynne Posts: 18 Member
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    From what I have heard the plateau is your body's way of adjusting to the weight loss and it is necessary. That doesn't quite help when you are going through it, I know, I am experiencing one too. My advice is to let it ride, try not to get discouraged and keep up the good work.
  • Sarahnats
    Sarahnats Posts: 69 Member
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    im the same nearly 4 weeks now and the exact same weight every weigh in, ive upped my cals to 1400 a day from 1200, hoping i see some change :)
  • AggieCass09
    AggieCass09 Posts: 1,867 Member
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    zig-zagging my calories has worked for my past few plateaus (they last months so your 2 week one is probably just your body adjusting). You can also increase the intensity of your work outs too. The links to my blogs on zig-zagging are on my profile about me section.

    good luck...plateaus suck!
  • HoLynne
    HoLynne Posts: 18 Member
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    Read this it might give some insight, I liked it!
    http://www.activepassivediet.com/files/active_passive_chapter_1.pdf
  • kiminoo
    kiminoo Posts: 12 Member
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    I was stuck for a LONG time. I started watching my sodium intake as well and it seems to help a lot. For me it helped more than when I did an hour in the morning and 1 hour and 1/2 at night.
  • belleflop
    belleflop Posts: 154 Member
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    If your already eating smart, eating enough to offset 50% of your calories burned from exercise then it's going to be one of two things. First it could be your body has gotten very efficient with your workouts. This happens if you do the same thing at the same intensity roughly around the same time of day each day. If this is the case then I'd suggest switching up your routines, intensifying them, or a combination of the two. What time of day you workout won't change much as long as you give yourself a good 2 hours after for your body to recover. The second thing it could be is your body is naturally going to plateaus for it's own reasons. It could be that your stacking on muscle and burning fat at the same rate. It could be your body is retaining water to repair or many other reasons. The key is to not let a plateaus diminish your progress and just keep working out and enjoying life and eventually you'll see scale progress. And just to be clear even though it was assumed I'd make sure your eating enough calories per day. Believe it or not most people that get stuck at plateaus are not giving their bodies enough calories and starving the body if important nutrients it needs to keep up.
  • vixmonsta
    vixmonsta Posts: 27 Member
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    I plateau-ed for 2 months - 2!!!!! it was so depressing, but my friends kept reminding me that i'd lost a good amount of weight already and not to give up.... just to keep on with my new regime, which i did and the weight started coming off again and has been slowly and steadily ever since... I plateau-ed having lost 23lbs and to date i've lost 36llbs (this is from the start of my weight loss and not just MFP)
    so don't give up.

    Vix
  • ziggy67
    ziggy67 Posts: 351
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    I've been stuck on a plateau (the size of Table Mountain) since June.....like you mentioned in your post I tried changing the time that I exercise and also the times that I eat and the type of foods I eat....I've been told by my fitness instructor that I need to confuse my body clock every so often in order to kickstart my metabolism again. Needless to say its not working so far...... I'll also be interested to read what anybody else has to say about plateaus...they are the bane of my life.
  • Amysgetnfit
    Amysgetnfit Posts: 231
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    Keep mixing things up.in yourthe exercise &the diet. & just be persistent! The results will come.you can do it!
    Anyone can feel free to friend me...always looking for more positive people!
    Keep fighting my fearless fitness warriors!
  • bprague
    bprague Posts: 564 Member
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    I feel your pain but for 3 months.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    Are you eating to enough?
    Generally, yes I am. On a big exercise day where i burn 2000 calories I have a hard time eating back all thise calories AND doing it cleanly (its no problem if I can have a dozen wings, fries and a couple beers!)... but day in and day out I'm usually within 150 calories or so of my goal.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    zig-zagging my calories has worked for my past few plateaus (they last months so your 2 week one is probably just your body adjusting). You can also increase the intensity of your work outs too. The links to my blogs on zig-zagging are on my profile about me section.

    good luck...plateaus suck!

    Thanks... I'll check it out. I know the general idea behind zig zagging, but never looked into the details.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    If your already eating smart, eating enough to offset 50% of your calories burned from exercise then it's going to be one of two things. First it could be your body has gotten very efficient with your workouts. This happens if you do the same thing at the same intensity roughly around the same time of day each day. If this is the case then I'd suggest switching up your routines, intensifying them, or a combination of the two. What time of day you workout won't change much as long as you give yourself a good 2 hours after for your body to recover. The second thing it could be is your body is naturally going to plateaus for it's own reasons. It could be that your stacking on muscle and burning fat at the same rate. It could be your body is retaining water to repair or many other reasons. The key is to not let a plateaus diminish your progress and just keep working out and enjoying life and eventually you'll see scale progress. And just to be clear even though it was assumed I'd make sure your eating enough calories per day. Believe it or not most people that get stuck at plateaus are not giving their bodies enough calories and starving the body if important nutrients it needs to keep up.

    I've been training for a triathlon most of the summer so my workouts have been pretty focused on swimming/biking/running. You mention my body getting efficient at those specific workouts... hopefully that's the case, and it does make some sense. After the tri I'l change up my workouts a bit, but for now I'm still focused on the race.
  • mikeyml
    mikeyml Posts: 568 Member
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    You will see better results if you improve your diet. I looked through your diary and my suggestions are:

    1. Shoot for your calorie goal. Some days you're way under and some days you're way over. For example, yesterday you only ate 1,180 calories. That's really low for a guy who's training for a triathlon. It also brings me to my next point...

    2. Reevaluate your weekly weight loss goal. Your daily calorie goal is only 1,200 and that's way too low for a guy with 15 pounds to lose and lives an active lifestyle. Since you're trying to lose 15 pounds, I'd say your weekly goal should be no more than 1 lb per week, but you'd be better off by using .5 lb per week. Also think about your activity settings, you might want to reconsider the sedentary setting.

    3. Try to eat balanced meals. Some of your meals consist entirely of meal supplements like EAS or Cytosport. You will be much better off by getting your calories and nutrients from actual food rather than stuff like that. That's not to say a protein shake is bad to have, but it shouldn't be the main source of your nutrition. Also I saw you had a gainer shake in there one day which definitely won't help with weight loss.

    4. Good luck!

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