plateau success help?

drockncrisso
drockncrisso Posts: 49 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
OK.. I want to hear from people who have BROKEN THROUGH a weight loss plateau. What did you do? Did you increase cals? Drop cals? Up your workouts? eat nothing but chicken and salad for a week? I need advice.

My info:
This week marks #13 at the same weight. I have been bouncing around from 129.8-132.6 since early Dec. I am willing to chock December up to the holiday eating plateau and be glad I didn't gain at that time, but once Jan hit, I was RIGHT on track again. So maybe I should only call this a 9 week plateau? Still its frustrating as hell, especially when the internet goes on and one about 1-2 week plateaus being hard.

I am 5'2" and hypothyroid. A little over a year ago I was diagnosed after a similar plateau (during which I was eating 1200 cals and working out with no weight loss) and once I went on meds I started losing .5 lbs a week - which seems to be the best my body can do. I usually eat between 1200-1500 doing this, I lost .5 lbs a weeks steady to the point where I have lost 27 lbs to date.. and then STOPPED COLD.

A little over a month ago, I had a blood test I found that my thyroid was still a bit off and adjusted meds. So that could be it? I mean, I have been on adjusted thyroid meds for almost a month.. so I would have thought I would see SOME movement on the scale. Hell, even an ounce or two would be nice. I would LOVE to see 129.5 instead of that damned .8 its like a WALL.
This month I also added two more workouts (one strength training and one long distance run on the weekend average 6-8 miles) I tried raising my cals to 1400-1600 for two weeks - no result.
Then, keeping the extra work outs, I tried dropping my cals back to 1200 for two weeks including intermittent fasting.. still the scale will not budge below 129.8 - usually just bouncing around 130.6-131.6 .... My typical calorie deficit for the entire week is 2000 (no, not a full 3,500) But this 2000 weekly deficit has been good in the past to lose .5 a week.

YES, I log EVERYTHING. If I make a cup of tea and put 1/3 cup of milk, I log it. If my kid feeds me a few goldfish crackers, I log them. EVERYTHING. I am not miss-logging. As I mentioned, I have been successfully logging and losing for almost a year now and steadily lost 27 lbs. And now doing almost the same thing (only difference being MORE calorie burning workouts) its not working anymore.
I am looking for success stories on what YOU did to break a plateau.
I have been told that I need to up my calories MORE - but that scares me that it will make me bump my weight UP even higher when I am trying to lose. I have been told that I need to cut them more, but I know we are not supposed to go under 1200 (which seems stupid when you realize that my BMR is 1450 - so really if I want to create a 500 a day deficit, I should be able to eat 950, but I know, I know, that is not allowed) .. WHAT do I try now?
I just want to see the scale MOVE. I had tried to be patient but 13 weeks is just TOO much for me to keep calm about.
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Replies

  • Running_and_Coffee
    Running_and_Coffee Posts: 811 Member
    I can't know for sure whether this was cause or coincidence, but I've bumped out of weight loss plateaus like what you're describing when I've gone on vacation, during which I have eaten different foods (possibly more), walked a lot more and had more leisure time to go to the gym, and relaxed. A few times, a vacation has been what knocked me back into losing mode. But I am a very careful eater on vacations...no buffet lines for me. I would try changing the foods you eat, not the calorie count, and mixing up your workout if you can't plan an active vacation!
  • drockncrisso
    drockncrisso Posts: 49 Member
    yep- correctly logging by measuring liquids with measuring cups and spoons and solid food are weighed with my food scale - same as I have done for a year. I also always round up(overestimate) prepared foods - like I eat a protein bar for breakfast most days and I log 1 and 1/8 bar incase the numbers are off. When I eat almonds, I tend to log 20 if I eat 18 -incase the numbers are off as I assume they are.
  • drockncrisso
    drockncrisso Posts: 49 Member
    I shifted my macros about a month ago as well - trying to hit 33% protein (adding lots of egg whites and lean protein and hydrolysate collagen protein) but I usually hit around 25 or higher- rarely actually get 33%
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    drockncrisso wrote: »
    I shifted my macros about a month ago as well - trying to hit 33% protein (adding lots of egg whites and lean protein and hydrolysate collagen protein) but I usually hit around 25 or higher- rarely actually get 33%

    Anecdotally, I think I've heard from some people that collagen may cause water retention for some people. If this is a new food for you, it may be worth temporarily eliminating it to see if that makes a difference.

    I Googled to see if I could find more specific information, but there wasn't anything very concrete, so feel free to dismiss. It's just something I think I've read a couple of people mention from their own experience a few times.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    I'm sorry you're struggling :flowerforyou:

    Please don't take any of these questions personally, we're just trying to eliminate all the variables to narrow things down. You'd be amazed how many posters say they are logging perfectly and then once they start answering questions, they're not, so please bear with us!

    How tall are you?
    Do you do anything like a cheat meal or day that you don't log?
    There are lots of incorrect entries in the database, is it possible you might be choosing some incorrect entries that are throwing off your calorie totals?

    Just a suggestion, but packaged foods should be weighed as well. Data like the number of servings per package are estimates based on the volume measure (cups, number of nuts, etc) which themselves are an estimate based on the grams measurement. Doubtful that's making a huge difference, but it can't hurt to check.
  • endermako
    endermako Posts: 785 Member
    drockncrisso wrote: »
    yep- correctly logging by measuring liquids with measuring cups and spoons and solid food are weighed with my food scale - same as I have done for a year. I also always round up(overestimate) prepared foods - like I eat a protein bar for breakfast most days and I log 1 and 1/8 bar incase the numbers are off. When I eat almonds, I tend to log 20 if I eat 18 -incase the numbers are off as I assume they are.

    This wouldn't be weighing your food. Packaged foods can be off by up to 20% I do believe? And you should be weighing nuts. My suggestion is to tighten up on you logging. The closer you get to goal the tighter your deficit gets.
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
    I broke a three month plateau by taking a diet break. I ate at maintenance for a week and that seemed to get me going again. I did have a small gain but once back on track I started losing again.
  • idabest777
    idabest777 Posts: 97 Member
    Anytime I'm in plateau it's because I've been lazy with my logging. Still logging everything, just not being super strict with weighing every single thing. Just this week I decided to buckle down again, still aiming for the same amount of calories and eating the same types of things (usually between 1400-1600 cals)

    I've gone down 0.4lbs this week. I don't even notice the difference in the amount of food I'm eating because I'm assuming it was such small amounts that were over but throughout the day it was adding up and sneakily keeping me at maintenance calories.

    For example, after a while of weighing 3g of butter to spread on my bread, I feel like I'm used to what that amount looks like and stop weighing it but keep logging 3g. Eventually the portion creep is real and after a couple of months when I started weighing again I realized that it has gone up to 5-6g.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    I got over my plateau by weighing everything (yes, my protein bars to ensure they were 60 grams) and logging everything, no skipping, cheating or forgetting.
  • drockncrisso
    drockncrisso Posts: 49 Member
    edited February 2019
    kimny72 wrote: »
    I'm sorry you're struggling :flowerforyou:

    Please don't take any of these questions personally, we're just trying to eliminate all the variables to narrow things down. You'd be amazed how many posters say they are logging perfectly and then once they start answering questions, they're not, so please bear with us!

    How tall are you?
    Do you do anything like a cheat meal or day that you don't log?
    There are lots of incorrect entries in the database, is it possible you might be choosing some incorrect entries that are throwing off your calorie totals?

    Just a suggestion, but packaged foods should be weighed as well. Data like the number of servings per package are estimates based on the volume measure (cups, number of nuts, etc) which themselves are an estimate based on the grams measurement. Doubtful that's making a huge difference, but it can't hurt to check.


    I am 5'2"
    the only 'cheat' I do is when I don't eat 1400 or less. (but I ALWAYS LOG)
    If I worked out a lot (like ran 8 miles or something) I will have more than the one cookie I allow myself. Even though currently MPF has not been adding my exercise cals. .. but that is a totally separate reason I am beyond frustrated.

    I don't weigh pre-packaged foods. If I log a thin mint cookie, I just log the MFP one thin mint cookie for 40 calories. I suppose I could weigh the cookie and see if it matches the weight on the box.
    I consider it cheating to "over eat" as in eat more than 1400.
    I try to always use the MFP entries with a green check on them, but if there is not an entry with a green check, I always choose the highest calorie choice. - so that if I am wrong, I am over estimating, not under estimating cals. but I ALWAYS log ... even during the holidays when I let go a bit and ate more.. I logged every olive, every shrimp etc.. but I don't see how people eat at parties (other than just to not do it?? ) I can't walk around with a food scale and weigh everything. Do you hide the scale in your purse and go to the bathroom and weigh it?
    I CAN count that I had 6 olives and 4 jumbo shrimp and then log the highest calorie ammt for those things- which is what I would do in that situation.. but realistically what do you guys do? Do you sneak scales around? Bring your own food in a bag?

    I have done that and it felt so akward. A friend picks up my kids every week and we go to their house and they always make us dinner. I can't weigh and measure the food she makes so I started bringing my own pre- weighed and measured rice, sushi and veg. It was SO akward. I mean.. "sorry, I know you made us dinner, but I am on a diet and I need to eat this" Then she started offering to make what I asked for.. but still I don't have my scale with me..
    I figure I can do that a little here and there, but I can't LIVE like that all the time?
    Do you guys always refuse to go out? Refuse food people offer to you and bring your own food?
  • RunnerGrl1982
    RunnerGrl1982 Posts: 412 Member
    drockncrisso wrote: »

    idabest777 wrote: »
    Anytime I'm in plateau it's because I've been lazy with my logging. Still logging everything, just not being super strict with weighing every single thing. Just this week I decided to buckle down again, still aiming for the same amount of calories and eating the same types of things (usually between 1400-1600 cals)

    I've gone down 0.4lbs this week. I don't even notice the difference in the amount of food I'm eating because I'm assuming it was such small amounts that were over but throughout the day it was adding up and sneakily keeping me at maintenance calories.

    For example, after a while of weighing 3g of butter to spread on my bread, I feel like I'm used to what that amount looks like and stop weighing it but keep logging 3g. Eventually the portion creep is real and after a couple of months when I started weighing again I realized that it has gone up to 5-6g.



    I am 5'2"
    the only 'cheat' I do is when I don't eat 1400 or less. If I worked out a lot (like ran 8 miles or something) I will have more than the one cookie I allow myself. Even though currently MPF has not been adding my exercise cals. .. but that is a totally separate reason I am beyond frustrated.

    I don't weigh pre-packaged foods. If I log a thin mint cookie, I just log the MFP one thin mint cookie for 40 calories. I suppose I could weigh the cookie and see if it matches the weight on the box.
    I consider it cheating to "over eat" as in eat more than 1400.
    I try to always use the MFP entries with a green check on them, but if there is not an entry with a green check, I always choose the highest calorie choice. - so that if I am wrong, I am over estimating, not under estimating cals.

    Hi again. I don't want to keep putting you on the defensive, but you should be made aware that those green checks in the MFP database are not always accurate. So, you could be choosing an option that is incorrect. Could. Not saying you are. And that's good that you are cautious and are choosing the higher caloric number when needing to estimate.

    Hopefully some others will chime in with the experiences you are looking to read about. All of the people who have responded, genuinely want to be helpful and good information and questions have been provided/asked in order to provide the most accurate information to you based upon your posts. Logging just happens to be one of those things, that when things don't add up, that is usually the culprit, which is why you have received the responses you've gotten.

    At the end of the day, you can take that information and do with it as you please, but we truly are trying to help, not add to your frustrations.

  • Luciicul
    Luciicul Posts: 415 Member
    The first time I ever dieted - logging calories and following health advice to the letter - the first two diets I followed didn’t really work for me. One of them (scientifically backed, gold standard kind of health advice that no one would disagree with) I hit the plateau within a few weeks (initial weight loss was probably just water weight), and couldn’t shift any weight for months. My partner was dropping weight easy on it without any real effort; I was following it to the letter and not seeing results. Gave up on that and followed a popular commercial diet that has been around for decades - following that I put on weight! Clearly what works for lots of people did not work for me! I educated myself more on the science of weightloss and other theories, and through trial and error found that for me low-carb works best. When I cut out starchy & sweet high GI/GL foods I started losing weight.

    So it might be worth tinkering with your macros to see what suits you.

    Also, sleep & stress can make a difference. Vitamin deficiency can make a difference. Has your doctor run blood tests recently to make sure you don’t have any additional health issues beyond hypothyroidism? And; Are there side effects to your medicine that could affect your weight?
  • brittlb07
    brittlb07 Posts: 313 Member
    You already weigh so little. I’m 132.8 and pretty much have to stick 1200 rather than the 1500 you mention to keep losing weight. And I’m only losing 0.5-1 per week now.
  • drockncrisso
    drockncrisso Posts: 49 Member
    I hate this.
    I don't know how to log in real life.
    My husband knows I am trying to eat better, also I have a cold and don't feel great - so he bought me a vegetable soup at a restaurant that he is bringing home.
    What do I do???? just don't eat it?
    Log it as 1000 cals? I have no idea what it is. Do I just plan to eat nothing else because I have an unknown coming?
    He bought it for me to be nice, it seems really rude to be like "yeah, no, I can't eat that because I can't measure it, I have NO clue how much salt is in it.. etc"
    Do I just tell him thank you, I will take it to work to eat tomorrow and throw it away???
  • Ddsb11
    Ddsb11 Posts: 607 Member
    Just reiterating-

    Use your food scale for everything. This will almost certainly explain the “plateau”.
  • purple4sure05
    purple4sure05 Posts: 287 Member
    People can be a little harsh on these boards, try not to let it bother you. I get where you're coming from when you say you log extra calories if you cant weigh what you're eating. If this only has to happen infrequently, I think it's a decent strategy when necessary.

    However, if you go out with coworkers a few times a week and eat things you cant weigh on a regular basis, especially when you're losing at a slow and steady rate where your deficit is only a few hundred, that extra 100-200+ calorie can absolutely cause a stall like this.

    It's not sustainable forever to not eat out and prepare every meal, but I would recommend that you prepare and weigh every single thing you eat for three weeks. See if you notice a difference.

    You mention a thyroid issue and no one here can advise you on that. If you weigh everything for a few weeks to a month and see no movement, maybe check in with your doctor just to be safe.
  • drockncrisso
    drockncrisso Posts: 49 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    So 100% honesty - I only had 20 lbs to lose and I was not willing to give up dinners at my parents, getting lunch on occasion with a coworker etc. So what did I do? I accepted that on week's I did a lot of that, I might not lose any weight because I was guessing in my food log too much. I'm 5'4 and started at 145, I just didn't have enough wiggle room to guess too much and expect faster results.

    Whenever possible I ate at home, pre-prepped snacks and meals to take to work, tried to steer social engagements to non-food related venues. But when that didn't work, I would have weeks at a time where I didn't lose any weight and I just accepted that my logging was the issue. I basically lost 1 lb per month because of it. Was it slow and frustrating? Hell yes. But I knew what I was willing and not willing to do, and had to accept the results.

    If you haven't lost weight for 9 weeks, you have been eating your maintenance level calories. In order to lose 0.5lbs per week, you need to eat 250 less calories per day than you have been. How you make that happen is really personal based on what your day to day life is like, and what you are willing to do. At the least, my suggestion would be to start weighing out everything you possibly can at home, so it's only meals where you are out with other people that you have to guess. If you want, temporarily making your diary public would allow us to make suggestion on bad entries you are choosing, but it's understandable if you don't want to do that.

    The thing is, there is no such thing as a 9 week plateau. There's no way you are maintaining on 1200 cals per day, unless you have a medical condition. You could get a checkup and bloodwork done to see if perhaps you have an undiagnosed thyroid condition, it couldn't hurt. There are no tips to "shake things up", those are all diet industry myths. I wish I had a different answer for you, and I hope you find a way forward. Good luck!


    I said in my OP I do have a diagnosis as hypothyroid. I lost .5 a week by eating 1200-1400 logging everything and MFP would estimate around 500+ cal deficits daily. MFP would estimate I would lose a pound a week, but I never did.
    I feel frustrated because I was losing 0.5 a week logging what appeared to be 1200-1400 cals.
    When the weight los stopped, I added 1200 cals of extra exercise a week. Of which I probably eat back 200 cals- so extra 1000 cals burn a week and cut cals down to 1200.
    Let’s just say I was logging incorrectly-
    I was losing weight.
    I stopped losing - so I added more workouts and ate less every day.
    THAT alone should equal weight loss.
    You say it’s impossible to eat 1200 and not lose weight.
    THAT is entirely why I’m so frustrated.
    It makes NO sense that I was eating more than I am now and I was losing.
    I was working out less.

    I don’t see how I can eat any less food that I am now.
    This is my typical Thursday:
    My protein bar is 270- lets round it up to 300
    My sushi rolls with cucumber and salmon - all items weighed by myself = 250
    How do I weigh and measure the Trader Joe’s salad when it’s all different pieces- I don’t know, but the package says it’s 500 with dressing- so I’ll skip the dressing and log 500 anyway. It’s all veg and chicken.
    I’m at 1050. Then one thin mint (40 cals- but I guess I need to weigh that and see if it’s really 50??) and two cups of tea with 1/3 cup (measured out) of milk for 100 more cals.
    Puts me at 1200
    The same day I run 3 miles at the gym and do strength training.
    This is a typical day. I don’t understand where I’m going wrong. Even if I under estimated and my protein bar is 200% as in its 500 cals or something, I am still creating SOME deficit that should have SOME result.
    I don’t see how eating out at lunch one day a week and not measuring is throwing it all off. I’m certainly not eating an extra 3500 at the restaurant.
    So yeah, I hope it’s just that my meds are not correcting my thyroid correctly yet. Maybe there is something still off. My vitamin D was off too, so I’m on a high dose of that now as well.
    It’s just a waiting game while I eat next to nothing and hope every day when I get on the scale that TODAY is the day things will start to work out.
    My hope is that this is all a hormone imbalance because I totally understand how it’s impossible to eat so little and NOT lose.
    I’m tempted to just stop eating for a day or two. I mean I HAVE to lose weight if there are seriously NO cals coming in. Maybe try 800 a day?
    Mentally it’s either that or give up on dieting for a few weeks, because the losing nothing is making me nuts- and hearing people say “that’s impossible” makes me nuts.
    I KNOW it’s impossible-hence my frustration.
    I overlog everything to be on the safe side.
    Ugh.
    Since most people posting to “help” me are just telling me I’m wrong. I give up.
  • drockncrisso
    drockncrisso Posts: 49 Member
    edited March 2019
    I don’t see how logging more carefully will help.
    No one seems to have heard-
    I was losing weight.
    Regardless of how off I was- I tried eating MORE and working out MORE and didn’t lose with OR gain.
    How could I have added what I thought was 300 cals a day for TWO weeks and not seen any change on the scale- I didn’t even gain weight.
    Then- because nothing was changing- I ate MUCH less than I’d been eating before the addition of 300 cals skipping meals etc but kept working out the same for two weeks
    Still no change.
    How can I eat 300 or more MORE cals and not change weight- and then eat much much less and still not change?
    Regardless of what the calories are- if you eat a lot more- the scale should change.
    If you eat a lot less it should change. Right???
  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
    OP, see if something in this podcast is useful to your situation. https://www.irakinutrition.com/podcast-with-lyle-mcdonald/
  • RunnerGrl1982
    RunnerGrl1982 Posts: 412 Member
    drockncrisso wrote: »
    I don’t see how logging more carefully will help.
    No one seems to have heard-
    I was losing weight.
    Regardless of how off I was- I tried eating MORE and working out MORE and didn’t lose with OR gain.
    How could I have added what I thought was 300 cals a day for TWO weeks and not seen any change on the scale- I didn’t even gain weight.
    Then- because nothing was changing- I ate MUCH less than I’d been eating before the addition of 300 cals skipping meals etc but kept working out the same for two weeks
    Still no change.
    How can I eat 300 or more MORE cals and not change weight- and then eat much much less and still not change?
    Regardless of what the calories are- if you eat a lot more- the scale should change.
    If you eat a lot less it should change. Right???

    One last idea popped into my head...

    You mentioned your scale having not budged at all. Curious... Have you tried replacing the batteries in your scale recently? Maybe they are getting low and need replacing. Or, have you tried weighing yourself on another scale elsewhere? Not that a scale somewhere else might be calibrated properly, but perhaps if you tried out a couple different scales, you could compare it to yours.

    Just throwing that out there as well as possible troubleshooting. I wish you the best! Keep us updated on your progress and if you manage to figure out the culprit. As I said earlier too, hopefully your doctor can get your levels at a normalized level for you too, to help alleviate any extenuating circumstances - allowing you eliminate another possibility off your list.

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