Plateau

I am really stuck. Have hit a plateau going up and down the same couple of pounds. Any tips or advice!? Iā€™m in the UK šŸ™

Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    How long have you not lost weight for?

    Do you weigh your food with scales?
  • alisonwoodrow12
    alisonwoodrow12 Posts: 29 Member
    About 3 weeks
  • alisonwoodrow12
    alisonwoodrow12 Posts: 29 Member
    I do use scales most of the time. Maybe not enough!
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Stalls really suck. With a closed diary and few details, here are my generic tips:

    1. If you aren't already, be sure that you're logging everything. Sometimes people forget about things like veggies, drinks, cooking oils, and condiments. For some people these can add up to enough to halt your weight loss progress.

    2. Consider buying a food scale if you don't already have one and weigh everything solid. Everything. They're about $10-$20 dollars in the US and easily found at places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Measuring cups and spoons are great, but they do come with some degree of inaccuracy. A food scale will be more accurate, and for some people it makes a big difference.

    3. Logging accurately also means choosing accurate entries in the database. There are a lot of user-entered entries that are off. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries.

    4. Recalculate your goals if you haven't lately. As you lose weight your body requires fewer calories to run. Be sure you update your goals every ten pounds or so.

    5. If you're eating back your exercise calories and you're relying on gym machine readouts or MFP's estimates, it might be best to eat back just 50-75% of those. Certain activities tend to be overestimated. If you're using an HRM or activity tracker, it might be a good idea to look into their accuracy and be sure that yours is calibrated properly.

    6. If you're taking any cheat days that go over your calorie limits, it might be best to cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens. Some people go way over their calorie needs without realizing it when they don't track.

    7. If you weigh yourself frequently, consider using a program like Libra or Happy Scale to even out the fluctuations. You could be losing weight but just don't see it because of the daily ups and downs. You might also be sure your scale is working and doesn't need new batteries or anything.

    8. Some people just burn fewer calories than the calculators predict. If you continue to have problems after 4-6 weeks, then it might be worth a trip to the doctor or a registered dietitian who can give you more specific advice.
  • Momzombie01
    Momzombie01 Posts: 2 Member
    Diane, that is excellent advice. Alison, thanks for asking this question. I, too, have hit a 3-month plateau, and my trainer/coach has been excellent. I'm at the point where I'm going to see my doctor for more insight.
  • alisonwoodrow12
    alisonwoodrow12 Posts: 29 Member
    Thank you both. I think in the evening I get lazy about weighing. Good advice šŸ˜Š