Diet plateau woes

ckall056
ckall056 Posts: 1 Member
edited December 2024 in Motivation and Support
Ive been low cal dieting since may 1. Ive gone from 270 to 235 with just stone cold calorie counting. I found MFP grossly screws up my workout calories and the plateau hits much sooner, so this time im not logging any exercise (generally inactive anyways).
Thus being said, those first three months flew by and i could see very frequent results. I probably had a LOT of water that came off, but now it's really getting stuck. Yoyo back and forth between 236 and 238 for 2 weeks now, which has been atypical.
Im already the lowest ive been in 15 years, but im looking for something to push through this slump into the 220s.
Thoughts?

Replies

  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
    What do you consider low cal dieting?
  • 88olds
    88olds Posts: 4,542 Member
    Stay the course. 2 weeks doesn’t call for a program change.

    That said, we don’t really know where we are without a food scale. Agree about workouts. Unless we cross the line into training, it just encourages more eating and numbers are just estimates.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    Two weeks isn't a plateau. As you get smaller, you have less wiggle room in your calories and slower weight loss, which makes normal water weight and digestion swings more likely to cover up fat loss on the scale. Not seeing the scale go down for a week or two is normal.

    Now is a great time to revisit your logging and make sure you don't need to get a bit more accurate - use a food scale for all solids whenever possible, double check that the entries you are choosing in the database have the correct calories listed, and do a gut check that you're logging everything - beverages, cooking oils, condiments, cheat meals, late night snacks, nibbles, everything.

    Congrats on your success so far!
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,333 Member
    I know it is a drag when your sacrifice of eating a deficit doesn't show on the scale. It is demoralizing.

    But, if you stop to think on it..the body is just adjusting and it is part of the weight loss process. You are actually still getting ahead, because having a stall like this is part of getting to the goal weight.

    As you mentioned..those first weeks some of the weight loss was water weight, it wasn't fat.

    I always find that when a stall happens I'm actually shrinking in size; or losing fat inches. My thought is I'm losing real fat that is taking the place of the false water weight loss that showed on the scale from the start of my journey.
  • I am in the same boat as you!!! I started at 275.5 on May 1. I am now 243.3 and my lowest weight on the scale was 242.9. I have been at 243.3/242.9 for about three weeks now. It is frustrating and annoying to say the least. I have incorporated exercise into my lifestyle and I would have thought I would still be dropping weight. My inches in the places I measure are not shrinking either. HOWEVER, I notice my clothes hang differently. I feel different. I am more apt to deny myself indulgences. This time I am not quitting when it gets hard nor am I self sabotage. So until the weight starts to show on the scale again I am just going to keep on keeping on. YOU and I CAN DO THIS!!!! We will do this!! Have faith and keep on keeping on. Apparently our bodies are in catch-up mode. @ckall056
  • ddbehappysmile244
    ddbehappysmile244 Posts: 2 Member
    I'm with you I'm not in to any indulging or binging but this Plateau thing is killing me LOL! 2 weeks and no weight off ugh!
  • mystgrl28
    mystgrl28 Posts: 43 Member
    First of all, congratulations on the weight loss!! I am a month in to my low calorie diet and still seeing results, but I am expecting to plateau in a few months.

    I've read some research in preparation and it seems like a diet break is needed if you plateau. Our metabolic rate unfortunately decreases when we take in less calories, as our body adapts so we dont "starve". So we will need to break the cycle once in a while.

    Here’s a rough breakdown on diet breaks that I've found online. Feel free to do your own research as well!

    ● Body fat of more than 25% – consider taking a diet break every 12-16 weeks
    ● Body fat between 15-25% – consider taking a diet break every 6-12 weeks
    ● Body fat of less than 15% – consider taking a diet break every 4-6 weeks

    Obviously, you dont have to take a diet break if you're not plateauing, but may be a good idea if you are and your metabolism needs a reset. Expect to gain some weight back when you're eating at maintenance, but should mostly be water weight that you will lose again once you start your diet anew.

    Most importantly, dont overeat when you are on a break 🤣🤣🤣
  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
    edited August 2019
    What do you consider a diet break?

    Personally, I don't believe resetting your metabolism is a thing.
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