Longest plateau you've had?
Bluejay61
Posts: 28 Member
Hello, all, and Happy Sunday!
Was chatting with a friend of mine about plateaus the other day, and I was wondering how long some of your plateaus have lasted? Not asking how to break mine, but might help lots of people on this board who are losing patience. 👍
Was chatting with a friend of mine about plateaus the other day, and I was wondering how long some of your plateaus have lasted? Not asking how to break mine, but might help lots of people on this board who are losing patience. 👍
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Replies
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Well, we don't know much about you...how you have your calories set, your goals, how much you want to lose.
Here, try this:
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10 years.5
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3 months!!! Of strict calorie counting and weighing foods.
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I've only had gaining weight "plateaus" ,which lasted about two weeks. Basically when I don't adjust my intake to my new higher weight, or my NEAT outdoes my surplus so it's not really a plateau just me not eating enough. I do retain water when I start lifting or add volume which looks like a plateau for about two months but now I know it's really not.3
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Mine was about 8 weeks, pre Thanksgiving until after New Years. Not as flat as a plateau, more like an EKG up and down within a 5 pound range. First I stopped the upward spikes by hitting the gym more and finally started losing again.
Best tip: replace snacks with water.2 -
Great responses so far. Keep 'em coming!
@mydogisthebestdogever WOW, that IS a long time! Glad you rode it out to victory. Good things come to those who wait (and weigh). 👍
@sardelsa That's interesting. I have also noticed that when I do more strength training or climbing, I seem to "gain" weight due to muscles retaining water. Good to know that's common and nothing to worry about. 👍
@slade51 Bravo to you for riding it out over the holidays, of all times. Major temptations! Replacing snacks with water is a clever tip, and an easy one to do. I know that when I don't drink enough water, I THINK I'm hungry, but I'm really thirsty. 👍2 -
10 months due to life stuff, meaning that I was not paying as much attention to myself.
Just broken through this month with a 4lb loss due to returning my focus to how many calories I am shoveling in my gob.1 -
No unexplained plateaus for any real period of time. A few weeks here and there but that’s normal due to fluctuations and what not.
When my weight hasn’t changed in a significant way for an extended period (months), it’s because I’m eating at maintenance (doesn’t matter what I’m logging). Sometimes it’s because I have other life priorities at the time, sometimes it’s on purpose, sometimes it’s just sloppy logging.
I’ve had several of those times. 2013, 2/3 of 2016, spring-mid summer 2019, a bunch of others.2 -
I've had a lot of spiky slopes or (in maintenance) spiky but on average level weight, but no plateaus when I thought I should be losing based on behavior. (I'm not saying I disbelieve that others do have them; I'm just reporting personal experience as OP asked.)1
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My plateaus last about 2 weeks even when I am watching carefully and doing everything right. I have learned that during these plateaus to not get discouraged. After these plateaus i might see a 2 to 4 lb lost. I know it’s difficult not to get discouraged because I have gotten discouraged many times. Now I am thinking maybe these plateaus are just my body adjusting to a new weight.3
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@manderson27 You made me laugh with the "gob" remark. Glad you're back on track!
@Duck_Puddle Yep, sloppy logging is often to blame. I've just gone through my logging and found some issues I need to correct myself.
@AnnPT77 You're lucky! Some people have them, some just don't. Everyone's different.
@aimjolie Yep, it's just an adjustment period. And if you're seeing a loss of 2 to 4 pounds after, that gives me (and everyone) hope.
Keep 'em coming! You're motivating me!1 -
When losing I stalled from right before May until the end of it, it was a frustrating month! I dropped 5lbs all at once when the scale finally moved.2
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Mine was about 2 months it was so frustrating!
I was counting everything too.
Calories ,carbs and fat.
I was staying active as well.
But when it started coming off I lost like 5-7 lbs all at once.
Stay strong!
We can do it!
( I think, I hope)😊3 -
About 9 months - simply because I didn't realize that after a good weight loss of about 45 kg (100 pounds) I had reached calorie maintenance level! Still can't believe how stupid I was...5
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10 days is my 'record', right after the holidays. Not very long, but very frustrating because I was very hungry as well, so it felt like everything was going wrong, even though I was reaching my calorie goal.
But since I knew I was doing what I should, I knew I should trust the system and I ended up having a 'whoosh' after those 10 days.3 -
5 weeks. And then all the expected loss based on my deficit came off in a few days (this was in Nov/Dec).
I had another one in August that was almost 4 weeks but it coincided with a trial of a new medication (immunosuppressant), so I assumed water weight from the drug was the cause.1 -
@Katmary71 @cindyscott4834 @Lietchi @bold_rabbit
You all raised a very interesting point; that "whoosh" as Lietchi called it, of cumulated weight loss all of a sudden. Personally, just the thought of that happening after a "progress drought" sounds wonderful, and is very motivating. Gives everyone something to look forward to.
And @neugebauer52, a huge congrats on losing 100 lbs and hitting maintenance!!!!
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I also lose in a whoosh...I’ll have little fluctuations over time but then a big 2-4 lb loss.
It’s frustrating, but I’ve figured out this is how it works for me.
Some people may confuse this trend as a plateau, but I’ve been tracking and losing weight for years ( 5 pregnancies in 9 years) so I understand my body.
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When I’m actively trying/reducing and walking, plateau is usually 7-10 days max. Then often do see the “swoosh” of 2-4 pounds. I’ve seen it so many times I don’t get worked up, just look forward to the swoosh!!2
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3 weeks.
I wanted to shoot myself, honestly, because I was so hungry and tired.
Finally, I had a two pound loss and nearly burst into tears right there on the scale.
Like I had some mornings that I would wake up, be excited because I felt smaller, only to get on the scale and see the same number, right down to the ounce. For three whole weeks, including weekends!! Turning down snacks at work, doing all my workouts, going to bars and drinking water, all not to lose a single, solitary pound.
I try not to focus on the scale as much anymore, which is for the best.
It's too much headache.3 -
2.5 months and counting.
I had managed to lose the first 25 pounds while I was in cardiac rehab, and that was my first wight loss goal. Hit it about the end of October and haven't dropped an ounce since. Diet is still the same, I've increased my times in Cardio, changed my work outs from machines to free weights...nothing. My visits with Drs and nutritionists to figure this out lead me to MFP, and after a couple of weeks of tracking..and then careful tracking, the whack-a-doodle answer may finally be appearing. My deficit may be too much. 2 -
I've been doing the whole "losing/gaining" cycle over the last 10 years and honestly in weight loss mode, I've never hit a plateau. I may not lose scale weight EVERY week, but it's always a downward trend when I'm trying. But I have the patience of Jobe when it comes to this sort of stuff. I've just learned it's a long road and I have to pay for all those times I ate too much.
I do the whole up/down thing (5+, 5-) when I'm not logging or sloppy logging, but I call that maintenance or just "life".2 -
Yeah me! I may have found the end of my ~3 month plateau!!
After my first couple of days of very careful logging on MFP, I decided to pay attention to my nutritionist's wild guess and the little red flags at the bottom of my diary...I WASN'T! getting enough calories...or anything else! Not even close. I have my wonderful low-sodium cardiac diet to thank for that. And now, after a week of stuffing myself to the gills, I have 6 consecutive days of loss, ~3 pounds in a week.
I'm not sure I can eat enough to lose the next 10 pounds!
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mydogisthebestdogever wrote: »3 months!!! Of strict calorie counting and weighing foods.
Me too! 3 months. I finally did a diet break to get going again.1 -
Hello, all, and Happy Sunday!
Was chatting with a friend of mine about plateaus the other day, and I was wondering how long some of your plateaus have lasted? Not asking how to break mine, but might help lots of people on this board who are losing patience. 👍
My longest plateau was 6 weeks, and I had 2 of them as I lost over 100 lb. By plateau, I mean an actual "I am eating my calories goal and not losing" plateau, not a "I am playing loosey-goosey with my logging" plateau. After it broke, I would have a week or two with double my normal loss rate, then back to normal.
For those talking about plateaus as days, no such thing. A plateau is defined as "4 or more weeks with no loss in weight OR inches"1 -
So, how does everyone get themselves restarted? I lost 37 lbs, put 13ish back on and now have been "loosey goosey" and +5/-5 for the last year now. I start tracking in the morning and then quit by supper. I've stayed consistent on exercise but cant get my boredom/emotional eating under control. Help!0
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So, how does everyone get themselves restarted? I lost 37 lbs, put 13ish back on and now have been "loosey goosey" and +5/-5 for the last year now. I start tracking in the morning and then quit by supper. I've stayed consistent on exercise but cant get my boredom/emotional eating under control. Help!
Why do you stop logging? Do you have a thought that if it’s not a “good” day, why bother? If so-realize your food log is like your checkbook register (back when we had those things). It should reflect what actually happened - good/bad/ugly. There’s no requirement that you only log it it’s “good”.
Logging everything (without judgment) also helps to get back on track because 1-you’re in the habit of doing it, 2-you actually know what’s going on (and you may find that you’re not as bad off as you think-which may help you from going to get another boredom snack) and 3-eventually you’ll right the ship because you get tired of mfp telling you in 5 weeks you’ll weigh 872 pounds.2 -
Duck_Puddle wrote: »So, how does everyone get themselves restarted? I lost 37 lbs, put 13ish back on and now have been "loosey goosey" and +5/-5 for the last year now. I start tracking in the morning and then quit by supper. I've stayed consistent on exercise but cant get my boredom/emotional eating under control. Help!
Why do you stop logging? Do you have a thought that if it’s not a “good” day, why bother? If so-realize your food log is like your checkbook register (back when we had those things). It should reflect what actually happened - good/bad/ugly. There’s no requirement that you only log it it’s “good”.
Logging everything (without judgment) also helps to get back on track because 1-you’re in the habit of doing it, 2-you actually know what’s going on (and you may find that you’re not as bad off as you think-which may help you from going to get another boredom snack) and 3-eventually you’ll right the ship because you get tired of mfp telling you in 5 weeks you’ll weigh 872 pounds.
Some days, I quit because I haven't figured out the points for a recipe or eating out without nutrition info and sometimes because I just get lazy. But many times it is because I'm going downhill for the day. Thanks for the perspective on tracking! I'm going to pull up my diary now.0 -
What’s your advice during a lengthy plateau? I’ve been tracking and exercising regularly and I gained weight today!!! What gives?!0
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