Longest plateau you've had?

2»

Replies

  • chaosbutterfly
    chaosbutterfly Posts: 71 Member
    edited January 2020
    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.
  • YellowD0gs
    YellowD0gs Posts: 693 Member
    2.5 months and counting. :s 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.
  • kristen8000
    kristen8000 Posts: 747 Member
    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".
  • YellowD0gs
    YellowD0gs Posts: 693 Member
    Yeah me! I may have found the end of my ~3 month plateau!! B) 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! ;)
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
    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.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    Bluejay61 wrote: »
    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"
  • pbutzk
    pbutzk Posts: 9 Member
    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!
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,224 Member
    pbutzk 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.
  • pbutzk
    pbutzk Posts: 9 Member
    Duck_Puddle wrote: »
    pbutzk 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.
  • KelseyHargis
    KelseyHargis Posts: 4 Member
    What’s your advice during a lengthy plateau? I’ve been tracking and exercising regularly and I gained weight today!!! What gives?!
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    KelseyHargis wrote: »
    What’s your advice during a lengthy plateau? I’ve been tracking and exercising regularly and I gained weight today!!! What gives?!

    The National Weight Control Registry is a self-reporting registry of people who have lost at least 30 lb. and kept it off. According to those who have registered, the secret is persistence. Here are some of their suggestions (I bolded the ones I found most effective)
    • Exercise: Look for ways to work more activity into your life instead of trying to fit in unrealistically long workouts.
    • Start strength training a few times a week. Muscle tissue is more metabolically active than fat and helps burn more calories.
    • Check your portion sizes. Maybe it’s time to get out your measuring cups and scale again. Most dieters routinely underestimate portion sizes.
    • Keeping up with your journal/logging is a great motivator and helps you be aware of exactly what and how much you are eating.
    • Weigh yourself once a week or less. Doing it more often can be counterproductive.
    • Make sure your weight-loss goals are realistic. It may be time to shift into weight maintenance instead of striving for more weight loss.
    • Curb-late night munching, which can sabotage your calorie intake.
    • Focus on the health benefits of the weight you have already lost. Put a picture of your old self in a spot where you’ll see it often, to help you stay motivated. Delight in how far you’ve come, and how good you look and feel.
    • Shake things up in your diet. Treat yourself to a new cookbook, or a subscription to a healthy cooking magazine, to keep novelty and variety in your meals.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,817 Member
    I've never plateaued.
  • Wendyanneroberts
    Wendyanneroberts Posts: 270 Member
    10 weeks, 4 times in a row!

    Personally, I lost my final 20lb in this way. Was aiming for 0.5lb a week. I would go 10 weeks, no change, then lose 5lb. Another 10 weeks, nothing. Then drop 5lb. Once or twice overnight, or within a couple of days.

    So 40 weeks and 20lb. Bang on target weight loss. But long periods, throughout when nothing showed on my scale. Trusting the science works, hang in there.

    Throughout I weighed & logged everything I ate or drank. I knew I was on target, I had to trust the maths. In time, the scale always caught up.
  • scarleth99
    scarleth99 Posts: 4 Member
    Im stuck in one right now. My birth control implant expired, and I have not lost a single lb in 2 weeks. Still logging, still keeping steady with the food, not the healthiest but within my calorie budget. I think the hormones are playing havoc with my body right now. Hoping it can be corrected once I get my implant back in.
  • ang82much
    ang82much Posts: 30 Member
    KelseyHargis wrote: »
    What’s your advice during a lengthy plateau? I’ve been tracking and exercising regularly and I gained weight today!!! What gives?!

    same as others, i sometimes get a plateau of about 2 weeks, then the whoosh. I have a set of scales that measures weight and body fat % and whilst i'm sure the body fat % is not at all accurate at least its useful as a trend, and i tend to find that if my weight is stuck then i'm making progress with the body fat bit, and vice verca, so it's a bit more motivating to see one of the numbers move even if it's not the weight one :)
  • Cleak3991
    Cleak3991 Posts: 3 Member
    7 months. I've been hovering around 170 lbs since July.

Categories