Plateau

How long? If it's not been 6 weeks of being totally consistent (IE you didn't go off schedule, didn't attend a party and overate, didn't indulge in workouts you don't normally do, etc.) then it's NOT a plateau. You likely stalled and it's usually because you're not being consistent.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Oversimplifying a little here, but pretty much this thought process:

Case #1: Losing at a reasonable rate for 4-6 weeks or more, then stalled suddenly without any change in routine or cheat days, slips, etc.? Probably some kind of water weight effect. If a person just started a calorie reduction a week or two ago, had a big drop, then stalled: Same thing.

Answer: Stick with the routine for another 4-6 weeks, whole menstrual cycle(s) if that applies, be patient, see what happens. While waiting, read this (especially the article linked in the first post):

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10683010/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-fluctuations/p1

Case #2: Been losing weight for a long time, and weight loss gradually tapered off over multiple weeks or months, also without a change in eating or activity? You may've found your maintenance calories at a lighter weight.

Answer: Re-evaluate your calorie needs using the MFP goals page, or a TDEE calculator, and adjust your calorie goal downward.

Note: In case #2, one of the common oversights is daily life (non-exercise) activity. We've had folks here go from (say) an active warehouse job on their feet all day to a desk job, or move from a big suburban house with lots of home care to a small apartment, stop losing weight, and not understand why because their eating and intentional exercise didn't change. That daily life activity can really strongly affect calorie needs: For many (maybe most) of us, it's a larger number of calories daily than our exercise calorie burn.

pony4us wrote: »

Also realize that you posted on the maintaining weight section...so everyone here has the goal to stay the same. You may get more responses on the weight loss section. Just be patient and experiment.

yeah...um congrats OP?

Which way did you want to be headed?