How did you overcome your plateau? Did you just wait it out?

Wondering the same here...I am 5'9" and have been stuck at 144 for months now. I would like to lose another 4 lbs but it doesn't seem to be happening. Maybe I am where I should be for my height? I also have increased my calories but no difference.

Hi everyone!

So far I've lost about 41 pounds and since the end of December . Around Christmas time I've hit a plateau. I know its a plateau now because I've been stuck at the same weight for about a month. Many have told me to eat more. I start out at 1200 calories a day and so I increased my calories to 1400 and the scale didnt move. Then people were telling me to eat my exercise calories back or atleast some of them. I've been doing that and the scale still isnt moving. I started incorporating more weights/strength training and I notice a difference in muscle definition so I weighed myself and I lost one pound but then quickly gained it back the next day. What have you guys done to get pass your plateau? Am I doing the right things by eating more and lifting more weights or should I just wait it out?

A "plateau" is 6 weeks or more of no loss WHILE on consistent diet plan and exercise. You're actually in a stall. Keep lifting. Lift heavy to raise you RMR. Challenge yourself in exercise and just don't go through the movements. Give it a couple of weeks and then reassess.


A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
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Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I feel your pain. I've lost 43 so far but nothing since right before Christmas. I have tried a bunch of different things in the past 6 weeks and nothing is working. I increased my calories (basically to maintenance) and took a break from exercising so much for 2 weeks while I was on vacation for Christmas--I think I ran twice a week for those two weeks). Then when I got back home, I lowered my calories again and went back to running regularly and strength training. I thought it would be a nice reset and I'd start losing again. Nope. So then I tried eating more again. Nope. I tried low carb for a few days but I just can't stick with that long term. And I didn't even lose an ounce then either anyway. I still have a lot of belly fat and at least 10lbs to lose. It's starting to really frustrate me.

The scale just.won't.budge. And I'm not losing inches either.

As you begin to tone and strengthen your body ... You will see inches lost. It is more important to notice these results than to pay attention to any number on a scale. Notice the definition in your muscles and work towards building your core as strong as possible. You could change up your eating habits and implement a zig zag method ... Google it. We sometimes have to rev our metabolism by tricking it with consumption calories. There are a lot of tricks to the trade ... But finding what works for you is key !

I am no expert by far ... Just an example of ... The struggle and wait are well worth the results !

Best of luck !

I've been stuck since Oct!!!! I have lost inches and dropped pants sizes so I know I'm still doing something right. I hate the scale. I'm only 5'2 and I'm stuck at 139ish. My belly is holding on to the rest of my weight. Not sure how much is left over skin and how much is fat (looks gross). I keep trying new workouts and I added heavy weights (love that). But, I figure this is a life style change and it keeps me going! Hang in there. :flowerforyou:

I'm hangin :drinker: .....Good to know your still losing inches. I'm 5'2 also. I wish I could get down to the 130's ......One day I suppose

I echo the "hang in there"!! I'm a fellow shorty who faced several plateaus...they do end. Unfortunately it's not straightforward to figure out why the scale won't go down, but if you're losing inches, focus on that since really that's more improtant than the scale anyway!! For me, I had to eat more to break through my plateau as I gained muscle and became more in shape...my body needed more than 1400 calories. Just keep changing things up, keep it at, and don't lose hope!!

ENDURE! This isn't backed by any science or anything other than my personal experience, but I overcame mine (after 70lbs lost) by taking it easy for a while. I managed my diet so that I wasn't taking in positive calories every day, but there were definitely days where that's what I did. I moderated my exercise as well and focused on maintenance. Eventually I started to notice the numbers falling again, and at that point I picked up the intensity and lbs started falling off again.

The more cooking you can do yourself the better of you will be. Took another quick look at your diary, Eb. Guess where most of that Sodium is coming from? The pre-packaged and restaurant foods!