Any suggestions for plateaus in weight loss?

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diana_marie8302
diana_marie8302 Posts: 84 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Anyone have any suggestions for when your weight loss stops...? I haven't gained any pounds but have been finding that it has been increasingly difficult to lose weight the past few weeks. I know I haven't always chosen the best foods to eat and have my days where I go over my suggested calories but it shouldn't be enough to cause difficulties in weight loss. That's difficult enough! :) I did join a gym last month and my goal is 5 days a week. Again... any suggestions? I'll take what I can get. Oh and what makes it more fun is that I'm kind of a picky eater. :) Thanks in advance for any help!
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  • GerriMM
    GerriMM Posts: 1
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    I have read that if you have a plateau you are wanting to bust through, you have an "apple" day. Eat nothing but apples for an entire day and it is supposed to blast through any plateau.
  • nawazarrio
    nawazarrio Posts: 64 Member
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    I haven't had this problem yet but I'm interested to see what answers come up. Try not to be discouraged. (I know, easier said than done.) It's normal to hit a plateau now and again and it probably doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong. Just keep going. Don't give up. You can do this!
  • LuciaLongIsland
    LuciaLongIsland Posts: 815 Member
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    I think your sodium is very high.
  • nixirain
    nixirain Posts: 448 Member
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    I have read that if you have a plateau you are wanting to bust through, you have an "apple" day. Eat nothing but apples for an entire day and it is supposed to blast through any plateau.

    Um, where did you hear this? I dont think anyone with any knowledge on nutrition would say this. I might be wrong, but I don't think I am.

    Remember, you are suggesting things for another human being to do.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    A plateau is actually a good thing because it means your body has gotten comfortable with where you are right now. You're looking at your new "normal!"

    The best way to break a plateau is to change what you're doing. Simply starting to go to the gym more often and really put in an effort might be enough for you to break yours. Others have found that increasing their calorie goal, stricter logging of what they're eating, cutting out processed carbohydrates, fast food and sugar or similar strategies have helped them. Keep trying something different and give it a week. If you still don't see the scale start to drop, then try something else.
  • deverdad
    deverdad Posts: 41 Member
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    I'm interested in reading some of the responses as well. I'm in the same boat. I started back in June and have successfully lost 37Ibs, but have hit a plateau that has lasted over a month! I just keep bouncing between 172 and 171 and it is SOOOOO frustrating. I've tried eating more calories, eating less calories and nothing. I currently do 30DS and about 45 min of strength training and when I don't use 30DS, then I use the elliptical for about 35 minutes. Any suggestions would be great!
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Eat in such a way to feed your automatic everyday burning by your metabolism at highest level, and to feed your workout, but still cause a healthy as possible deficit.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/3088-eating-for-future-you

    Doing really excellent eating more calories than many might suggest, but you still may be under your potential.

    Use the spreadsheet on above group to nail it better, may see some issues there.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/477666-eating-for-future-you-method
  • Devon_Bates
    Devon_Bates Posts: 17 Member
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    For 4 weeks I had a plateau and I started taking vitamins, cinnamon pills to help with my sugar and fish oil. I kept eating as healthy as I could and exercising but I also increased my calories. It sounds nuts but sometimes if you don't have enough calories to burn then you can plateau so I would just take a week and increase by like 100-300 calories it helped me to lose 5 lbs this week I also increased my water consumption from like 2-3 cups to 6-9 cups a day if possible and watched my sodium because it also causes a lot of water retention. Hope this helps. It did me when someone told me to try it.
  • morgansmom02
    morgansmom02 Posts: 1,139 Member
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    A plateau is actually a good thing because it means your body has gotten comfortable with where you are right now. You're looking at your new "normal!"

    The best way to break a plateau is to change what you're doing. Simply starting to go to the gym more often and really put in an effort might be enough for you to break yours. Others have found that increasing their calorie goal, stricter logging of what they're eating, cutting out processed carbohydrates, fast food and sugar or similar strategies have helped them. Keep trying something different and give it a week. If you still don't see the scale start to drop, then try something else.

    That is exactly what I am trying. I am on the same boat.
  • PamelaHenD
    PamelaHenD Posts: 42 Member
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    Change is what you do is the only way to get over it. I had that happen when I was running. Then I changed it to belly dancing for a while and then changed it to walking with a friend. The more you change it up the better. Change keeps your body guessing...
  • wackyfunster
    wackyfunster Posts: 944 Member
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    Anyone have any suggestions for when your weight loss stops...? I haven't gained any pounds but have been finding that it has been increasingly difficult to lose weight the past few weeks. I know I haven't always chosen the best foods to eat and have my days where I go over my suggested calories but it shouldn't be enough to cause difficulties in weight loss. That's difficult enough! :) I did join a gym last month and my goal is 5 days a week. Again... any suggestions? I'll take what I can get. Oh and what makes it more fun is that I'm kind of a picky eater. :) Thanks in advance for any help!
    The two main factors, assuming you are still sticking to your diet/exercise regimen:
    1) As you lose weight, you caloric requirements decrease. You need to update your targets based upon that. E.G. my BMR is currently around 1600 calories/day. If I were 30 lbs heavier, it would be ~1800. Add in activity multipliers (1.55 in my case), and that ends up yielding >300 fewer calories per day I should be eating after dropping 30 lbs. That comes out to close to 10,000 calories per month, or 3 pounds per month of difference in weight loss.
    2) Water retention. This is normal after being calorie restricted for a while, especially with the sodium content in the American diet. There are about a billion articles on this on the net. Basically, keep your sodium intake under 2300mg/day, and drink a ton of water to help prevent this. It's more cosmetic than anything else, and will sort itself out eventually anyway, but can cause you to get 'stuck' at a certain weight for a while, typically followed by a drop of a couple of pounds in weight at some random interval. You can also dump the excess water by doing a higher calorie intake day with more complex carbohydrates, low sodium, and lots of fluids. I think this may be where the myth of 'starvation mode' and 'eating more to get out of starvation mode' may come from.

    Factor #1 is obviously the most important... if your caloric balance is off due to weight loss, you will stop losing weight. #2 can keep your scale 'stuck' for a week or two at a time.

    Hope this is helpful!
  • mejustsmaller316
    mejustsmaller316 Posts: 134 Member
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    I have read that if you have a plateau you are wanting to bust through, you have an "apple" day. Eat nothing but apples for an entire day and it is supposed to blast through any plateau.

    Um, where did you hear this? I dont think anyone with any knowledge on nutrition would say this. I might be wrong, but I don't think I am.

    Remember, you are suggesting things for another human being to do.

    Shes only trying to help..... and its not going to hurt anything to just eat apples for 1DAY. Don't be so judgmental.
  • Stasha17
    Stasha17 Posts: 28
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    I know when I have hit platue in the past, I've changed my diet and exercise. Try pushing yourself harder, your body might be use to your workouts. Change things up, Circuit training or interval training works best.
  • nawazarrio
    nawazarrio Posts: 64 Member
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    I have read that if you have a plateau you are wanting to bust through, you have an "apple" day. Eat nothing but apples for an entire day and it is supposed to blast through any plateau.

    Um, where did you hear this? I dont think anyone with any knowledge on nutrition would say this. I might be wrong, but I don't think I am.

    Remember, you are suggesting things for another human being to do.

    Shes only trying to help..... and its not going to hurt anything to just eat apples for 1DAY. Don't be so judgmental.

    While it probably would hurt someone to eat only apples for one day, it doesn't really sound like a good idea either. The human body requires protein and fat. Eating only apples would be cause a lot of sugar intake and probably not offer a full feeling that would last for very long. I don't if this theory would work or not, but it doesn't seem very healthy regardless. I think that this is all the other person is attempting to say. I don't they were trying to sound judgmental. It's just that all in all, this doesn't sound like a very good course of action. :)
  • nawazarrio
    nawazarrio Posts: 64 Member
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    *wouldn't hurt someone
  • nixirain
    nixirain Posts: 448 Member
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    I have read that if you have a plateau you are wanting to bust through, you have an "apple" day. Eat nothing but apples for an entire day and it is supposed to blast through any plateau.

    Um, where did you hear this? I dont think anyone with any knowledge on nutrition would say this. I might be wrong, but I don't think I am.

    Remember, you are suggesting things for another human being to do.

    Shes only trying to help..... and its not going to hurt anything to just eat apples for 1DAY. Don't be so judgmental.

    I am not being judgmental. I was 1) trying o understand the logic behind it 2) I if there wasn't any she should know it is a waste of time.

    We are all here for the same reason, to be healthy, physically and mentally. Thinking that you can fix a plateau with eating apples fora whole day would not do that.

    I don't understand why people get their feelings hurt when someone questions their logic or simply tells them they are wrong.
  • diana_marie8302
    diana_marie8302 Posts: 84 Member
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    You have all been helpful! I will certainly try to use the suggestions you all posted. I'll keep hammering away and hopefully something clicks where I can continue on to my goal :) Any suggestions for lowering sodium in your diet and decreasing carbs? Those are probably my biggest issues with my food right now.
  • rhonda_does_life
    rhonda_does_life Posts: 15 Member
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    More protein, less sodium, sugar, and carbohydrates. Just by looking at your food journal.

    You should be having 10:1 protein. (For every 10 calories you take in, you should be having at least 1 gram of protein.)

    Also, you should be eating REAL food, like chicken and beef, eggs, etc. You seem to be eating a lot of "diet" food, which if you read the nutritional facts really isn't all that good for you. :(
  • stanvoodoo
    stanvoodoo Posts: 1,023 Member
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    Not sure how much more you have to lose but there are several options.....

    F I T = With regards to exercise try changing up any of the following: Frequency Intensity Time = F I T.

    You also have alot of simple carbs in your diet that might be holding back alot of your weight loss. Try cutting back on those and having more protein. Complex carbs are ok just cut back on the simple carbs.

    Lastly, if you really don't have that much to loss you may want to try uping your calories just alittle say 100 per day and once you are losing again, drop back down slowly.

    Make sure you are getting enough water daily, 64 oz min and hopefully you will be off your plateau soon!

    Best of Luck!
  • Donnacoach
    Donnacoach Posts: 540 Member
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    Change your routine up. I hit a plateau for about a month. Was getting very discouraged with no weight loss, even though my pant sizes dropped by three and my shirt sizes by one. The scales were not making me happy. I have now added in free weights Mon. Wed. Fri. and Ab & Butt exercises Tues. Thurs. Sat. Still continuing to use the elliptical no less then 5 days a week.

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