How did you bust YOUR plateau?

olyrose
olyrose Posts: 569 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been stuck for a few months - I tried mixing up workouts, upped my calories a little, zig-zagged calories, changed the balance of carbs/protein/fat, etc, etc... My problem now is that while I refuse to give up until I meet my goals for health, weight, and fitness, I am getting really discouraged. I've hit a wall before, but this is becoming never-ending and ridiculous now.

So - I'd love to hear some success stories! What worked for all of you to help get you past that hideous plateau?
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Replies

  • gottorow
    gottorow Posts: 8 Member
    Had been stuck at the same weight for three months the first part of this year. Made a switch to vegetarian and non-fat dairy at my doctor's recommendation because of cholesterol. Have dropped four pounds in the last month. I have some fish and perhaps a half serving of chicken 2-3 times a week. Feeling good.
  • wookiemouse
    wookiemouse Posts: 290 Member
    Dropped 3 lbs in the past 2 weeks after being stuck at a plateau for a YEAR. I did 2 things - first, I upped my calories from 1500 to 1800. And secondly, I completed my conversion to clean eating (no processed food, no white carbs, no refined sugars). Weight is steadily coming off now!
  • Tzippy7
    Tzippy7 Posts: 344 Member
    calorie cycling. similar to zig zagging though, so you may have already tried it.
  • PercivalHackworth
    PercivalHackworth Posts: 1,437 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/596064-how-to-get-rid-of-a-plateau
  • acg1305
    acg1305 Posts: 224 Member
    bump
  • stacymama5
    stacymama5 Posts: 391 Member
    As I have recommended before, you may try a B complex vitamin. I will speed up you metabolism and might get you over the hump.
  • TXRobinD
    TXRobinD Posts: 15 Member
    I have been bouncing around with the same couple of pounds for the last 6 wks or so. Very irritating!! I upped my calories and a few other things but could not seem to get under 163/164. I finally took 3 days and just ate about 1000 calories each day or worked out so I netted 1000 calories. I am not a fan of eating this low but after 3 days I could feel the change in my body and am finally losing weight again (2 lbs this week) I hope this will continue and I am now back up to my normal calories (1500/1600 per day) I am also now using a spreadsheet to track a weekly/monthly average for calories instead of just looking at the daily stuff. This has helped my look at the big picture instead of just the daily goals.
  • olyrose
    olyrose Posts: 569 Member
    Thanks for the feedback everybody! And congratulations to you all who made it past that horrible plateau :drinker:
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,428 MFP Moderator
    All 3 plateaus I upped my calories. The first time I upped it by 800 calories. The second two by a few hundred. So if you are eating 1200 and bumped it to 1350, that may not be a big enough jump. So the question is, how many calories are you eating?
  • TXRobinD
    TXRobinD Posts: 15 Member
    All 3 plateaus I upped my calories. The first time I upped it by 800 calories. The second two by a few hundred. So if you are eating 1200 and bumped it to 1350, that may not be a big enough jump. So the question is, how many calories are you eating?

    I was wondering how long you had to eat at the higher calories to break the plateau and then did you drop it back down?

    Thanks
  • crudd123
    crudd123 Posts: 244 Member
    bump
  • groomchick
    groomchick Posts: 610 Member
    I don't eat fast food but eat out frequently.... I broke a plateau by not eating out for 2 weeks!! Worked like a charm!
  • Zumbagurl64
    Zumbagurl64 Posts: 155 Member
    bump
  • LooseWheel
    LooseWheel Posts: 211 Member
    I had been told plateau's can linger for 8 to 12 weeks. so it will take a severe mix up of your routine to 'shock' your body out of its current placing. Our bodies get used to activities really quickly, just the same as how quick we lose what we've worked for if we stop that routine/exercise. Still zig zagging on the weight loss scale myself and have to up my exercises, but also upped the vitamin supplements to help increase my metabolism. I will keep an eye on this topic for more info! Best of luck
  • Debbe2
    Debbe2 Posts: 2,071 Member
    Changed it up.
    Took a week off from the gym and my usual intense workouts BUT walked a lot more than usual which is a lot because I love to walk! Relaxed a little with my food choices and the weight dropped again. Throughout, I stopped eating as soon as I felt satisfied. That's important so you don't overeat. Good luck!
  • sheri02r
    sheri02r Posts: 486 Member
    I was stuck at the same weight for 2 months. Upped my calories from netting 1200 to netting 1400. Adjusted my macro's to 40/30/30, and that seemed to do it. Lost 2lbs in two weeks.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    I've been stuck for a few months - I tried mixing up workouts, upped my calories a little, zig-zagged calories, changed the balance of carbs/protein/fat, etc, etc... My problem now is that while I refuse to give up until I meet my goals for health, weight, and fitness, I am getting really discouraged. I've hit a wall before, but this is becoming never-ending and ridiculous now.

    So - I'd love to hear some success stories! What worked for all of you to help get you past that hideous plateau?

    Some good advice on here and I'm sure others will share their advice too. I just wanted to commend you that you defined a plateau as being "stuck for a few months" and not a few days as is often the case here. That said, are you referring only to scale weight? Do you have some other metrics such as measurements? Or even some progress pics? Sometimes, the scale can deceive us for a while...yes, even for a few months. You don't want to drastically change what is working because the scale stopped cooperating for a while.

    My advice is to consider "cleaning up" your calories...(I'm a big fan of paleo, but not everyone here is). If I were advising you, I'd say to drop the grains for a few weeks...yes, *all* of them. If you don't see a difference after a month of going without them, then feel free to add them back. While it isn't a miracle panacea for everyone, it has been for enough people dealing with health issues, both serious and not-so-serious, that it certainly seems like a reasonable thing to try.

    And whatever you do or don't do, keep your long-term perspective in place. You certainly seem to be approaching this with the right mindset, so keep it up.
  • mbajrami
    mbajrami Posts: 636 Member
    I plateaued for over a year. Mixing it up with workouts/food didn't do much. For me, personally, I started the Body by Vi Challenge and have lost 23.4 lbs since March 5, plus 3.25 inches from chest, 5 inches from waist, 3.75 from hips.
  • chicago_dad
    chicago_dad Posts: 357
    It's not a plateau. It's unplanned, temporary maintenance.
  • Awkward30
    Awkward30 Posts: 1,927 Member
    I've been stuck for a few months - I tried mixing up workouts, upped my calories a little, zig-zagged calories, changed the balance of carbs/protein/fat, etc, etc... My problem now is that while I refuse to give up until I meet my goals for health, weight, and fitness, I am getting really discouraged. I've hit a wall before, but this is becoming never-ending and ridiculous now.

    So - I'd love to hear some success stories! What worked for all of you to help get you past that hideous plateau?

    What are your stats. It is possible that you have to adjust your calories down for your new, lower metabolic rate. Run the fat2fit radio calc to make sure you are still eating in a deficit.
  • 32nissy
    32nissy Posts: 67
    bump
  • Annmarie49
    Annmarie49 Posts: 84
    Dropped my calorie intake to 1000 cals/day (lots of fruit/veg/fibre/wholemeal/beans/pulses etc etc) & increased cardio exercise (eat less/exercise more) for 1 week, 4lb weight loss that week and now if I plateaued for more than 4 wks, I would do the same!! I know a lot of people disagree with this, however, you need to find out what is right for you. try all variations until it works but give each one time!!!
  • soehlerking
    soehlerking Posts: 589 Member
    OMG i've only been stuck in my plateau for 3 weeks, and i'm already terrified...props to all of you who have seen the other side! i'm going to start out by changing my whole exercise routine (from burning 700 cal/day at the gym to doing a 400-cal workout video) and see where we go from there. best of luck to all!
  • gastankerdriver
    gastankerdriver Posts: 162
    A few months seems like a very long time for a plateau. Here are some of the things I do for a plateau. Sleep more (sometimes your body needs to rest and burn some extra calories.) Add a half hour to your gym workout (if that doesn't do it, nothing will.) and finally when I get desperate--a hit of Superpump. This will blow the doors off your plateau, although it can be hard on the digestive system. I wouldn't make a habit of taking it every day or even every week.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    Dropped 3 lbs in the past 2 weeks after being stuck at a plateau for a YEAR. I did 2 things - first, I upped my calories from 1500 to 1800. And secondly, I completed my conversion to clean eating (no processed food, no white carbs, no refined sugars). Weight is steadily coming off now!

    This is encouraging...
  • believeandtry
    believeandtry Posts: 64 Member
    BUMPITY BUMP
  • sweebum
    sweebum Posts: 1,060 Member
    I take a diet break every 12 weeks of dieting. http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html

    If I had done it last year I wouldn't have spent 9 months yoyoing.:smile:
  • brendacs21
    brendacs21 Posts: 180 Member
    I had been weighing the same for weeks on end and had done so many different things to try and lose and nothing. id either gain or stay the same. I ended up doing 2 things. I bought a pedometer and noticed even when working out i only got 3ooo steps a day. (i have a sit down job) My mother in law who was losing weekly did between 10ooo-15ooo a day! I dont make it to 10ooo everyday but i at least hit 6ooo which is double what i used to do daily. Then i cut out my sodium intake. I heard sodium makes u retain water etc I was eating about 3200-3500mg a day!! I started doing 1500mg or less. in 2 days i dropped about 4 lbs! I lost another 1.5 the week after! this has all been in the last 2 weeks
  • HeidiHoMom
    HeidiHoMom Posts: 1,393 Member
    I've been stuck for a few months - I tried mixing up workouts, upped my calories a little, zig-zagged calories, changed the balance of carbs/protein/fat, etc, etc... My problem now is that while I refuse to give up until I meet my goals for health, weight, and fitness, I am getting really discouraged. I've hit a wall before, but this is becoming never-ending and ridiculous now.

    So - I'd love to hear some success stories! What worked for all of you to help get you past that hideous plateau?

    You need to stick with just one thing instead of being all over the map. And stick with it for at least 8 weeks. that being said, you should up your calories as that is probably the best option.

    I broke my plateau by upping my calories.
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,300 Member
    It's not a plateau. It's unplanned, temporary maintenance.

    I like you!

    OP how long did you stick with any of your changes? You won't see a change right away. Give them time to see if they work.

    Last time I had "unplanned, temporary maintenance" I ate more calories, ate the way I did when I started, and went back to my "normal" workouts. Bam! 2 pounds in a week after stalling for over a month.

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