HIT A PLATEAU, NO WEIGHT LOSS IN OVER 2 WKS, HELP !!!

hulljc
hulljc Posts: 8
in Health and Weight Loss
Anyone with any suggestions would be greatly appreciated......
Started my weight loss with MFP on April 2/12 and so far have been doing great, lost 21 pounds to date...... but for the last 2 weeks, eating still within my calories and exercising and haven't lost even 1 pound. Is this what they call a plateau ??? It seems to have been quite easy to lose the first 21 pounds (although completely changed my eating and portion sizes)....How do I
not get frustrated and get over this without going back to my old lifestyle (overeating).... still have 31 pounds until my goal.....Anything I can do to kick start it again ???:explode:

HELP PLEASE :(

Replies

  • rmalford
    rmalford Posts: 58
    Don't see that frustration should lead back to your old lifestyle, and weight? At worst it seems you could take a break and go to your maintenance plan.

    Not losing certainly shouldn't be an excuse for giving up. Eventually, the conservation of energy must be settled. For what it's worth, I was losing weight consistently for a month then bounced about for a week, losing nothing but it looks like I have broken through and hopefully back on track. Physics is obeyed whether one believes or understand, it is self-enforcing.
  • emb0zad
    emb0zad Posts: 3 Member
    Hi. I'm Eartha and I met this lady in the doctors office yesterday who says she is a decendant of a constant dieter and she is a constant dieter and when you hit a plateau you should eat a green apples. It can be the sour or the sweet one and this should give you a break through. I don't know if it works or not but good luck. I'm also not computer literate and found your sentence by accident so I might not see a reply if you send one.
  • headlock_lynn
    headlock_lynn Posts: 79 Member
    Hi there. I tend to go through stages too where I won't lose any weight for a week or 2 and then start up again. I find it helps if I have one decent meal (out to restaurant, steak, etc. ) once a week. How is your working out? Perhaps you are starting to build muscle so aren't seeing the weight loss so much but will start to see the change in body shape. The key is not to get discouraged and give up. Stick with it and you will start to lose again. Make sure you are eating enough and not skimping on your calories in order to eat less in the hopes of losing weight faster. That's not good for our bodies and you can't trick them. They (our body) will start to go into starvation mode and actually hang onto what it has. 2 weeks isn't a long time in the grand scheme of things . You have done so well so far. Just take it that this is a little rest period. Just think another few weeks and you will look back and see that you have started to lose weight again and be back on track. Think long term. "I'll look great by Christmas" that's been my motto since last Christmas. It's getting there. Slowly but that is healthier for you.
  • chergarr73
    chergarr73 Posts: 59 Member
    I had the same problem for about a month when I hit 30lbs lost. What worked for me was completely changing my workout routine and eating MORE calories. I had been eating 1200 and doing Zumba 5-6 days a week for about 45 minutes a go. Changed to the 30 day shred (which takes a LOT less time) and upped my calories to 1500-1700...I've lost 5 lbs in about 3 weeks. My body was too used to the Zumba, and was holding onto everything because I was eating too far below my BMR. Won't work for everyone, but worked for me, might be worth a shot! :-)
  • roningt
    roningt Posts: 13 Member
    When you say "Within" your calories limit is that code for WAY LESS?

    Reason i say this is i use to go WAY less then my calories limit and i too would plateau a lot after large fast weight drops i found increasing my calorie intake for a week then returning to where i was would fix the plateau. Not a massive increase but say 300-500 increase. Your body can go into starvation mode and shut down your metabolism and when that happens your not losing anything.

    But fair warning eating WAY to low calories is not healthy.
  • akgrl1020
    akgrl1020 Posts: 179
    I look at this as a journey to a healthier me. I didnt gain the weight in a short period of time, and acknowledge it will slowly but surely disappear. I have plateaued for six months along the way (been on MFP for almost 18 months). Don't give up!
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
    Give it at least 2 to 3 more weeks. Don't change anything yet.
  • johicks
    johicks Posts: 1,991 Member
    Your body has adapted to it's new lifestyle. You can vary your exercise and/or do a "boost" meal every 4 days. By that I mean, eat an extra portion of a food at one meal every 4 days. So let's say you want a yummy sunday breakfast.. have 2 portions of biscuits w/ gravy sausage instead of one. Then in 4 days... have an extra piece of meat w/ dinner. Then in 4 days have a HUGE salad for lunch. Hope this makes sense.

    I prefer the meal boost verus changing the whole calories thing around. It's too hard to slip back to old habits when trying to adjust in a huge way. The boost should do it!! No promises for the first week though!! :D

    Good luck!! & best wishes!
  • MooMooooo
    MooMooooo Posts: 306 Member
    Im currently at a plateau too :( I am planning on adding some weight training and using optislim for a few days.

    (I hate optislim but it works really well for me)

    Oprah said when she hits plateaus she steps up her training - not exercising longer but harder - like going faster on the treadmill but for the same amount of time...
  • blondejester
    blondejester Posts: 63
    whenever i didn't lose weight, i ate more than usual for a week and started losing again. it sounds like a strange thing to do, but i really think it helps!
  • LaurasClimb
    LaurasClimb Posts: 211 Member
    I've noticed my scale hasn't moved for the last several weeks (probably 2 or 3) BUT my clothes are looser than they were 3 weeks ago. So I'm not too worried about the number on the scale, it will catch up. Best of luck to ya!
  • jaymek92
    jaymek92 Posts: 309 Member
    i heard somewhere that it's not really a plateau until it's been something like 6 weeks. which is an awfully long time.
    in the meantime, try cleaning up your diet. eat more fruits and veggies and lean proteins. less processed foods and excess sodium!
    at the gym, try increasing the intensity of your cardio (look up HIIT or just plain old intervals) and try lifting weights if you don't already!
  • sandiburn
    sandiburn Posts: 149
    I spent a month and half at my plateau. It stinks. I changed up my exercise and started eating more. I went from 1000 cals a day to 1200-1400. My nutritionist told me less salt and more fresh foods. I have last another 4 lbs. Keep it up you can do it.
  • hulljc
    hulljc Posts: 8
    you're right.....i need to keep perservering....just a struggle when it's been over 2 weeks with no loss when it was much easier the first 2 months..... i've had comments to change things up a bit, even told to eat more calories for a bit....thanks for your comments, much appreciated....
  • hulljc
    hulljc Posts: 8
    thanks very much :)
  • hulljc
    hulljc Posts: 8
    you're right I've been eating just under my calories and my BMR is about 200 calories more....gonna try to eat more and change up my exercises, thanks :)
  • Karyn1964
    Karyn1964 Posts: 14
    lose the sugar,when you lose the sugar your glucagon levels go up and it will burn fat like pac man, eat sugar and it goes down and there is no loss.Drink four bottles of water a day to flush it out.
  • hulljc
    hulljc Posts: 8
    iv been told to increase my calories so i'll give it a try...and yes i've been under my calorie intake lots, cause i don't want to eat late at night and usually not hunger enough....will try to eat more at every meal (not over eat though)....thanks :)
  • hulljc
    hulljc Posts: 8
    wow good for you, you've done FANTASTIC....thanks I won't give up...these comments are just the thing i need to push on :)
  • beeker75
    beeker75 Posts: 109
    I understand your frustration, but dont give up hope!! I went pretty much the whole month of April, and the scale rarely changed (except to go up and back down to my lowest last recorded weight) Maybe kick up your workouts a little. Add something, or add time. That's what I did, and it helped me! Good luck!!!
  • aeroback
    aeroback Posts: 66 Member
    I feel ya... I have been here for almost 2 weeks. Got that "monthly thing" last week and it didn't help . Still excercising and trying to change up zumba and treadmill with weights to see if it heps. I know I got used to zumba again and I know switching it up is the key. Also, I have seen more definition in my legs and arms so I know something is going right, even if my scale won't move! Sorry to say this but I am glad it's not just me! LOL My goal is the Aerosmith concert in July to show off my tats and not feel weird or like I'm trying to hide behind big tee shirts anymore!

Categories