Plateau Ideas?

  • Despite the fact that I have not cheated at all, the scale has not been my friend for the last couple of weeks...basically only dropping .6 lbs and then going back up the .6 and then down again, up again...you get the idea.

    I usually only have a restricted pack a couple of times a week. This sounds counter-intuitive, but I am wondering if I eat an extra unrestricted pack or up the number of days I have a restricted pack, if that can help? Is it possible that I am eating too few calories and putting my body into starvation mode? I am definitely still in ketosis (I checked with a ketone strip). My IP consultant said people don't usually plateau until week 10 or so. The scale stopped moving for me around week 6.

    Help please! I don't want to quit but doubt I'll be motivated to keep with it if it is seriously going to take me another 4-5 months to lose 10-15 pounds!
  • You may be right that you're eating too few calories. Without seeing what you're eating, it's hard to tell. Take your journal to your coach for review.
    My coach has occasionally told me that the body can get complacent with same old, same old. It needs a change up - calorie confusion, she calls it. So sure, add an extra packet, see if that shakes things up for you. I know that quite often if I have some extra fat (chicken thighs, nice steak, prime rib) - I have a loss. Some people have tried switching lunch and dinner around, you could try that. Also, water is really important, make sure you are getting it all in, even add some extra water.
    Are you a tiny person? I noticed your goal weight is fairly low unless you are quite short. Is it realistic? Maybe your body wants to stop where it is
    Good luck!
  • Quote: Are you a tiny person? I noticed your goal weight is fairly low unless you are quite short. Is it realistic? Maybe your body wants to stop where it is
    Good luck!
    Yes, I am tiny. Just make it to 5'0".

    My goal is definitely realistic. At 110, I will still be 15 pounds heavier then I was before I had kids. I figured that having 4 kids has forever changed my body and that it's unrealistic for me now to shoot for under 100 lbs. Maybe my body thinks it's unrealistic to shoot for under 125 lbs!
  • Dinky- Whenever I have a stall, any kind of "switch up" usually helps. For example:

    If I am eating restricted items, I will go into "bootcamp" mode for a few days. Then I will go back to eating a restricted.

    Or, if I am eating my 8 oz. protein at dinner, I will switch it to lunch.

    And sometimes, you will not lose anything on the scale, but are losing inches. I think we all have weeks like that.

    One more thing to think about is WHAT you have been eating. I will tell you that for me (my personal experience) is that if I eat packets with soy I will not lose. I also do not lose if I eat what I call "fake" foods- Walden Farms, Mio water flavoring, flavored extracts. I don't know what it is about these types of foods and my body, but they make me stall. Science would tell you that the calories from these items are negligible and therefore shouldn't make an impact, but they do for me. And finally, how is your sodium? I find that even if I am eating OP but my sodium is a little higher than normal, the scale is not my friend.

    Just a few things to consider. If you are not keeping a food log, I would start so you can start to see some trends and figure out what is the culprit.