I am no expert...BUT, I was at the same weight from about the holidays till two weeks ago. I kept telling myself, "It's a plateau, it'll pass". Well, eight weeks and no change...so I decided something had to change. I switched my excercise around (added some strength training with light weights), and really took a look at my eating. Although I was staying within points (doing weight watchers) I was filling those points with more processed foods. Went back to eating a fruit or veggie with each meal, and WHAMO...three pounds off right away. Maybe try some small changes and see if that makes the scale move. Best of luck to you!!!
I have. But you have to ask yourself, am I totally one hundred percent on plan? Is there any chance this plateau is self-induced? Am I guilty of calorie creep?
If the plateau is a true plateau, yes, I have just waited it out...sort of. I have a hard time doing nothing to help myself. I tend to increase the water, go back to diet basics (weighing and measuring everything) and I tend to increase the exercise and the sleep.
When I hit a plateau, I review my food journal and see if I may have room for improvement, maybe adding more protein or if I've been sneaking in extra's I should have been. I also reflect on what I'm feeling, am I stressed etc and review my workouts. I'll make those changes and then wait it out. For me, the answer usually lies in one of those.
One of two things are happening during a plateau. It can be a time for the body to rest and adjust. It can be a time when calorie or exercise needs to be adjusted. It's frustrating to endure the period without loss, but it is a perfect time to see if any improvements can be made.
I see sometimes that others will write about having cheat days and bad weekends and skipping their gym visit and then complain about hitting a plateau. I think it is important to be aware of the consequences of the choices we make. I believe we have to be consistent in calorie intake and expenditure in order to have consistent weight loss. JMO.
What do you define as a plateau? A week--or two--without loss is really not a plateau, and wouldn't be enough for me to change anything (except to reflect on whether I've been on plan), but over 2 weeks with no loss at all,
I'd probably do something.
I have. All I did was make DARN sure I wasn't letting my calories creep up, and I kept on with more of the same. I've lost so much weight now, and I'm getting so close to a normal BMI, that I think my body just periodically decides to take a few weeks to adjust. I don't do cheat days, or anything, although I zig-zag a little over the course of a week. I've been hovering around my present weight for about two weeks now, but I really don't regard it as a plateau until I'm looking at about a month. I've only had that happen once so far, thank goodness, and that only came when I'd lost about 160-65 pounds or so.
I haven't lost any weight for 5 weeks now. Well, 200g, but that doesn't count really.
But if I'm perfectly honest it's not a plateau as such. It was my birthday 2 weeks ago. And I had a wedding 3 weeks ago. And this week I had dinner out when I really ate more than I should have. So I will get perfectly back on plan this week, and my "plateau" will hopefully be busted next week. Or the week after, I'm not in a hurry.
I "plateau" like this often, every few months or so I'll go for a month without moving. But it's always self inflicted, and I palm it off as being getting my body used to maintaining. Hey, I'm not putting on weight!
anyone ever waited out a plateau?
