Hi everyone! I'm actually doing research for an article I have to write. I was wondering if you guys could help me!

It's about weight plateau's...why they happen, how to stop them, and why they only happen to certain people. If you have ever experienced a plateau and have some advice/insight, please, could you reply?

Thanks.

You should definitely read How to Break the Fat Loss Code, it's all about plateaus and the scientific reasons behind them and how/why we get them, I just read it the other day and it was truly informative!

I don't know if I agree with the comment that only some people have plateaus, I think everyone experiences them at somepoint or another. I honestly think they happen because your body gets used to the exercise and diet and accordingly adjusts to it. Sometimes it seems no matter what you do, the plateau won't go away. I usually try cutting my calories by 100-200 a day or increasing my cardio a few days a week to see if that helps.

I don't know why plateaus happen. I had a helluva one a couple years ago. It was probably 6 months after I had lost almost 80 pounds. I couldn't shake it. Ate more, ate less, exercised more, exercised less. My body refused to work with me. So I gave up and gained back 30 pounds. Well, that broke the plateau LOL!

So, the thing that sucked was having to re-lose the 30 to get back to where I was and go from there.
My tip - don't give up and regain like I did. Waiting out would have been much, much better than giving up and gaining.

Lori- do you know what eventually helped you break through the second time?

Well - I didn't have a second plateau. I had the one, gained weight back, then lost again without hitting a plateau as of yet. I wasn't eating very well when I gained weight, so when I went back on plan, I started losing again.

I thought the low 170s might have been a set point, but I blew right through that on the way back down. Go figure LOL!

The thing that usually helps me when I hit a pleatau is increasing my calories for one day and then, cutting back down, but it doesn't always work. Also, lifting weights extra hard works sometimes too.

I've had several people tell me that they broke a plateau by going off their diet for a day or two.