[truthteller]

I have been stuck around 160 for weeks. It has led to endless frustration. I found out what MRC was made of by their response to my plateau. But I know from talking to others. weight plateaus are a normal part of major wight loss. I had lost 43 lbs. in 5 months when I hit my first plateau.
Things I have learned:
1) Never ask MRC for help (seriously their response upset me deeply and it took me a week to get back on board with proper eating)
2) The plateau will not resolve itself on its own
3) Talk to others to get the truth about weight loss (like on this website)
4) Never give up your weight loss goal
5) Research other options on the internet

What has been your experience with weight plateaus. At what point in your weight loss did they occur? What worked, what did not work?

Being validated is a very important part of my weight loss recovery plan. I could not get that at MRC but I got it here, by researching on line other people's experiences with MRC online and by talking to a friend enrolled in MRC who like me has lost a lot of weight, hit a plateau and was blamed by the center. Her advice: tell them nothing. Interestingly she is not nearly as angry as I am or disappointed in them, but she went through the program once before so she probably knew what to expect.

[E4FEwife]

Originally Posted by truthteller

I have been stuck around 160 for weeks. It has led to endless frustration. I found out what MRC was made of by their response to my plateau. But I know from talking to others. weight plateaus are a normal part of major wight loss. I had lost 43 lbs. in 5 months when I hit my first plateau.
Things I have learned:
1) Never ask MRC for help (seriously their response upset me deeply and it took me a week to get back on board with proper eating)
2) The plateau will not resolve itself on its own
3) Talk to others to get the truth about weight loss (like on this website)
4) Never give up your weight loss goal
5) Research other options on the internet

What has been your experience with weight plateaus. At what point in your weight loss did they occur? What worked, what did not work?

Being validated is a very important part of my weight loss recovery plan. I could not get that at MRC but I got it here, by researching on line other people's experiences with MRC online and by talking to a friend enrolled in MRC who like me has lost a lot of weight, hit a plateau and was blamed by the center. Her advice: tell them nothing. Interestingly she is not nearly as angry as I am or disappointed in them, but she went through the program once before so she probably knew what to expect.

Okay let me start by telling you what my center said about the plateaus. The said that plateaus are a good thing and that you want to see them. The fat is leaving your cells and is replaced by H20, the water weighs more than the fat so this is why you hit a plateau. It is a sign that you will most likely drop a bunch of weight soon. They want to see the first plateau at 7-14 days and then at other intervals throughout the program. Drink some extra water and maybe add an extra or longer workout into your week. Patience is what is most important, stay on track and the weight will come off.

[noahsmama]

I can tell you that I experienced one very early (I think it was when I had lost 10 pounds) approx 2-3 weeks in and then my latest one. I had just hit the 40-pound mark and it lasted 2 weeks. The lady on Sat. said something I found interesting. She said pleateaus usually happen at a point where you were before and you body is saying 'do you want to futher or not and back and forth.' So it's just trying to figure out what to do. I've dropped 2.5 pounds since Monday so it pays to stay OP!!

[namaste]

There is a great thread I saw that explained plateaus wonderfully but now I can't remember where it was under the MRC board. Luckily, I copied it to a word document so I'll share it with you..... The information in quotes is from a Biologist from Berkeley.... In terms of not sharing with the center; I'm sorry to truthteller for having that experience but I don't agree with not asking the center for help. This is your program, not theirs and anything that may be detrimental to your success needs to be addressed with Management. If a consultant gave you a response that upset you, then feedback is necessary. You should feel like you can go in there and tell them anything and get the support you need.

“Fat cells are resilient, stubborn little creatures that do not want to give up their actual cell volume. Over a period of weeks, maybe months of “proper dieting”, each of your fat cells may have actually lost a good percentage of the actual fat contained in those cells. But the fat cells themselves, stubborn little guys, replace that lost fat with water to retain their size. That is, instead of shrinking to match the reduced amount of fat in the cell, they stay the same size! Result – you weigh the same, look the same, maybe even gained some scale weight, even though you have actually lost some serious fat.”

This is what we have been telling folks. You lose inches but not pounds because your body plumps the fat cells. I tell them it is a complicated biochemical process that your body replaces the fat molecules with water and fluids until you exceed your bodies predetermined fluid level. Then your body will release a chemical that releases all this stored water and you get sudden overnight loss of several pounds. Then the cycle starts over again with inches gone and the scales lag behind.

The good news is that this water replacement is temporary. It’s a defensive measure to keep your body from changing too rapidly. It allows the fat cell to counter the rapid change in cell composition, allowing for a slow, gradual reduction in cell size. The problem is, most people are frustrated with their apparent lack of success, assume they have lost nothing, and stop dieting. However, if you give those fat cells some time, and ignore the scale weight fluctuations, your real weight/shape will slowly begin to show.