Plateau Help

  • Does anyone have any ideas on how to overcome a plateau? I am beyond frustration! Please help me!

    LaVon
  • I will be interested in reading replies to this thread. I have been stuck at a plateau for a year now. I have tried everything and the scale just won't budge. I have lost 70lbs. but have 50 more to lose.

    Sorry to read that you are stuck too.

    Annie
  • Both of you - what is your current plan? For me, once a plateau has lasted a good while and you're sure it really IS a plateau and not just your body readjusting (4 weeks or so), there are only a couple options.

    1) Change what you're eating. You can cut your calories or points, if you count those, since your body requires less calories to run when you are smaller than it did when you were carrying around all that extra weight. Since your caloric needs change, you have to modify as you go along to keep losing. Some people also try calorie cycling...eating a varying number of calories per day...to jumpstart metabolism, but I don't have much experience with that. I know there are some folks in the Calorie Counters forum who could provide some additional info.

    You can also shift to a "cleaner" plan...whole grains, lean proteins, and produce with a small amount of healthy fats. Sometimes, my body just will not lose without eating a relatively clean diet at a low number of calories...this was particularly true after I got closer to goal.

    2) Change your exercise. You can increase length or intensity...also, if possible, change to a different activity. Your body eventually adapts to any activity it does over and over again, so you burn less calories doing a 5k run the 10th time you do it than you did the 1st time. This is true of any activity...your muscles become more efficient at doing the movement, and stop using as many calories. So changing the activity, length, or intensity could help.

    You also might consider taking up strength training, if you haven't already. Building muscle via lifting weights or other strength training causes your body to burn more calories all day long, awake or asleep, sitting on the couch or walking on the treadmill (It takes more calories/hour than other body tissues to fuel muscle)
  • Yep, mandalinn82 pretty much said it all. Just be sure not to reduce your calories too much. I find that when I plateau it helps for me actually to eat more but also to exercise a little more too. Of course, even though I KNOW that eating more of the healthy foods I like will help me lose weight, I still have trouble taking my own advice. There's that irrational feeling that if I'm never hungry, then I can't possibly be losing weight.
  • I busted through my last plateau doing "double days."

    I did about 15 minutes more exercise per day but I broke it up into two parts. 30 minutes in the morning and 30 more minutes in the evening. I also worked out HARD. Harder than I would have if I would have done 60 straight minutes.

    My background is in accounting so I just keep telling myself that numbers will win in the end. Your body may fight you, but math is math and if you are using more calories than you are eating the weight WILL come off.

    Good luck!! YOU CAN DO IT!!!
  • I'm no expert in this but when I plateau (for me 3+ weeks) I usually change my diet for a weekend and allow myself to have a moderate amount of pizza or other foods I normally do not eat. Usually this change makes me gain a pound or two initally but then I bust throught the previous plateau. I don't like doing this for obvious reasons, but it has worked..
  • Well I finally did it! I am now down 11 lbs. total and an inch from my waist and hips! I started running and I changed a few things in my diet. I finally busted that plateau! Thanks for all the suggestions! You are all wonderful.

    LaVon
  • Good for you! Way to go!!!

    Jay