anyone ever waited out a plateau?

  • Does that work? Does the plateau eventually pass? Just curious.
  • 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.
  • I too think you have to be brutally honest and evaluate if there is a possible "cause" for this said plateau...
  • I've waited out a couple. 3 weeks or so and things started moving again without any changes.
  • 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!