When does a "stall" officially become a plateau (or, as I like to refer to it... PLAT-TOE)?

I am 159 now. Bouncy-arounding on 160, 161... can't seem to quit the stall.

I am facing it like a champ, tho! - not letting it "get to me" - keep on doin' what I'm doin'... but still, it IS a bit daunting.

How long do you "stall" before you officially call it a PLAT-TOE, and then change things up?? Two weeks? Four.... Six?? More??

In my experience my body doesn't respond on the time scale of a week or two ... it takes really a month or two to really evaluate whether something is working or not.

So if I were you, I would hang in as best you can for at least 4-6 weeks before changing anything. I often go 2-3 weeks without seeing any loss (bouncing around as you are). But I have never gone 4 weeks perfectly on plan without seeing any loss.

Put another way, when I do go 4 weeks without any net loss, it's more likely that I have become lax in some way than that I have really stalled - as in, stayed perfectly and plan and yet not seen any loss for a month. I respond to this not by changing things up to break the stall, but by changing things up to address whatever way I have become lax. That's my experience, anyhow.

I just had to comment b/c I too have been bouncing around the 159, 160, 161 numbers for a few months now. It's a great feeling to see the 150's, but then the next day there I am in the 160's again! Unlike you though I know why- my binge days are almost becoming equal in number to my on-plan days

When I DO stay on plan and don't see the scale moving, I usually don't wait long before I do something different. I'm too impatient, which I know is silly. For some reason having a large off plan meal often works for me. If not I'd try dropping 50 calories from my daily count for awhile, or up my exercise.

Remind me again... are you a daily weigher? When was the last time you saw a drop on the scale?

I weigh daily and only see any drops about one week out of the month. Basically between ovulation and before TOM starts. Then I tend to see a series of whooshes after which my weight bounces around again for another 3 weeks.

So... I'd say you need to wait at least a month. I had a plateau that was right around 6 weeks. I didn't actually change anything but eventually my body started losing again. Have you changed your exercise routine by any chance? My plateau coincided with me really getting serious about heavy lifting. I was also losing a lot of inches at that time. Have you been measuring too?

A plateau, I think, is very individual. Like, for me (like runningfromfat), I tend to lose 'really' for only 7-10 days a month. Otherwise I tend to bounce around. I'm prone to holding water for TTOM and for ovulation, so it is usually only a few days before TTOM and after ovulation that I see the drop for the month. So, for me, it would have to be over a month to notice if I'm on a plateau or not. But that's me.

If you have been noticing the same weight and that's unusual for you, then it could be a plateau, even a mini one, even after a week or two, but also, the lower amount of fat you have, the more likely you are to get starts and stops with weight loss. Like nothing, and then two pounds over night. And then nothing, and then 1 lbs. I see that pattern over and over again here as people near their ideal weight.

Wait a while, like a month or 6 weeks. Then reevaluate and be honest with yourself about how much you're taking in and how much you're really exercising.

I have found that calories begin to creep up on me because I am eating an extra handful of nuts or something similar. If I stick to losing weight calories (no exercise calories added in) I start to drop again. But I am a bit unique in that if I am too carb heavy (PCOS/IR here) I will definitely plateau. I need to keep my carbs on the lower side (even if they are whole, natural, fibrous carbs!)

I count calories, enter my food intake (everything!) on FitDay. I just hit 159 a couple weeks ago. But since then, 160, 161, 160, 160, 160, 161, etc. And yes I do weigh daily (same time every day, for consistency). I am also in menopause (haven't had a period for 5 months now). I'm not eating different (I tend to stick to the same foods most days, & on weekends, I'm a little lax, but I eat LESS on weekends than weekdays.... routine, & all that.)

I have been doing 30 minute bike rides the past couple days - nothing strenuous, just you know... good steady pedal'n.
And yes -I've measured. I've lost about 2 inches from arms, legs, etc & up to 4 inches on my hips -and 25 lb- since January.

I wonder if I should lower my calorie intake? Maybe you're right - maybe I should wait a couple more weeks before I do anything. ~sigh~

Huh, I really don't know. I wonder if it isn't water retention of some sort if you've seen one low day and then a lot of bouncing around (I know that has happened to me many times before!). You say you're going through menopause but it's still possible to have a period after some time, that could be it too (my mom actually got pregnant after she thought she had already gone through menopause!).

If you saw 159 about 2 weeks ago then I'd probably hang tight for another week or two before seriously changing anything. At most (if you're getting really anxious), maybe change up your exercise routine a bit. Doesn't mean you have to do 50 hours a week but maybe try some new activities or switch up the times or something. And drink lots and lots of water, that never hurts!

Are you still on the same number of calories as when you started dieting, or do you keep adjusting them as your weight drops?

I haven't really adjusted them YET. Back around June I decided to do some calorie cycling as opposed to straight 1500 per day. I've wondered if maybe it's not time to drop down to ... 1350? My "calorie calculator" says that I should be doing 1800 to maintain and 1450 to lose 1-2 pounds per week, but THAT CAN'T BE RIGHT because I'm right around 1500-1600 per day now, and I was not losing AT ALL on 1800 per day... so now at least I'm losing... or at least... I WAS losing.

Ok, I know Halloween is in a couple weeks, but there's no need to be scare'n my old chubby self right now, is there?

Sorry! True story, though. Mostly I just wanted to say don't rule out another period that might surprise you.

My mom did the same thing. Months and months without a period and then she'd have one. More months without and then she'd have another. That was in her late 40's. It was a while before her periods stopped completely. But she never got pregnant.

First of all I'm shocked that you're 48. You have such an exuberant style of posting I thought you were in your mid 20s for sure. (This is meant as a compliment in case I am not being clear)

On topic ... you need to check the math that calculator is spitting out. How could a 350 change (difference between 1800 and 1450) add up to a 1-2 lb loss per week?

As for your problem ... if you're not very active 1500 could be your maintinence level. Very difficult for anyone to judge. My suggestion would be to keep tracking it and wait a couple weeks before making any changes unless you want to eat less in which case ... go for it.

Are you lifting weights? If not this might be a good time to start. I can give you a lot of reasons but I believe weight lifting is the best fat loss exercise around.

My calorie deficit calculator says I should be at 1330 to lose 1 lb per week and I am slightly taller than you, so I am also concerned that your calorie amount is a bit high, since you weigh less than I do AND you're shorter?

Maybe you need to adjust again.....??