So, what do you think about plateaus and eating more or having a "free" day to kick-start a loss etc?
I don't know how long weight has to stall before it's considered a plateau. Two weeks, four weeks? What's the general consensus?
Let me begin by saying I am a calorie in/out person -- so please let's not get into a debate about that. That said, I eat mostly whole foods in their natural state with a few 'not so great' foods. Think 80/20... maaayybe 70/30 depending on the week. My calorie average is the same as it was two weeks ago when I was losing steadily 1.6lbs per week (sometimes in whooshes so one may be coming). I also practice intermittent fasting along with calorie counting (otherwise I'd could totally fast then eat 4000 calories lol).
Anyway, It's been about two weeks (12 days) and I've lost nothing. I have been 100% on plan without so much as a *cheat* or free day. I count my calories completely accurately, even rounding UP. I'm confident it has nothing to do with me secretly pigging out then kidding myself LOL. Exercise has been about the same.
My personal feeling (agree, disagree?) is that I am at the lowest weight since before conceiving my second babe (over 3 years) and my body is sort of like, "woah now, what's going on...should we not let go of this weight?" and maybe holding on to it? I've heard that your body can sort of 'remember' weights and struggles at those points but that could be total hearsay.
Should I power through it and stay completely on plan? Should I lower calories and see what happens? My very supportive husband told me how body builders (of which I am NOT haha) sometimes have a free day or two to kickstart further weight loss. I'm wondering if a planned day or two off -- not going crazy, just eating maybe 100-200 calories above maintanence would be beneficial? Is this even a plateau or should I go longer without losing for it to be a *true* plateau?
Input welcome. Let's assume all factors above are as I stated and not delve into "are you SURRREEE you've been counting accurately?". Yes, I am and yes I have lol
What if you try adding more healthy calories to increase your daily amount to see if it works? Like peanut butter or avocado? So that way you know you increased but didn't self sabotage yourself?
I'm not sure if 12 days is long enough to call it a plateau but in my mind on a diet, 12 days feels like 12 years!
Have you noticed your clothes fitting differently? I say keep with it! Years ago I stalled for five weeks! A part of me wanted to quit, but the part that wanted to lose the weight so badly prevailed and I stuck with it. After five weeks of nothing, my persistence paid off. I lost the next ten pretty quickly. During the stall, I noticed my clothes were getting looser. I guess my body just had to recalibrate or something. I'm kind of going through that now. I will stay with it, knowing it is just temporary. Best of luck and hang in there! It's sooo worth it!
Yeah my clothes are fitting more loosely and I definitely see the results so far, but it's frustrating to not lose anything for 12 days despite being on plan.
I wasn't losing super rapidly anyway (which is fine with me) but a solid 1.6 per week then nuthin' for almost 2 weeks can be frustrating!
I was wondering about the fact that this is the lowest weight I've been in three years -- that my body just got used to being a certain weight and therefore is resisting going below this point. I dunno... I guess just keep doin' what I'm doing and if I don't lose within another couple of weeks, maybe lower my calories by 100-200 per day and see what happens.
Your body doesn't "remember" being that weight, but it sounds like your mind does. And our minds and bodies do funny things. You might take a day where you eat a few hundred over, then another day when you do a little under. Calorie cycling used to help me when I'd hit a spot like that.
How many calories are you currently eating and how are you calculating your maintenance level of calories? If you aren't using an app or program that does it automatically, have you adjusted it downwards as you've lost? After 56 lbs (great job btw!) your maintenance calories are going to be lower than when you started and it's possible that you have reached a point where you need to cut back slightly to maintain the same deficit.
If you have been taking that into consideration, then yeah, anecdotally, many people find that a moderate splurge can help break a stall. I don't think 12 days really counts, although if your pattern has been to lose more consistently throughout, it is certainly frustrating.
And for me, a lot comes down to mental outlook. I ended up taking what I called a brief intermission when I stalled for almost 3 weeks, just a few weeks after starting my plan. In my case, I'm on a low carb plan, so I kept my calories low, but for a couple of days, I had a lot more carbs than I had been having. My weight went up short term, but then I had a big whoosh and it got me back on track for steady losses again after that. But just as important to me was that it let me renew my positive feelings about my plan, and I was excited to be back on track again. So don't discount the mental aspect as well as the caloric one.
Last edited by April Snow; 03-07-2013 at 09:10 PM.
I think a day or two off like you mentioned probably could help by giving you a bit of mental break... now as to whether or not that will get the scale moving in the right direction... I don't know... but from the way you describe how you would do it I don't think it could do too much damage... But since you said yourself that you're a "calories in, calories out" person than it sounds like you'll have to change something in that equation to get things moving again...
My personal feeling (agree, disagree?) is that I am at the lowest weight si before conceiving my second babe (over 3 years) and my body is sort of like, "woah now, what's going on...should we not let go of this weight?" and maybe holding on to it? I've heard that your body can sort of 'remember' weights and struggles at those points but that could be total hearsay.
My very supportive husband told me how body builders (of which I am NOT haha) sometimes have a free day or two to kickstart further weight loss.
Respectfully, this is not a matter of disagree or agree. The body doesn't work the way you suspect. You're retaining water, not fat. The end.
Bodybuilders do what is called a refeed which is a purposeful overmaintinence day to help fat loss continue when they are very lean and trying to get leaner while retaining muscle. So for a natural at 10% trying to get to 8% without muscle loss a refeed has a real physical reason. Drug using bodybuilders *most of them* don't have hormone problems so any refeed is done for psychological reasons.
This doesn't mean you shouldn't have a free meal or even a free day. I'm a big fan of diet breaks. You just have to figure out what kind of person you are. Will a free meal turn into a 2 week binge or can you have a nice meal and go right back to your on plan diet?
[QUOTE=35X35;4659349]Yeah my clothes are fitting more loosely and I definitely see the results so far, but it's frustrating to not lose anything for 12 days despite being on plan.
I say give more emphasis to the clothes being looser than to the number on the scale. The body is changing and the scale will follow eventually (I'm going through the same thing right now. I know it's frustrating--I'm focusing on the fact that I wore a pair of jeans yesterday that were too tight last week--progress!). We all want to see that number go down--that's normal. It will.
Thanks for all the input! It's nice to hear I'm retaining water and not fat -- so that means it eventually has to release right??
So, I did have an indulgence meal last night. I think I went maybe 500 calories over maintenance for the day -- so it was quite a meal LOL It was fine though, looking over my calories (I keep a daily total and weekly total) -- I haven't gone over my deficit for weeks and weeks.
I'm back in the saddle this morning, doing a 20 hour fast then resuming my normal deficit. I'm thinking if I *still* don't lose for another week I'll lower my calories by 100 per day to start to see if that kicks things up a notch.
I intentionally began at a "higher" calorie (but still lost 1.6lbs per week) so I could adjust down as I lose. It may be time to think about that. I'll see what the next week brings.
Thanks for the input Most responses were helpful but a couple responded like I was looking for an excuse to binge for 3 weeks. I had *one* meal in a month that was slightly over maintenance lol ... I'm not weighing in until St. Paddy's day so I'll see what happens then. I'm confident I'll see a loss!
Last edited by 35X35; 03-08-2013 at 03:12 PM.
Reason: changed a word
Are you eating enough healthy fats and oils? I find that I naturally will/want to eat somewhat higher fiber and "fat free" - it is not intentional in any way. And when I'm feeling like I've stalled, a meal that contains a little more fat than usual can resolve the issue. Maybe this has more to do with the fact that I'm also naturally somewhat constipated. Sorry tmi!
Opinions on Refeeds, Plateaus, etc...
