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The Dreaded Plateau

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After 4 months and losing 30 pounds, it has finally happened. I have hit the dreaded plateau.

 

Honestly, I was getting cocky about it. I thought it had it all figured out and I was going to keep coasting until I hit my goal weight.

 

Wrong.

 

For a month now, my weight has bounced between 187.6 to 189.6 but the number I usually see is about 188.4.

 

I haven’t been under 189 pounds in probably 10 years and I think my body is completely freaking out about it.

 

It’s so strange that what I was doing was giving me a loss of about 1.5 pounds a week is now making me maintain.

 

Here’s a bit of information. I’m 44 years old and my BMR is about 1535.  Usually my average calories in is about 1690.  (Last week it was 2027 because I was at the beach.  But I maintained on those calories).  Fitbit has my average calories out at 2935. 

 

I have exceeded my Fitbit goals every day for 87 days now. My workout regimen looks like this:  Monday thru Thursday - 10am 2000 step walk, 12pm elliptical for 23 minutes followed by free weights and yoga for about 25 minutes, 3pm 2000 step walk, and sometimes in the evening a 2 mile walk.  Friday thru Sunday a 3-4 mile walk on a very hilly road.

 

On average, I drink 12 cups of water a day.

 

Sleep…. I certainly could get a bit more. On I average 6 hours a night.

 

My plan going forward is to add different foods into my diet and try to get more protein. I also plan on increasing the intensity of my workouts.  I just bought Beachbody on Demand for a year and look forward to doing those.

 

I also watched Kevin Hall’s lecture on metabolism on YouTube. Is it possible that my metabolism has already adapted to my lower calorie intake and that’s why my weight loss has stalled?  Ugh.

 

I would like to lose another 40 pounds so it’s hard to see the scale not to move for an entire month now. I need encouragement.  I’d like to hear from you pros about how you survived a plateau. 

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I’ve seen these recommendations that makes a lot of sense to me (though I have no personal experience with them): 1) lose no more than 1% of your body weight per week, 2) lose no more than 10% of your body weight in one stretch, 3) after having lost 10% of your body weight, maintain your new, lower weight for several months (so as to establish a new "settling point"), 4) resume your weight loss again following the same principles. It’s explained by Dr. Mike Israetel in this video (7m30s), "Losing All Your Weight At Once". 

 

If I got the numbers right, you started at 219 pounds and lost 30 in 16 weeks to reach 189.  If so, you’d be good by the 1% of BW/week rule: your loss rate was 30/16 = 1.875 pound per week, ie. less than 2.19. You’ve exceeded the 10% of BW in one stretch rule (30 vs. 21.9 pounds). Maybe you should view the "dreaded plateau" as a healthy and necessary maintenance phase, and wait for a while before you start your next stretch. That is, if you see a point in not losing all your weight at once.

 

Now I know several community members have managed to lose a lot more than 10% of their body weight in a very long stretch (more than one year), which shows that it’s possible to do things differently.

Dominique | Finland

Ionic, Aria, Flyer, TrendWeight | Windows 7, OS X 10.13.5 | Motorola Moto G6 (Android 9), iPad Air (iOS 12.4.4)

Take a look at the Fitbit help site for further assistance and information.

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I think this will do it

 

"My plan going forward is to add different foods into my diet and try to get more protein. I also plan on increasing the intensity of my workouts.  I just bought Beachbody on Demand for a year and look forward to doing those."

 

When you eat and exercise the same every day your body gets use to it. You need to switch things up.

Keep us posted!

 

Community Council Member

Wendy | CA | Moto G6 Android

Want to discuss ways to increase your activity? Visit the Lifestyle Forum

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I’ve seen these recommendations that makes a lot of sense to me (though I have no personal experience with them): 1) lose no more than 1% of your body weight per week, 2) lose no more than 10% of your body weight in one stretch, 3) after having lost 10% of your body weight, maintain your new, lower weight for several months (so as to establish a new "settling point"), 4) resume your weight loss again following the same principles. It’s explained by Dr. Mike Israetel in this video (7m30s), "Losing All Your Weight At Once". 

 

If I got the numbers right, you started at 219 pounds and lost 30 in 16 weeks to reach 189.  If so, you’d be good by the 1% of BW/week rule: your loss rate was 30/16 = 1.875 pound per week, ie. less than 2.19. You’ve exceeded the 10% of BW in one stretch rule (30 vs. 21.9 pounds). Maybe you should view the "dreaded plateau" as a healthy and necessary maintenance phase, and wait for a while before you start your next stretch. That is, if you see a point in not losing all your weight at once.

 

Now I know several community members have managed to lose a lot more than 10% of their body weight in a very long stretch (more than one year), which shows that it’s possible to do things differently.

Dominique | Finland

Ionic, Aria, Flyer, TrendWeight | Windows 7, OS X 10.13.5 | Motorola Moto G6 (Android 9), iPad Air (iOS 12.4.4)

Take a look at the Fitbit help site for further assistance and information.

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@Dominique THANK YOU.  THANK YOU.  THANK YOU.

 

Thanks so much for posting that.  I have tears in my eyes right now because all of a sudden I have the peace come over me because I know now that my month of "plateauing" is really just a month of maintenance.   That a relief!!  I was in the mindset that I just wanted to keep going until I hit my goal.  This video has really opened my eyes to the fact that that isn't the healthiest approach.  I want my weight loss to stick for a lifetime. 

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to post to me!!!!  🙂

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Thanks @WendyB ..... will do!

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Stuck on a plateau?

 

Eat a gateau!

 

Ultimate Goal: Mens sana in corpore sano
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@JennyRebecca: make sure you’re not spinning your wheels with too much cardio. Losing 30 pounds in a relatively short time was a big source of stress for your body. You’d want your maintenance phase to be recovery time so as to be in the best conditions for your next round of weight loss. Try to get more sleep and reduce other causes of stress. Do you have an HR-enabled Fitbit? I find resting HR to be a good indicator of stress and a warning signal against the risk of overtraining (it tends to be higher than usual when I’m stressed or pushing myself too hard). Have you been doing resistance training so far? If not, I would suggest you consider starting to do some.

Dominique | Finland

Ionic, Aria, Flyer, TrendWeight | Windows 7, OS X 10.13.5 | Motorola Moto G6 (Android 9), iPad Air (iOS 12.4.4)

Take a look at the Fitbit help site for further assistance and information.

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@Dominique I do a series of free weights with my arms 4 days a week.  Should I step it up with machines at the gym?

 

I have noticed this month my resting heart rate is up to 72 from 69.  (I started at 82 in January).  Maybe that's because I usually get 7 hours of sleep at night but this past month it's been 6 hours?  I don't have a ton of stress in my life, but this month has been harder when with high school son struggle with the last month of school.  PTL school is out!!

 

After watching the video, I am embracing my "maintenance"  this past month.  I have set my calories for 2000 a day on my app and will reevaluate things after July 4th.  I have decided to celebrate how far I have come and enjoy the body that I have at the moment.  🙂 

 

Thanks for the reply.  🙂 

 

 

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Kudos for seeing your glass half-full instead of half-empty! Enjoy your well-deserved maintenance phase, and btw, being able to maintain after dropping a bunch of weight is an achievement in itself. Even if you were to regain a few pounds, you’d still be well below your starting point four months ago.

 

A change of +3 bpm in your RHR is within the normal fluctuation range IMO. OTOH, the drop from 80+ to 70- was likely caused by your lower weight and improved fitness.

 

As to resistance training, it doesn’t really matter whether you do it with free weights, body weight or machines. What you want is make progress over time.

 

Dominique | Finland

Ionic, Aria, Flyer, TrendWeight | Windows 7, OS X 10.13.5 | Motorola Moto G6 (Android 9), iPad Air (iOS 12.4.4)

Take a look at the Fitbit help site for further assistance and information.

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Thanks @Dominique!!

 

It's been really cool to see my resting heart rate slowly come down.  It's been an awesome non-scale victory for sure!

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@JennyRebecca: Just thought I'd chime in -- having seen your reference to Kevin Hall's work, you might be interested in reading about some of his other work. Hitting the plateau is common, and researchers like Hall are increasingly finding that the plateau reported by people trying to lose weight tends to come much earlier than modeled (e.g. within 6 mo of starting to lose weight, when models predict it should come at the 1-2 year mark).

 

Quote from his paper:

"A common explanation of the weight-loss plateau at 6–8 months is that a metabolic adaptation occurs such that energy expenditure decreases to match energy intake thereby halting further weight loss...Although our mathematical model includes the physiology of metabolic adaptation to reduced energy diets, the simulated weight-loss plateau occurs on a much longer timescale...Rather, it is more likely that adherence to the prescribed diet was not constant over this timeframe—an interpretation supported by previous results from studies showing that total energy expenditure is much higher than self-reported energy intake at the weight-loss plateau."

 

My understanding from Hall's work, as well as others, is that while the famous "Biggest Loser" study did show a dramatic metabolic adaptation that made it difficult for contestants to keep off the weight they lost, for the average person, changes in BMR and metabolism are not the driving force behind slowed weight loss, adherence is.

 

All this to say -- experiencing a weight loss plateau is normal and perhaps inevitable! But as @Dominique mentions above and Hall suggests in his paper, staying disciplined and vigilant about your intake / expenditure will ensure that you'll break through. Good luck!

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@waffle1 wrote:

having seen your reference to Kevin Hall's work, you might be interested in reading about some of his other work.


On the subject of Dr. Kevin Hall, you may also want to check this older topic, which points to a very interesting lecture by Dr. Hall (available on YouTube).

Dominique | Finland

Ionic, Aria, Flyer, TrendWeight | Windows 7, OS X 10.13.5 | Motorola Moto G6 (Android 9), iPad Air (iOS 12.4.4)

Take a look at the Fitbit help site for further assistance and information.

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@waffle1 Thanks... I'll be sure to check it out.  I feel like I'm doing a good job adhering to my food plan.  But I understand that after several months, it's easy to backslide.

 

@Dominique I've listened to that lecture twice now.  Good stuff!!  And BTW - I'm a couple weeks into my "planned plateau/maintenance" thanks to the video gave me.  It's helped my "mental game" tremendously.  I'm actually excited to get on the scale and see that I have maintained.  It has given me the confidence to know that once I reach my final goal weight, I can maintain it.  My plan is to keep maintaining until after July 4th and then go back to calorie restriction.  Once I lose the next 10%, I'll go back on maintenance through November and December and then start my last 10% stretch in January.  Thanks for your help!!

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Hi :

 

I was just reading your post and wondering how is it going now? Since your post is from
May. Did you try beachbody on demand? I do lots of beachbody workouts and I am very happy with the results.  I will be very happy to help. 

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@Persianlady Thanks so much for asking.  🙂

 

It's going great.  That video about "planned maintenance" really saved my mental game.  After watching it I decided to up my calories to 2000 a day and work on maintaining my weight loss for a while.  My plan to do decrease my calories back to 1600 after the 4th of July.  That will give me about 2.5 months of maintenance.  Once I lose another 18 lbs (10%) and I plan on going back maintenance.  I'm hoping to hit that goal sometime in October which will put me on maintenance over the holidays.  I'll pick it up again in January and will lose my last 18 - 20 lbs. 

 

Here the cool thing.  I've started to slowly lose weight even though I'm eating 2000 calories a day.  I started to see the scale start to move about 2 weeks ago.  I think that must mean I'm convincing my body that I'm not in a famine and my metabolism is starting to pick up again.  🙂

 

But one of the best things about this "planned maintenance" is that it is giving me the confidence that I'll be able to maintain my weight loss once I reach my final goal.

 

I did get a year of Beachbody on Demand.  I really like the PIYO videos.  The 21 day fix kicked my butt.  I was sore for days.  I've also done Country Heat and Cize but some of the Cize videos are way too hard for me.

 

Thanks again for asking.  🙂

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Based on what you have posted, it seems like you need to change up your routine. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results! I know that your body gets used to a routine and just to maintain where you are at now, you would have to do that same workout routine for the rest of your life. I would definitely spice it up and integrate some HIIT /plyo workouts and also weight training. Lifting weights is so beneficial because you will see your body composition change, however, you have to lift HEAVY. 10 lb dumbbells wont cut it. This will help speed up your metabolism and your clothes might fit better. Speaking from experience, I am currently at about 150 lbs and a comfortable size 4. In my adult life I have never worn a size 4. I have been at 150 lbs, but due to weight training, my waist is smaller because muscle takes up less space. 

 

Sounds like you are doing great at keeping up healthy habits. Don't get too discouraged. It takes time to change your body

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Thanks for posting this @JennyRebecca because you are not alone with these feelings of frustration. Way to go @Dominique with that awesome video- it was a real eye opener. Now we know that the "dreaded plateu" is just mother nature giving us a chance to regulate and not the end of the world- just a new starting off point for the next part of our journey Woman Wink I AM VERY MUCH looking forward to getting to a healthy weight in the most harmonious way possible to what my system can maintain and not some crazy break neck speed just to yo-yo back up (been there/ done that) Starting off tomorrow with a new mindset. Thanks y'all! 

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Thanks for the update on your weightloss journey @JennyRebecca it's good to hear that you don't have to keep eating less and less continuously just to lose the weight. I guess I was thinking about it all wrong- it always seemed from what others post, that if you are not seeing a decrease every week that something must be wrong (followed by stressing out from there that nothing is ever going to change). I am going to save that YouTube video for sure to reference. Cat Very Happy

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My situation is very similar to yours.  After losing 30 pounds I was stuck for 6 weeks.  I averaged just over 2000 calories in and 4000 burned calories.  Given my results I'm convinced Fitbit overstates calories burned or I underestimated calories consumed or both.  I had increased my calorie content a little (2,500) to "glide" to the finish but stopped cold instead.  So I went back to 2000 and was still stuck.  Five days ago I started an eating program called Whole30. For 30 days you eliminate all sugar/substitutes, grains, legumes, dairy, alcohol as well as MSG, Sulfites, and Carrageen (never heard of this one). After the 30 days you reintroduce each one separately and monitor the impacts. Basically it is three meals per day each having a protein portion (8-12 oz), vegetable portion (rest of plate), a fruit, and a fat portion (olive oil, cashews, avocado). In just 4 days I broke the plateau and dropped 5 pounds.  The purpose of the program is not weight loss but weight loss is a result for most.  Google Whole 30 or buy the book "It Starts with Food" for more info. The only cheating I do is counting calories for the plan (still 2,000) and weighing myself daily.  These violate their rules but were a key to my initial success and I was not about to abandon the.  Good luck on your journey. 

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@JennyRebecca wrote:

That video about "planned maintenance" really saved my mental game.  After watching it I decided to up my calories to 2000 a day and work on maintaining my weight loss for a while.  My plan to do decrease my calories back to 1600 after the 4th of July.  That will give me about 2.5 months of maintenance.  Once I lose another 18 lbs (10%) and I plan on going back maintenance.  I'm hoping to hit that goal sometime in October which will put me on maintenance over the holidays.  I'll pick it up again in January and will lose my last 18 - 20 lbs. 

 

Here the cool thing.  I've started to slowly lose weight even though I'm eating 2000 calories a day.  I started to see the scale start to move about 2 weeks ago.  I think that must mean I'm convincing my body that I'm not in a famine and my metabolism is starting to pick up again.  🙂

 

But one of the best things about this "planned maintenance" is that it is giving me the confidence that I'll be able to maintain my weight loss once I reach my final goal.


@JennyRebecca: did you resume your diet as planned, on July 4th (that would be five weeks ago)? How things have been going for you?

Dominique | Finland

Ionic, Aria, Flyer, TrendWeight | Windows 7, OS X 10.13.5 | Motorola Moto G6 (Android 9), iPad Air (iOS 12.4.4)

Take a look at the Fitbit help site for further assistance and information.

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