The Dreaded Plateau

[JennyRebecca]

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. 

[nurzepat]

What is your percentage of lean vs. fat body weight?  My trainer tells me that the less fat you have to lose, the harder it is to lose it.  If your body composition has changed, you can lose inches without losing weight.  It's more important to reduce percentage of body fat, than to reduce weight.  I use an Aria scale.  I'm not sure how accurate it is, but it downloads to Fitbit  and is helpful to me.  I have gained lean weight and lost fat which cancel each other out on the total weight, but makes a big difference in health and how I look.  There are other brands of similar scales on the market.  Also, my gym has an expensive version of body composition scale which also indicates visceral fat and body water percentages.  Also, if you eat too little, my trainer tells me that you will break down muscle instead of fat.  I started losing more weight when I started eating more protein, including a big breakfast and protein snacks between meals.  Slow and steady wins the race.

[Daves_Not_Here]

@nurzepat - what protein snacks are you eating between meals?

[JennyRebecca]

Thanks for asking @Dominique ! 

It's going well... but slower than before.  But that's okay.  Since 7/5 I'm down 3.40 lbs.  I'm definitely not averaging what I did during my first 15% loss but that's okay. 

I've also changed my mindset about hoping to be at my goal weight by a certain date.  It's actually very freeing.  Instead I'm going to work on 3-4 month stretches.  Right now my plan is to stay hypo-caloric until the end of October.  Then I will work on maintaining though November and December.  (That will be quite a victory.)  Then January - March go hypo-caloric for another stretch and see where I'm at.

Thank again for your help.  You were a lifesaver!! 

[Dominique]

Thanks for the update, @JennyRebecca, and glad to hear you have found an adequate pace and plan for your diet!

I recently listened to another very interesting take on dieting by Dr. Mike Israetel:

https://youtu.be/PVPEb9bLXjQ?t=11m15s

It’s a bit longer and more elaborate than the previous video I included. In this one, he explains the concept of periodization and its application to dieting and fat loss, using the analogy of mountain climbers attempting to climb the Everest. The relevant part starts at 11m15s. Hope you’ll find it interesting!

Your approach of taking your time and not having a set deadline aligns perfectly with what he advocates.

[JennyRebecca]

Thanks @Dominique !!  I'm going to listen right now.  🙂

[JennyRebecca]

Thanks @Dominique!  I watched the entire video.  Good stuff!

[MagsOnTheBeach]

Congrats on working through it!  I think of my plateau as my resting place.  I'm just catching my breath, maintaining, and then as you experienced, the loss begins again.  After losing about 55lbs, my body has been about slower loss.  It still happens but not with the ease it did in the beginning.  But I also noticed that eating one cheat meal has almost no effect on the scale, or my monthly gain and loss with my period.  Everything is just a lot more stable.  So it's a resting place.

[MagsOnTheBeach]

I've decided to leave a resting place so over the next 2 weeks I'll be following phase 1 of Dash Diet for Weight Loss.  I figure after about a month+ of not really losing just maintaining, that I can have a kickstart of motivation.  I did it on Jan 10th with good results and I just feel ready.  I've been mulling it over and a week ago I was NOT ready.  But I woke up Sunday thinking I can do this.

[pjf53]

You can do it.  Good luck.  

[MagsOnTheBeach]

Thank you!  I am excited to start again.   🙂

[nurzepat]

pistachios, apple/peanut butter, low fat cottage cheese, kefir, cucumber and hummus--I just googled coconut oil and found some videos about the benefits of healthy fats in helping with weight loss. I started eating an enormous breakfast of 2 egg omelet with mushrooms, salsa, spinach, Canadian bacon, cheese cooked in coconut oil, tea, fruit, 2/3 slice of Dave's Killer toast, then eat more modestly the rest of the day.  My trainer told me that the protein helped me lose weight, but after doing my own on-line search, I wonder if the fat made the difference. I am anxious to try this chia seed pudding which is not low calorie, but a small serving could help reduce cravings and is very nutritious

https://wellnessmama.com/59344/chia-seed-pudding-recipe/ 

[MagsOnTheBeach]

IMHO, I think protein keeps you satiated and that in turns means no highs and lows with blood sugar and fewer food cravings.

I do not use coconut oil, but I do use other fats.  I find food with fat has a better mouth feel and keeps you full longer.  

I think both work well together and I try to combine fat with protein for meals and snacks.

[nurzepat]

I agree.  Also, frequent small meals/snacks helps prevent hunger and over-eating.  My snacks include fats.  I love the Spinach/artichoke/cream cheese dip at Costco--I "dilute" it with low fat cottage cheese.  Another favorite snack is 2% plain Greek Yogurt (**ahem**e) with fresh or frozen berries.  I used to use the non-fat one, but discovered, as you said, that the little bit of fat makes it taste better and is more satisfying for a longer period of time to help reduce calories later in the day.  The fat also helps absorption of any fat soluble vitamins.

[Daves_Not_Here]

I'm starting to believe that lean protein has less of a satiating effect than I had previously thought.  My experience is that fat is the key driver to reducing appetite.

[Dominique]

@Daves_Not_Here: a high protein intake is incompatible with a ketogenic diet anyway, because of gluconeogenesis (even if your carbs are low enough to be in ketosis, if your protein intake is too high, it will throw you out of ketosis). More on this here (not sure if these provide the best explanation, but gluconeogenesis is the key in any case):

https://www.perfectketo.com/much-protein-can-eat-ketogenic-diet/

https://www.perfectketo.com/how-too-much-protein-is-bad-for-ketosis/

Bottom line: keto is high fat, low carb, moderate (not high) protein.