What do you do when you reach a plateau

[Sunnylane]

Exercising and proper eating habits work great but what do you do when you reach a plateau. How are you getting past that.

Moderator edit: all-caps

[SunsetRunner]

I've been on a weight loss journey for about 10 months. I've hit a couple plateau's, very frustrating. I've read a lot of good info on weight loss here on Fitbit. One tip was to take a diet break. I did that for a week maybe a week and a half. Still ate about 1,800 - 2,000 kcals. a day then when back to under 1,500 kcal. a day. I don't know if my body reset or what but I started losing again. I've gone from 253 lbs. to right now 173 lbs. Keeping a somewhat difficult daily calorie plan. I think that's a 750 kcal. deficit daily. Plus I go for a walk everyday weather permitting. I'm going to put up a screen shot of my loss when I hit my long term goal of 155 lbs. Most of all don't give up, keep going, I feel so much better then before. Good luck!

[SunsetRunner]

Hey @Sunnylane , I just looked at my weight stats and it's been about 14 months not 10 months. Keep on steppin'.

[alexthecat]

@SunsetRunner that's a very impressive loss. Congratulations! 👏 👏 👏 

[SunsetRunner]

Thank you.😎

[Julia_G]

@Sunnylane the advice from previous poster to take a break from weight loss is a good one and may do the trick for you.  It also can help psychologically to give yourself a break.

If you don’t want to do that, there are also other options.  There is creasing evidence that when you eat and what you eat (independent of calories) can also make a difference.  That means that varying your approach to weight loss also can help.

So maybe instead of counting calories, try changing your food timings instead for a few weeks and see if that makes a difference. Studies have shown that shortening your eating period to 8 hours in the day can lead to weight loss.  Eat what you want (within reason, obviously!) but limit your eating time, for example, between say, 10 am and 6 pm.  Apparently you have to be pretty strict about this - only water, black tea or black coffee during your fasting hours.

Another thing that helps many people is changing your macronutrients.  The most usual change is to (temporarily) seriously limit carbohydrates - especially refined ones - from your diet.  While avoiding highly refined carbs is probably good advice in general, you probably don’t want always to live on a very low carb diet.  But trying this could give you a kick start to get you back on track.

Good luck and keep us posted how you get on!

[emili]

@Sunnylane A break is a good idea for sure. I also think recalculating how many daily calories to go for is a good idea. When you start losing weight after the first 10 pounds it is a good idea to recalibrate how many calories you may need per day. Your metabolism may be changing with the food changes and if you are doing any kind of activity. Sometimes planning slightly lower per day intake at least until you notice a change may not hurt. I don't mean hundreds of calories.. maybe 25 or so less per day. Also, if you aren't measuring your food, you may be eating more than you think which is hurting your deficit... all kinds of things to try 🙂

[SBNash806]

Sunnylane, I hope by now you've moved past your plateau, but if not, take heart, you will if you stick with your plan. I've read that plateaus happen as our body adjusts to our caloric intake, but over time the weight loss will resume. I've had two or three significant plateaus that lasted about 6 weeks each during my weight loss journey. Continue logging, and weighing in, and keep moving, and we will begin to see progress again. For me, I tried what is called intermittent fasting for a few days which seemed to help. Basically you plan to have all of your meals in a specific period of time, usually recommended is 8 hours, and then fast the other 16, just water (or herbal tea and the like). That wouldn't work as a lifestyle for me, but in less than a week my weight loss did resume and I was able to transition back to my normal eating schedule. By sticking with the plan I've slowly lost the weight, and have gone from 215 to 165 in a year and a half. My goal now is to maintain, so I am still logging my food and weighing in. Keep with it, you will hit your goal!

[SunsetRunner]

I just read some info that verifies taking a diet break will help us reach the weight goal. I've hit another plateau and it sucks. Check this out https://www.menshealth.com/weight-loss/a40566084/physique-coach-bodybuilding-weight-loss-fat-burning... I'll try it again but it really seems counter intuitive but I've had some success. Losing these last 15 lbs. are tough.

[Glenda]

UT Southwestern Medical Center  (you can google the whole article)  Just did a study  that found a commonly prescribed class of migraine drugs caused a 3.6% weight loss in mice who got a daily dose of frovatriptan while other mice gained 5.1%.   Too bad it is a a prescription, old, safe drug.

[charleskn]

I would ask you to define what that plateau is. If you're only tracking weight, then I advise patience and persistence. Our bodies lose weight in their own unique ways. The scale is only one measurement. The tape measure and fitness goals are just as (if not more) important.

[Glenda]

Someone suggested we all take a  "before picture" and measure.  I'll bet we would be glad later if we did that.  I think I will measure my waist, hips, and top of thigh or bigger part of calf ??   Maybe even a picture.  I have a big mirror and a camera.  Not hard.