Have you broken through a plateau? How did you do it?

I need some advice...

I started watching what I was eating and began to exercise more around the middle of June.  I am following a weight watchers plan, because it worked for me before I was pregnant with my two little ones.

I lost about 10 pounds (I say about because my scale is really bad, and it's hard to know for sure) and 5.5" on my waist in the first 4 weeks.  Which I was really proud and happy about.

But for the last 2 weeks, I've lost nothing .  No pounds and no inches. I've upped my calories a bit, just in case I was eating too little. 

The last 2 weeks were very stressful for me.  My kids were very sick, and I ended up staying up all night to catch up on my work.  So it is possible that it is sleep-related.  I have an awful sleep deficit to correct now.

But, other than that, I have been really, really good. For the first 5 weeks I ate on average 22 WW points per day (~1250 calories), and for this last week I am averaging 25 WW points per day (~1450 calories), the food I am eating averages to an "A" rating, I drink lots of water, and I am getting about 30 minutes of exercise in 5 to 6 times a week. 

How do I break this plateau??  I am so frustrated that I have plateaued after just 10 pounds.  I thought our bodies did this after we lost a "significant" amount of weight, like 10% of our body weight. 

Have you ever plateaued? How did you break it?  Do you have any advice for me, about what I should do differently?  Do I just need to be patient (I'm not good at that).

Shana

I have plateaued.  I did some calorie zig-zagging (basically changing up the number of calories I ate everday...some days 1500, other days 1800, other days maintenance).  That keeps your metabolism going.

You might want to change up your exercise.  Your body gets used to what you are doing and therefore burns fewer calories for the same exercise.  Try doing something different.  You could also add strength training...that usually helps with plateaus.

Good luck!

Thank you!! I will try both the zig-zagging and the strength training

to break my plateau, I took out buns and bread.

10 pounds is significant!  Plus, you lost a little more than 1 and a half pounds per week, on average.  I find that I often lose weight in fits and starts, even though I have been really rigorous about my calorie counting.  I'll lose a pound a day for a few days, then jump up and down for the next 10-12 days without losing anything, then the same thing happens.  Be patient, it is going to take time to lose, but you are doing everything right, so it will come off.

Risza, I only have bread once a week or so, kind of as a treat.  I'll try cutting that out too...

Dkenworthy, Thanks for saying that 10 Lbs is significant   It is also good to hear that you believe that it will eventually come off if I keep this up.  I have this fear that my body has adjusted to what I am doing, and so no matter what I do, I'll just be maintaining.  But maybe that's just me being impatient and pessimistic.

I'll try to be more patient.  I'm not very good at that though.... 

I managed to break through my latest plateau by eating more carbs.  I cut out the "white" carbs about 10 years ago in my teens, so any bread I eat now is wheat or whole grain.  I haven't been close to eating 6-11 servings for years, but I decided I wouldn't get enough energy unless I ate a couple more servings.  I added another piece of bread/crackers, etc..., got more energy and was able to push it harder at the gym.

Seems like 1250 calories is cutting it too much.  Try eating more often (every 2-3 hours), totalling about 5 small meals of around 300 calories. 

Hi gumby1219,

Thank you very much for telling me what worked for you!  I would never had suspected that more carbs would work.  I'm a bit scared of them, because I have trouble limited myself to just one serviing. 

I have noticed that my best days are the ones when I am home all day, because I can eat 4 to 5 small meals throughout the day. I haven't ever aimed for a specific calorie amount per meal though.  I will give that a try too!

I was reading somewhere and it was saying that you plateau about every 4 weeks, but I think it's different for everyone. I agree with changing calories around for metabolism boost, and exercise difference.

but yeah!

I am right there with you!!  I have been fighting this plateau for about a month and it is REALLY getting on my nerves!!!

From March to June, I lost 38lbs, since June, I have only lost 4lbs...I know poor me, 42lbs in 5 months...I am trying to take into account that it came off pretty fast at the beginning.

I had been swimming 3-4x a week before I started calorie counting, and the two together just made a HUGE difference!

I have also increased my calories a little, since I was eating 1200, even though I am only 5 feet tall, added more whole grains, trying to stay under 50g of sugar a day, and trying to listen to my body, if I am hungry, I eat...reasonable amounts and foods of course.

I have changed up the exercise too, I still swim 3-4x a week, but in an hour I can now swim faster and longer distances, ie 50-60laps before 80-90 laps now.

Maybe I should try to zig zag a little more, I do this naturally anyway, somedays I make 1200, others 1350, some closer to 1100(I know, not enough) depending on the type of food I eat and how full I am.

I am also attempting to add more protein, I feel like my muscles are having a hard time keeping up since my protein is on the low side.  I am aiming for 0.5-1g per kg of body weight(ideal body wt).

I think if I ate closer to 1500 on the days I swim, that would be better since my burn rate is about 2400 on those days...I heard a 500 cal deficit a day is a good goal, but I am afraid to eat that much!!!

Please let me know what works for you, I am all up for any advice or suggestions too!  Great post!

In addition to everyone's great advice.. maybe get a new scale?  You can't be sure you're not losing if your scale isn't accurate. 

Try changing the exercises you are doing. I'm about to invest in some roller blades.

I just keep a 500 to 800 calorie deficit and wait it out.  Even without making a huge change...if my weight loss stalls and I am eating well, getting physical activity....I just wait it out for a week or so and I start to lose again.  It's really hard to be patient with my weight loss....I have to calm myself down and realize that putting time restrictions on it doesn't help me any. 

Good Luck to you.

Thanks so much everyone!  It really helps to know that other people have been there and managed to get out of it.

Overall I'm hearing that I need to mix up my calorie intake a bit and challenge myself more in the exercise department.  I really love everyone's suggestions, I've made this list of things to try, so I'm going to incorporate as many of them as I can in one go and if that doesn't happen, then I'll switch to the others that I didn't try the first time around

emmrzer: Thanks for that info!  It really helped me feel better.  Especially if it happens monthly, then I can learn to expect it and roll with it.

babyvdoc: 42 lbs!!!! That's fantastic!!  I hope I can replicate that success!  Although any loss is wonderful, I hope you get the 2 lbs per week drop that you are lookin gfor.

andi8983: a new scale   I have this long scale saga.  Long story short, I can't bring myself to invest in yet another one.  I now own two, the first fluctuatates within a 10 lbs range each time you step on it (not throughout the day.. I mean back-to-back weighings, it's wonky).  The second one is super old fashioned needle style and almost impossible to read.  I might toss them both and get yet another scale.... oh scales, they are troublesome in so many ways.

lachulablanca: I'll definately try that.  I hope you have fun rollerblading!

trcyh: I think being patient is a big life lesson for me.  I need to learn to be patient.  I appreciate your post.  It helps me keep perspective.  And it helps enormously to know that you have tried "waiting" and it has worked for you.

Thanks again everyone!  I've been spinning myself up, and all of you have helped me come back down. I am really grateful for your help and advice. 

I just wanted to say that "plateaus are surrounded by cliffs"!!!

Hang in there.  Your body is just adjusting.  Keep doing what worked for you before and after several weeks of nothing you may step on there and see a 2 or 3 pound drop (that is "if" your scale works ).

I think a lot of people dont take into account the hormonal changes women go through.  I use the scale daily and have been on calorie count for over 3 years.  Every 2 week my weight goes up or holds for a bit.  First its when I ovulate and then when I cycle.  Us girls have some crazy stuff to deal with!

Trust me I am not thrilled when I plateau but sometimes it is a conversion time where I am building muscle and losing fat so it just isnt registering on the scale and then whammo I am down another size just when I am about over it all.

I feel your pain.... I've been on a plateau since the middle of June. I was losing 1-1.5 lbs a week for almost a year, but no more.

Frustrating. I'll keep all these pointers in mind. Eventually it will start to go again.

Yeah, I've been fighting a plateau for the last three weeks (got injured in there), and finally just saw the scale go down by 1/2 a lb this morning.  As some people mentioned on here, many people lose weight by the 'drop and stop' method, so your weight log looks something like stairs.  That being said, to break a plateau (I've done this before...) I focused on fibre, water, and protein.  Protein is one that slips under the radar.  High fibre foods can help you burn more, because your body has to do more work to digest them.  water helps you flush them through the system lol... Protein is really important for your muscles, and will become even moreso when you start your strength training.  According to my nutritionist, a sedentary person needs 0.9*(weight in kilos)=grams of protein, a moderately active person needs 1*(weight in kilos), and a very active person needs 1.1*(weight in kilos).  Start counting your protein along with your points, that was what made the biggest plateau difference for me.  Also, you can try moving around what you eat, but keep your daily quantities the same.  Like, have a bigger breakfast, and a smaller lunch.  This can trick your metabolism.  Many also advocate 1 day of eating to your burn, to jump start the metabolism.

Good luck!!!!

Hi pamperedkeri: I like your saying that "plateaus are surrounded by cliffs!" That's great!  I haven't taken into account my cycle.  I will keep an eye on that so that I don't go through a plateau-panic monthly :)

Jinxozzie: I'm sorry to hear that you're in the same boat as I am.  When you start dropping again, please do post and let me know what got you through it!

Aislign: I hope your injury heals up quick.  It's really hard to keep moving when you're hurt, especially if it's on your legs or feet.   Thank you also for that protein info.  Can you tell me, did you mean grams?  For example, if you are moderately active and weigh 200 lbs would you then need 200g of protein per day?  I day of eating to your burn sounds fun!!  Hehe.  I've added that to my list of tricks to try :)

Shana

Re:  the protein, no, if you weigh 200 pounds that is 90.9 kg, so at moderate activity you would need 91 grams of protein (according to the formula).

That is quite a bit more protein than I eat, personally.  But, it might work for you.

Original Post by dkenworthy:

Re:  the protein, no, if you weigh 200 pounds that is 90.9 kg, so at moderate activity you would need 91 grams of protein (according to the formula).

That is quite a bit more protein than I eat, personally.  But, it might work for you.

 According to the "ask Mary" on here, it is 0.5-1g or protein per IDEAL BODY WEIGHT in kg/day.  I looked it up the other day because I have also been encouraged to eat more protein.  Those who are lifting weights to build muscle, not to lose weight, eat up to 1g per lb of body weight.  It  really difficult to get that amount of protein on a calorie restricted diet unless you are able to eat 1800 or more calories...or just all protein.

  I am aiming for about 60g most days which for me is 1g/kg/day....but when I swim...yesterday I actually ate 80g..but I zig zaged and ate a little more than usual too.

I've been fighting a rather long plateau myself.  I had been steadily losing about 1 - 1.5 pounds a week until late May when it all stopped and now it seems I can't get out of the low 150's.  I've lost almost 50 pounds and now things just won't move!  I've tried zig zagging my calories, changing workout routine, and eating maintenance for a month.  I've recently started another plan for calorie counting, but there hasn't been enough time to see if it will work.  I've been here before, although not for this long, so I know that I will eventually break through, but it's so frustrating to be doing what I'm supposed to do and still not losing weight.  I won't reach my goal by my birthday, which I was hoping for, but that's just spilt milk.  All I can say is keep plugging away.  I know how frustrating it is; I'm there with you, but don't give up and eventually things will start moving again.