Weight loss plateau, now what?

[Anonymous]

I reeled in my awful nutrition and started working on healthier options and portion control. I’ve been tracking my calories in my fitness pal which is really working well. I’ve generally been staying under 1200 calories/ day with maybe 1 cheat day/ week. I lost ten pounds very quickly (like in a month), then another 8 over the course of two months. Now my weight has stayed the exact same over the last few weeks even though I’ve been sticking to my diet and better habits.

I am slowly working in exercise, but other than that, how can I break through this plateau? I was 165 and now I am 147. I’d like to get down to 135. I’m 5’5” and although this is for my wedding in June, I need to maintain a healthier lifestyle than I was before. People on here reference doing a 1 day fast but that boggles my mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I reeled in my awful nutrition and started working on healthier options and portion control. I’ve been tracking my calories in my fitness pal which is really working well. I’ve generally been staying under 1200 calories/ day with maybe 1 cheat day/ week. I lost ten pounds very quickly (like in a month), then another 8 over the course of two months. Now my weight has stayed the exact same over the last few weeks even though I’ve been sticking to my diet and better habits.

I am slowly working in exercise, but other than that, how can I break through this plateau? I was 165 and now I am 147. I’d like to get down to 135. I’m 5’5” and although this is for my wedding in June, I need to maintain a healthier lifestyle than I was before. People on here reference doing a 1 day fast but that boggles my mind.

are you weighing, measuring and tracking EVERYTHING you eat 7 days a week?

[Anonymous]

Can you try a new kind of exercise? Something that is more intense than the last one you tried? Also watch your sodium intake, see if anything changes in a few days to a week. It's also possible that you might have taken in more sodium than usual and our body is keeping the extra water, period may also be a culprit. I had months where I have either gained a lot more weight than usual or plateaued all due to period, some months take a bit longer to shed the extra water weight.

[Anonymous]

also. How long have you been at this"plateau"?

I also recommend weighting daily and tracking your weight over the course of a month to see the trend. Weight will fluctuate daily, but if you plot it you should see a downward trend if you are maintaining a calorie deficit. Sometimes weighing in once a week can give false results or false lack of results especially if you are losing weight slowly because of small scale fluctuations.

[Anonymous]

OP here... to answer questions:

Yes I track each and every item, even if it’s something as little as 10 calories (mustard, low cal dressing etc).

When I say a cheat day, I mean ill do good all day and then maybe indulge a little bit with going out to dinner (but even then, I don’t go crazy, but its still over the 1200 mark) and/ or have a couple glasses of wine). But thats once a week, tops.

Ive been at this plateau about 4 weeks.

On the MFP app, i can see where my various levels are (sodium, fiber etc) as well as watch my carb/fat/protein ratio, and I always try to stay within the limits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here... to answer questions:

Yes I track each and every item, even if it’s something as little as 10 calories (mustard, low cal dressing etc).

When I say a cheat day, I mean ill do good all day and then maybe indulge a little bit with going out to dinner (but even then, I don’t go crazy, but its still over the 1200 mark) and/ or have a couple glasses of wine). But thats once a week, tops.

Ive been at this plateau about 4 weeks.

On the MFP app, i can see where my various levels are (sodium, fiber etc) as well as watch my carb/fat/protein ratio, and I always try to stay within the limits.

are you measuring and weighting everything? not just eyeball tracking but measuring it all?

My honest opinion on plateaus is that they typically happen because over time we get comfortable at out new weight, feel good and start being less accurate in our tracking. Allowing ourselves more treats and so forth. Because if you are truly only eating 1200 cal/day, which is honestly too low for your weight, you should not stop losing weight. Weight loss will slow down as you get closer to your goal weight because your current weight is lower and requires less calories to maintain, thus creating a smaller calorie deficit, but you won't stop losing all together because there should still be a deficit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here... to answer questions:

Yes I track each and every item, even if it’s something as little as 10 calories (mustard, low cal dressing etc).

When I say a cheat day, I mean ill do good all day and then maybe indulge a little bit with going out to dinner (but even then, I don’t go crazy, but its still over the 1200 mark) and/ or have a couple glasses of wine). But thats once a week, tops.

Ive been at this plateau about 4 weeks.

On the MFP app, i can see where my various levels are (sodium, fiber etc) as well as watch my carb/fat/protein ratio, and I always try to stay within the limits.

are you measuring and weighting everything? not just eyeball tracking but measuring it all?

My honest opinion on plateaus is that they typically happen because over time we get comfortable at out new weight, feel good and start being less accurate in our tracking. Allowing ourselves more treats and so forth. Because if you are truly only eating 1200 cal/day, which is honestly too low for your weight, you should not stop losing weight. Weight loss will slow down as you get closer to your goal weight because your current weight is lower and requires less calories to maintain, thus creating a smaller calorie deficit, but you won't stop losing all together because there should still be a deficit.

OP here. Yes, I am truly weighing and measuring everything. If anything, ive been closer to 1000 - which i know is not healthy or sustainable, i just got used to eating smaller portions and some days dont even realize it. So do you think ‘plateau’ing really isn’t a thing, then? That most people just get a little more comfortable without realizing it? Not arguing at all, I’m genuinely curious!

[Anonymous]

Try carb cycling with IF.....

[Anonymous]

Try a fast for 48 hours. Drink lots of water, have a little salt. Take it easy on the exercise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here... to answer questions:

Yes I track each and every item, even if it’s something as little as 10 calories (mustard, low cal dressing etc).

When I say a cheat day, I mean ill do good all day and then maybe indulge a little bit with going out to dinner (but even then, I don’t go crazy, but its still over the 1200 mark) and/ or have a couple glasses of wine). But thats once a week, tops.

Ive been at this plateau about 4 weeks.

On the MFP app, i can see where my various levels are (sodium, fiber etc) as well as watch my carb/fat/protein ratio, and I always try to stay within the limits.

are you measuring and weighting everything? not just eyeball tracking but measuring it all?

My honest opinion on plateaus is that they typically happen because over time we get comfortable at out new weight, feel good and start being less accurate in our tracking. Allowing ourselves more treats and so forth. Because if you are truly only eating 1200 cal/day, which is honestly too low for your weight, you should not stop losing weight. Weight loss will slow down as you get closer to your goal weight because your current weight is lower and requires less calories to maintain, thus creating a smaller calorie deficit, but you won't stop losing all together because there should still be a deficit.

OP here. Yes, I am truly weighing and measuring everything. If anything, ive been closer to 1000 - which i know is not healthy or sustainable, i just got used to eating smaller portions and some days dont even realize it. So do you think ‘plateau’ing really isn’t a thing, then? That most people just get a little more comfortable without realizing it? Not arguing at all, I’m genuinely curious!

i do think that something doesn't add up. No one has a BMR is 1000 so with this number of calories you should still be losing something even if it's at a slower rate.

How often do you weigh yourself? I suggested daily above and think that give a more accurate picture of weight loss.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here... to answer questions:

Yes I track each and every item, even if it’s something as little as 10 calories (mustard, low cal dressing etc).

When I say a cheat day, I mean ill do good all day and then maybe indulge a little bit with going out to dinner (but even then, I don’t go crazy, but its still over the 1200 mark) and/ or have a couple glasses of wine). But thats once a week, tops.

Ive been at this plateau about 4 weeks.

On the MFP app, i can see where my various levels are (sodium, fiber etc) as well as watch my carb/fat/protein ratio, and I always try to stay within the limits.

are you measuring and weighting everything? not just eyeball tracking but measuring it all?


My honest opinion on plateaus is that they typically happen because over time we get comfortable at out new weight, feel good and start being less accurate in our tracking. Allowing ourselves more treats and so forth. Because if you are truly only eating 1200 cal/day, which is honestly too low for your weight, you should not stop losing weight. Weight loss will slow down as you get closer to your goal weight because your current weight is lower and requires less calories to maintain, thus creating a smaller calorie deficit, but you won't stop losing all together because there should still be a deficit.

OP here. Yes, I am truly weighing and measuring everything. If anything, ive been closer to 1000 - which i know is not healthy or sustainable, i just got used to eating smaller portions and some days dont even realize it. So do you think ‘plateau’ing really isn’t a thing, then? That most people just get a little more comfortable without realizing it? Not arguing at all, I’m genuinely curious!

OMG How is this even possible? How do you measure everything? I have never done calorie counting because I am lazy but measuring the weighing all your food seems excessive.

[Anonymous]

as someone who has done very low calorie diets. I find that they are rarely sustainable for the long terms. I find it very hard to believe that A. you are truly sticking to a <1200 calorie/day diet 7 days a week and B. That if you really honestly are you are not losing weight.

I also don't understand how at first you said you have been at a plateau for "the last few weeks" and later that turned into the 4 weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:as someone who has done very low calorie diets. I find that they are rarely sustainable for the long terms. I find it very hard to believe that A. you are truly sticking to a <1200 calorie/day diet 7 days a week and B. That if you really honestly are you are not losing weight.

I also don't understand how at first you said you have been at a plateau for "the last few weeks" and later that turned into the 4 weeks.

You are really focused on 3 weeks versus 4?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:as someone who has done very low calorie diets. I find that they are rarely sustainable for the long terms. I find it very hard to believe that A. you are truly sticking to a <1200 calorie/day diet 7 days a week and B. That if you really honestly are you are not losing weight.

I also don't understand how at first you said you have been at a plateau for "the last few weeks" and later that turned into the 4 weeks.

You are really focused on 3 weeks versus 4?

I usually consider a "few" weeks to be 2 week, but no, I am not overly concerned about this, but I am focused on OPs accuracy and consistency. Originally used language like "generally" stay around x calories and cheat meal "maybe" once a week. Which doesn't sounds like a very accurate or consistent diet to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:as someone who has done very low calorie diets. I find that they are rarely sustainable for the long terms. I find it very hard to believe that A. you are truly sticking to a <1200 calorie/day diet 7 days a week and B. That if you really honestly are you are not losing weight.

I also don't understand how at first you said you have been at a plateau for "the last few weeks" and later that turned into the 4 weeks.

You are really focused on 3 weeks versus 4?

I usually consider a "few" weeks to be 2 week, but no, I am not overly concerned about this, but I am focused on OPs accuracy and consistency. Originally used language like "generally" stay around x calories and cheat meal "maybe" once a week. Which doesn't sounds like a very accurate or consistent diet to me.

I think your definitions might be different than OPs. I myself think that a "couple" of weeks is two weeks. A "few" weeks is 3-4 weeks. "Several" weeks could be 3-5, although 5 is pushing it. A few of anything is never less than 3.