Weight Loss

Hi all-

I'm hoping I can get some advice on the awful plateau that I think I've just reached.  I started cc 3 weeks ago at 146lbs (I'm 5'2", female) and in the first 2 weeks I lost 7 pounds!  I was really happy and decided to keep it up but this week I have been terribly disappointed to see that I haven't lost anything.  Maybe a pound if that much.  I've read a lot about plateaus and I'm wondering if that's what I've fallen in to.  I've heard people being stuck in these for months on end and I just don't have the will or the patience to endure that.  A lot of people say that I should zigzag my calories (ie eat 1000 one day, 1200 the next, 800 the next, and so on).  Will this help me??  Any advice from anyone out there who has had a similar problem?  I've been exercising too (30 minutes on the elliptical everyday) but I'm wondering if my body has adjusted to that too.  Help!

Be sure to read the sticky post on weight loss rules. You are undereating, it appears, and that will sabotage your efforts. You need to eat a minimum of 1200 calories every single day*, and with the exercise probably more. The early, relatively quick weight loss has stopped because your body is adjusting to a percieved "famine" situation and trying to hang on to every calorie it can (metabolism slowing down).

Hope this helps, and good luck.

1500 for men, and 300 more for teens so girls minimum = 1500, boys = 1800.

I'm sure I'll not be the only one to say this...

One week without a loss is not a plateau. It's a minor bump in the road. I, on the other hand, have been stuck on a plateau for 2 1/2 months now, losing and gaining the same four pounds even with low calories and lots of exercise. I finally started losing weight again a few days ago, but I chalk that up to a stomach bug that makes me not want to eat much.

Just keep with it. The weight WILL come off. Also, do NOT go under 1200 calories. If you do, it'll be much much harder to get your proper nutrition. I won't tout anything about "starvation mode" because that's something that'll happen only (based on what I've read of medical studies)  if you actually starve yourself. You know, 300-500 calories a day for more than a couple months. Really bad stuff.

Also you said that you may have lost a lb this week. That is normal weight loss once you get into the grove of things. Initially you can loose up to 5 lbs a week for a few weeks but you should not expect that there after. If you lose 1/2-2 lb a week that is a good lose. Do be sure you eat enough calories though. Plus consider if you are weighing yourself too ofter you may be seeing some water weight. I know that sometimes when I "plateau" I think I can be a lillte less attentive to my diet as long as I'm working out, so be sure you are writting down everything.

So what do people think?  Does your body really get used to how you are eating and thus attempts to keep up by holding onto the weight?  If that's the case, then maybe variation is the answer and not simply doing the same thing week in and week out.

Original Post by butterfly827:

So what do people think? Does your body really get used to how you are eating and thus attempts to keep up by holding onto the weight? If that's the case, then maybe variation is the answer and not simply doing the same thing week in and week out.

Oh yeah, I definitely think so.  One thing I've discovered is that my body is REALLY stubborn.  I have to trick it with different types of exercise and foods.  And I intentionally go up to maintenance at least once a week.  It makes my metabolism go, "Wait, no deficit?  Then we can afford to work harder!"

Really, though, I lost 5 pounds in the first two weeks and have been struggling with a single 1/2 pound in the 1+ following week.  That's not a plateau... that's just your body catching on to what you're trying to do and following suit.  Darn body, it thinks it's so smart.  ;)

becka- great response!

what have you done to combat your body?  what kind of changes have you made to help continue your weight loss?

You have NOT been eating enough.

Your body has probably hit a plateau because it has gone into starvation mode due to the small amount of calories you're consuming. This means that your body will hold onto any calorie it can in order to ahve enough energy to get through the day.

Zigzagging your calories is the best option but it should be more like.

1500, 1700, 1400, 1200, 1800 etc. Nothing below 1200!

It's probably not a plateau, like others said, it's only one week without a loss. However, if you want to prevent a plateau you should defiantlyup your calories. Anything below 1200 will mess up your metabolism. Most people actually need more than 1200, I know that with me eating 1300 brought my metabolism down to -12%. (I took a metabolic test) So I have to eat 1500 now to bring it back up, at first I gained a little bit, but then it started to drop again.  Good luck, you can do it. :D

It bears repeating that loss of about a pound in a week is healthy weight loss and not a plateau.