5 Ways to Break a Weight Loss Plateau

Hi there

Like a few people here I googled 'plateau' and got here. Great advice, and good to know that it's not something that just I'm having a problem with.

I'm 38, male, 6'2" and started out at 113 kilos 7 weeks ago. I'm now 102 kilos.. and have been so for the past 3 weeks - very frustrating!

I'm not eating carbs, but am eating a healthy low carb diet - lots of vegetables, fish, chicken etc. I do 3 intense weight lifting sessions a week and probably 4-5 cardio sessions.

Like a lot of people here, I've currently got the feeling of 'What more can I do if I'm doing everything right?'

Reading everyones comments has made me feel so much better. I'm just going to stick it out for now.. I can feel my body becoming more toned even if the scales are stuck! (My measurements show some small fluctuation, but have been basically the same for the 3 weeks too). Just hoping it's 'just a stage'.

I will try altering the type of cardio I do and see how that goes. Once agan, thanks for everyones insights and comments.

The quote, and its many variants, has been widely attributed to Franklin; however, there has never been an authoritative source for the quote.

Hi All-

I decided about 2 months ago (inspired by my 27th birthday) that I needed to get in better shape. I weighed about 137 at the time - I did not consider myself overweight but I ate horribly and definitely had some extra "pudge" I wanted to get rid of. I started calorie counting on fitday.com and limited my self to ~1000-1300 calories a day and the pounds quickly fell off. I lost about 12 pounds in 6 weeks by just counting calories. The past two weeks, I have gained back about a pound and I haven't changed my eating habits at all. After all I have read, it sounds like my body got used to the ~1200 calories per day as being normal and adjusted.

My new plan is to vary my calories every other day, going between 1000 one day and 1500 the next. I have also begun exercising and I am going to rotate light to heavy workouts throughout the week. Does anyone have any experience with a similar strategy? Does it work? I would like to lose about 8 more pounds and need to break through this rut.

Thanks!

One of the hardest things to do is simply remain consistent. I've found that to be more difficult than eliminating this thing or introducing that thing, it's just simply to keep doing what you know you need to do to achieve the goal. These are really good tips because they allow you some room for creativity, and this is a good guard against the boredom that can set in from following the "same old same old" over and over again every day. Good stuff.

I posted back in Feb, 2008 about being stuck on a plateau between 250 and 253 lbs. I followed up a few weeks later reporting that thanks to the tips on this blog, I'd dropped to 248. Well, I'm pleased to report that I am now down to 211 lbs. That a total of 85 lbs dropped in total, and 40 since that dreaded plateau.

Don't give up. There is a way through. BTW, I'm not starving either. I'm still eating between 2000 and 2300 cal/day. I'm keeping the deficit through a significant amount of cardio and strength training.

before college was up for the summer i was 6'1" 210 lbs and i knew i was overweight. The whole summer I devoted myself to losing weight before school. I calorie count, I make sure I each breakfast everyday (tho im not a fan) and i eat about 5 small meals a day and never past 7pm. I Usually strength train at 4pm 4 days a week and do a thirty minute run everyday. I am down to 183 but i want to be around 173-175 and i have been 183 for about three weeks now...what am i doing wrong?

thanks for the comments I am really frustrated with this plateau. Lost 60 lbs, but can't budge. I will try some of the suggestions. I will not give up. 40 to go!!

I have been at the same weight for quiet a while i feel like just giving up. I do aerobics 4 times a week and i life weights while doing them does that count as weight lifting???

Hi,

I totally understand how a plateau can demotivate the dieter! I hit a serious plateau 9 months into my weight loss journey back in 2005. For almost the entire month of May, no weight loss after successfully reaching my goal of 10 pounds per months since August of 2004.

To break the plateau, I had to recalculate my required calories. I was eating 1500 calories to lose weight and it was too much based on my new weight. While at 280 pounds, 1500 calories was a huge reduction, at my new smaller weight, I was just maintaining.

I also increased my exercise intensity increasing the incline on my treadmill. These two measures rejuvenated my weight loss and I successfully reached my first goal of 120 pounds lost in September 2005. Through maintenance, I lost over 140 pounds and I've kept it off ever since.

Georgene Dana Collins, RN, BSN, MBA, CPHQ
Certified Wellness, Nutrition and Weight Management Consultant
www.obesity-free-forever.com

I am having this problem now. I am a 22 year old male and am currently around 255 Pounds. have lost almost 100 pounds in the last 5 months. I eat around 1300 calories a day however I should be increasing this to around 2200. Anyway I exercise everyday on my treadmill for 1.5 hours and weight train for another 30 minutes and am simply not making any more progress. I cant think what to do as I cant eat less calories and my workout schedule is already quite strict.

I like switching up my macronutrient percentages.

Generally, when I eat too much sugar and carbohydrates I gain weight or have a harder time losing weight.

When I switch to higher protein and higher healthy fats I tend to maintain my weight easier.

Any runners out there? I have ran 3 marathons and several half marathons over the past year and a half and still have issues with my weight!! Granted I am on the slower end of the finishing line, but (post-marathon season) I have been running 30-35 miles a week and gained 2 pounds at the end of the month! It is so frusterating and often leads me to a binge eating session. I am thinking of adding strength training, cutting back on my mileage and trying to stay off the scale for at least 3 months. Any ideas?

I am 15 i weight 58 and i am 175 tall and i'm exercising 4 day a week and i want 2 lose weight more i am thin but i want it 2 be like a model

Oh boy do I need help. I am 30, 5"7, and was over 400 lbs. I started eating 400 calorie meals 5 times a day 4 weeks ago. I lost 18 pounds the first 3 weeks and this last week gained 2 pounds. I was eating the 2000 a day for 6 days, then eating what I wanted on the seventh. Is this a bad idea? I am thinking I shouls have started out higher on the calories since I am supposed to have 3500 right now...that way i can slowly go down on them. At my weight, I have many back and knee problems so i am unable to do most of the exercising I have read on here. Any suggestions would help. I fear my early death and have finally took action. But, at my weight, (which is now 391) shouldn't I be not hitting a plateau for a long time?

A plateau could just mean you are gaining muscle mass. For example, I did not lose that much weight these past couple weeks, but I KNOW I got stronger and visibly smaller. Muscle weighs more than fat, so just going by the scale is not a smart way to gauge whether or not you are losing body fat.

RE: Zig-zagging
I strength train 2-3 days a week and run or ride 2-3 days a week (5 days a week total training). I use a heart rate monitor to track calories burned (even when strength training) and track everything I eat (calories AND macronutrients), so I *am* eating different amounts on different days (less on rest days, more on training days), but always keeping it below my basal metabolic rate calories so I *should* be losing weight -- but I'm stuck at 240. Does what I'm describing above qualify as "zig zagging" my intake?

Boy, this page was a relief to find.

I started a calorie-deficit diet 6 weeks ago and to my delight, steadily lost 10 pounds. Now I'm stuck at 156-156.5 despite a steady 1000-1200 calories a day.
I was getting really upset until I found this page and all the explanations and suggestions.

While it feels really scary to me to 'zig-zag' and GAIN weight back in order to kick-start the weight loss again, I can understand the physiological logic behind it. Now that spring is coming, maybe I'll try cycling regularly - I can't do high-impact exercise because of a leg deformity.

My target weight is 150, but I'll be happy if I can hold it steady at 154-155 and fit into a size 8 ;)

How bizarre, that we have to out-maneuver our own bodies' survival instinct.

Hello,

This is my first time ever at one of these websites - but how wonderful they exsist!

After reading all these enteries I am very confused! Calorie counters, zig - zag (ect) WOW...who knew loosing weight was more then calories in VS calories out. I do cardio about 3 days/wk and weights 2 days/wk so I try to vary it and work out about an 1hr on those days. I have been hovering around the magic 50 pnd mark for over a month now and haven't been able to break it. I have stopped weighing myself every week and try for every 2 or 3 weeks as I am de-motivating myself everytime I weigh in. On this past saturday when I weighed myself I actually went up .5 pnds (which is not a lot I know but when you are struggling - it's awful) but instead of going downstairs and eating a box of cookies - I went for a 8km run instead. I don't know what the answer is but hope if I try waiting it out eventually I will make friends with the BIG 5-0. Thanks for all the encouraging words. It's nice to know you arn't the only one struggling. Cheers & good luck to you all

Weight loss . . . hhhmmm. I know we all can vouch for the ups and downs of trying to get physically fit.

I see a personal trainer 3 times a week, run 5-6 days a week, do not drink alcohol Sun-Thur, count my calories, and I STILL hit plateau's . . . it always seems that the last 10 lbs are the hardest to get rid of.

Something my trainer recommended and it did get me out of my first plateau was to eat 1-2 egg whites in the morning with a bowl of instant weight control oatmeal. Within 2 days of doing this the scale dropped a few pounds.

He also recommended that I eat every 2 to 3 hours. I have high protein snacks and for lunch and dinner I have to have a meal with a protein, a carbohydrate, and a vegetable. Also- No carbs. past 6 pm.

I do treat myself with Skinny Cow desserts because at the end of the day if I can't have a LITTLE something sweet I will lose my mind.

I'd like to take a moment to talk about the joys (and pains) of Mexican food.

I succumbed tonight to the temptation of the delicious mexican food restaurant down the street from my house (I live in Texas). sigh . . . . now i'm overcome with great remorse and realize that any "plateaus" or setbacks are my own fault and due to the queso coma that I put myself into earlier tonight.

Why does food have to taste so good?

I have lost 25 pounds since October. Right now I weigh 141 pounds, and my goal was 135. I exercise 6 times a week, I try my hardest to burn off 600 cal per workout, and my diet has changed so much. I try to eat healthy, and I think I'm doing a good job. BUT... I also think I've hit a plateau. I just can not seem to lose the last 6 pounds. I'm so frustrated, and feel like giving up.
I do mostly cardio for my workouts, sometimes I do strength training, but I feel selfconcious doing that alone at the gym.
I wish it were as easy to lose weight as it is to gain it.

Hi,

I'm definately experiencing the weightloss plateau. I weigh 214 pounds and in two and a bit months I have lost 11 pounds. 6 weeks of those 2 and a bit months, I have remained at the same weight, sometimes gaining a pound then loosing it again. I eat little and often and I exercise 5 times a week, sometimes 2 hours a day. This involves a speed walk into work in the mornings (1 hr) and I either go on my treadmill or do one of my cardio or strength training dvd's.

Since finding out about the Weightloss plateau, I've tried zigzagging my calories, making sure I exercise harder on some days, less so on others, and also mixing up the type of exercises I'm doing. I have also been mix up the types of food I eat, and increasing my food intake (zig zagging).

I've always just thought that I had a slow metabolism. I literally cannot loose weight by dieting/eating healthily alone - I have to exercise to get any results.

Even though I'm trying to trick my body, it still just doesn't seem to want to loose weight, and I've not lost inches either since going through this plateau.

One other thing I have a problem with is constipation (due to thyroid medication and taking cocodamol for a bad back). I think that was effecting my lack of weightloss, as I wasn't going to the loo for days and was storing it all up in my body. After trying lots of different products and doing lots of research about natural remedies etc, I finally found a site that sold a product called 'Oxy Powder', which I've started taking a couple of times of week. It's the only product I have found that works/makes you go to the loo (since laxatives arn't healthy long term). I just wanted to mentioned that incase other people were having the same problem.

I try to remain positive, and I have no intention of giving up this time around, but sometimes I do wonder what else I can do.

I am currently on a plateau for 2 weeks now. glad to know it's not just me. I will definitely start the zig-zagging scheme (thanks for the input!) while continuing working out daily if not 4-5 times a week.

In the past I packed a lot of weight because I used to have just coffee in the morning and nothing else during the day until dinner time. Suddently I felt I have to do something because my overweight was compromising my health. I joined the Smart for Life Cookie Diet. The cookies are made with complex carbohydrates, protein and fiber and they are 60% organic so I knew it was a healthy product right from the start. You have to eat 6 cookies during the night and a sensible dinner in the afternoon. I lost 44 pounds and still mantain the weight after 1 year because I apply the concept of eating 6 small meals a day,making healthy choices and walking 4 times a week. My doctor eliminated my high blood pressure medication because I no longer need it. Smart for Life saved my life!!!

Hi, I'm 120 lbs 5'1 and a female, I have been trying to lose weight and have been doing really good. Somehow its been like maybe 2 weeks and Im still 120 I really want to get down to 105lbs. I don't know what else to do. I do cardio 5 times a week with strength training 3 times a week. I'm thinking lowering my caloric intake, it's already around 1,300 calories on somedays and sometimes even 900 some. Is there any advice anyone could give me. I am 21 years old btw.

Thank you very much

Reading everyone's posts has helped me feel better about this plateau I am experiencing.

I just turned 18 and went from 190 lbs in January 09 to 155 in June 09. I am currently at a plateau- it's driving me crazy. I am starting college in about a month and a half and I wanted to lose more by now. I have been stuck at 155 for the past few weeks.

I am going to try some of the pointers that everyone has mentioned here. I am hoping that it works.

Thanks!

I don't know WHAT is going on with me! I lost 35 pounds a couple of years ago, and I have been at the same weight now for 14 months. I am at 180. I can overeat and not gain, I can diet and not lose.
I joined nutri-system a week ago and have been eating anywhere from 1250-1400 calories a day. I started doing 45 minutes of aerobics...and I did that 5 days last week.
NOT ONE POUND LOST!

Hi there, great site. my story is like so many on the site. I've lost about 23kg over 2yrs, i'm aiming for another 7kg or so and it just won't shift. I enjoy my exercise, 3 spin classes, 2personal training and 2 x 5km runs per week (around 2800-3000cals burned per week). I slowed down around April but hit this regime about 6 weeks ago. iam exactly the same weight as 7weeks ago. xtremely frustrating. My diet is healthy and around 1500cals per day. HELP!!

Hi! I don't know if anyone comes here but I'd like some help with plateau please!! Any would be great!!
On around 1,200 calories a day (sometimes less sometimes much more) but pretty much sticking to that, I went from being 60kg to now weighing at 47 :)
My body won't lose more though, I know this is thin enough etc and yes I am happy, but I still have some only slight but yes still some puppy fat around the tops of my arms and my tummy. I want it gone! But I've been strict with 1,200 and occasional but then quite hard exercise, I walk most days but I think this is where my body wants to be.

If I can manage to be healthy at 45 kilos, how can I get there without going into starvation mode? I haven't tried the zig-zag method too much, but the last 2 days I ate around 1000-1100 cals, today will be 1100 again and then I was planning on doing 1,300 tomorrow and going back to 1,200 again.

Also, I'm scared I'll have to stay at 1,200 forever if i don't want to gain weight! My BMR says I can eat a around 1800 calories a day to maintain my weight, but because my body doesn't even LOSE weight with 1,200, once I start eating say 1500 a day which sounds massive to me) won't I gain heaps of weight?

I don't think I'm in starvation mode because I use the loo quite frequently.. haha

I'm 14 years old. This past summer i started changing my life around to eating healthier and being active. I lost 20 pounds. But ever since 3 and a half weeks ago, i havn't been loosing weight! its so discouraging that i honestly feel that i'm doing everything i can to loose weight, an no results. I went from eating constant sugar, sweets, and salty foods to practically eliminating anything that had anything to do with sugar sweets and salty foods. I am constantly turning down offers for cupcakes and sweets, no matter how much i want them. And there are girls in my grade who eat like pigs, and they are so much skinnier than me. I also am on my school's cross country team, and run a minimum of 3 miles a day, 7 days a week! Yet i'm still not loosing weight! I spend nights just wishing i could be one of the skinny girls who didn't even have to try. I guess it just sucks.
Well, thanx to this article, i am enlightened to know that i'm not alone in this, and that it turns out to be quite common. I hope it ends soon though. :)

I'm constantly increasing my weight reps. Could this be making my muscles retain water? I'm wondering if this could be part of the reason for my current plateau.

Well I have a slight issue. I weigh right now 198, but when I get on scale it goes up and down through out the week (I'm assuming its water weight). I exercise (intense) for about 1 1/2 hours. This includes running 2-4 miles and then doing strength training by doing body weight exercises (pyramid workout and such things). I've seemed to hit a slight plateau though, I've increased my intake because I thought that maybe my body decided to hold onto the fat cause I was eating low calories. Even though it helped and its what instantly made me drop 2lbs in a week. It kind of just flip flops in between 198 and 200 now. I'm about to try zig zag but is there any thing else out there I should try? Also could a lot of the weight be water weight? I was told I should drink a gallon of water a day this would help with the water weight because the body would retain so much water. Thanks in advance.

18 months ago I lost 30lbs on WW, I have maintained the loss since then by doing 40 mins crosstrainer 6 days per week, following the WW in general but having weekends less strict. However, I recently put on 5 pounds after a holiday, on return have restarted WW, swapped the crosstainer for 6 HARD bodycombat sessions a week, sticking to the diet thro weekends, and I have only lost2 pounds in a month. It was easy before, why is is so hard now, especially when I exercise so hard, do additional walks and eat very healthily. I do more than most people I know and it's so frustrating. Don't get me wrong, I'm still slim, feel good, but am more comfortable a few pounds lighter,and things fit better, but these few pounds won't seem to shift and i'm scared of putting weight back on, am dubious about enjoying myself with friends etc!any suggestions gratefully received! (i'm 37 female) 159 pounds, 5ft 8.

Yes, the ZigZag method is the way to go. Also varying your workouts, as in what your doing and what time of the day. Our bodies get used to what were doing, so if your running every night from 7.30 to 8pm, it wont take long before your body gets used to it and you will see minimal results. I vary exercise bike, elliptical, Aerobics on DVD and anything else I can think of. I hit a plateau 3 weeks ago then switched my routine and lost 2 pounds in a week, not a giant loss but still lost a couple more pounds. It is hard when you have lost a good amount and are just about at your goal weight. I have about 15 more pounds to go and it is tough to get there. Very frustrating.