Plateaus

[hanaguchi]

Does anybody know why your weight change plateaus even though you are maintaining the same diet and exercise schedule? What is the best way to get over the plateau?
Thanks

[AnotherKatie]

oh! oh!  I  can relate!

Recently I was SO STUCK at the same weight, for over two months, even though I was being a very good little dieter and exercising faithfully.
I forced myself to kick up the cardio a LOT and I started doing more of the dreaded weights.  (turns out I quite like weights!)  I try to vary the times during the day that I work out and I vary the exercises.  The weight has started to go down again.  

I think the reason you plateau is, your body gets complacent.

I work out in my basement to tapes and DVDs.  There is a good site  videofitness.com   where posters review tapes.  I got the Jari Love Ripped DVD ... it's weights ... it's good.  Usually when I first watch a tape I hate it from some weird reason, but if I stick to it and try it 2 or 3 times I start to like them more.
Kick up the cardio a notch... and be patient.  It will happen if you are consistent.
I keep a food journal and exercise journal.  When I lose pounds, I refer back to what I did... and keep doing it!

Good luck!

[Trialanderror]

Tell me about it... it is as if the body adjusts to a certain balance of calories and activity and decides this is it. The only way I can trick myself into dropping some more pounds is by changing the type of exercise or by cutting out all carbs. However those are only short lived phases because I do not feel well without my carbs. I have settled for being happy if only I can see a waistline and all toned muscles. I am just one clothing size less than 2 months ago but feel so much better. I truly believe - if you reach a plateau - your body is telling you to go easy for a while.

[hanaguchi]

Thanks for the comments. This is a real emotional rollercoaster. You feel great when you see the weight coming of and then you feel depressed when it plateaus. It is hard to keep going with no results and easy to drift in the wrong direction but I will keep at it.

[AnotherKatie]

You're absolutely right.  

Plus when I lose a little weight, I tend to think "Whhooopee I am a genius" and I let my guard down and then start eating too much (yet again!)

It's hard to be so strict all the time, but those cute little summer shorts are lurking in my dresser drawer ....

[Aruba417]

We plateau because the body adjusts to the new diet and/or exercise. One of the posters on here suggested that we need to zig-zag our calories. This is one way to "trick" the body into not stopping the weight-loss. I'm on my second week of the scale not moving. I don't know if this means I've plateaued. Hopefully not. I'll find out for sure Friday when I weigh myself again. I also need to boost up the work-outs!

[live4fitness]

Aruba417 said it right. Your body adjusts. That is why dieting alone doesn't work for the long run. People cut calories, hit a platue then decrese some more and more, you can't keep doing this. Zig zag your calories and bump up on cardio and change workout around. TRICK your body because at platue stage your body already knows what you will do next so TRICK it!!

[trivolina]

I've found that most weight loss plateaus can be broken by eating the same number of calories but eat smaller meals more often. Also by alternating workout routines your body doesn't simply fall into a rut.

[trivolina]

FYI I got this information from http://www.lookcut.com