How did you break your plateau? Just curious?

[take.it.off]

let me know!

[aznprincess]

WELL, i think it matters how you found yourself in the plateau. i'm assuming your talking about weight loss?

what have you been eating, what's your exercise like... how long have you been doing this?

[viridian]

Add a few hundred calories for a few weeks (I usually go up 100cals every 2-3 days until I hit the goal). Then drop them down slowly again.

ETA: To clarify... go back up (slowly; about 100 cals every few days) to around 1900 calories, stay there for a solid two weeks and drop back down slowly again.

You might also consider changing your training routine. Continue the same amount of work, just change exercises, add supersets/dropsets change rest times, etc. Just make it different. The types of cardio you do may have a small effect also. Any HIIT? Id suggest twice a week if not, the stuff is awesome for busting plateaus.

[take.it.off]

WELL, i think it matters how you found yourself in the plateau. i'm assuming your talking about weight loss?

what have you been eating, what's your exercise like... how long have you been doing this?

Started in Jan at 1800cals a day
slowly decreased to 1650cals.

Here was my meal plan this week: http://watchmemelt.weebly.com/diet.html
Here is my training plan, just started on Monday (changed it up): http://watchmemelt.weebly.com/training.html

As for training, when I started I had a bunch of cardio. Then I plateaued so I dropped cals and dropped cardio. Now that I plateaued again I brought back cardio and am thinking about doing a refeed.

Don't want to drop cals much more right now because I still have a lot to lose and I don't want to drop to fast - because I won't have much more room to drop cals later.

[EricaJuneBaby]

Most of the time when I've broken a plateau for weight loss it's been by accident.. the times where I plateaued were when I was perfect 100% of the time.
The accidents were like going to a party and having alcohol which I don't normally drink.. then all of a sudden the next day or the day after I dropped a couple lbs. I don't know how it happens totally unexplainable except maybe I had been retaining water up till then..
Or overeating maybe for a day or 2 because of being frustrated, then going back on track THEN losing some weight. Seems re-feeds and calorie or carb cycling really work and I just sort of did it by accident.
Now trying to gain muscle I don't think about weight loss but still have cheat meals and stuff because they tend to make me feel better, make me feel stronger, and help motivate me to keep going..sometimes they are planned and sometimes I just NEED a cheat meal. Not too often though!

[FemmeFatale28]

Started in Jan at 1800cals a day
slowly decreased to 1650cals.


As for training, when I started I had a bunch of cardio. Then I plateaued so I dropped cals and dropped cardio. Now that I plateaued again I brought back cardio and am thinking about doing a refeed.

Don't want to drop cals much more right now because I still have a lot to lose and I don't want to drop to fast - because I won't have much more room to drop cals later.

Honestly about idk, 10-11 weeks in I started eatting at maintainence on Saturdays because it works for me socially, and here I am week 16 and still going strong. Now Im trying to bounce between 1550-1700 calories just to keep it mixed while still going at or very slightly above maintanence on Saturdays and see was happens. I thought about just eating at main. for a week but honestly Im going to have to plateau before I do that, I want to stay in deficit and get this weight off. I started at 170 Jan 1 and I am at 154 as of last saturday. So *hopefully* tomorrow I will at least be at 153. My question is..( not to thread hijack) but I was only weighing myself once a month but I am at a crossroads where I DONT want to be at a plateau for a month and figure it out then, so now I am weighing weekly, because of TOM and such should I wait for 2 weigh ins of the same weight to consider it a plateau because after 16 weeks I am SURE I am beyond the point where I am dropping fat and "replacing" it with noob gains.

[kimm4]

Started in Jan at 1800cals a day
slowly decreased to 1650cals.

Here was my meal plan this week: http://watchmemelt.weebly.com/diet.html
Here is my training plan, just started on Monday (changed it up): http://watchmemelt.weebly.com/training.html

As for training, when I started I had a bunch of cardio. Then I plateaued so I dropped cals and dropped cardio. Now that I plateaued again I brought back cardio and am thinking about doing a refeed.

Don't want to drop cals much more right now because I still have a lot to lose and I don't want to drop to fast - because I won't have much more room to drop cals later.

1650 seems just a tad low, especially without a refeed. What's your macro breakdown look like at this point?

[take.it.off]

1650 seems just a tad low, especially without a refeed. What's your macro breakdown look like at this point?

Macro breakdown has been close to 40%/33%/28% (P/C/F).

So, do you think I should refeed? Plus I have been REALLY tired these past 2 weeks, and my workouts are suffering from it.

[take.it.off]

Add a few hundred calories for a few weeks (I usually go up 100cals every 2-3 days until I hit the goal). Then drop them down slowly again.

ETA: To clarify... go back up (slowly; about 100 cals every few days) to around 1900 calories, stay there for a solid two weeks and drop back down slowly again.

You might also consider changing your training routine. Continue the same amount of work, just change exercises, add supersets/dropsets change rest times, etc. Just make it different. The types of cardio you do may have a small effect also. Any HIIT? Id suggest twice a week if not, the stuff is awesome for busting plateaus.

Yeah - I am doing HIIT.

Also, those routines on my website are the just a list of the exercises I do, but somedays, I do them like supersets and other days I just do the straight routine (depends how I feel).

I'm pretty good at changing things regularly. Sunday's I change my diet up for the week (because I eat the same meal plan for 7 days straight - easy and it ensures I am eating within cals and macros) and every 5-6 weeks I change my routine. This plateau is real annoying though! lol

That's why I am considering the refeed...

I'm scared to slowly up the cals cause I feel like I will put on weight, whereas with the refeed, it is one day...so any gains will be water. (at least that is my theory lol). Plus with how tired I've been, I think I may need to restore my glycogen reserves.

...does this make sense? lol

[kimm4]

Macro breakdown has been close to 40%/33%/28% (P/C/F).

So, do you think I should refeed? Plus I have been REALLY tired these past 2 weeks, and my workouts are suffering from it.

I sent you a PM.

[aussieangie]

cheat meals scare the hell out of me. I always think if i eat something I wouldnt normally eat, then it will definately get stored somewhere and I will pay for it later.
How do you girls do it?
What do you eat when you cheat?

[viridian]

cheat meals scare the hell out of me. I always think if i eat something I wouldnt normally eat, then it will definately get stored somewhere and I will pay for it later.
How do you girls do it?
What do you eat when you cheat?

Personally speaking...
I rarely truly cheat - when I really cheat (three times a year?), I usually have half a blizzard (pumpkin pie anyone??) or I go out for a pasta-type or pizza dinner. So around 500 extra calories of typically simple carbs. And possibly fat which is kinda a bad combo together in those mass amounts.

As far as refeeds go, there's usually one day a week I aim for 300 or so more calories than normal and they usually come from complex carbs. It depends on diet and training (as far as how big of a defecit you are making) though too... the closer to maintenance and less time youve been dieting, the fewer and smaller refeeds you'll need.

Honestly, I prefer to jsut hit maintenance for a few weeks, focus more on strength in the gym and let my mind relax a bit.

[Ally_Cat]

I 'gave up' for 3 weeks, gained 5 lbs, and then when I started hitting the gym hard again the weight flew off and I was lower than before. I dont recommend that in any way but I guess an easier version of what I did would be: up your calories to maintenance for a little bit and then start cutting calories again.

I think you need to find what works for you. For me, it was getting out of the gym (well, I went but all i did was cardio) and getting a mini break from it all. Once I saw the weight gain from sugary cereals and coffee drinks, I had my motivation back full force and broke my plateau.