How long does a plateau last?

How long do they last? How do you get around/over/under/thru them?

I was on a plateau for over nine months. I changed everything: eating habits and exercise. I am finally making some progress. You didn't mention how long you have been there. If it has been a week or two, don't despair. It could be your body just rearranging things. If it goes longer than 6 weeks, try changing your diet such as going to a high protein diet for a month or so. Don't give up! Something will work!

I just had a two week plateau. I kicked up my workout routine and upped my water consumption. I'm back on track now.

The main thing is don't give up or get discouraged. The body has to take time to adjust to the new you. If it doesn't end in say 6 weeks as mentioned above, try changing your diet, times you eat, way you exercise. The body is smart and even a good routine will make the body stall on weight loss. Try to always do different things for exercise and eat different things so your not in a rut. Hope that helps.

I hate to rain on everyone's parade, but "plateaus" are nothing more than indicators that you're doing it wrong and need a change. A true 'plateau' should be considered a period of 2 or more weeks of no progress with the same previously-successful conditions being applied.

Everyone that says they plateaued for X months is lying to themselves. You didn't plateau, you were doing it wrong. It's not like your body is going to suddenly go against all the laws of physics in order to hold onto its current weight.

If you reach the two week mark and things aren't changing, then you definitely need to reconsider where you're going wrong. Exercises not frequent or intense enough? Need to alter macro-nutrient ratio? Increase/reduce calories? Switch the type of exercise you do? Decrease sodium intake? It's different person to person, but one thing is constant: you need to do something about it.

ellyfranklin's post is the perfect example of this. She saw that there was no change for two weeks, increased her workout intensity, altered water consumption, and her 'plateau' never had a chance.

So to answer to original question directly: If you're doing everything correctly, you shouldn't have a plateau, ever. If the conditions are no longer prompting weight loss, give it a maximum of two weeks before you start applying changes.