If you do not experience a weight loss plateau as you approach your ideal body weight, consider yourself extremely lucky. They are very common. Weight loss plateaus are to be expected as you are losing weight. Our bodies are resistant to change. A large chunk of people who reach their ideal weight have experienced as many as 2, maybe 3 plateaus lasting up to several weeks.
Just know that if changing our bodies was easy, then everyone would be walking around with a six-pack. Including me!!! Lol the more weight you lose, the more weight loss slows down. The leaner you become, the slower fat falls off. Don’t get discouraged, just think of it being a sign of your body actually starting to lean out more and you may want to get your measurements checked periodically to keep track and stay on track. Seeing numbers can be motivating whether it’s good or bad….numbers don’t lie!!
Losing body fat becomes harder the closer you get to your ideal body weight. Not only does the pace of weight loss slow down, but your body will work harder to hold on to your fat stores the leaner you become. So the fact is that, the ability to lose more fat decreases and it becomes even harder to do so.
OK…..Now that you understand the basic dynamics of a weight loss plateau, here are some tips to follow to help break through the plateau.
- Adjust your calorie intake. As you lose weight, not only does it become harder to lose, but your metabolism decreases. Your metabolism is supposed to decrease as you lose weight. That’s why every 10-15lb or maybe less, you lose, you can reevaluate your calorie intake to ensure you are eating less calories than you are burning.
- Avoid mindless eating. Eating more calories than you think you are eating combined with a decrease in metabolism from weight loss, plateaus are almost a certainty. Eating out at restaurants that serve huge portions, or simply condiments like dressings, spreads, and sauces. Maybe you don’t realize that small “100 calorie” products really actually 400 calories because there are 4 servings in each bag…read labels. Same thing goes for alcoholic beverages. The best place to start is to track your food intake if you are not already doing so. Try tracking your nutrition for a few days or maybe a week and see that it is possibly the smartest and most important step you take to improve your nutrition.
- Increase the intensity of your workouts. While nutrition is key, making sure you are progressing the intensity of your workouts can only help improve your results. Choosing a different workout every time you hit the gym is not confusing your body as much as you think, but it’s definitely improving your results. If you want to maintain the results you have, changing things up is the way to go!
I hope this helped and you’re able to break the plateau cycle. Keep at it and never give up!! Be great!
