Busting Through the Dreaded Weight Loss Plateau

It happens to all of us at some point – the dreaded plateau!

I know what it’s like; trust me!  I remember thinking  “I’m NEVER going to lose this weight!’  I was getting so frustrated and discouraged!  Then I took a step back and realized I needed to change my mindset and my focus.

YES, I wanted to lose the weight that I had gained, but I also wanted to be healthier and feel better. THAT was the most important thing to me. I knew a quick fix was not the answer because I didn’t just want to lose the weight; I wanted to keep it off so I didn’t have to focus on losing the weight ever again.   I knew it needed to be a lifestyle change. I wanted to look and feel healthier not just be thinner.
There are many reasons for hitting a plateau or getting off to a slower start than we’d like.  Everyone is different at the rate they lose weight and where they lose it and it’s easy to get discouraged.   The bottom line is though, if you continue to keep your new healthy habits in place, you WILL see results.  Most people get discouraged and give up too soon before they see the results they want.  “I just can’t lose weight” or “I’ll never reach my goal weight” are some of the things we tell ourselves.  But, it’s not true; we just tend to give up when it doesn’t happen within our desired time frame.

If you can change your focus to getting healthier, making better food choices and exercising smarter you will do more for yourself than obsessing over the number on the scale.   For example: if you aren’t getting enough sleep, have a high level of stress and you’re eating a fair share of processed foods, you’re going to have an uphill battle losing weight.  So, by addressing it from a ‘taking better care of yourself’ perspective, the rest tends to fall into place.

While we can’t always control the number on the scale we CAN control how we take care of ourselves. In the long run, this is much more important in order to have a healthy, happy life.

Here are 6 strategies that can help:

1.    Focus on eating the healthiest, most nutrient dense foods you can. (think ‘REAL’ food here, not foods with a list of ingredients you can’t pronounce).  The more healthy whole foods you eat (with plenty of protein and healthy fats), the less room you’ll have for higher calorie processed foods. When you give your body what it truly needs, you’ll have fewer cravings for empty calories and ‘junk food’, which usually leads to consuming fewer calories.

2.    Reduce stress and get enough sleep.  Yes, this is a big deal!  When you’re under stress and/or you’re not getting enough sleep, the stress hormone, cortisol is elevated and this can hinder weight loss.   Also, when you’re tired, you’re more likely to eat more (studies show people consume up to 25% more calories when they’re tired).

3.    Mix up your workouts.  Adding resistance training is key and what you need if your goals involve reshaping your body.  Avoid doing the same routine week after week. Our bodies adapt to new stresses put on it rather quickly, so by switching things up, you’ll see results quicker.  Doing cardio-only exercise is not going to work long term and can actually stall your weight loss efforts.  It’s good to change your routine every 30 days or so.

4.    Increase the time, frequency and/or intensity of your workouts.  If you’ve stopped seeing results, it’s also good to look at how often you’re working out as well as the length of your workouts and how hard you’re pushing yourself.  If you’ve been exercising 3 days a week, it’s probably time to bump it up to 4 or 5 to start seeing results again OR do longer workouts on the 3 or 4 days if appropriate.  You’ll also want to look at your intensity and evaluate if you need to bump that up a bit as well.  Are you giving it 100% or just ‘showing up’ most days?  We all have days where we aren’t 100% and that 70% effort is certainly better than no effort, but evaluate your effort level on most days.

Note: If you’re already tired and feeling run down, you would be better off getting the rest you need so you can recharge and give more effort at your next workout.

5.    Food Journal or tracking. While I don’t focus a lot on calorie counting, it can be helpful to have an approximate calorie goal range.   If you’re stuck with your weight loss progress, this is a good time to evaluate your food intake and choices.  It’s not always that your calories need to be lower, so it can be a tricky thing to figure out.  If you’ve been eating too few calories, weight loss can stall too.  Try playing with the numbers and see what works. If you go too low, you’re going to lose muscle, which is NOT what you want since that will affect your metabolism negatively.

I like apps for tracking food and 2 that I like are ‘Lose It’ and ‘Myfitnesspal’.  The apps are handy since most of us always have our phones with us, so tracking is much more convenient.

 6.     Don’t skip meals.  This is a biggie!  My clients that go from skipping breakfast and having a very small lunch find that they start losing weight when they start eating regularly and balance their meals out during the day.  This makes perfect sense because our bodies keep track and if by late afternoon you haven’t had enough to eat, you’re going to be really hungry and make less healthy choices. This is what happens when you ‘diet’ and you feel like you’ve done great until around 3:00 then you’re starving, eat everything in sight and don’t understand why you can’t control your appetite.  Your body needs real food on a regular basis.  Eat breakfast, lunch, diner and healthy snacks when needed and don’t wait until you’re too hungry to have something to eat.

Bonus Tip: Water!  Be sure you’re drinking plenty of water every day. Water helps with digestion and elimination. Water intake is an important element of our overall health as well as for weight loss. 

If you’re feeling a little discouraged, focus on the positive and how you’re making better choices and do the best you can for your health each day and you WILL see and feel changes. Be patient and just keep moving forward, one healthy choice at a time.   Slow and steady is the way to go for long term success.

There could be other underlying conditions including hormonal imbalances that can hinder weight loss, so it’s a good idea to seek a health care practitioner that deals with this, such as your physician or naturopathic doctor.

Promise yourself you are not going to give up…you are in this for the long haul and you’re worth it!   

**Always check with your health care provider before starting a new exercise routine**