Tuesday June 22, 2010

We all have hit the dreaded plateau at some point in our weight loss journey. Heck, let's just be honest .. we have hit it more than once & more than we want too!!! That dang plateau!!!!

It can be the pitfall for many. We should be looking at it for what it is & challenging ourselves to find ways to get past it like: being patient, understanding that it is part of the process, looking for possible reasons why like maybe snacking a bit more than normal (we are notorious for fooling ourselves about how much we are actually eating), slacking in the exercise arena more than normal, the body getting used to the lower weight & thus having to adjust accordingly, not enough "change it up" in the routine, both food & exercise, since the bod does get used to things.... shall I keep going??? I have more!  BUT, for MANY, this is the time they give up... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! DON'T DO IT!

Well, I thought I would share a great ACE, American Council on Exercise, article on this very subject & make some comments along the way. I will also write about my own experiences at the end.

Weight Loss Plateaus and Pitfalls

 It’s kind of like running into a wall—that feeling you get when, after a few months on a weight-loss program, you suddenly stop seeing results.

This is called hitting a plateau and it is not uncommon. In fact, unless you continually update your program to reflect the changes your body has already experienced, you can almost be guaranteed to plateau at some point along your journey toward reaching your goal weight. From Jody: Yes, we all hit this at some point or another & always more than once! Pat attention to that statement - update your program to reflect changes in your body! ALSO, pay attention to the fact above that says "expect it". Yes, it is going to happen so remember, stay consistent & don't give up, be patient & work thru it!

Weight-loss Woes

The first thing you should do upon hitting a plateau is try to determine the cause. Could you be eating more calories than you think? Research shows that most people under-report the number of calories they eat—it’s not that they’re lying; they just don’t know how to make an accurate assessment of how much they’re eating. And even if you’re eating fewer calories than before you lost the weight, you could be eating just enough to maintain your current weight at your current activity level. From Jody: I know many dislike logging their food BUT if you are "stuck", this is the way to figure it out! If you are busy, take cell phone pics along with writing it down & then log into a computer program. My stepdaughter did this way back when & she was very surprised at what she thought she was eating vs. what she was actually eating!

Unfortunately, people’s bodies adjust their metabolism to resist weight change. This means that you burn fewer calories when you start consuming fewer calories. So, while a diet of 1,800 calories per day helped you lose a certain amount of weight, if you’ve hit a plateau, it could be that 1,800 calories is the exact amount you need to stay at your current weight.

Exercise Your Options
This leaves you with two options: Lower your caloric intake further or increase the amount of time you spend being physically active.

The first option is less desirable because you may not be able to get sufficient nutrients from a diet that is very low in calories (e.g., below 1,200 kcal in women and 1,500 kcal in men) and it is difficult to stick with it for very long. It is much better to moderately reduce calories to a level that you can sustain when you reach your goal weight.

The same is true for exercise. Trying to exercise for several hours per day to burn more calories is a good way to set yourself up for failure. Not only does this type of regimen require an enormous time commitment, it is hard on the body, making you more susceptible to injury and overuse syndromes.

Instead, aim for 30 minutes of moderate activity most of the days of the week and, as you become more fit, gradually increase the intensity and duration of your exercise sessions. Choose activities that you find enjoyable, whether that be in-line skating, step classes or even mall walking. The most effective exercise is the one you will do consistently. From Jody: I have changed things all along the way thru the years but age really threw a loop in the equation, change of life! It was my late 40's when I added plyometrics, interval training, HIIT & my own version of intervals. These things really blast calories & burn the fat big time!

Another means for getting you off the plateau is strength training (YES!!!), which has been shown to be very effective in helping people manage their weight because the added muscle helps to offset the metabolism-lowering effect of dieting and losing weight. Muscle is much more metabolically active than fat; therefore, the more muscle you can add, the higher your metabolism will be. YES!

To help balance the intake with the expenditure, a good rule of thumb is to multiply your goal weight by 10 calories per pound, and add more calories according to how active you are. For example, if your goal weight is 145 pounds, then multiple it by 10 to reach 1,450 kcal as a baseline, adding calories as needed to account for increased activity. Check out the ACE Fit Fact titled “Calories Burners: Activities That Turn Up the Heat” to estimate the caloric demand of your workout. Again, be realistic. Don’t attempt too much in an effort to burn more calories.

Get Off the Plateau
If you’ve stopped losing weight, the key to getting off the plateau is to vary your program. The human body is an amazing piece of machinery, capable of adapting to just about any circumstance or stimulus. By shaking things up a bit and varying your program by introducing some new elements, you’ll likely find yourself off the plateau and back on the road to progress in no time.

From Jody: For me, this has been key.... changing up my exercise program on a very very regular basis AND also changing the food around too.. how many calories per day & more... just switching things up. Yes, I have had to cut back on calories somewhat with the change of life but nearly as much as others that do not work out, strength train & eat healthy.

I spoke a few months ago & I do write a lot about perimenopause & how this time really creates havoc with the body for many women. Personally, I think it is even harder than the plateaus I hit in my early years. I spoke bout when I turned 52 & wanted to take my Fit at 52 picture. No matter what I did, the body did not budge. BUT, I kept at it & did not let it deter me. I did not sink into eating more & giving up. One day, I just blasted thru it. Yes, maybe it was just my bod changing again but at least I was not 5-7 pounds heavier because I gave up. Again, this was not the first of this. My bod started attacking in my late 40's but really got bad around 50.

Right now, I find myself in another one of these body changing times. The bod does not want to cooperate too much with me. Another very rough bod time for me. I am changing things & working hard to get thru this time. I will not give in to it! 

You have to be committed to working at this... it is HARD work & you have to have patience & consistency. Giving up at plateaus is NOT an option! Keep trying to find what works. I have been there & sometimes you have to try a few things to get the results. It is not always the first try at things... you can!

What have yo done to get past a plateau? Have there been times when you gave up & had to then "re-lose" the weight you had already lost? For those that got thru it, what advice can you pass on to others?