Understanding Weight Loss Plateaus

It can be frustrating to be losing weight and then for no reason, just stop losing. But don't worry this will happen. It's called a weight loss plateau.

A weight-loss plateau is a pause your body will take after losing several pounds, all this is normal, the body needs time to adjust. This is a must-read for those who are trying to lose more than 20 pounds. You want to understand that your body really doesn’t like to see you lose weight. The body always worries that you’re going to starve. You have to trick your body into losing weight and not going into starvation mode over the weight loss. Don’t get frustrated over plateaus, they’re normal and this article tells you how to deal with them.

If you’ve spent any time and effort losing weight, you may have noticed how hard it is. It seems like, just when you start to see progress, your body just stops responding to what you’re doing. The human body doesn’t keep track of body fat and doesn’t know how much fat is too much. The way your body works is that it works to adapt to what you’re doing to the body. It has no ability to restrict you from doing or eating whatever you want. The thing is, as hard as you work at losing weight, the human body works even harder to keep energy intake and output in balance. In other words, your body doesn’t like to lose weight.

And, even more, frustrating is the fact that whatever efforts you make to burn more calories may eventually slow down your calorie burn. Here are some of the mistakes we make that may contribute to weight loss plateaus.

Problem 1. Reducing your calories too much

Fact: It takes calories to burn calories. When you decrease your food intake, your body simply lowers its metabolic rate in response. This still allows the body to function properly but, because there aren’t any extra calories around to fuel all the other things you’re doing, your body may move into starvation mode, holding onto extra fat as fuel.

Solution:
Keep your calories slightly below your maintenance calories so that your energy and metabolism remain high. A deficit greater than 500-700 calories makes it much more difficult to maintain your lean body mass. One basic formula to calculate your daily calorie needs:

Men
kg (body weight) x 24 = kcal/day
Women kg (body weight) x 23 = kcal/day

note: kg = pounds divided by 2.2 (i.e.: 180 lbs / 2.2 = 81.8 kg)

You can also use Nutrition Expert Shereen’s excellent calorie calculators to get a rough estimate of how many calories you need each day. More about calories and weight loss. More Ways to Break the Plateau!

More Ways to Break the Plateau!

Problem 2. Loss of lean body mass
Fact: Muscle burns fat and losing muscle means burning fewer calories. Lean body mass uses five times the calories as fat mass so, if you lose it, your metabolism drops and your weight loss stops.
Solution:
Make sure your exercise program is combined with a fully nourished body. You can accomplish this with a diet that creates a safe calorie deficit along with some type of multivitamin to help with any nutrient deficiencies.

Problem 3. Weight loss
What? But you thought that’s what you wanted! However, what you may have forgotten is that when you weigh less, it takes fewer calories to move your body. A loss of any amount of weight will lead to a reduced energy requirement.

Solution:
Make sure you start (or continue) a weight training program to help increase lean body mass, which can help compensate for the loss of calories.

Problem 4. The ‘Adaptation’ Phase Ends
When you start a new exercise program, your body responds because it is required to make numerous changes to adjust to different workloads. So, your muscles are rebuilding themselves and this consumes all kinds of calories. But, at some point your body will stop adapting to the new workload and, as a result, you burn fewer calories for the same activities.

Solution:
Don’t let your body get used to the exercise. Maintain your body’s adaptation period by changing the intensity, duration, frequency, and/or the mode of exercise and include interval training if necessary.

Problem 5: Exercise Efficiency
The more you do something, the better you get at it. As your body becomes better at performing your exercises, it can actually use fewer calories during the exercise. Think of it this way: trained athletes often use fewer calories than untrained athletes with similar body types and workouts.

So, if this describes where you are, consider yourself a trained athlete and read on!

Solution:
The solution to this is the same as for Problem 4; don’t get used to the exercise. Concentrate on more dramatic changes such as trying brand new activities. For example, if you use the treadmill for two weeks, switch to something different like the rowing machine or the bike. Don’t forget to make changes in your weight training routine as well!

Problem 6: Over-training
Just like not eating enough can lower the number of calories you burn, so can over-training. When you exercise too much, there is a point of diminishing returns when an increase in exercise energy expenditure is negated by an equal decrease in non-exercise energy expenditure. In other words, when you increase your exercise intensity, your body responds by decreasing the number of calories you burn during the rest of your day.

Solution:
Take time to recover. If you reach exercise burnout, this is a great time to take a break for a few days or try something gentle like yoga or a stretching routine.

After you’ve rested, get back to exercise but lighten up your original routine and increase your intensity only as necessary.

7. Enhanced Physical Condition
As you get into better shape, your body is more efficient and it costs fewer calories to operate. Improved health means a lower resting metabolic rate and fewer calories are burned during normal daily activities. Part of this is because your cardio-pulmonary system is more efficient now and you have a lower resting heart rate.

Solution:
Congratulations! You’re officially in shape and healthy. Focus on that and feel good about yourself. Concentrate on changing your routine as described in Solution 5.

There’s one more important tip. Most of us think that there is nothing wrong with the food they’re eating and to lose weight they simply eat less of the same thing. Actually, the food you’re eating is causing the body fat. Until you change the food you eat you are just fighting your body. You might drop a few pounds but the weight will return usually quicker than the time you spent losing the weight and often after losing 10 pounds you’ll still have the fat. 

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If you really want to lose your body fat look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $3.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans, or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

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