Reader Question: Plateau
I have struggled with my weight forever and have done a million fad diets. Over the last year I made myself a promise that I would never do another fad diet. Instead I chose to eat healthy and exercise. Crazy concept huh? Lol So a year later, I have lost about 60 lbs. I am at the longest and worst plateau I have had on this journey. Do you have any tips to help get the last 10 pounds off for good?
Hi Reader! First off, congratulations on your weight loss,: that is awesome! I know that it has been nothing but hard work on your part, but taking care of the one body that we were given is so vital in our road to wellness, happiness, and overall wellbeing. I’m not saying that one should be rail thin to be happy, actually the opposite is probably true (I would bet that an anorexic would never say that they are in a “happy place”), but losing unnecessary weight, will help us live out the lives that we are meant to live.
Your question is a topic that so many people struggle with and are probably curious about; I’m certain that many people will benefit from your question. Thank you so much for asking!
I’m am so happy to hear that you rid yourself and your life of fad diets. You are worth so much more than that. God designed your body with joy, peace, excitement, pleasure, and kindness all in mind, all of which are absent when you force yourself through deprivation. Also, it’s awesome that you see that it’s the foods in which God provides us with here on earth, i.e. the fruits and vegetables, are the foods that our bodies will respond the best to when consuming which will therefore, help us lose unwanted/unnecessary weight the fastest.
A weight loss plateau is so annoying. It’s like you’re doing all that you can do, and that still isn’t enough. Right now, your body is comfortable and is thinking that food may be scarce; because of this, it’s thinking that it needs to go into survival mode in order to store and save every last calorie allowed. It’s trying to tell you that it’s good where it is, but in your mind, and understandably so, you’re not where you want to be. Weight loss plateaus are predictable and completely normal; anyone on a weight loss journey will eventually experience one.
Of course, weight loss in the beginning is much easier because your ridding your body of the calorie bombs that promote the most and worst fat storage: for example, weight is going to drop off of us much faster when we first cut out things like soda because were automatically cutting out anywhere from 100-500+ calories a day of pure sugar.
Also, I wish that it wasn’t so, but as we loose weight, our metabolism slows down because not only are we losing fat while losing weight but muscle (which burns the most calories), as well. Now, at a new, lower weight, our bodies are burring fewer calories, therefore making it even harder to lose the weight. From what I have learned, most typical plateaus last for about three weeks, and some can even last much longer. Now it’s up to you to regain control and pull yourself out of this tedious state of being: that’s exactly what your doing by sending this question.
Plateau Tips:
- Eat more for a short period of time, 2-3 days (of healthy foods that is!). Give your body what it wants. Because during this time, your body is assuming that it is simply trying to survive and not just trying to live your best life, it will hold on to everything, slowing down your metabolism as much as possible. Once your body trusts that food is in plenty, it will begin to burn more calories and then you can drop back down to your “weight loss” caloric range.
- Change up your exercise routines. If you are used to run a few miles straight, lets say for 20 minutes, switch it up: do some sprint work. Sprint for 30 seconds, walk for 30 seconds, for the same 20 minutes. This will not only burn more calories while your exercising, but will increase your metabolism, allowing your body to continue to burn more calories even when your not exercising. Once your body gets used to a certain regimen, it again, gets comfortable, and refuses to change, which is not at all what you want.
- Add resistance. I’m not sure if your lifting any weights right now or not, but the more lean muscle you have the more calories your body will burn, helping your calorie deficit get larger, which will help get you off of this plateau.
- Avoid dinning out as much as possible: you have no idea what’s in that food. More often than not, we are tricked by the true caloric numbers thinking that the salad that we just consumed contained 300 calories, when it really had 1300. If you’re working this hard, you owe it to yourself to push through and not allow sneaky restaurants rob you of your health.
- Drink your water! Not only will it help fight dehydration, but it will also help keep your metabolism humming, help keep you full, and also help fight fatigue making your afternoon gym session much easier to make!
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