by
Renee Kennedy
What
is a weight loss plateau?
You
are on a diet, but you reach a period of time
(two or more weeks) where you can't seem to
lose any weight. Your weight may actually
fluctuate 3lbs up or down, but you can't seem
to break below this range.
You
can experience a weight loss plateau for different
reasons:
1.
You are consuming too many calories for the
amount of calories that you are burning off.
2. You are not consuming enough calories;
your body defends itself by slowing down your
metabolism.
First,
you need to determine if you are experiencing
a plateau or if your weight is in a state
of normal fluctuation. Weigh yourself once
per week. If you have not lost any weight
after 3 weeks, you've hit a plateau.
Remember,
people lose weight at different rates. If
you've lost even one pound after three weeks,
you are still losing weight and probably don't
need to change anything. The closer you get
to your goal weight, the harder it will be
to lose weight.
Second,
if you are experiencing a plateau, look at
your current diet and exercise patterns. The
NutriCounter can function as a measurement
tool to see how many calories you are consuming
each day. (http://www.nutricounter.com)
It will also help you determine if you are
eating the appropriate amount of carbohydrates
and protein each day. You should also keep
an exercise journal that will help you determine
how much exercise you are getting each day.
Here
are some patterns that you may need to break.
(Note: before trying any of the methods below,
get your doctor's advice. This is especially
important if you have special dieting needs.)
1.
You should be eating at least 1200 calories
a day if you are a woman and 1500 calories
per day if you are a man. If you restrict
your calories too much your body will start
stockpiling fat because it thinks you are
starving.
2.
You may try to break a plateau by decreasing
the percentage of carbohydrates and increasing
the percentage of protein that you intake
each day.
3.
Another common recommendation is not to mix
your protein and carbohydrates. If you have
a protein breakfast, wait 2-3 hours before
resuming your balanced meals.
4.
Generally speaking, you should be exercising
no more than 1 hour per day. However, ask
yourself if your fitness routine is intense
enough? Simply walking around the block for
15 minutes a day may not be enough for you.
Each person is different. Also, walking around
the block may have been an excellent exercise
when you first started to lose weight, but
it may not be enough now that you've hit a
plateau.
5.
If you have recently added a fitness regimen
to help you lose weight, you may experience
a slight weight gain for the first few weeks,
especially if part of that routine involves
weight lifting. This can be a very frustrating
experience. If you are engaged in an intense
workout regimen, it may help to measure yourself
with a measuring tape, rather than the scale.
You will be putting on muscle and muscle will
burn more calories than fat, but it's also
heavier.
6.
If you are already on a low calorie diet and
you are sticking to it, then it is not recommended
that you cut out any more calories. Increasing
your activity is really the key to breaking
out of a plateau. However, if you are "supposed"
to be on a low calorie diet but you are not
sticking to it, well, the answer is obvious:
you need to stick to it.
Come
and visit the NutriCounter
web site for more information on how nutrition
and fitness influence weight loss, diabetes,
pregnancy, heart disease and more!
