HOW TO GET OUT OF A WEIGHT LOSS PLATEAU WITHOUT STARVING YOURSELF

I have made tremendous progress in my weight loss journey but now I have hit a weight loss plateau. I did my research to find out what might work.

I have made tremendous progress in my weight loss journey but now I have hit a weight loss plateau. I did my research to find out what might work.

What is a weight loss plateau?

How did I know it was a plateau? I ate clean and exercised regularly even more than normal and saw no results. My weight on the scale stayed the same and my waistline measurement didn’t budge as well.

A person reaches a weight loss plateau when they stop losing weight after some time of consistently following a strict diet and fitness plan.

There are some theories to why a weight loss plateau occurs. Doctors believe it could be because the body adapts to your regular weight loss regime and so it protects itself against any further weight loss. (I think of it as the body has become bored so it just suddenly stopped working at losing the weight…keep in mind I personify everything and anything.)

Sometimes we stop following a strict diet after realizing it’s not making a difference. We give up. Another reason could be that we aren’t really following a strict diet to begin with.

There are a lot of hidden calories we don’t think much of. For instance, if you’re Canadian like me you know Timbits from Tim Hortons. Those little guys are actually around 100 calories per timbit yet are so tiny you wouldn’t think so. Are we sticking to our plan or have we blindly or unknowingly given into temptation?

So how do we break this weight loss plateau?

• track what you eat by starting a food journal — this way you will become more aware of any hidden calories you are eating. Write down all the calories in every food you eat. If a written food journal is hard try out MyFitnessPal or any other calorie tracking app on your phone.

• increase the frequency or intensity of your exercise regime or try a new type of exercise — change up your exercise regime because the body is bored. Challenge your body. Maybe run a little longer than usual, add another type of exercise like HIIT if you do only weights and vice versa etc

• reduce stress — we all know stress is not good in more ways than one. Stress releases cortisol in our brain which is a hormone that responds to stress. However, this same cortisol has us, well me, wanting to order that large box of fries and buy all the chocolate off of convenience stores. Cortisol can promote comfort eating and trigger food cravings. I went through some traumatic shit during childhood which led me to comfort eat and the rest is a story for another time. Take time to slow down and do some self-care. Meditate or try a face mask and relax. Try to take it slow. Reducing stress is something I too am working on.

• SLEEP! — did you know reduced sleep lowers your metabolic rate? The lack of sleep also is a reason you may be stressed which then lead to unhealthy eating habits. Also, without sleep our muscles which work so hard during exercise can’t repair and grow.

• consume more fiber — soluble fiber (fiber that dissolves in water) slows down the movement of food through your digestive tract so that you stay feeling full. Soluble fiber keeps appetite under control so that you don’t consume more food than necessary.

• cut carbs — a low carb diet is no secret to losing weight. This is because carbs are often high in calories and are usually just get converted into sugar and stored as fat if we consume in excess. We only need enough carbs to burn for energy but these days carbs are consumed in excess.

• eat protein and spread the intake throughout the day — this is something I have been trying personally because protein keeps me feeling full. Protein also boosts metabolic rate because digesting it takes more out of the body. Eating protein requires the body to burn more calories when digesting as opposed to when digesting carbs or fat. If you’ve just started weight training then protein is a must because it protects against loss of muscle mass. Yes, this is why you see everyone in the fitness world promoting protein!

• intermittent fasting — this is going for a long period of time without eating. Usually, people don’t eat for 16 hours straight and then eat only within the 8 hours left. Intermittent fasting can help you consume fewer calories. It’s not starving because you can include the time you sleep as part of your fasting hours.

• lay off the alcohol — alcohol has a lot of empty calories. It lowers your inhibitions which will have you mindlessly or shall I say “drunkenly” eat a lot of crap that isn’t good for you. For someone like me who has trouble with impulsive eating habits, alcohol is a big no-no. Studies claim alcohol also suppresses fat burning. Have you heard of the term beer belly?

• drink green tea — several studies claim that green tea has a lot of antioxidants. Green tea has a bioactive substance called EGCG which can boost metabolism.

• drink more water — sometimes when we think we are hungry we are just thirsty. Water will have your stomach feeling full which will prevent you from touching that bag of chips.

• drink coffee — coffee helps me not feel hungry and it contains caffeine which helps boost metabolism (green tea also has caffeine)