Plateau

Somewhere in your Weight loss journey you will come across plateaus, a time when everything stands still. I’m sure most of us who have been on this journey or who are currently on this journey have been through a time when the scales just don’t budge a time when you are doing everything right but suddenly stop losing weight, it is very frustrating and sometimes it can also be very discouraging. Here’s what I did whenever I was stuck in one of my many plateaus.

Make sure it is a plateau:

Just because your scales have stopped showing a change does not mean it is a plateau, it could mean many things so before you come to any conclusion check the following:

Are bad habits creeping in?

Sometimes unknowingly bad habits creep into our life, one bite here, one day less at the gym... you might not even realise these small things but they make a difference. Every small good habit counts

Are you making assumptions?

Sometimes you think you are eating right but the calories keep adding up so it is very important to know what you are eating and how much you are eating, instead of just assuming you are eating the correct amount why not do some research or use one of the food apps or talk to an expert just to make sure you are on the right track.

Doing everything right – then why plateau?

The weight comes off at different rate

For me personally when I started my weight loss I was losing weight at a faster rate, every week I would lose a few pounds for sure but as I continued I started losing less, that’s because my body needed to lose less overtime.

So when I weighed around 200 pounds I lost faster than when I weighed 150 pounds because at 200 pounds I had lose over 70 pounds and at 150 pounds I had to lose less than 20 pounds...

Body gets used to exercise and food

When I started my weight loss my body was not used to exercising or eating healthy, initially just eating one healthy meal and a walk was enough for me to lose weight but then my body got stronger, walking was easy I needed to do more. I also needed to revisit my eating habits and add one more healthy meal to see more changes.

So how do I handle plateaus?

Switch things up

Exercise:  If I jog for my cardio I change it to climbing stairs or I switch to climbing hills..even these small changes help me.

Add intensity: sometimes I increase weights, other times I use lower weights but higher repetitions, when I’m jogging I reduce the time but increase my speed...such things usually help me.

Calorie intake: this is something I have read about not really tried it very often, but you can also switch your calories by increasing your calorie intake one day and reducing it the next (so that you are still within your range for the week). I do switch up things I eat while still sticking to my calorie count...

Don’t give up

I know it is very frustrating to stop losing weight but I just don’t give up that easily, no way will a plateau take me away from my fitness goal, For me it a challenge or a good obstacle that I need to pass before I reach my goal. I call it a good obstacle because to me a plateau is another sign telling me I’m becoming better and getting closer...

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Tanvee