Reached the dreaded weight loss plateau? Give the much needed extra push

Stuck at the same weight? Your weight reduction regime worked so well when you started out that you haven’t dared change a thing. Then what went wrong? Read on to find out how you can emerge from a weight loss plateau and continue losing weight till you reach your goal.


Weight loss stopped after quick results?

You are really happy you lost the 1st 5 pounds in 2 weeks and are confident you are going to reach your goal in no time. You are doing everything right, so you don’t want to change a thing. And then, after 4 weeks, you realize your weight hasn’t changed at all. You are worried, frustrated and have no clue what went wrong. Sounds familiar?



Well, this happens to everyone who starts working out. If you continue doing the same thing over a period of time, your body gets used to it and doesn’t feel the stress anymore. It’s not going to burn any extra fat and you don’t lose any weight.


Plateau – the biggest weight loss enemy

You cannot avoid reaching a plateau but you definitely can postpone the occurrence. One thing you must remember is, you can afford a plateau only when you have reached your goal. So till then, the key is to mix your workout and diet in such a manner than your body never gets a chance to get complacent.


How to delay hitting the plateau?

Here’s how you can do it:

Start slowly. You will reach the plateau much slower. If you are going to start with a big bang, you will see quick results but once your body is used to that, there is no room for the extra push.

There are two main things you should focus on to delay reaching the plateau – Food and Exercise. But, both would work only if you start slowly and then progress gradually towards your limit.


Changes in Diet

Let’s talk about food first. There are several ways in which you can delay the plateau using food.

The most effective way is cutting calories. If you start with having 2000 calories a day, start cutting calories by 100, till you reach the minimum amount of calories you should take to stay healthy.

You can experiment with different types of food like going vegetarian (which will boost your weight loss), substituting soda with water and so on. You should also keep changing your meal times slightly so as to avoid getting into a routine.

The key is to think of ways that you can sustain for long. But all said, there is only so much you can do with cutting food. You can’t stop eating. So, a better and more effective way would be to increase the intensity of your workouts.






Exercise Variations

Here’s how you can steadily increase your workout intensity:

If you are going to run on the treadmill, start by running 10 min a day. When you are comfortable at that level increase it by another 5 min. If the maximum you can run is for 30 min, and you have reached your limit, start increasing the incline of the treadmill to cause more exertion on your body.

If you are doing crunches, start with 7 crunches a day and then increase it to 50 or more depending on how much you can take. Once you have reached your limit, bring variation to the crunches by combining crunches with leg-lifts or doing crunches side-ways.

If it’s weight training, start with 2 lbs, then increase to 5 and so on till you reach your limit.

What you are doing here is you are letting your body get used to a certain amount of exercise and when you are just reaching a plateau, by increasing the intensity of the workout, you are forcing your body to burn more calories, thus avoiding the plateau.

You should devise a combination of diet and exercise regime, such that, every time you approach a plateau, you alter just one of them – either diet or exercise and not both. This way, you will be able to avoid the plateau a lot longer and achieve your ultimate target a lot quicker.

Now that you know the secret, there’s absolutely no stopping you…. You go girl!!


Summary:

– Plateau can be delayed not avoided

– Start slowly and progress gradually

– Diet: Reduce calorie intake

– Exercise: Increase workout intensity

– Focus on only one thing at a time – Either diet or exercise – every time you sense a plateau


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Comments

  1. Thanks a lot for writing an article based on my feedback. It has definitely addressed all my concerns and given me the confidence to lose more weight. Will strictly follow the diet and exercise combo you have explained.

    Keep writing more…

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