Well, it had to happen some time.
After six months of doing things mostly right in my efforts to lose weight, it appears that I’ve reached the dreaded plateau.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the weight loss plateau, it’s the period where you can’t seem to lose any more weight despite the fact that you’re still exercising and eating right. Awhile back I wrote about common weight loss challenges, the plateau being the fiercest of the three. Now that this is happening to me, it seems all the more challenging and frustrating.
The last time I noticed a real difference in my weight was two weeks ago. It was after Easter weekend, when I had gorged myself on Reese’s peanut butter eggs, hardboiled eggs, and Captain Morgan’s Pineapple Rum – one of life’s unhealthier combinations, I’d say. For the past two weeks I’ve been exercising and eating as well as or better than I have since I started losing weight but with nothing to show for it. My body can sometimes be a straight-up contradictory bitch.
I know that I’m not alone- my friend who goes to Weight Watchers (and whom I wrote about a few weeks ago) has dealt with her own plateau. For about three weeks she had seen little to no progress, and then suddenly she lost four pounds, putting her at one of her goal checkpoints. It gives me hope. For every weight loss success story, you can bet that there were many difficulties and challenges that had to be overcome. If she can do it, surely we can as well.
Plateaus are basically your body saying that whatever you were doing is not good enough anymore. The calories you are putting into your body are now somehow more than what your body exerts in exercise and in your every day life. It makes sense – larger people require more calories to function and maintain their weight. Plateaus mean that your metabolism has leveled off and you have to kick start it in some way. Here are some suggestions that I will be trying in my own effort to get past this:
Changes in diet:
- 1) The Cheat Day. This is based on the idea that if you give your body excess calories, it will sort of shock it into stepping up your metabolism. The effectiveness of this method hasn’t really been proven and the benefits may be more psychological than physiological, so the concept of a cheat meal may be the better choice. Just don’t stuff yourself and you should be fine.
2) The Zig-Zag. This is for those of you who meticulously count calories. Basically you eat 200 more calories today than you normally eat, then eat 200 less calories than you normally eat tomorrow, then continue with the pattern. The 200-calorie amount is just a ballpark example; it may be different for your body.
3) Eating More Meals. In this plan, you’re eating roughly the same amount as before, but you’re eating smaller portions more frequently. This means adding two or three snacks throughout the day so your body doesn’t feel the need to hold on to any extra calories. Your intervals of eating shouldn’t be more than 3 hours apart.
Changes in exercise:
- 1) Exercise more. If you’re doing 30 minutes a day for four days a week, try 45 minutes a day for five days a week. You’ll need to do more to burn more calories now that you’re smaller, but such is the price to pay for fitting into those skinny jeans.
2) Exercise at different times. If you usually work out in the afternoon after class, try waking up early and doing it before class, or wait until after the sun sets. This will confuse your body and make it work overtime.
3) Exercise differently. Stop just running on the treadmill and go out and play some basketball, or take an aerobics class, or do something else to get out of your rut. Also, the importance of strength training cannot be emphasized enough. Building muscle is the key to long term, sustainable weight loss. So work those weight machines and dumbbells whenever you can. Ladies, don’t be afraid of bulking up – it won’t happen unless someone slips you some steroids.
I’ll be sure to let you guys know where I stand in a week or two. Here’s to continued success!