By ACE
It's kind of like running into a wall - that feeling
you get when, after a few months on a weight-loss program, you
suddenly stop seeing results. This is called hitting a plateau
and it is not uncommon. In fact, unless you continually update
your program to reflect the changes your body has already experienced,
you can almost be guaranteed to plateau at some point along your
journey toward reaching your goal weight.
Weight-loss Woes
The first thing you should do upon hitting a plateau
is try to determine the cause. Could you be eating more calories
than you think? Research shows that most people underreport the
number of calories they eat - it's not that they're lying, they
just don't know how to make an accurate assessment of how much
they're eating. And even if you're eating less calories than before
you lost the weight, you could be eating just enough to maintain
your current weight at your current activity level. It is important
to keep in mind that as you lose weight, your metabolism slows
down because there is less of you to fuel, both at rest and during
activity. So, while a diet of 1,800 calories per day helped you
lose a certain amount of weight, if you've hit a plateau, it could
be that 1,800 calories is the exact amount you need to stay at
your current weight.
Exercise Your Options
This leaves you with two options: Lower your caloric
intake further or increase the amount of time you spend being
physically active. The first option is less desirable because
you may not be able to get sufficient nutrients from a diet that
is very low in calories, and it is difficult to stick to it for
very long. It is much better to moderately reduce calories to
a level that you can sustain when you reach your goal weight.
The same is true for exercise. Trying to exercise for several
hours per day to burn more calories is a good way to set yourself
up for failure. Not only does this type of regimen require an
enormous time commitment, it is hard on the body, making you more
susceptible to injury and overuse syndromes. To help balance the
intake with the expenditure, a good rule of thumb is to multiply
your goal weight by 10 calories per pound, and add more calories
according to how active you are. Again, be realistic. Don't attempt
too much in an effort to burn more calories. Instead, aim for
30 minutes of moderate activity most of the days of the week and,
as you become more fit, gradually increase the intensity and duration
of your exercise sessions. Choose activities that you find enjoyable,
whether that be in-line skating, step classes or even mall walking.
Another means for getting you off the plateau is strength training,
which has been shown to be very effective in helping people manage
their weight because the added muscle helps to offset the metabolism-lowering
effect of dieting and losing weight. Muscle is much more metabolically
active than fat; therefore, the more muscle you can add, the higher
your metabolism will be.
Get Off The Plateau
If you've stopped losing weight, the key to getting
off the plateau is to vary your program. The human body is an
amazing piece of machinery, capable of adapting to just about
any circumstance or stimulus. By shaking things up a bit and varying
your program by introducing some new elements, you'll likely find
yourself off the plateau and back on the road to progress in no
time.
For reliable and unbiased information on health
and fitness, check out the American Council on Exercise at http://www.acefitness.org.
