Well, I hit a plateau about 3 weeks ago and I am determined to overcome this! Talk about being ready to pull my hair out! I have tried SO hard for what? To hit the gym day after day and the scale not moving..... But, I got this! When I need answers I do what I do best. ....I READ! I ended up reading 15 or so articles to get myself started. I had to go back and re-read them bc my blog crashed last night and lost all the important stuff I was going to say. Apparently, I don't have to try over and over on just my weightloss goals, but, my blog now too! Lol. So, let's get on with it!
What is a weight-loss plateau? Well, according to the Mayo Clinic, "A weight-loss plateau occurs when you no longer lose weight despite continuing with your exercise and healthy-eating habits. Being stuck at a weight-loss plateau eventually happens to everyone who is trying to lose weight. Although hitting a plateau is common, most people are surprised when it happens to them, for they believed that if they just maintained a reduced-calorie diet, they would continue to lose weight. The frustrating reality is that even well-planned weight-loss efforts often become stalled." I try to look for the good things happening, namely NSV or Non-Scale Victories when the evil scale says I am not making progress... but, even those are few and far between at the moment. Which is causing me great stress!
Mayo goes on to explain, "A plateau occurs because your metabolism — the process of burning calories for energy — slows as you lose muscle. You burn fewer calories than you did at your heavier weight even doing the same activities. Your weight-loss efforts result in a new equilibrium with your now slower metabolism."
One of my problems I am trying to overcome is calorie intake which keeps bottoming out my metabolism. I don't have the same issue most people in this country has of excessive amounts of calories being consumed. Mine is the complete opposite. It goes against everything I was ever told growing up. You know, "eat less and you will lose the weight" or the hateful remark "skipping a few meals wouldn't kill you, you know". I have never been an emotional eater or one that eats just because they were bored. Now, after weightloss surgery I have run into the problem of being nauseous all day so, putting food in my mouth is the last thing I want to do. Instead, I get stuck on working out to exhaustion instead. But, I know I am not helping my cause any. There are more days then not that I only get 300 calories in. I am not hungry so I have to purposely plan when to eat. Problem is, I keep going back to very low calorie options out of habit. Granted I choose high protein options so I can get in my minimum requirement of 60 grams of protein each day. Some days I still completely fail.
I know how counterproductive too few calories can be but getting my head to really believe it is a battle I am still raging. I came across the website of celebrity trainer Jillian Michaels. She broke it down like this, "When you have a smaller amount of weight to lose, your body is already healthy, which makes it tougher to lose weight. What people in this situation often do is cut more calories or increase their time at the gym, but this method will not work. All that does is slow your metabolism down and send your body into starvation mode. The best quick fix is to give your body a little more food so it feels secure. Varying your calorie intake is my best advice for keeping your body from plateauing. For the next three days, vary your calorie intake between 1,800 and 2,400 calories. I know this may sound crazy, but trust me — I know what I'm doing. After three days, drop back down to your usual calorie allowance. Remember, never allow your daily calorie allowance to fall below 1,200 if you are a woman and 1,500 if you are a man. Falling below these daily allowances can do real damage to your metabolism and result in excessive loss of lean muscle tissue."
So, while I work on getting in a few more carbs and uping my intake I will still be working on other areas of my life that could possibly be the problem. Since I don't know exactly what I am doing wrong, best advice I have received so far is to reevaluate EVERYTHING!
While researching on how and what I should change, I found in the August 2003 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine an article by David L. Katz, MD, a professor at Yale University School of Medicine. He says "Reconsider the skin you're in: A plateau is an opportunity to reassess whether further weight loss is worth all the work it will take—and to reconsider whether you may, in truth, now be at a perfectly healthy weight and don't need to go any lower. If you do choose to stop where you are, turn your focus toward maintaining what you've achieved and keeping your body in good shape. Remember, eating well and being physically active are good for you. Do a little of both every day, and you will be a total success." Now, I know I have at least another 75 pounds to lose before I am personally at the high end of the target weight for my height and gender. But, there will eventually come a time when I have those vanity pounds that I am wanting to lose. At that time his advice is something I should recall. LOL! But until then I have more work to do.
So, I continued searching and came across a suggestion on WebMD.com that I really like. They labeled it "Push the Envelope Past That Plateau" and go on to to say, "Hitting the treadmill every day for a 30-minute walk or doing the neighborhood loop with your buddies gets your body into a groove. After a while, your muscles get used to the routine and become very efficient at doing the task at hand.To keep your muscles guessing -- and performing the ultimate calorie burn -- vary your physical activity. And push the envelope to power past that plateau! For example, during your 30-minute treadmill session, include a few intervals at higher speed or at a higher incline (climb hills if you're walking outside). Sustain this higher intensity for a few minutes, and then return to your comfort level. After you recover, do it again -- and again. This will help you burn more calories and blast through the plateau.Also make sure your routine includes strength-training exercises (like weight lifting), which help counteract muscle loss due to aging. Building and preserving muscle mass is a key factor in reaching a healthy weight, as muscle requires more calories to maintain than fat."
This I can do! While only a couple weeks ago I rearranged my workouts I didn't drastically shake up what I was doing. I added some new and very challenging classes but my normal everyday workout has not changed much. So, my new plan based on this advice is to make little changes that count. Instead of my normal 30 minute warm-up on the bike being in the standard weightloss mode I am going to change over to the interval program. As well as, swapping the warm-up for 30 minutes on the ARC Trainer or Rowing Machine. Simple, but, something I have not consciously done before.
This at least gives me a place to start. Quite a few of the lists I read of things to do to get over a plateau don't really apply to me. So, as in everything I read, I take what I can use and file away the rest. So, I have finally finished writing this for the 4th time, ugh! Pretty sure my original was the most brilliant of them all, but, got to keep trying. Hehehe. I wish you luck if you are plateaued yourself at the moment. Because this SUCKS! But, I am no where near giving up! I am determined. I am stubborn. I am ready. I am smart. I got this! Hey, whatever mantra you need to use to stay motivated and not throw your hands up screaming "I QUIT", go for it! Chant away! Heck, send it to me and I will chant right along with you!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Here are some od the articles I read in case you would like to read them for yourself: (I apologize that these are not linked-links but as much trouble as I had with Blogger since last night....I am proud I even had this many saved to share. Happy reading! )
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/weight-loss/in-depth/weight-loss-plateau/art-20044615
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/10-ways-to-move-beyond-a-weight-loss-plateau
http://www.oprah.com/health/Weight-Loss-Advice-Fitness-Plateau-Dr-Katz
http://www.jillianmichaels.com/fit/lose-weight/break-through-weight-loss-plateau
http://www.builtlean.com/2012/05/22/weight-loss-plateau/
http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/healthy-eating/how-to-break-a-weight-loss-plateau
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/3-surprising-ways-break-through-your-weight-loss-plateau
What is a weight-loss plateau? Well, according to the Mayo Clinic, "A weight-loss plateau occurs when you no longer lose weight despite continuing with your exercise and healthy-eating habits. Being stuck at a weight-loss plateau eventually happens to everyone who is trying to lose weight. Although hitting a plateau is common, most people are surprised when it happens to them, for they believed that if they just maintained a reduced-calorie diet, they would continue to lose weight. The frustrating reality is that even well-planned weight-loss efforts often become stalled." I try to look for the good things happening, namely NSV or Non-Scale Victories when the evil scale says I am not making progress... but, even those are few and far between at the moment. Which is causing me great stress!
Mayo goes on to explain, "A plateau occurs because your metabolism — the process of burning calories for energy — slows as you lose muscle. You burn fewer calories than you did at your heavier weight even doing the same activities. Your weight-loss efforts result in a new equilibrium with your now slower metabolism."
One of my problems I am trying to overcome is calorie intake which keeps bottoming out my metabolism. I don't have the same issue most people in this country has of excessive amounts of calories being consumed. Mine is the complete opposite. It goes against everything I was ever told growing up. You know, "eat less and you will lose the weight" or the hateful remark "skipping a few meals wouldn't kill you, you know". I have never been an emotional eater or one that eats just because they were bored. Now, after weightloss surgery I have run into the problem of being nauseous all day so, putting food in my mouth is the last thing I want to do. Instead, I get stuck on working out to exhaustion instead. But, I know I am not helping my cause any. There are more days then not that I only get 300 calories in. I am not hungry so I have to purposely plan when to eat. Problem is, I keep going back to very low calorie options out of habit. Granted I choose high protein options so I can get in my minimum requirement of 60 grams of protein each day. Some days I still completely fail.
I know how counterproductive too few calories can be but getting my head to really believe it is a battle I am still raging. I came across the website of celebrity trainer Jillian Michaels. She broke it down like this, "When you have a smaller amount of weight to lose, your body is already healthy, which makes it tougher to lose weight. What people in this situation often do is cut more calories or increase their time at the gym, but this method will not work. All that does is slow your metabolism down and send your body into starvation mode. The best quick fix is to give your body a little more food so it feels secure. Varying your calorie intake is my best advice for keeping your body from plateauing. For the next three days, vary your calorie intake between 1,800 and 2,400 calories. I know this may sound crazy, but trust me — I know what I'm doing. After three days, drop back down to your usual calorie allowance. Remember, never allow your daily calorie allowance to fall below 1,200 if you are a woman and 1,500 if you are a man. Falling below these daily allowances can do real damage to your metabolism and result in excessive loss of lean muscle tissue."
So, while I work on getting in a few more carbs and uping my intake I will still be working on other areas of my life that could possibly be the problem. Since I don't know exactly what I am doing wrong, best advice I have received so far is to reevaluate EVERYTHING!
While researching on how and what I should change, I found in the August 2003 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine an article by David L. Katz, MD, a professor at Yale University School of Medicine. He says "Reconsider the skin you're in: A plateau is an opportunity to reassess whether further weight loss is worth all the work it will take—and to reconsider whether you may, in truth, now be at a perfectly healthy weight and don't need to go any lower. If you do choose to stop where you are, turn your focus toward maintaining what you've achieved and keeping your body in good shape. Remember, eating well and being physically active are good for you. Do a little of both every day, and you will be a total success." Now, I know I have at least another 75 pounds to lose before I am personally at the high end of the target weight for my height and gender. But, there will eventually come a time when I have those vanity pounds that I am wanting to lose. At that time his advice is something I should recall. LOL! But until then I have more work to do.
So, I continued searching and came across a suggestion on WebMD.com that I really like. They labeled it "Push the Envelope Past That Plateau" and go on to to say, "Hitting the treadmill every day for a 30-minute walk or doing the neighborhood loop with your buddies gets your body into a groove. After a while, your muscles get used to the routine and become very efficient at doing the task at hand.To keep your muscles guessing -- and performing the ultimate calorie burn -- vary your physical activity. And push the envelope to power past that plateau! For example, during your 30-minute treadmill session, include a few intervals at higher speed or at a higher incline (climb hills if you're walking outside). Sustain this higher intensity for a few minutes, and then return to your comfort level. After you recover, do it again -- and again. This will help you burn more calories and blast through the plateau.Also make sure your routine includes strength-training exercises (like weight lifting), which help counteract muscle loss due to aging. Building and preserving muscle mass is a key factor in reaching a healthy weight, as muscle requires more calories to maintain than fat."
This I can do! While only a couple weeks ago I rearranged my workouts I didn't drastically shake up what I was doing. I added some new and very challenging classes but my normal everyday workout has not changed much. So, my new plan based on this advice is to make little changes that count. Instead of my normal 30 minute warm-up on the bike being in the standard weightloss mode I am going to change over to the interval program. As well as, swapping the warm-up for 30 minutes on the ARC Trainer or Rowing Machine. Simple, but, something I have not consciously done before.
This at least gives me a place to start. Quite a few of the lists I read of things to do to get over a plateau don't really apply to me. So, as in everything I read, I take what I can use and file away the rest. So, I have finally finished writing this for the 4th time, ugh! Pretty sure my original was the most brilliant of them all, but, got to keep trying. Hehehe. I wish you luck if you are plateaued yourself at the moment. Because this SUCKS! But, I am no where near giving up! I am determined. I am stubborn. I am ready. I am smart. I got this! Hey, whatever mantra you need to use to stay motivated and not throw your hands up screaming "I QUIT", go for it! Chant away! Heck, send it to me and I will chant right along with you!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Here are some od the articles I read in case you would like to read them for yourself: (I apologize that these are not linked-links but as much trouble as I had with Blogger since last night....I am proud I even had this many saved to share. Happy reading! )
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/weight-loss/in-depth/weight-loss-plateau/art-20044615
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/10-ways-to-move-beyond-a-weight-loss-plateau
http://www.oprah.com/health/Weight-Loss-Advice-Fitness-Plateau-Dr-Katz
http://www.jillianmichaels.com/fit/lose-weight/break-through-weight-loss-plateau
http://www.builtlean.com/2012/05/22/weight-loss-plateau/
http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/healthy-eating/how-to-break-a-weight-loss-plateau
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/3-surprising-ways-break-through-your-weight-loss-plateau
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