Everyone has faced it at one time or another, a weight plateau. You may be doing almost everything right but still can’t lose more weight. You notice the word almost was used. That’s because there are things you can do to beat a weight loss plateau that can make a big difference. What is plateauing and why does it occur? Sometimes, plateauing occurs for a week or two, but it doesn’t mean you aren’t losing fat, it just means you aren’t losing weight. There’s a big difference. Muscle tissue weighs more per cubic inch than fat tissue does, it’s also more compact. That means a pound of muscle tissue would require a much smaller container than a pound of fat. While you might not be losing weight, you probably are replacing fat tissue with muscle tissue, so you look thinner.
Doing the same thing repeatedly can cause you to plateau.
Have you been doing the same routine for months without making any changes? Maybe that’s why you’re having problems with weight loss. The longer you do the same type of motion, such as a specific exercise, your body becomes more efficient at doing that motion. The more efficient your body becomes, the fewer calories you burn. Rather than sticking with the same workout for months or years, vary it frequently.
Maybe sticking with the same caloric intake should be considered.
Weighing more than should is like constantly carrying around a weight. If it’s thirty pounds extra, you’re burning a lot of calories, as you would carrying a thirty pound weight. When you start to lose weight, unless you’re building muscle tissue, you’re caloric requirement will drop. It’s like doing lifts with 30-pound weights and then changing the routine to use ten pound weights. It’s often why that last ten pounds is hardest. Another way to trick your metabolism is to have a cheat day. A cheat day means eating some of your favorite high calorie foods, but not overdoing it. Cheat days help keep your metabolism higher and a slower metabolism means burning fewer calories.
Get all types of training, strength, flexibility, endurance and balance.
Are you drinking enough water? That may be part of the plateauing problem. Water can help curb your appetite, act like a diuretic, flush out toxins and fill you up. Drink a glass of water before you eat and you’ll eat less.
- Get more sleep. Not only does lack of sleep cause you to work less efficiently, it also makes you hungrier. Lack of sleep causes you to produce less hormone that makes you feel full and more of the hormone that makes you feel hungry.
- Keep a food diary to make sure you aren’t eating food you don’t realize. Do you lick spoons when you’re cooking, grab a handful of candy as you pass the dish on your friend’s desk or even finish the last spoonful of potatoes so it doesn’t go to waste? It all adds up to extra calories.
- Vary your diet and make sure you have adequate protein. You not only need protein to build muscle tissue, it also helps you feel fuller sooner and stay fuller longer.
For more information, contact us today at UpFit Training Academy
