Help, the Scale STILL isn’t moving!
Awhile back I introduced a common scenario that many of us face. Let me remind you of the scenario…your goal is to lose weight. You have been working hard in the gym and with eating healthier over the past four months. Things have been good, you have been losing one pound weekly, then all of a sudden…nothing. You have stuck to your same fitness routines and been following the same healthy eating habits but nothing has changed on your scale for 4 weeks! You’ve hit a fat loss plateau! What happened, and more importantly, what can be done to make that scale start moving in the right direction again?
This is a hot topic that so many of my clients face, so I want to introduce a few more things that may be going on in the scenario, and what we can do about it to keep you progressing.
3 More Reasons you may be hitting a fat loss plateau:
1. You don’t need as many calories after you lose weight.
Calorie requirements are tied directly to body weight. After losing weight, many people continuing eating the same way they did when they were heavier. But when you’re a smaller person, you don’t need as many calories as before. You’re not using up as many calories even at rest because your basal metabolic rate is lower. So make sure as the scale goes down, so too, do your portions.
2. When you move around your smaller body, you’re not burning as many calories.
You can easily test out this statement by grabbing a heavy set of weights in the gym this week, and getting onto the treadmill. You’ll quickly realize that it’s a lot more work to move around while holding the heavy weights. The heavier you are, the more calories you’re burning through physical exertion.
To help turn this around, try the following tips:
The Squat is a great strength training exercise, working most of your lower body muscles.
- Step it up! Push yourself a little harder in each fitness session by lifting a little more weight or completing a few more reps. Hire a professional if you’re having difficulties with this.
- Grab those heavy weights while performing some of your cardio exercises. This will replicate the work you used to have to do before the weight loss.
- Increase the time you spend working out.
- Track your food consumption more closely. You may either forget to record part of your food intake or have a distorted perception of your portions. Food tracking requires self-honesty and proper documentation for a period of time before getting it right. Research shows that many of us underestimate how much we’re eating by up to 50%. In a ‘super-size me’ world filled with buffets and huge dinner plates, this is an easy thing to do. I have many of my clients track their food consumption by sending me pictures for a week. This gives me a good idea of what they’re consistently consuming. It gives us a starting point on what to start tackling first.
To Sum it Up…
In summary, there are often many things going on to cause a fat loss plateau. Remember that your new, smaller body doesn’t need as many calories, nor does it burn as many calories as before. Reducing your calories or stepping it up at the gym are strategies that can be used to help you through your plateau. In order to restrict calories, you have to have a good understanding of what you are consuming, via proper food tracking. What strategy you choose depends on what makes the most sense with your current lifestyle.
I hope these tips help you get through any type of weight loss plateau you may be facing.