Help, the Scale isn’t moving!

Here is the scenario…your goal is to lose weight. You have been working hard in the gym and eating healthier over the past two months. Things have been good, you have been loosing a pound weekly, then all of a sudden…nothing. You have stuck to your same fitness routine and been following the same healthy eating habits but nothing has changed on your scale for 8 weeks! What happened, why are you plateauing and more importantly, what can be done to make that scale start moving in the right direction again?

First, make sure that you have in fact, stalled. The weight on the scale is not the best measure to confirm this. Many people’s weight can fluctuate a few pounds due to the time of day, water intake, monthly cycles, your last bowel movement and what you have consumed over the past few days. Also, unless it is the scale in the doctor’s office, scales are not always accurate. I can stand on various scales in different places and see up to a half pound swing. Measurements and pictures are very important. I have had clients who haven’t moved a pound on the scale but who are decreasing in measurements and we’re able to see it in the photos. Remember, muscles is heavier than fat so taking measurements and pictures is very important during your weight loss journey.

If your measurements and the pictures turn up with no changes over the 8 week duration as well, it probably is time to shake things up a little.

Here are 3 things I do in the gym to push through weight loss plateauing with my clients:

1. Increase duration of activity.

• Get your body moving more! We are all busy, many of us do not have more time for the gym, I get it. A great way to increase your time spent moving is add in a few extra minutes daily. Try one of the following actions:
  Walk when going short distances. Park at the back of a parking lot, get off the subway or bus 1 stop early.
• Take the stairs, rather than the elevator or escalator.
• Embrace the commercial. March on the spot, perform planks and leg lifts during these TV breaks.
• Move around at your office. Take a few minute break hourly to stretch or walk around; use the restroom on different floor or farther from your office; visit colleagues, versus emailing or phoning them.
• Using a pedometer or Fitbit is a great way to track increases in your everyday movement. These small changes can lead to a drop in pounds and inches.

2. Increase exercise intensity.

You want to sweat when you are working out! Try pushing yourself that extra little bit each time you are in the gym. If you comfortably performed 15 squats using a 40 pound weight last week, it may be time to increase the weight to 50 pounds. If you comfortably completed a 30 minute routine last week, you may be ready to push it for 35 minutes this week. You get the idea.

3. Add variety to your workouts.

A wise man once said:

Performing the exact same exercises, in the same order with the same weight week over week will not produce everlasting results. There are so many fun and innovative ways to add variety into your fitness plans. Add variety into your routine with one of these ideas:

1. Different exercise tools. I love working with the TRX suspension trainer, lebert equalizers, the Bosu ball balance trainer, gliding discs and the Halo Trainer.
2. Switching your sets. Try inserting supersets, drop sets, or circuit training into your routines.
3. Adding in HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). Many of my clients love Tabata style training – this is when you complete 8 sets of one exercise for 20 seconds at a high-intensity with a 10 second rest in between.

You may need the assistance of a workout buddy or a personal trainer to help get you outside your comfort level and that is OK.

Plateauing can happen to us all. In this blog, we covered the 3 strategies I do in the gym to push my clients through weight loss plateaus. In next week’s blog, I’ll give you 3 more ideas to keep you progressing with your results. Stay tuned!