Oh No, Plateau!
August 21, 2013Plateaus 101
You’re eating on track by making healthy food choices, staying active with regular exercise, doing everything right and you’re regularly losing weight. Then...Bam, it happens! Your weight loss stalls and you’re stuck on a plateau. Plateaus are one of the most frustrating occurrences while losing weight. Although they happen to all of us, it doesn’t matter when things come to a screeching halt for you. You may think “How can this happen when I’m doing everything right?” Sometimes, a plateau can derail your weight loss effort.
When you reach a plateau, it may seem as if nothing is going on in your body and with your weight loss, but that’s not true. When you know more about plateaus, what causes them, and what to do, you will be able to outlast your plateau!
What causes a weight loss plateau?
Plateaus are common and a part of losing weight. In fact, they serve a purpose. Depending on the person and the weight loss surgery procedure, your body will respond by quickly losing weight. On an average, a new post-op can expect a plateau to occur at four to eight weeks. This is your body’s way of taking a breath and readjusting to the surgery and change in dietary consumption.
In addition, the body reacts to your initial weight loss efforts the same as someone trying to lose weight without WLS. When calories from food are reduced, the body gets needed energy by releasing its stores of glycogen. Glycogen is a type of carbohydrate found in the muscles and liver. Glycogen holds onto water, so when glycogen is burned for energy, it also releases the water...approximately 4 grams of water for every gram of glycogen.
As you can see from all of the internal physical changes your body has made, a plateau is an n understandable reaction. Whenever you work hard at something, you take breaks. Your body has worked hard and its way of taking a break is through a plateau.
Your weight loss efforts result in a new equilibrium for your body and may mean a slower metabolism. This means in order to lose more weight, you may need to increase your muscle mass, increase activity and/or decrease the calories you eat.
How to overcome a weight loss plateau?
→ Review and increase your activity with a focus on weight resistance exercise. You need muscle mass for body functions, walking, and simple activities such as carrying groceries and even breathing! It is imperative that you rebuild muscle mass. Focus on weight resistant activities such as lifting free weights, using resistance bands and walking. The more you practice these types of activities, the more lean body mass you will build and retain. Weight training builds muscle mass.
The more muscle mass you have, the greater your metabolic rate will be. This results in more calories being burned, which will hopefully help to kick-start your weight loss again.You can see how important retaining your lean tissue and muscle is. Building lean muscle mass will help bust through the most pesky of plateaus.
→ Check out your cardio activity. Consider increasing the length of time you exercise by an extra 15 to 30 minutes. You can also boost the intensity of your exercise if possible.
→ Include more activity into your day. Think outside the gym. Park away from work and spend a few extra minutes walking to your office, take the stairs instead of an elevator, do more yard work or gardening, take a walk after dinner or put on some favorite tunes and dance.
→ Shake it up. If you’ve been doing the same exercise routine for a while, your body may have become accustomed and doesn’t need to use as much energy as it used to. Shake up your exercise. If you normally do an hour of cardio, switch to an hour of kickboxing or swimming to give your body a new challenge.
→ Adjust your caloric consumption. Your new slimmer body doesn’t need as many calories as it used to, but don’t starve yourself. This will slow your metabolism down as your body will try to hang onto fat rather than burn it for energy. Talk with your registered dietician for any changes you need to make.
→ Review your habits. Have you slipped into larger portions of food? Are you eating more carbs? Are you grazing? Are you eating enough protein to sustain your satiety from meals? Take this opportunity to revisit and readjust your food choices.
Plateaus, whether they relate to weight, to your job, or your closest relationship, are a call to charge things up again, refine your strategies and keep moving forward. Don’t give up and maintain your current weight or, worse yet, drown your sorrows by emotional eating.
Remember that a plateau is completely normal. Don’t beat yourself up about it. If you can get past this stage, you are more likely to keep the weight off for good.
Whatever you do, don't revert back to your old eating and exercise habits. That may cause you to regain the weight that you've already lost, which will only increase your frustration. Believe in yourself and know that you are stronger than a plateau.
 | ABOUT THE AUTHOR Cathy Wilson, PCC, BCC, had RNY surgery in 2001 and lost 147 pounds. Cathy is a regular contributor to the OH Blog and authored the "Mind Matters" column in ObesityHelp Magazine. Cathy is a licensed pilot and loves flying. She is a member of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) and the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC).Read more articles by Cathy! |
