You’ve been working hard following a plan to help you lose weight – and you’ve been getting steady and consistent results. And even better, you feel GREAT!
But then suddenly… STUCK! All of your progress suddenly stops. The scale doesn’t budge, and it’s as if your body REFUSES to lose more weight. You’ve hit a plateau. It might feel more like a brick wall – and it’s blocking you from reaching your goals. If you are in this situation this blog is for you.
The quick drop of weight when you first start eating a healthier diet can actually be water weight (not fat). This happens because when you eat less or eat fewer carbs, your body taps into its glycogen stores to get the energy it needs. Glycogen is stored in your muscles and liver.
It’s partly made of water, so when your body burns glycogen for energy, that water gets released. That can translate into quickly dropping a few to several pounds. This effect is just temporary, though.
When you lose weight, you lose some muscle along with fat. In fact, it’s estimated that 25 – 60% of the body tissue lost while performing aerobic exercise comes from muscle and a whopping 90% when following a low calorie starvation type diet! (We’re going to talk more about this later.)
This affects your metabolism because muscle burns approximately 90% of your calories. That can make a dramatic difference obviously.
Some foods can cause your body to retain water, especially for women. Top offenders are foods high in carbohydrates (one tip: the second half of the word is “HYDRATE”) and sodium.
Changing your body composition is a marathon, not a sprint! It takes time to safely lose weight, and that also means that over time, it’s pretty normal for even the most conscientious person to unconsciously start adding a little extra to their snacks or meals.
Again, those extra calories add up.
Our bodies are incredibly complex. Everything from our stress level to how much sleep we are getting can create hormonal shifts that affect how our body functions – and how our body uses the food we eat.
This is a good news–bad news situation. This can be a sign that you’ve gotten FITTER because your program is no longer challenging your body the way it used to.
But it also can be a sign that you have to mix things up and change what you’re doing! It might not require a complete overhaul, but it could mean layering in more intense workouts, different kinds of workouts, more rest days, etc.
Everyone Plateaus. It’s what you do next that counts. This is an area where working with an experienced coach can make a tremendous difference!
They’ll be able to help you pinpoint exactly what variables need to be adjusted. Do share if you wish to add any points to this list.
We have designed an entire eBook on this topic – Break Through Your Plateau Guide. You can download it for free here.
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