Weight loss plateaus can be very frustrating and there are many factors that can contribute to them! Below are just a few to consider if you have hit a weight loss plateau!
- You are only focused on the scale! It is important to measure your progress with more than just the scale. Take measurements and consider your body composition when tracking your progress. In many cases the scale might not be moving but you are still dropping inches!
- You are not tracking your food intake. You may think you are eating low carb, you may think you are getting enough protein, you may think your calories are in line but if you are not truly tracking everything that passes your lips then how do you really know. Sometimes we get lacks about our tracking, we think we are eating basically the same things every day and don’t need to track. In many cases you are getting far more than you think you are, not enough to cause weight gain but just enough to create a weight plateau. Get back to tracking with MyFitnessPal.
- Your macros are out of whack! Your protein is too low, your carbs are too high, you are not getting enough calories, you are getting too many calories, etc. If your macros (carbs, pro, fat) are not in the right balance it will affect your weight loss. Aim for adequate protein intake 60-80g a day, aim for good carb control, 100g or less and keep your calories in check!
- You are not making good fluid choices! Going back to consuming sneaking calories and carbs in fluid can really shut down weight loss. Sweet tea, sport drinks, coffee drinks, juices, sodas, etc are loaded with carbs and sugar. This excess intake can really affect your bottom line. Aim to drink a lot of water throughout the day!
- You are not exercising or you are not doing the right type of exercise. Exercise will definitely increase your weight loss but it is important to make sure that you are doing the best form of exercise to maximize your results. If your exercise program involves getting on the treadmill or elliptical for 30 minutes or walking outside for a few miles then this is why you are not losing! Steady state cardio does not effectively promote weight loss. It is important to incorporate high intensity interval training with your cardio and strength training! HIT and strength workouts will give you the biggest bang for your buck! You will be able to spend less time at the gym and see more results!
- You are not getting enough sleep and or have too much stress. If you are not getting 7-9 hours of quality sleep nightly you are just making weight loss much harder. Sleep affects everything from appetite to glucose metabolism. Are you stressed? Stress effects hormone levels especially cortisol which contributes to belly fat, motivation and weight loss! Make good sleep and stress management a priority to get back to losing again!
- You’re being impatient. It’s been a month and you have lost 5 pounds. Great, or is it? To a lot of people this is failure. They are not getting back what they put in and so they give up! Weight loss takes time and like mentioned above the scale is not always a good predictor of your progress! Expecting to lose more than 1 pound a week is just normally unrealistic. You may see big numbers when you start but usually it will level off to 1 pound a week. Therefore if you need to lose 50 pounds you should give yourself at least 50 weeks to do so! Get it out of your mind that weight loss is a week to week event. You may not lose for 3-4 weeks and then overnight drop 4 pounds. Focus on developing a healthy, sustainable lifestyle so that your weight loss will accumulate over time AND more importantly you can finally keep it off for good.
Do you need help getting back to losing weight? Have you hit a weight loss plateau? Let me help you get back to losing pounds and inches! let me help you create a faster metabolism, build more lean muscle and give you the tool to create life long weight loss success! More info at link below for clients who have not had any surigical weight loss procedures!
