The Weight-Loss Plateau Seven Steps To Help

[Guest guest]

THE WEIGHT-LOSS PLATEAU

By L. Katz, M.D.

One of the most common frustrations in weight loss is when all progress halts,

despite the fact that you are diligently following your plan. Such plateaus are

predictable and explainable. Basal metabolic rate (BMR)—the energy required to

keep the heart pumping, lungs expanding, kidneys filtering and all other vital

bodily functions going when the body is at rest—accounts for 60 to 70 percent of

the calories you burn and depends, for the most part, on body mass. When

weight-loss occurs, body mass goes down; so does BMR.

Consider an example: You weigh 162 pounds and eat 1,900 calories a day. To lose

a pound a week, you've got to cut between 500 and 600 calories per day. So you

restrict yourself to 1,400 calories, and the weight comes off. But suddenly,

after week six, the scale refuses to budge. This is because with the weight

loss, your BMR has also declined, and where your body used to burn 1,368

calories per day, now it's using only 1,080. At this weight, there's less of you

to move around, so you burn fewer calories working out and waste fewer calories

as heat. All in all, your daily calorie expenditure is now pretty close to what

you're taking in. You've hit a new—and probably very annoying—equilibrium.

What to Do When You Hit the Wall

Once you've hit a weight-loss plateau, how can you get past it?

One: Hang in there.

You may feel stuck, but you're probably still losing weight—just not enough to

register on the scale. But even dropping a third of a pound per week means that

in a year, you'll be down a whole 17 pounds.

Two: Avoid fuzzy math.

It's common to overestimate calories burned and underestimate calories eaten.

Look for places where calories may hide—dressings, spreads, sauces, croutons and

condiments. Do you taste while cooking? Finish what the kids leave on their

plates? Absentmindedly grab handfuls of nuts, chips or candy? You might try

keeping a detailed food diary.

Remember that for each pound you want to lose, you need to cut at least 3,500

calories—and if you don't want to eat less, to lose the same pound you'll have

to add about ten extra hours of brisk walking or the equivalent.

Three: Put up some resistance.

Increasing physical activity is particularly useful for moving beyond a plateau,

because exercise both uses calories and builds muscle. The more muscle you have,

the higher your BMR, which is why working out with weights or doing some kind of

resistance training can be especially helpful. In fact, increasing your muscle

mass as you lose body fat can compensate for the decline in BMR induced by

weight loss.

Four: Up your protein quotient.

There is some evidence that shows that shifting fat and carbohydrate calories to

protein calories may help preserve BMR during weight loss. But don't overdo

it—twenty-percent of daily calories from protein is as high as you should go.

Five: Shake it up!

Many fitness gurus claim that surprising your body with a change in diet,

workout or both can jostle you out of a weight loss rut. The science is pretty

thin here, but the advice is reasonable because variety can keep you interested.

Instead of constant dieting, you might try alternating calorie-cutting days, for

example, with less-restrictive maintenance days. Switch to a new type of

exercise. Alternate aerobic workouts with light weight training. A change may be

just what you need to get the progress rolling again.

Six: Recharge your drive.

If your motivation is flagging, write down all the reasons you originally

wanted, and still want, to lose weight. Look at the list every day. Also let

friends and family know what you're up to, and ask for their support.

Seven: Reconsider the skin you're in.

A plateau is an opportunity to reassess whether further weight loss is worth all

the work it will take—and to reconsider whether you may, in truth, now be at a

perfectly healthy weight and don't need to go any lower. If you do choose to

stop where you are, turn your focus toward maintaining what you've achieved and

keeping your body in good shape. Remember, eating well and being physically

active are good for you. Do a little of both every day, and you will be a total

success!

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Shauna,

Good post, I needed to read this after the last couple of weeks........I

need to do something to shake things up and start losing again....

Mike T

The Weight-Loss Plateau Seven Steps To Help

THE WEIGHT-LOSS PLATEAU

By L. Katz, M.D.

One of the most common frustrations in weight loss is when all progress

halts, despite the fact that you are diligently following your plan. Such

plateaus are predictable and explainable. Basal metabolic rate (BMR)-the

energy required to keep the heart pumping, lungs expanding, kidneys

filtering and all other vital bodily functions going when the body is at

rest-accounts for 60 to 70 percent of the calories you burn and depends, for

the most part, on body mass. When weight-loss occurs, body mass goes down;

so does BMR.

Consider an example: You weigh 162 pounds and eat 1,900 calories a day. To

lose a pound a week, you've got to cut between 500 and 600 calories per day.

So you restrict yourself to 1,400 calories, and the weight comes off. But

suddenly, after week six, the scale refuses to budge. This is because with

the weight loss, your BMR has also declined, and where your body used to

burn 1,368 calories per day, now it's using only 1,080. At this weight,

there's less of you to move around, so you burn fewer calories working out

and waste fewer calories as heat. All in all, your daily calorie expenditure

is now pretty close to what you're taking in. You've hit a new-and probably

very annoying-equilibrium.

What to Do When You Hit the Wall

Once you've hit a weight-loss plateau, how can you get past it?

One: Hang in there.

You may feel stuck, but you're probably still losing weight-just not enough

to register on the scale. But even dropping a third of a pound per week

means that in a year, you'll be down a whole 17 pounds.

Two: Avoid fuzzy math.

It's common to overestimate calories burned and underestimate calories

eaten. Look for places where calories may hide-dressings, spreads, sauces,

croutons and condiments. Do you taste while cooking? Finish what the kids

leave on their plates? Absentmindedly grab handfuls of nuts, chips or candy?

You might try keeping a detailed food diary.

Remember that for each pound you want to lose, you need to cut at least

3,500 calories-and if you don't want to eat less, to lose the same pound

you'll have to add about ten extra hours of brisk walking or the equivalent.

Three: Put up some resistance.

Increasing physical activity is particularly useful for moving beyond a

plateau, because exercise both uses calories and builds muscle. The more

muscle you have, the higher your BMR, which is why working out with weights

or doing some kind of resistance training can be especially helpful. In

fact, increasing your muscle mass as you lose body fat can compensate for

the decline in BMR induced by weight loss.

Four: Up your protein quotient.

There is some evidence that shows that shifting fat and carbohydrate

calories to protein calories may help preserve BMR during weight loss. But

don't overdo it-twenty-percent of daily calories from protein is as high as

you should go.

Five: Shake it up!

Many fitness gurus claim that surprising your body with a change in diet,

workout or both can jostle you out of a weight loss rut. The science is

pretty thin here, but the advice is reasonable because variety can keep you

interested. Instead of constant dieting, you might try alternating

calorie-cutting days, for example, with less-restrictive maintenance days.

Switch to a new type of exercise. Alternate aerobic workouts with light

weight training. A change may be just what you need to get the progress

rolling again.

Six: Recharge your drive.

If your motivation is flagging, write down all the reasons you originally

wanted, and still want, to lose weight. Look at the list every day. Also let

friends and family know what you're up to, and ask for their support.

Seven: Reconsider the skin you're in.

A plateau is an opportunity to reassess whether further weight loss is worth

all the work it will take-and to reconsider whether you may, in truth, now

be at a perfectly healthy weight and don't need to go any lower. If you do

choose to stop where you are, turn your focus toward maintaining what you've

achieved and keeping your body in good shape. Remember, eating well and

being physically active are good for you. Do a little of both every day, and

you will be a total success!

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Good, I too needed this as well... I am all messed up this last week, not quite

doing as I would like. I think I need to really start focusing more and become

more dedicated then ever. I just HAVE to keep this going and make this forever.

Mike Tune wrote: Shauna,

Good post, I needed to read this after the last couple of weeks........I

need to do something to shake things up and start losing again....

Mike T

The Weight-Loss Plateau Seven Steps To Help

THE WEIGHT-LOSS PLATEAU

By L. Katz, M.D.

One of the most common frustrations in weight loss is when all progress

halts, despite the fact that you are diligently following your plan. Such

plateaus are predictable and explainable. Basal metabolic rate (BMR)-the

energy required to keep the heart pumping, lungs expanding, kidneys

filtering and all other vital bodily functions going when the body is at

rest-accounts for 60 to 70 percent of the calories you burn and depends, for

the most part, on body mass. When weight-loss occurs, body mass goes down;

so does BMR.

Consider an example: You weigh 162 pounds and eat 1,900 calories a day. To

lose a pound a week, you've got to cut between 500 and 600 calories per day.

So you restrict yourself to 1,400 calories, and the weight comes off. But

suddenly, after week six, the scale refuses to budge. This is because with

the weight loss, your BMR has also declined, and where your body used to

burn 1,368 calories per day, now it's using only 1,080. At this weight,

there's less of you to move around, so you burn fewer calories working out

and waste fewer calories as heat. All in all, your daily calorie expenditure

is now pretty close to what you're taking in. You've hit a new-and probably

very annoying-equilibrium.

What to Do When You Hit the Wall

Once you've hit a weight-loss plateau, how can you get past it?

One: Hang in there.

You may feel stuck, but you're probably still losing weight-just not enough

to register on the scale. But even dropping a third of a pound per week

means that in a year, you'll be down a whole 17 pounds.

Two: Avoid fuzzy math.

It's common to overestimate calories burned and underestimate calories

eaten. Look for places where calories may hide-dressings, spreads, sauces,

croutons and condiments. Do you taste while cooking? Finish what the kids

leave on their plates? Absentmindedly grab handfuls of nuts, chips or candy?

You might try keeping a detailed food diary.

Remember that for each pound you want to lose, you need to cut at least

3,500 calories-and if you don't want to eat less, to lose the same pound

you'll have to add about ten extra hours of brisk walking or the equivalent.

Three: Put up some resistance.

Increasing physical activity is particularly useful for moving beyond a

plateau, because exercise both uses calories and builds muscle. The more

muscle you have, the higher your BMR, which is why working out with weights

or doing some kind of resistance training can be especially helpful. In

fact, increasing your muscle mass as you lose body fat can compensate for

the decline in BMR induced by weight loss.

Four: Up your protein quotient.

There is some evidence that shows that shifting fat and carbohydrate

calories to protein calories may help preserve BMR during weight loss. But

don't overdo it-twenty-percent of daily calories from protein is as high as

you should go.

Five: Shake it up!

Many fitness gurus claim that surprising your body with a change in diet,

workout or both can jostle you out of a weight loss rut. The science is

pretty thin here, but the advice is reasonable because variety can keep you

interested. Instead of constant dieting, you might try alternating

calorie-cutting days, for example, with less-restrictive maintenance days.

Switch to a new type of exercise. Alternate aerobic workouts with light

weight training. A change may be just what you need to get the progress

rolling again.

Six: Recharge your drive.

If your motivation is flagging, write down all the reasons you originally

wanted, and still want, to lose weight. Look at the list every day. Also let

friends and family know what you're up to, and ask for their support.

Seven: Reconsider the skin you're in.

A plateau is an opportunity to reassess whether further weight loss is worth

all the work it will take-and to reconsider whether you may, in truth, now

be at a perfectly healthy weight and don't need to go any lower. If you do

choose to stop where you are, turn your focus toward maintaining what you've

achieved and keeping your body in good shape. Remember, eating well and

being physically active are good for you. Do a little of both every day, and

you will be a total success!

__________________________________________________