What Is A Weight Loss Plateau And How To Deal With Blocks

This podcast will address what we call a weight loss plateau, the reasons behind it and some of the tools we have that will help you to deal with it and successfully move on.

What is a weight loss plateau?

A weight loss plateau is where you are losing weight and then it stops for some unknowable cause / reason. According to the Oxford Englsih disctionary, to plateau (out) is to ‘stay at a steady level after a period of growth or progress.’ In this instance your progresss would be the week-in, week-out steady weight loss until you plateau.

Plateaus are a normal part of the weight loss process. When we look at the weight loss graph of clients it is generally not linear, it will be in step-wise fashion – lose weight-plataeu-lose weight-plateau. This is normal but for some people this plateau can be naturally frustrating where, despite you best efforts, there is not weight loss in that week.

What’s going on?

First of all, do not panic. Have faith that this plateau will pass and that you will continue to lose weight. Because it will pass.

Switch things up. Open your Motivation Food guide and look through the rich array of foods that you can add to your weight loss regime. Try new vegetables. Check out the Motivation website or the mobile app for new recipes. Change is key. Try new protein sources. You may be getting most of your protein from meat and chicken. Try fish or plant-based proteins. We do know that when pope change their food that it tends to kickstart the metabolism as well.

Shake up your routine in terms of exercise. It is not a requirement to exercise to lose weight but if you do it will considerably improve your weight loss results.

Are you keeping track of things by using your Food Diary? If you are not keeping track of your intake then calories can easily creep back up, thus undermining your weight loss efforts. We can’t stress how important it is to maintain your Food Diary. Those that do are 50% more likely to lose weight and to maintain that weight loss.

Complacency is a common occurrence – ‘I know everything and I’m doing ok’. Take the opportunity to go back to the clinic, weigh in, reinvigorate your enthusiasm with the help of your weight loss advisor.

Check your fibre intake! Variety is important so look to broaden the range of vegetables that you eat.

Cut back on salt. We advocate an unprocessed diet but we acknowledge that due to time constraints, people may have to elect for processed food on occasions. If so, pay particular attention here as salt-rich foods can lead to water retention which can act as a foil to your weight loss efforts.

Are you drinking enough water? A bad day for a client might be one glass or water or none at all. Overlook water intake and it will have a detrimental effect on your weight loss efforts. Dehydration causes fatigue and you won’t be as motivated to exercise and in addition, and we don’t know why, but when you are hydrated, your metabolism fires at a higher calorie burn rate.

Are you overwhelmed or stressed? This can happen during a plateau and the negative voice can creep back in. You can spend a few days becoming aware of your negative thoughts or perfectionist ways of thinking.

Try and note them in your daily diary and you might be surprised how often they are coming up. Your audio programming files are important here. Reconnect asap with your weight loss advisor and they will help you address this issue.

If you’ve fallen off the wagon altogether, don’t set yourself excessive or unrealistic goals.

Don’t say you are going to hit the gym five days a week.

Start small and build on that. Commit to small changes and celebrate each one along the way. All these successes add up.

GET EXCITED!

Get excited again about why you started your journey.

Visualise the new you, not just how you look but how you feel.

Get inspired by others. Look on our blog, listen to our client podcasts and success stories for inspiration.

Think about the benefits, not the challenges.