Well, my dear dieter.
I think you already know what I'm talking about.
Here you are, ten pounds lighter, enjoying the happiness of
being able to tell everybody that all your efforts were
rewarded, when suddenly...YOU STOP LOOSING WEIGHT.
Frequently there are still those final pounds you need to
get rid of, the most stubborn ones.
What the @&%(#!
The Plateau effect has been known for about twenty years as
the phases where the body "refuses" getting thinner. It's
like the metabolism enters a slow-motion state. Even
reducing calories and increasing physical activities don't
seem to work.
It usually comes when you reach a 10 to 15% of weight loss.
Some causes may be:
- Overestimated goals: You don't need to loose anything and
your body knows it.
- Less exercise: Maybe you didn't notice it, but you may
have diminished the time or frequency of your workout.
- Doing only aerobics: It's known that weight exercises are
an essential complement to any fitness program.
- High restriction diet: Some people fail to eat enough!
Too many hours without food are equally bad for your
metabolism.
Your body has a memory and all your glands, subcutaneous
fat cells and digestive system are programmed to respect
what they thin it's a health weight.
The problem is that the fashion magazines keep pushing in
on what THEY think it's as ideal weight.
Your metabolism has hundreds of years of "experience" in
hunger and disease, since the cavemen. It gets scared when
you try to eat fewer calories and start to "save" for the
future, by slowing the consumption.
This is not bad; it's a defense mechanism that has
protected a lot of pregnant women and entire ancient
civilizations from dying during winters and wars.
Now we have plenty of food (In some countries. Don't forget
to thank God for this), microwave ovens and tasty marvelous
carbohydrates. With the abundance of food, we don't need
that defense anymore.
But you will just have to accept it.
You can restart your metabolism using these tips:
- Change and increase your activity: You can exercise up to
five times a week with a sixty minute program. Ask your
Personal Trainer for orientation and avoid ultra-low
calories diets if exercising.
- Start resistance training: Use weights to create more
fat- burning muscles.
- Drink more water: Water is an essential catalyzed for a
lot of biochemical reactions in your body, don't overlook
it.
- Reassess what and how much you are eating: Never skip
breakfast, and try to stick with a three or four hour
maximum interval between meals. Is your calories table
accurate? Are you really counting everything? Desserts too!
Don't forget that sometimes your weight is stationary, but
in reality your organism has replaced fat with muscles.
This is good, but doesn't show in the scale! Only the fat
percentage exam can show this.
Avoid weighing yourself around the menstrual period. It's a
hormonal mess and frequently causes overestimation of your
weight.
Always empty your bladder before, and weigh only in the
morning.
The plateau effect is a matter of "WHEN", not "IF".
It WILL happen, but the closer you get to your healthy
weight, the least important it will be.
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