Break through your Weight Loss Plateau

So you’ve worked hard, you’ve stuck to your diet and exercise routine and seen great results and then you’ve hit it… a weight loss plateau. This can be extremely disappointing. The feeling of stepping on the scale after yet another week of dedicated diet and exercise management, only to find that you again haven’t progressed any further, can be very upsetting.

When you hit a weight loss plateau, your weight may not change for weeks, which can sabotage your confidence and focus. In reality, most people working towards a healthier body weight will have to deal with this weight loss phenomenon at some stage.

So what is this Weight Loss Plateau and Why Does it Happen?

A weight loss plateau refers to a period of time where your weight remains constant even though you’ve continued along your fitness plan. It is quite normal however to experience this halted period of progress.

There are multiple reasons why a weight loss plateau may occur:

Slowing Metabolism

During weight loss your body loses fat along with a little muscle mass. As muscles help regulate your body’s metabolism, the weight loss may slow your metabolism. The more weight you lose, the harder it is to lose weight.

Body Adapting

The human body adapts very quickly to changes in diet and exercise, becoming use to it and not continuing to responding to the same extent. For this reason you need to make constant changes.

Comfort Zone

Some people may slack off a bit after initial weight loss. They believe that they are still following their fitness plan properly, but overlooking food portions and quantities and not pushing themselves as hard when exercising. You need to remain honest with yourself on your weight loss and fitness journey.

How do you push through this plateau?

Adjust your Diet

Give your diet a shake-up. Change what and when you are eating. Reduce your carbohydrate intake and increase your protein intake. Eat regularly and often. Do NOT starve yourself in hopes of losing weight, eating too little can halt your weight loss and impact your exercise efforts. Make sure you continue to drink plenty of water too!

Mix up your Exercise Routine

Just as with your diet, your exercise routine needs to change. Your body quickly gets use to the same routine and needs to be constantly challenged. Continue to train harder and increase your exercise intensity. (Check out the Core Results 12 Phase programme)

Incorporate strength and resistance training into your exercise route to focus on building muscle and continue to boost your metabolic rate.

Get Enough Sleep

Many people don’t realise, but lack of sleep can have a massive effect on their weight loss efforts. Lack of sleep slows down the metabolism and also leads to increased levels of stress hormones, which have been associated with weight gain. When you are tired you also feel hungrier and this could challenge your diet management!

Stay Focused

Do not let a weight loss plateau leave you despondent – it’s an opportunity to re-assess your current efforts, make some changes, and then continue to push on! You will most likely hit plateaus in future too, so use this opportunity to educate yourself as to how to deal with the situation in future.

Seek Guidance and Support

We are weight loss and fitness experts at Core Results Gym Chichester and we guide and assist many clients in reaching and maintaining their weight loss and fitness goals.

We design personalised exercise programmes for each member with their primary focus in mind, as well as to ensure overall health and fitness progression. In addition, Emily is our nutritional expert who works to guide members and help them gain an understanding of how nutrition specifically applies to them. We would love the opportunity to assist you in achieving your weight loss and fitness goals!

Core results is an exclusive private Chichester gym providing personal training programmes, gym access and superb classes.Come down to the gym and discuss how we can help you get your health and fitness goals on track.