5 Ways To Overcome Plateau's
Although some trainers do not believe in plateaus, they happen to everyone. Our bodies are very complex and they know how to compensate to ensure we aren’t over working. It is much easier to lose weight when you have more to lose, as our bodies naturally do not want to carry any excess weight. But as you eat healthier, and start to get a better body fat composition, things get a little tougher (your “plateau”). Generally plateaus only last 3 weeks or so. But if you don’t want to wait that long, there are several ways you can combat these pesky plateaus.
1. The first thing to check is to make sure you aren’t slipping "off program" in any way. This could be as simple as a quick rundown of what you are eating, double checking ingredients, or even just re-reading material to refresh your brain on cut-outs and inclusions. Once you know that is not your issue, and you can be honest with yourself and say you have not cheated, next is to look at how much of each macronutrient you are consuming. Be sure to not overeat protein as one example, that is a very common issue I see with my clients, to much will store as fat.
2. OVER-snacking. We all do it. And when you are trying to lose weight, you simply cannot do this. It starts with a few almonds or some late night “on menu” items and gets out of control from there. You know if you are one of these grazers. Instead, make sure you've drank enough water throughout the day and add some mint to your water as mint is a natural hunger suppressant.
3. Eating within two hours of falling asleep. If you are a late night worker, such as a bartender, you will need to eat later. Your whole day shifts a bit to allow you enough energy to get through the night. However, whether you are a 9 - 5 or an over night worker, you still want to allow your body two hours of no eating prior to falling asleep. This will aid in digestion and allow your body to do its cleansing.
4. Even though you are eating only nutrient dense foods, it is very easy to simply overeat too much of one particular Macronutrient. This is most often found when eating red meat. Your weekly intake of red meat should be 1-2 days per week. It takes, on average, 47 hours for women to digest red meat, and 33 hours for men. The good news is, once you resume a variety of lighter digesting proteins (seafood being a great example), your body can quickly resume its weight loss. Another macronutrient to check that most people often lose focus on is carbohydrates, in particular, your high fibrous vegetables. It is very easy to focus on getting enough protein at each meal, but the dietary fiber in your vegetables helps keep bowel movement regular, in short will help “clean the pipes” of the small intestine; often due to overeating of red meat and other hard to digest proteins, a result. Stalled weight loss.
5. If you're certain your food intake isn’t the problem, then you should look at your workouts, it may be time to switch it up.One of the main reasons I constantly switch my clients workouts up from work out, to workout, is so the body never has the chance to adapt. As your body gets use to each exercise, the exercises also get less effective. To combat this, either change your resistance or speed. For example; if you often do lighter resistance at a longer duration, try switching to shorter, more intense bursts of energy followed by a shorter rest period. If you normally take the same class, it may be time to switch to something you haven’t tried before.
Hopefully these tips will help you break your stand off with your weight loss.