Wednesday fitness fun fact
Many dieter**** a plateau after losing about ten percent of their initial body weight, and at that plateau, progress ceases, sometimes for lengthy periods. At a plateau, the standard calorie in/calorie out formulas seem not to apply, and it is extremely demoralizing to be working so hard and seeing so little payoff.
It's hard to fathom that for weeks your weight loss program was taking the pounds off. Then, suddenly, the scales won't budge another ounce. A weight loss plateau is normal no matter how diligent you are in following your good health regimen. The key is to stick with the program, experts say.
What causes the dreaded plateau?
The initial weight loss slows down as the body progressively loses further lean mass, this continues until the point where a calorie deficit is so minute that it no longer has any effect on fat loss. Our metabolism has decreased and we have reached that dreaded weight loss plateau. What it means is our body has gradually adapted to match our new energy intake, and we now require less energy to maintain the new weight. This process was ideal many years ago when our ancestors roamed the land, but unfortunately for us, this is a part in dieting where we cannot seem to lose any more weight. For this reason we need to view any long-term weight loss in different stages.
Rev up your metabolism!
Many experts believe that dieters should break away from a diet, maybe for a week, in order to re-stimulate the metabolism by providing essential proteins and energy to build back. Once hormonal influences are stabilized, a calorie deficit can be reintroduced in order to shock the body into fat burning mode. There are risks to this tactic with the primary one being "falling off the wagon" and reverting back to bad eating habits.
A more sensible approach is to stick with the diet and exercise program that got you there. It has worked and will continue to work once your body has adapted to the new you.
If you do want to shake things up, change your exercise program. Introduce more strength building exercises or different cardio workouts into your daily exercise routine.
Exercise will rev up your metabolism like you could never believe. Your body and your health will reap the benefits of intense exercise. Be sure to push yourself physically, never let exercise get easy for your body.
