Getting Over That Plateau

January 26, 2009

You’ve been on the treadmill for what feels like days on end.  You are watching what you eat and drink.  However, despite earlier success watching that scale move in the direction you wanted it to, you’ve hit the infamous plateau!  What do you do? 

These 5 tips will help you break through any plateau and continue on your path to success.  By educating yourself and making sure you have all the proper behavioral “tools”, you can make more positive changes and continue to improve your health day after day!   Believe me, it’s worth the effort.

1.    Plan Ahead:  Without a plan, you won’t know where you’re trying to go.  You may have all the information in the world, are making the right food choices, increasing your exercise intensity, etc, but if you don’t plan your great intentions will go right out the window.  Pack your meals ahead – take some time on Sunday, for example, and prepare some extra food for throughout the week.  Pack this the night before work each day, so you’re never stuck without any options, forcing you to turn to the vending machine or fast food. 

2.    Learn to Grocery Shop:  This one is right in line with planning ahead.  Your weight loss efforts really start before you make any meals in your house.  They start at the grocery store and if you don’t know what do look for, you’ll struggle when faced with the 50,000 products that fill grocery store shelves.  Here is a simple step – stick to the perimeter of the store for 90% of your shopping.  Outside of produce, grains, seafood, meat, poultry, and dairy, there’s nothing else you need at the grocery store in terms of food. And make a list before you go, and stick to it.  It goes without say that you should not go grocery shopping when you are hungry – that’s a recipe for disaster!

3.    Realize there is no magic bullet.  Many folks become discouraged when beginning an exercise or weight loss program because they expect a magic bullet, or overnight success.  But starting a simple exercise program or reading a “diet” book won’t cure a 30 year ice cream or soda addiction.  Small steps each day mean big changes in the long run; nothing will happen overnight and it’s important to continually encourage yourself.  Unhealthy habits weren’t created overnight and they won’t be changed overnight.  You need to work towards improving your habits day after day.   

4.    Work with a friend(s) or spouse.  Social support has been shown to improve the ability to lose and maintain weight loss.  Use this to your advantage.  Get a group of friends, family members, or co-workers together to get on a plan and work towards a goal.  It’s much more likely that you make time for exercise if you know you are meeting other people; it is just another way to be held accountable.  At the very least, get a friend to train with; this will help both of you when trying to push and break through to the next level. 

5.    Eat Breakfast!  You’ve clearly heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right?  Well, if not…it’s true!  Not only has research shown that those who eat breakfast regularly consume higher levels of many nutrients, but it has also shown time and time again that those who eat breakfast daily have lower body fat levels and body weights!  And, get this, you’ll be more physically and mentally alert all day!  Please don’t skip this important meal. 

There are always going to be many barriers to changing eating and exercise behaviors and breaking through plateaus.  Step out of your comfort zone and have a change of mindset.  It’s very easy to stop at a fast food restaurant or order a pizza for dinner, instead of taking 10 or 20 minutes to prepare a healthy meal.  The time to make a change is now!

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Comments

[Leo]

Dear National Body Challenge,
I believe that the title was a bit deceptive for the readers. What I gather is that your writer thinks that the plateau is because something we do (bad eating habits) - when in fact is our body's natural mechanism trying to conserve our stored energy (Fat). If the person has been real good with proper caloric intake (please check with a registered dietician) and exercise, then the person should start making changes and cycle their caloric intake.

[Lisa]

Everyone's comments were right on. I agree that his comments were very generic but are also good reminders for me to make sure - am I doing the key elements that he outlined? They are basic but essential if I want to succeed.

I ask myself everyday, do I want to make this hard or easy? I always choose easy and easy means for me, doing the right thing and taking good care of myself. (Not taking good care of myself will just delay the process of getting where I want to be and feel and makes things so hard.)

Back to the article, the one element that wasn't really addressed is how long should a plateau last? I know from past successes I have had in getting off weight, there are always some dry periods. I have to go back and tweak my plan. Are there areas the need improvement or do I need to take them up a a notch?

Chrisina comments were excellent. She in my mind, hit it on the head. She's adding more to her program....in the weight training on large muscles.

I think the answer for me is to make sure I am doing all of his suggestions at a minimum and then evaluate what can I add to my work-out plan to increase effectiveness. What's working and what is not? Also, evaluate am I really at a plateau or am I really on course given the amount of weight I want to lose, age, and the time I have been on the "program". (Patience is needed)

I personally work hard to stay focused on each day only and I look forward to Sunday where I review the past week but more importantly plan for the next 7 days.

It is such a head game but so worth it. I love how I feel when I am doing the right thing for me!

[josette]

THANK YOU CHRISTA!

[sparrow]

Thanks Christa,

Your comment was more helpful than the article!!!

[Christa]

I agree with you all about this article really not addressing the problem and just wanted to offer up something that has recently helped me. Like Missy, an upcoming wedding has really helped me get motivated! I have always eaten pretty well and exercised, but in the past two months or so I added more weight training to my typical running and aerobics routine. Focus on working big muscle groups like your quads and hams (with squats and lunges) and your back (upright rows) and abs. Push-ups and plank are great multi-muscle exercises as well. Keep increasing the weight or reps as the moves become easier. Muscle actually burns calories... so the more muscle you have, the higher your basal metabolic rate will be (which is the number of calories you burn in a typical day with no extra exercise). I initially did this to attempt to get my arms into strapless dress shape and it has helped me shed 12 lbs! Good luck to everyone and congrats to all of you on your success thus far!

[Missy]

It does feel great. Thanks Michelle. My upcoming wedding has been a great motivator. I just used the BMI calculator to see how I'm doing, and I've dropped down from the obesity category to overweight! That's exciting. I hope by May I can lose a few more lbs so I look my best for the walk down the aisle. Good luck to everyone else!

[laura]

This article is completely useless and insulting to those who know how to lose weight but for some reason have just stopped losing weight. This article should instead be titled "5 Tips For Losing Weight" because it does not address the plateau issue at all.

[Michele]

You're right, these tips don't fit the problem. Other articles I've read suggest that when you hit a plateau, you need to alter your exercise routine. Maybe adding more, or at least different, cardio exercise. Congrats on your 18-lb. loss, Missy. Doesn't it feel great?!

[Missy]

I totally agree with Dani. This article does not tell you how to get over the plateau. I've been on Weight Watchers since June, and I've lost about 18 lbs. I'm truly excited about that, but now I've been stuck at this 18 lb mark for a while. I know how to shop for food and plan ahead obviously because I've been doing it all along to lose the 18 lbs. Now what do I do?

[Lorraine]

AMEN, DANI!

YES!

What if you ARE already doing these things AND hit a plateau? Then what???

[dani]

This doesn't really say how to get over a halt in weight loss. What do you do after you eat right and exercise and the weight loss stops. I have no problem buying and eating good food or planning ahead. Now what?