Welcome to my blog, Harmony Shift. This is the place to come for up-to-date information on staying healthy while doing shift work. I want you to have more energy, feel healthier, and be happier. Today, I want to touch on hitting a plateau while trying to lose weight. Everything starts off good; you have your diet right, your exercise plan, your workout clothes, been at it for a while, losing weight and suddenly everything stops. You stop losing weight and you don’t know why! You’re doing all the right stuff, why are you not losing any more weight? This is called hitting that plateau. It’s not fun and it’s frustrating, but it’s also normal. Don’t worry, I’m here to help. Let’s dive in and find out what you can do to get past this plateau.
What is a Plateau?
During the first few weeks or so of losing weight, a rapid drop is normally what people experience. This is because when you initially cut calories, the body gets needed energy by releasing its stores of glycogen. Glycogen is a type of carbohydrate found in the muscles and the liver.
Glycogen is partly made of water. So, when glycogen is burned for energy, it releases water, resulting in weight loss that’s mostly water. This is the same thing that happens on Keto. This effect is only temporary, because as you lose weight, you lose some muscle and fat. Muscles help keep up this rate at which you burn calories (metabolism). So, as you lose the weight, your metabolism slowly declines, causing you to burn fewer calories than you did before. Your slower metabolism will slow your weight loss, even if you eat the same number of calories that helped you lose weight in the beginning. When the calories you burn equal the calories you eat, you reach a plateau.
To lose more weight, you need to either do one of two things, increase your physical activity or decrease the calories you eat. Using the same approach that worked at first may maintain your weight loss, but it won’t lead to more weight loss hence the plateau.
Change Your Diet
So, when it comes to getting past or through this little plateau there are a few changes you can do with your diet. If you are already doing them that’s great, I will have something else for you too. But one thing you can try is to change what you eat. Find more veggies you like and start eating them. Another thing is to add more protein to your diet. If you were eating mainly chicken, try adding eggs, fish, and turkey. And mix it around a little to find what you like. Also, try time restricted eating. I believe I have written about this in another post but try to stop eating after a certain time and start about 14-16 hours later. With hitting a plateau, you have to find what you are doing with your diet and change those one or two thing(s). Try eating more veggies. There was a study done https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6266069/, that found dieters that were eating more vegetables had the greatest weight loss. In this study they found that an increase in veggies, was associated with a reduced risk of weight gain and overweight or obesity. Some low carb (under 130 g) options might be bell peppers, broccoli, asparagus, mushrooms, zucchini. Spinach, avocados, green beans, and lettuce just to name a few. There might be more out there if you really tried to look, but at least this gives you an idea of which ones to start with. I know most people who workout drink plenty of water, that’s a given but try coffee or tea. Just adding in one or both maybe throughout the day would be just the thing to break that plateau.
I know there are going to be trainers out there that say exercise more, sleep more, etc.,etc. But if you’ve made it this far chances, are you really can’t exercise any more or get any more sleep, you’re already maxed out. So, take these little diet changes and apply them and see what happens.
Other Things to Try
So, if the diet changes don’t work or are working a little slow, try either reassessing your habits, or try to pack more activity into your day. To reassess your habits, look back at your food log, activity log, and see if there is anything you can change. If you don’t have one of these than now would be a good time to start tracking your food, exercises and activities. To pack more activity into your day, think outside the box a little or in this case the gym. Try to increase your overall general activity throughout the day. Most people think the gym is enough and for some it may be but for others we need a little more.
I hope this helps you get over and through this plateau. I have hit many in my time working out and you will too. It’s normal and nothing to worry about. Just make the minor adjustments and move on. I hope these little tips help you live a happier, healthier life. And if you need anything do not hesitate to ask me and I will be more than happy to answer any of your questions and comments.
Until next time,
Darren
Harmony Shift 