The first thing to do when you realise that you’ve hit a weight loss plateau is not to panic. Weight loss isn’t a linear process. The very nature of human bodies, from our water consumption to salt intake, insufficient sleep, stress levels and more, means that your weight will naturally fluctuate. And that’s a good thing. Why?
Well, if you went on losing weight forever, then before too long, you’d pretty much disappear.
And I’m fairly certain that your goal is to look and feel better, not to wipe yourself off the face of the earth.
Think about marathon runners and athletes. Have you ever wondered how they don’t train themselves out of existence? If they didn’t hit a weight loss plateau and their bodies didn’t allow for accommodation, then they would literally run themselves down.
Track
If, however, you still feel like you’ve got a few pounds to go, you’re eating the right things and training regularly but you’ve stopped losing weight, then the next thing to do (after not panicking) is to analyse the situation by tracking your habits daily.
You don’t have to write down every step you take or carry a notebook around with you everywhere like a literary scholar, but tracking what you’re eating and drinking and the workouts that you’re doing can be a great way of spotting habits that have started sneaking in without you realising.
Maybe you’re having a biscuit with your morning coffee. Perhaps a glass of wine here and there has turned into a bottle (or two) extra per week, or you haven’t been drinking your 3 litres of water a day.
Seeing things in black and white can often help us to realise where we’re going wrong.
Improve
Tracking and analysing is a pretty normal concept. We’re tracked at school and at work, so why not apply it to our health as well?
If a teacher wants to measure how far a student has come, for example, and where they need to improve, they’ll keep a progress report.
If you want to measure how one of your team members is doing at work, you’ll need to set them goals, check their performance, see what they’re doing well, and how they can improve.
Well, it’s the same here. Once you’ve starting seeing a pattern, you can look for areas to improve on. All of our clients at the DVCC have access to their own online portal, where they can track and measure their performance, see how far they’ve come and what areas they need to work harder on.
We always vary exercise plans frequently, to avoid boredom and weight loss plateaus, and recommend that if you have a sedentary job, you make sure that you get up and walk around from time to time and take breaks often.
Use your lunch hour wisely to reset your batteries, eat healthily and maybe do a little exercise; instead of powering through a PowerPoint.
Making subtle – but important – changes to your daily routine and tracking your progress will prevent your weight loss from stalling.
