Article: Breaking through your weight-loss plateau
by Roslyn Franken

When I embarked on my weight loss journey, I was determined to do it in a healthy, realistic and sensible way for lasting results. I made small changes and watched the weight come off ever so slowly. It came off so slowly that it was almost painful at times.

There were some weeks when I only lost 1/2 pound or no weight at all and others when I'd put on weight. I naturally wanted the results to come faster, but then kept reminding myself of what happened every other time I tried to lose weight too quickly - the quick results never lasted. No big surprise, as I'm sure many of you can relate to. That's why this time was going to be different.

What was even more painful than the slow weight loss was when I hit my first weight loss plateau. I remember getting down to 145 lbs and feeling great. I still had about another 10 lbs to go, but I was confident now that I could actually achieve it and sustain it based on the new eating and lifestyle habits that got me to where I was.

Then the next week I got on the scale and it still said 145 lbs. Then the same the week after that and the week after that. I couldn't understand why my weight wasn't dropping any further. I was doing all the right things that worked up until that point, but now the scale was no longer budging. Was I supposed to eat less and exercise even more? How much more was I willing to do? I just thought that maybe this was as good as it gets and I should just be happy.

My first automatic reaction was one of frustration and discouragement. It was extremely de-motivating, as you can imagine. However, I knew I had to find a way to stay positive and not lose my focus. I was feeling great at this plateau weight so decided to just accept where I was at and forget about the number. I had to realize that my body was going through a lot of change. By making better choices and controlling my portion sizes I was taking in fewer calories than I used to at my heavier weight. My body didn't realize that I was doing this by choice and not because my food supply was being cut off. To protect me from a perceived famine, my metabolism was actually slowed down in order to conserve calories. This is natural and to be expected when working toward your healthy weight. However, for some people it hits sooner and for some later in their weight loss journey. For some it could last a couple of weeks and for some it could last longer. No two people are alike so there is no reason why we should expect our bodies to behave exactly alike either.

In my case, I decided to simply accept where I was at and just continue applying all my new healthy eating and lifestyle habits. I decided that I was not prepared to spend any more time exercising and that I refused to go hungry or feel deprived as I'd done on so many weight loss efforts in the past. I didn't want to become a slave to my weight. That is why this time was going to be different.

Over the following 8 to 12 weeks, my weight hovered at the 145 lbs give or take a half to one pound in either direction. I had to work extremely hard at letting go of my attachment to the number on the scale. I was tempted to work out longer, harder and more frequently. I was tempted to consume less calories. The good news is that I didn't give in to temptation. I just persisted at doing exactly what I'd been doing to get down to this plateau weight. After about the 12 week mark, I suddenly saw that my weight was starting to slowly drop again. It happened just like that. Before I knew it I had dropped another 10 pounds and my weight just settled right in to where it is today. Now I don't even bother getting on the scale anymore. It is consistent and stable and when I know I've over-indulged or slacked in my exercise or if I've been over-stressed, I will feel it in my clothing and will just kick myself in the butt and get back on my healthy track.

What I learned after the fact is that weight loss plateaus are very common in one's weight loss journey. Most of the time it's caused by the body's instinctive coping mechanism when it thinks it's in danger. When you start feeding your body differently with better food and fewer calories, it has to make adjustments. It may think that you're eating less because your food supply has been threatened. It doesn't know that you're actually doing this by choice. So it may temporarily slow down your metabolism in order to conserve calories and protect you through this perceived threatening period. Eventually, over time, it starts to get the real picture and then stabilizes your metabolism once again and the plateau will break on its own.

If you're stuck in a weight loss plateau, you can just ride it out like I did, or you could do a few things that in some cases could help it along.

Increase your food intake slightly: The key word here is "slightly". This doesn't mean eating junk food or over-indulging in your favourite trouble foods. It means taking in a few more healthy calories here and there just for a few days to a week just to put your body at east and let it know that everything is o.k. and that it doesn't need to worry that you're in danger. I know this is totally counter-intuitive since you're trying to lose weight, but it is a temporary solution to get things moving again in the right direction. Even if your weight goes slightly up, it could help break the plateau so the weight starts to come down again. This could be an extra piece of fruit here and there,

Vary your Exercise Routine: If you do the same exercise routine all the time, your body is no longer challenged in the same way it was when you first started and you won't burn as many calories either. You need to wake up your body with something new. Find some new exercises. Do different things on different days or more repetitions of one exercise and less of another on different days than you normally do. This will force your body to wake up and take notice so that it doesn't get complacent and encourage more calories to be burned.

Increase the intensity of your exercise: Pushing yourself a little harder when you do your workouts will force your metabolism to work harder and speed up as well.

Remember to be patient and kind to yourself. I know it is difficult sometimes, but hang in there. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at roslyn@roslynfranken.com

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Roslyn Franken is the author of The A List: 9 Guiding Principles for Healthy Eating and Positive Living, a powerful self-directed guide for achieving your long term weight, health and lifestyle goals.

To purchase The A List book and for more information on Roslyn Franken’s personalized coaching and professional speaking services, please visit www.roslynfranken.com. Take your complimentary online Readiness Assessment and be sure to sign up for your FREE Healthy Hints newsletter.