fbpx


Overcoming a Weight Loss Plateau

Posted: Oct 04 in Weight loss by

Overcoming a Weight Loss PlateauEvery weight loss journey has its ups and downs. There are curves in the road, hills to climb and obstacles to overcome. Sometimes those obstacles are evident from the get-go, such as peer-pressure to have dessert, or a stressful day at work and a hankering for fast-food. In other situations, obstacles take their time to reveal themselves fully.

A weight loss plateau is like any other obstacle you come across during your medical weight loss program. It is an opportunity for you to take a step back and evaluate how far you’ve come and consider what it will take to continue pushing towards your goal.

Spotting a Plateau

A weight loss plateau is a figurative term to describe stalled progress during your weight loss program. It most often develops after weeks of continued weight loss, and then suddenly the scale remains steady. Despite continued efforts and commitment to your weight loss program, you are not losing weight at the rate you were previously—you may not be losing weight at all.

This is a natural stage of the weight loss process. A weight loss plateau is the result of your body adjusting to your weight loss routine. When you first start your medical weight loss program, weight comes off rather fast. By cutting calories and exercising more you are able to lose water weight and burn fat.

As you lose weight, your body requires fewer calories to maintain its size. It also will burn fewer calories doing the same movements. That means the diet and exercise plan that helped you reach your current weight level are now helping you maintain that weight level. To continue losing weight, it is time to make changes.

You can move past a weight loss plateau by:

  • Changing your diet: The weight loss plan you’ve been following helped you reach where you are currently. To continue losing weight, it may be necessary for your weight loss doctor to adjust your caloric intake.
  • Increasing exercise: If your body has adjusted to your current activity level, then you may have to push a bit harder. You can do this by increasing the length of your workout, or increasing the intensity level. Discuss your new plan with us to ensure that it is appropriate for your current health and nutritional state.
  • Re-examining behaviors: Re-evaluate the healthy habits you worked on developing at the onset of your weight loss program and make sure you haven’t returned to any unhealthy behaviors.

Before making any changes to your diet or exercise habits, talk with your weight loss doctor. In some situations, weight loss medications can be used to help you push past a plateau, as well.

A weight loss plateau is not the end of your weight loss journey. Do your best to stay positive during this time and make the most of the resources around you to continue working towards your weight loss goal.

Leave Comment

(required)

(required)