Losing weight and getting fit is so much fun during the "honeymoon" phase - you're changing up your routine, sweating it out at the gym, measuring your food intake and watching the scale dial lower each time you step on it.
Then reality hits. A big deadline at work causes you to miss a workout. Friends invite you to happy hour and you find yourself three martinis to the wind, eating Steak and Shake at 2am.
You're going at your program as usual, but when you step on the scale...you stare. Wiggle your toes. Check again. Step off. Step on. Peer down between your feet. Nope, it's not moving. You're at the same weight as last week. No problem, you think. It's water weight. Those blue-cheese olives in the dirty martini - full of salt!
Or, the worst. The scale stops for two weeks, then three. You gain a pound, then lose it. It returns with two friends who mock your feeble attempts to consume only dry salads and crackers. They go away eventually, but the scale refuses to drop below your lowest weight no matter how many hours you spend in the gym.
Depression sets in. How could this happen? You've been faithful! You'd never cheat on your diet! (Fries don't count if they're consumed after midnight, right?) Yet, the proof of betrayal sits between your big toes - you're not losing weight. You've plateaued, and you're devastated. Nothing sounds as good as lying in bed, eating ice cream and watching The Biggest Loser.
The body is amazingly adaptive to environmental stressors; diet and exercise are stressors that the body works around to create a static state. Eventually, doing the same things will not result in gains.
How can you break a plateau?
1. DO honestly analyze your nutritional intake. Are you grazing in the staff lunchroom mid-afternoon? Grabbing a handful of pretzels between meals? Pay more attention to what you're eating and you'll keep those Lindt dark chocolate truffles out of your saddlebags.
If you've not calculated your resting metabolic rate (RMR), do it now. Use a calorie tracking website, if you're not already doing so, to gauge your approximate calorie and nutrient intake. It's a fact - people who record their food intake lose more weight.
Switch up your meals. Eat more vegetables and protein along with healthy fats. Keep up with your water requirements and cut the alcohol.
2. DON'T cut your calories to less than your basal metabolic rate (about 1200 calories/day for women, 1800 calories/day for men). Punishing your body for your transgressions by depriving it of what it needs to maintain its essential functions is called yo-yo dieting. Want to screw up your metabolism and lower your BMR even more? Have a shake for breakfast, one for lunch, then a sensible dinner.
3. DO change your workout routine.
If you're not weight training 2-3 times a week, it's time to start. Working your muscles will strengthen your bones, increase your lean body mass and increase your metabolism. Plus, who doesn't feel awesome after a great lifting session, when your muscles are pumped up? Strong body, strong mind.
Consider adding a session of interval training to your weekly workouts, or take a new class. Sign up for a 5K race, Turkey Trot, bike race and set a training goal. There are dozens of events in Central Ohio this fall - links for a few are listed below.
4. DON'T live in the gym. Give yourself rest days and back off on the self-flagellation. Work with new routines; don't add them onto what you're already doing. Burnout will undercut your efforts and you may end up injured or overtrained, derailing your progress and your motivation, perhaps permanently.
5. DON'T flail. Breaking a plateau will not happen overnight. Make changes that you will be able to maintain for at least one month, and don't alter those changes until that month is up. Flitting from one new plan to another in an attempt to get back on track will make it harder to establish what is working and what needs to be tweaked further. Change that can be maintained for a month have a good chance of being retained as a habit, and the healthier the change, the healthier the potential habit.
Where to find upcoming Columbus fitness events:
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