I know this is going to be a touchy topic, but there is so much evidence to support this statement: there is no such things as a plateau. Let me explain...
I have gained and lost weight more times than I care to admit. Even recently I have gained back about 15 pounds since Christmas. I am on the path to losing it, but it is hard. I am happy to report that I am down 4 in the last couple of weeks, but these last 11 are the hardest. Is that because of a plateau? No, it is not. And all the times I have lost weight and then hit some magic number that my scale just won't go below, I was tempted to blame it on this theory of a plateau, but that just isn't so. There are many factors that make people feel like they hit a plateau and I will explain some.
My body likes to weight around 135 pounds. For some reason that is where it wants to be. Actually it isn't so much the scale weight as it is the body fat percentage... my body wants to be around 24% body fat, which is where it usually is at 135 pounds. That is at the edge of the "overweight" category and I refuse to be there! So I have to work hard at getting below that scale and body fat number. I have to eat right, count my calories and workout more regularly. I am not talking an hour a day, it can be done with 20 minutes a day, or even 3-4 times a week. Just because my body wants to be at this weight doesn't mean that is a plateau. Now, when I start to dip below this, I usually struggle again to get below 125 pounds which feels like a "plateau" but it is NOT.
What happens during the weight loss process is that people reduce their calorie intake and they usually increase their activity or calorie burn. The body will start out by losing the extra fat to use as fuel. Once the body has lost a certain amount of weight, my body is 10 pounds for example, their needs to be a readjustment in either the calorie intake or the activity level to compensate for the new body weight. In other words, when I weight 135 pounds I can eat around 1500 calories and maintain my weight (without exercising). To lose from here I have to reduce my calories to around 1100 and add about 25 minutes of exercising 3-4 times a week. This causes me to lose 2-3 pounds a week. Once I get to 125 pounds my body has TEN POUNDS less on it, so I can't logically do the same thing and expect the same results. My body needs less fuel because it has less mass! So I now have to drop down to around 1000 calories and increase my activity level to 30-40 minutes 3-4 times a week to continue to lose. That is NOT a plateau, it is a needed adjustment in calories and activity based on a new body mass due to weight loss.
The moral of the story is, if you are blaming your stagnant weight loss on a plateau... STOP. Do something different and stop looking for excuses. If you are accurately (and most people do not do this accurately) counting your calories by weighing and measuring everything and tracking your exercise, you will usually notice that after 10-20 pounds of weight loss you have to make and adjustment. Drop the calories down and increase the activity level. You also do not get to eat the extra calories that you burn while working out if you want to lose weight... that comes when you are maintaining your weight. More about that another time.
And don't forget to eat frequently. The more raw and fresh foods you eat, the MORE food you get to eat and more often. Speaking of that, I am off to go eat a huge salad... yummy.
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