Most people who are losing weight will hit a weight loss plateau at some point, sometimes because it’s a normal part of the process, but often because you need to make a tweak or two to your plan.
If you look back over a period of time where you have lost a significant amount of weight, it often averages out at about 1-2lb per week. Note the word averages. Weight loss is rarely a consistent thing from one week to another (which is one reason why I encourage my Uber Slim clients not to rely on their scales).
If part of your plan is to exercise you will be building up some muscle (which weighs more than fat), so if you have made some muscle and lost some fat, your weight may stay the same. However your measurements will be shrinking.
Your weight loss plateau could be normal.
But it could mean you need to makes some changes.
1. Reconnect With Your Goal
Remind yourself exactly where you intend to end up with your weight, and make sure you can imagine what it’s going to be like.
Imagine taking a journey in your car, but you don’t know exactly where you’re going. At some point you’re going to be driving around in circles and not making any progress. This will keep going on until you’re clear about where you’re going.
The same kind of thing applies to weight loss. You have to be clear in your mind about where you’re going. When you can see in your mind’s eye where you’re going, how happy does it make you feel?
Your weight loss journey can only happen if you know where you’re headed, and you feel happy about where you’re going (otherwise why would you make the effort to go there?)
2. Re-evaluate Your Route
If you’ve been doing certain things and had some degree of success, but now you’re on weight loss plateau – what you’ve been doing is not going to take you any further, it’s time for a change.
Imagine taking a journey in your car, and a road on the route is closed. If you don’t find another way you’re either stuck or going back home (or back to your starting weight).
What do you think is causing your weight loss plateau? What’s your road block?
You might need to think about this, mull it over for a while, and get advice from someone who knows more than you do about weight loss.
Do you need to:
- Learn how to overcome emotional eating
- Get out of the habit of eating too much in the evening
- Learn more about nutrition
- Learn about effectively exercising for weight loss
- Find a coach to be accountable to, someone to keep you on track
There’s tons of things it could be, what’s yours at this particular part of your journey?
3. Check Your Diet
The commonest mistake I see people making, and it’s usually people still stuck in ‘diet mentality’, is to eat a low fat diet.
Human beings have not evolved to eat a low fat diet, and when they do they inevitably end up eating too many carbs. This might be keeping you on your weight loss plateau because some carbs can actually increase your appetite, making you eat more than you need.
You can find out a bit more about that here at How To Eat To Lose Weight
4. Are You Exercising For Fat Loss?
It’s frustrating if you’re out jogging regularly and not losing weight. But did you know that prolonged exercise like jogging isn’t that great for weight loss?
There has been a lot of research about exercise and weight loss in recent years, and consistently its interval style training that comes out really well when it comes to weight loss. Incorporating some of this will help get you off your weight loss plateau.
The other good news is that simple walking is really great too.
Check List to Move Beyond Your Weight Loss Plateau
- Make sure you know where you’re going, and that you’re happy about going there.
- Think about your roadblock, what’s holding you back?
- Make sure you include plenty of healthy fats in your diet
- Check what type of exercise you’re doing, and how much you walk every day.
If you’re interested in having a weight loss coach to be held accountable to, which will definitely get you off your weight loss plateau, drop me a line by clicking on the contact button at the top.
Very soon I am taking on a very small number of people to give personal one on one help.
Have a wonderful week!
Dr Julie
Hi Julie I would be very interested in 1-1 I think that its what I need but it will depend on whether you are going to charge a fee — (which it would seem fair to do by the way) but at the moment i don’t have spare cash.. about to set out on the road to sell our house and downsize..and we are really strapped..
Liz.