Does this sound familiar? You think you're doing everything right but the scale just isn't moving.
You've "plateaued".
Of course physiologically, plateaus don't exist. If you eat fewer calories than you burn you ought to be losing, and if you're not, perhaps the scale's measuring constipation, water retention or clothing.
So if you're not losing, and it's not just a trick of the scale, either you're burning fewer calories than you think, eating more than you think, or some combination therein.
Certainly as the body loses weight it adapts and metabolism may well slow which means you might be burning less than when you'd started, which means that you might not be plateauing - perhaps you've just reached a new equilibrium, a new floor.
Ultimately though, there are really only two questions you need to ask yourself.
1. Could you eat any less and still enjoy your life?
2. Could you exercise any more and still enjoy your life?
If the answers are "No", there's nothing left for you to do. If the answers are, "Yes", well then by all means tighten things up.
Do remember though, if you can't happily eat any less and you can't happily exercise any more then guess what, you're probably not going to.
Ultimately it doesn't matter if it's a plateau or a floor. The scale doesn't tell you how you're doing, you do. And if you can't happily do any better, you're doing great - scales and plateaus be damned.
Posts
I do agree that if you're doing your best, plateaus be damned (they can't be a reason to get frustrated or give up doing what you're doing), but having lost 165 pounds I can definitively tell you that they do exist! Every ten pounds, consistently and without fail, I hit a "plateau" - for some reason my body settled in for a bit and wouldn't budge on the scale. (Or in my clothes!) I usually shook up my exercise routine a bit, but more or less just stayed on course and eventually it started moving again.
ReplyDeleteI had troubles with "plateaus" as well, and I noticed that they came every 10 pounds or so (and I am not taking on as great an endeavor as other commenters- 165 lbs is a stunning achievement!). Two changes at every plateau made a big difference- the first was a return to a very disciplined food journaling (like anything, food journaling can get lazy after a while, skipping days or weekends because they "don't count"), and a return to the "calorie calculator" to recalibrate how many calories I need per day at my "new" weight. My plateaus have been related, more than anything, to complacency where I was once much more mindful, and when I notice I'm not losing, it is an opportunity to renew my focus.
ReplyDeleteWhat simple, elegant advice!
ReplyDeleteGREAT post today. Even as an athlete I still sometimes let the scale get in my head more than I should. I think keeping these two questions in mind will help when my mind starts getting carried away with how I could maybe lose a few more pounds (in the name of climbing hills faster on the bike, of course!).
ReplyDeleteThanks, Yoni.
Great post! Short, sweet and well said.
ReplyDelete"Could you eat any less and still enjoy your life?"
ReplyDeleteYes, indeed.
I would re-phrase the question:
"Could I weigh any less and still enjoy my life?"
Definitely!
True but no two bodies are the same and what weight are you striving for and why? Body composition is a better measurement than weight. Many of my patients don't see a change on the scale every time we weigh, but continue to lose inches, WC and BF. Genetics and the training effect trump weight and BMI.
ReplyDeleteIncreasing the amount of raw food I eat has worked for me whenever I've wanted to drop a few kilos through a plateau. Eating raw is not for everyone though - I enjoy it but I know other people can find it hard work. It's easier in warmer months too.
ReplyDeleteI wonder when people are eating well, exercising regularly and they hit a plateau if that is simply where they should be. Maybe that's their healthy body weight.