I would like to think, that during me writing
and you reading my blog, you have realized, that weight loss is nothing more
than simple math. Adition and subtraction are the only two functions that you
need to know to lose weight. If that's the case, then can someone please
explain to me why is my mailbox filled up with questiona on how to break a
weight loss plateau?
After being in this business for as long as I
have I can honestly say that you can’t hit a weight loss plateau because such a
thing does not exist. At all!
Let’s start with the only way a plateau would
even be possible. I was once training someone who was obese. This person had
more than 50kg to lose and whatever we did, the weight just wasn’t coming off.
His electrolytes were completely balanced, his diet was perfect and I switched
up his exercise routine every week, to keep his body in a constant state of
wander (and as far away from adapting to exercise as possible). 3 weeks into
the program he lost about 0.5kg in total so I told him to go and see his doctor
to get his blood tested for any abnormalities. It turns out that this man had a
horrible hormone imbalance and that this was the cause of him not being able to
drop the weight. A year has passed after this. During this time he was (and
still is) working with his endocrinologist and a registered dietitian as well
as a few trainers. He managed to lose 30kg of pure fat and is on his way to
achieving his goal weight.
Apart for that, there are three other reasons
why people perceive that they have reached a plateau.
1)
Vanity
kilo
2)
Attention
to detail
3)
Water
retention and electrolyte imbalance
Vanity kilos are those last five to ten kilos that
everyone struggles with at the end of their weight loss journey. At this point
the body thinks that it is healthy, and let’s be honest, the person with this
little kilo is a completley healthy individual, but they want to drop the
weight only for the esthetic reasons. He or she will try and eat less than
recommended and will burn more and more calories as his frustration grows.
Remember when I talked about starvation mode? Well, this is essentially it. For
an example a person has an active metabolic rate of 1900 calories and is eating
1400 calories per day, creating a daily 500 calorie deficit. On top of that,
he/she is exercising 6 days a week and burns about 800 calories per session. Now
if we take these numbers and look at how much of a deficit this individual is
creating on a daily basis we see that he/she is creating a deficit of 1300
calories on the day they are working out and 500 calorie deficit on the day
they aren’t working out. A prolonged deficit of 1300 calories will surely cause
your metabolism to slow down substantially!
The solution is simple. Your daily calorie
deficit, when it comes to vanity kilos, should no smaller than 500 and no
greater than 1000 calories (around 700 is ideal if I’m judging from my
experience). So, this plateau myth is debunked.
Lack of attention to detail is the most common
problem with almost everyone I have ever met. They either don’t count their
calorie intake or they don’t count how many calories a day they are burning
with activity and exercise.
The solution here is simple: COUNT YOUR
CALORIES! Look at my previous posts about how to calculate your BMR, AMR and
how to track your calorie expenditure (calories you burn with activity) and be
consistent with it. Don’t forget, living healthy is not a 2 month plan or idea.
It is a way of life!
Water retention and electrolyte imbalance are
the last piece of the puzzle. I have seen people who didn’t lose weight like
they were supposed to due to an illness (a cold, flu or something more severe)
because they were retaining water in their bodies. When we are sick, our bodies
are fighting off an infection and we do retain a lot of fluid due to the drugs
we are taking and the electrolyte imbalance.
Stress is also an important factor that
inhibits weight loss. When we are stressed our adrenal glands release cortisol
(stress hormone). Cortisol promotes weight gain by storing fat in our bodies.
Until next time, stay strong and be kind.
Picture taken from: http://tiny.cc/tv11hw
No comments:
Post a Comment