Questionhey,my names Yolanda, I'm 19 years old and I've been on a diet for the last 3 months, im just about 5ft 3 and now weigh 56 kg when i used to weigh 63 thing is i seemed to have completely stopped losing weight even though im eating and doing the same things as before, i don't know what else to do! My daily routine normally consists of , eating a bowl of cereal for breakfast, a salad for lunch and a low calorie dinner, with fruit as snacks, while even though I'm not a person who does strenuous exercise i do walk a fair bit, go swimming once a week and also use a stepper which i have at home for 15 min each day, what am i doing wrong, i only want to lose a few more kg, how can i do this? Thanks.
AnswerHello, Yolanda,
Congratulations on dropping those 7 kgs at a sensible rate! Now you are down to the toughest time - those last pounds. You have hit an all-to-common weight loss plateau, which has driven every dieter nuts. Fortunately there are some tactics you can use to get through it.
First, be patient and don't lose sight of your success so far. Good feelings about your diet will help you continue losing weight.
Second, it looks like you are active enough to keep your metabolism up. I suspect that you are pretty maxed out on your physical routine as far as time goes so lets leave that alone. However, do keep in mind that you are in prime bone-building time so it would be good to exchange in some weight-bearing exercise into your routine now and then. Once we reach 35, what bone we have is pretty much all we will have. I know 35 seems an eon away to you, but you might as well get some bone-building in the "bank" so that at age 30 you don't feel the need to go wild with weights.
Back to the nasty plateau you are on. I am pretty sure that the problem is your eating "routine". Just like it is good to mix up kinds of exercise, it is also good to mix up your food habits. Your body has learned to live quite well and keep its weight with how you eat now. I don't know what kinds of food you like, so I will make a general suggestion. Give your body fewer carbs and more protein and fat since it looks like you have gotten this far with controlled calories but mostly carbs. Now it's time to shake your body up with some surprise good fats (olive oil, etc.) and good protein (eggs, chicken, fish). Try an egg in the morning instead of cereal. If time is the problem, cook up a batch of hard-boiled ones. Nibble some cheese, or have berries and cream. Anything except cereal every day. Your body has been "starving" all night, then the carbs in the morning stimulate insulin which starts up fat storage and your body will do just that since it has been a long time since you last ate. A salad can be a lot of things. Try changing ingredients to alter the carb/fat/protein ratio. Your body has adjusted to the kinds of foods you are eating. Just think of your new foods as a pleasant surprise for your body. Get it to let go of those last kg by providing a new mix that will tell your body that all kinds of food is available.
I am assuming you are eating fresh fruit for a snack, not canned (which has excess sugars). If you tend to eat the same fruit, mix it up with some new fruits. Starfruit (carambola) is very high fiber, for example. Whatever you do, leave bananas alone - they are just a small step away from candy. Or, if you love them (who doesn't?), try eating smaller ones. Every little change helps. Is there a vegetable you could exchange in sometimes for snacks, like carrots celery, or avocado? Even peanuts or cheese. Again, just to mix things up.
Try this different way of eating for a month and see how it goes. You will have to keep aware of how you feel and how your body responds. If your plateau doesn't break, go back to how you are eating now and that may trigger weight loss. Change is the key. Oh, make sure you are drinking enough water. The fat burning reaction uses water so you don't want that to be limiting your progress.
Yolanda, the most important thing is to be patient. Don't panic. If your weight goes up a smidgen while you are mixing up your diet, don't cut way back on your caloric intake. Keep your calories about where they are now or even add in 100 more or so as a bonus. Our bodies are very, very good at fat storage. And you do not want to become one of the people who are nearly starving their whole lives to keep slim because their bodies have learned to live on few calories. Our bodies burn most calories just carrying out the process of living - making brain chemicals, new cells, secreting toxins, keeping up our body temperature, making digestive enzymes (which is one reason why changing the ratio of carbs/fat/protein may stimulate weight loss) and a million other things that it can adjust even just a smidgen and burn way fewer calories. Unless you are in the Iron Man or Tour de France, exercise will never burn more calories than just living does. So, it is never wise to eat fewer and fewer calories to lose weight. Life is too short, and your body is way too smart.
It is important to keep in mind that this is a tough time now, but it will pass. Just do your best, Yolanda. You are on the right road.
Hang in there, Arlene
PS the idea of altering caloric intake during dieting is best explained in the Rotation Diet. It's an old book, but the tactic is still useful.
PPS a simple diet software may help you get a different view of what you are eating. I used Balck Cat's Diet Sleuth and found it very useful. If you like to use a computer, you can check around the web and see what is out there. Get one that is easy, that lets you store your common foods to miinimize typing, and that will make a pie chart of your calories and carb/fat/protein for the day. It may be fun while helping you mix things up.
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