Hit a Weight Loss Plateau? Heres How to Cope!

People today are becoming very diet conscious - and no wonder. Keeping your weight proportional to your size does wonders for your health and physical well-being. But every once in a while, every dieter runs into a wall. A plateau. If that happens, what can you do?

Just as the term implies, a plateau is a flat even area with no hills or valleys. When applied to a diet, it is a place you have reached in which nothing is happening. No gain; no loss. This can be very frustrating. After all, the point of the diet is to lose pounds. When you step on the scale and see no progress, it can be very discouraging.

What To Do

The first thing to do is stay calm. Don’t get discouraged. Plateaus are common to every diet. One thing to remember when you hit a wall is a diet isn't just about weight loss. It's also about losing inches. Invariably, when a person has hit this plateau, they will find the inches still dropping off. This is evidenced by the clothes fitting better. So, don't lose heart. Your diet IS working!

Why A Plateau May Occur

Food is a fuel to your body; it keeps it functioning by burning the fat stores to get energy. The more food calories it burns, the more the body weight lost. Add exercise to that equation and you have an even greater calorie output. All this new activity confuses the body. It's burning more fat, but the metabolism needs to catch up.

You have probably noticed as you exercise more often, you are no longer out of breath after fifteen minutes like you used to be. The body only burns the minimum calories needed to get by, so suddenly increased activity is necessary in order to achieve the same benefits. Eventually your body catches up. This, two steps forward, one step back syndrome is a common thing as the body adjusts.

Getting Back to the Hills and Valleys

So, the key to overcoming a plateau is exercise. If you are already exercising; change your routine. If you are not exercising; now would be the time to start. It's suggested that you change your exercise routine every 4-6 weeks by adding something or increasing the number of reps. If you are concentrating more on cardio, try some weight training, or vice versa. Make those muscles start burning more fat. Below are several other things you can do to overcome that plateau.

* Check your diet �“ Have you become lax, maybe forgotten to really pay attention to your intake or portion sizes? This can make a great deal of difference in weight loss. How about the method of cooking? Are you eating out too much? A simple food diary will help you zero in on the culprit that is holding up your weight loss progress.

* Supplements �“ Are you taking vitamins? Are there perhaps some other homeopathic nutritional supplements that might help? Consulting a nutritionist might be useful in determining the answers to these questions.

Don't let a plateau discourage you into quitting your diet. Remember, by its very definition, a plateau is going neither up nor down. You may not be losing; but you are not gaining either. During this period, your body is making adjustments and you can train it to respond effectively through making small changes in your routine.

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