Getting over the Hump
“If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there. You must go beyond them.”
We've all been there: The very same exercise routine that once sculpted your arms or trimmed your waistline is now doing, well, nothing, and those last 10 pounds just won't budge. You’ve been eating right, exercising, and getting enough rest but you can’t seem to make progress! The only explanation is that you have plateaued! Being stuck at a weight-loss plateau eventually happens to everyone who tries to lose weight. Even so, most people are surprised when it happens to them because they're still eating carefully and exercising regularly. The frustrating reality is that even well-planned weight-loss efforts can stall.
A workout plateau occurs when your body adjusts to the demands of your workouts. During a workout plateau, you may start to feel unmotivated, bored with your workouts, or find that you don't feel like going to the gym. But don’t throw your hands in the air, freak out, get discouraged, and give up. This is just a sign that you may be ready to try a new training style.
When you reach a plateau, you may have lost all of the weight you will on your current diet and exercise plan. If you are not satisfied with your current weight or if you want to lose more, you'll need to adjust your weight-loss program and try these tips for getting over the hump:
Cut more calories. Provided this doesn't put you below 1,200 calories, cut your calories.
Kick your workout up a notch. Try adding an extra day or two at the gym to what you are currently doing and increase the intensity to each exercise so you burn more calories. Adding exercises such as weightlifting to increase your muscle mass will help you burn more calories as well.
Pack more activity into your day. Increase your general physical activity by walking more, taking the stairs, doing yardwork, or vigorous spring cleaning: any physical activity will help you burn more calories.
If your efforts to get past a weight-loss plateau aren't working, talk with your doctor or a dietitian about other tactics to try.
As frustrating as they are, weight-loss plateaus are important to allow time for our body to ‘reset’ before we can continue losing weight again. This is explained by ‘set-point theory’. Think of set-point as our core body temperature, which is 98.6 degrees. If we go above or below that, the body will do everything in its power to get us back to that normal temperature – it’ll sweat to cool down or shiver to keep warm. ‘Homeostasis’ is the process by which our body maintains itself in a stable condition, whether it’s temperature or weight. In weight, our set point is determined by our DNA and the environment around us; our natural set point is the weight that our body hovers at when we’re eating healthily. Slow, gradual weight gain over many years can trick our body into thinking its set point is higher than it should be, which causes our body to resettle at a new, higher weight, and the plateau is a necessary part of the weigh-loss process our body needs to take to readjust and reset.
Whether you’ve stalled in your weight loss journey, strength training, or some other fitness benchmark, our bodies are constantly adapting and learning to manage the stresses we put on it, seeking the path of least resistance.
Frustrated? Bring along a partner or sign up with a personal trainer. They can help you stay motivated – and bring further variety to your workouts. Reach out using the button below and we can come up with a plan that’s right for you so you can get over the hump!