I am pretty sure that some can say they have hit a weight loss plateau or seem to never be able to get past a certain number. These plateaus are pretty normal if you have ever been on a fitness journey to lose weight. The further along in you journey you get the more you body will want to resist that change. The leaner you get the harder your body will fight to hold on to that extra fat.
One common cause of stalled weight loss is, believe it or not...... depriving yourself of calories. I'm pretty sure that a lot of people who come across a plateau will start reducing calories even more to get the scale to start budging. But really all you are doing is putting your body in starvation mode which causes your body to slow down your metabolism to savor any calories it does get and this also allows your body to hang on to extra fat. Your body can start to go under stress not knowing if it's going to get food ever again. So it starts to hoard any it gets and cling onto existing fat.
Change things up and always have your body guessing. Don't however change it up every single workout. You should stick to something so you are able to reap all those benefits but it is not a bad idea to switch things up every 3-4 weeks to keep your body from adapting. Rev up your workout a little. Add an extra 15 minutes on to your workout.
Why are you even stepping on the scale so frequently anyway?! Scale readings don't always match the progress you have made. You can easily lose 5 honest pounds in one month and go to weight yourself and it still shows the same number it did at the beginning of the month. Did you eat a little extra sodium the day before? Is it that time of month? Did you barely drink any water the day before? These things can lead you to 5 extra water weight pounds over night which is different from 5 pounds of fat.
Don't overdo the cheat meals or your weekends. Yes, cheat meals are a must when you are living a clean eating lifestyle. I wouldn't be very happy if I never got to indulge. But this has been my biggest plateau for me. One cheat on the weekend can turn into 2 cheats and the next thing you know it's like a cheat fiesta all day or even worse the whole weekend. Those extra calories do add up. They really do cause set backs in your journey.
Be Patient! Losing weight is like a marathon, not a 5K! It can take months to years to lose weight and ideally be where you would want to be. But really, you need to remember that any weight you have lost up until your plateau needs to be celebrated! You have already done your health good by losing excess fat, exercising, and probably eating a healthy diet. So give yourself a high five for even reaching a plateau, at least you made it there!!
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