The Dreaded Dieting Plateau

A dieting plateau is almost a rite of passage, although not necessarily a welcome one. 

It's when your body stops to take a breather, and no mater what, the pounds and inches just don't move.

You're following the weight loss eating plan faithfully, so why aren't you losing weight anymore?  Is there anything you should do?  Anything you can do?

Will the scales ever start to move again?

Don't Panic -- Stay on Your Weight Loss Plan!

First of all, don't panic -- even though it's tempting!

Dieting plateaus happen because your body is adjusting to a new setup.  Your fat to lean muscle ratio has changed, your BMI has gone down and your metabolism is being revamped.

It's understandable that your body wants to hold your weight for a bit, to make adjustments before continuing to lose weight.

The Dieting Plateau Will Pass

Once your body has made its readjustments, the weight loss and the measuring tape will start to go down again.  But in the meanwhile, what constitutes a plateau?  Is it just going two weeks without losing weight?  Or something else?

Hopefully you've been taking your measurements all along on your dieting program, because here's the definition:

A dieting plateau is when your weight and your measurements haven't changed for at least four weeks.

There are times that your scale will decrease and the tape measure stays the same.  Then other times, your weight doesn't budge, but your inches decrease.

Only if both happen at once, for at least four weeks, are you at a standstill.

Tips for Getting the Scale to Move Again

OK, it's been four (or more) weeks and you're frustrated.  Will the scales ever start to move again?  Or should you drown your sorrows at the nearest ice cream store?

Don't stop your diet program, but do change things around, for just three days.  For example:

• If you've been doing a lot of aerobics but not much strength training, give the weights a workout for a few days and lay off the aerobics.

• Switch lunch and dinner around, or eat them at different times.

• If your diet has been only medium protein, boost your protein intake.  Fruit smoothies with extra protein powder is a fun way to do that.

• If you haven't been exercising regularly, here's your chance to do so!

• Don't forget to drink water to lose weight -- it's something so simple to overlook, but easy to change.

The whole idea is to shake your body out of its comfort zone and getting the weight loss started again!  Do this only for three days, then go back to your standard routine.

Dieting plateaus -- these too shall pass!

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Dieting Motivation:  Do You Have It?

Why are you dieting?  Sure, to lose weight, but for what other reasons?

Successfully losing 40 or more pounds takes a lot of perseverance and motivation, because it doesn't happen overnight.

And sooner or later, you will hit a plateau!

Check out some questions you should be asking yourself on losing weight motivation.