Causes of a Diet Plateau
A lot of people who are dieting and exercising wonder why they don’t lose weight. It’s possible that in the first weeks they lost a few pounds, but suddenly everything stalls. This is what we call a diet plateau, let’s talk about it in more detail.
What is the diet plateau and why does it occur?
An increase in calorie intake is among the causes of a diet plateau. We could assume that we’re losing weight and that we can treat ourselves and then, continue with the diet as usual.
When the body gets used to eating the same foods and doing the same physical activity, it’s just a matter of time before it becomes comfortable and doesn’t move forward. This is especially because the metabolism slows down. The same thing happens in the case of miracle diets.
What’s clear is that to lose weight, there’s nothing better than a healthy lifestyle and diet that we can maintain over time without getting bored. Although, we must constantly analyze our steps to see if what we’re doing continues to offer results.
How to overcome a diet plateau
We understand that if you’re eating healthily and making efforts to lose weight, it’s discouraging to not see results. However, the most important thing to do when a diet plateau is upon you is not to give up. Keep maintaining a good diet and exercise regime, as quitting will lead to binge eating and an excess of calories. This can spoil much of the work that you’ve achieved.
Besides, there are several aspects to review and consider in order to reverse this plateau and continue advancing with weight loss. Here are some tips:
Write down what you eat
When you start eating healthily, you may suffer from a lack of imagination and begin to eat foods that you didn’t eat while you were losing weight. You could also be including ingredients in your recipes that contribute too many calories, without realizing it.
If you’re too busy to count calories or you don’t know how to do it, download a calorie counter app that will help you. You can add all the foods you consume and it will tell you the calories you eat and the ones you burn through exercise.
Rest well
We’ve already talked about the importance of rest for a healthy lifestyle. In fact, it’s equally as important (or more so) than the exercise itself. If this fails, it’s possible to enter a diet plateau. This is because a lack of rest can prevent you from exercising with the same intensity as before. Even though you feel like you’re doing the same amount of work, your scale will show otherwise.
Review your dishes
If you think you’re becoming bored with dieting, research some other healthy recipes. In our blog, you have many options for breakfasts, snacks, lunches, and light dinners that are rich in protein, low in fat, and with few calories.
Variety will allow you to keep eating healthily over time. As we said before, imagination can have its limits, but we have the Internet!
Don’t skip meals
Some people believe that a minimum intake of calories will help them to lose weight. Although it’s partly true, we should not exceed a minimum. Skipping meals not only keeps us from losing weight but can also seriously harm our health.
Change the workout
Just as the body accommodates to a type of diet, the same thing happens with workouts. So revising and changing it can be important to avoid the diet plateau. Demand more of yourself so that your metabolism activates and begins to work.
If you used to do more weight training than cardio, do a couple of intense cardio sessions that put your body to work and start burning fat again.
In short, if you want to avoid the diet plateau, it’s best to surprise your body with a change in your habits. Shocking your body will result in a faster calorie burn.