It seems like a dirty trick. You’ve worked so hard for so long to lose weight and now you’re stuck. Days, perhaps weeks, have gone by and your weight just won’t budge. You feel yourself becoming increasingly frustrated and less motivated. Before you give up and throw in the towel, let me explain what’s going on.
You may not realize that along with the pounds you lost, your calorie needs have dropped as well. Your new, slimmer body requires less energy (fewer calories) to maintain its current weight. Thus, if you consume the same number of calories you did with your initial weight loss, you will not see similar results.
To compound the problem, many (probably most) people relax their dieting behaviors once some weight falls off. And they may not have any idea that this has happened. Portions slowly creep up – what was once a ½ cup serving is now ¾ cup. Maybe they (you) are doing more picking throughout the day or taking too many nibbles from a dining companion’s or a child’s plate. Sound familiar?
POWERFUL WEIGHT LOSS TIP
Take time to reflect on your behaviors and goals.
It may be time to re-visit the basics and assess your current eating behaviors. Here are some things to consider. Ask and honestly answer the following questions:
- Am I planning ahead, measuring portions, and keeping food records?
- How much alcohol am I consuming?
- Am I eating at least 6 cups of non-starchy vegetables per day?
- Do I need to increase the frequency, time, and/or intensity of my workouts?
Lastly, take some time to re-assess your weight loss goals and consider this possibility. Perhaps the reason you’re not still losing is because you’ve reached your personal best weight – a weight that is reasonable and healthy for your body at this time. It may be best to work on maintenance for now and get back to losing some more down the road.
Now, I’d love to hear from you.
Have you ever hit a weight loss plateau? What did you do about it?
Please share in the comment section below. Your ideas could be very helpful to other readers.
Meanwhile, if you need help getting started, check out my Free Self-Assessment and learn how you can lose 20 lb. – or more. Go to, https://njnutritionist.com/freeconsult
Image courtesy of Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Hi Lorraine
I did manage to loose a few pounds between November and January by trying the new diet which has been researched by a Research Dietitian and I believe an Oncologist working or supported by Breakthrough Cancer despite it being Christmas and New Year.
It involves eating a very, very low carbohydrate diet for two days out of 7 and eating normally for the remaining 5 days.
But then it got very cold and I found that I shivered a little from time to time because I was very cold from within so to speak.
I will now watch for the pitfalls you have outlined above and try to identify and use non carbohydrate vegetables as much as possible and see how I get on.