Weight Loss Stalled

"Lose Weight" will be in everyone’s New Year’s resolution list. No matter, you have a little or a lot to shed, it is important to stay and remain motivated. Some people give up a few months into the year, but for those die hard fans of a better and healthy body, you keep at it day after day waiting for the first glimpse of change.

When it happens, not only do you notice, but so do friends, family and co-workers. This reinforcement along with the dropping numbers on the scale, make you win. Then, one day, the numbers stop falling. You are still twenty pounds from your goal and the scale refuses to budge. What should you do?

One thing that should not be done is to give up. Look at it this angle: You are not losing weight, but you are not gaining weight also. Plateaus are experienced several times over the course of a weight loss program. At beginning, weight loss is steady because it is new to the body. Your increased metabolism and decreased caloric intake helps to shed some pounds. Water loss accounts for at least the first ten pounds of weight loss. As your body works to adjust to your physical activity, more calories are burned which translated into more weight lost. Plateaus come when the body has become accustomed to the routine.


Don’t stress Yourself. Giving up will put you right back at square one.

First of all, throw out the scale You may have heard this before, but it’s true: Muscle is more weighter than fat. If weight training has been a part of your weight loss program, then as the muscle mass increases so will your weight. You may still be losing fat, but the weight of the increased muscle balances the weight loss

To jump off of your current plateau, examine your diet and exercise program. If your fitness routine hasn’t changed since the beginning, consider making a few changes. Try a new activity. If you’re used to aerobics five times a week, switch to the treadmill or an elliptical trainer. Muscles need to be challenged on a regular basis in order to grow.

If the exercises are still a challenge, then look at what you are eating. If you’ve been having a free day more than once a week you could be taking in too many calories. Go back to what you were doing at the start of the program.

Keep journals for a couple of weeks to track what works for you and gets the scale moving again.

Remember, you have to change one thing at a time. When you change something, give the change atleast a full thirty days, and then check back the results.