What is a Weight Loss Plateau?

When you begin a diet and lose a few pounds, but you reach a plateau, your body begins to adjust. It starts to use its muscles to go without food and you may feel pain during mealtime. In such a case, your best option may be to increase your caloric intake again. But what exactly is a weight loss plateau? How can you treat it? Here are some possible treatments. First, try reassessing your caloric intake.

Common causes of a weight loss plateau

There are many reasons why you may hit a weight loss plateau, but the most common cause is inability to stick to a diet and exercise plan. While it's natural to fall off the diet and exercise regimen from time to time, excessive noncompliance should be a red flag. Nutritionists often give clients a cheat day, but this can be a mistake. Increasing portion size and eating more high-calorie foods can also cause a plateau.

In order to stay motivated, you must start enjoying the physical activity you do. If you don't enjoy your workouts, you'll end up doing them less than you would otherwise. Unless you enjoy exercise, you'll most likely plateau and never lose more weight. If you're feeling discouraged, talk to your health care provider or a registered dietitian. Your goal weight may be too low for your current exercise and diet regimen. Once you've regained a few pounds, you should appreciate your accomplishments.

Treatment options

Weight loss is a lifelong process, and when the results are steady and consistent, you will eventually reach a plateau. During this time, you can consult a dietitian, certified personal trainer, or doctor for treatment. However, you should note that weight loss can be slow for a number of reasons, including the gradual loss of lean muscle mass or the increase of appetite. Other possible reasons include the psychological effects of losing weight and fatigue.

Most people tend to underestimate their calorie intake and energy intake. To understand your eating habits better, track the number of calories that you consume each day and track macronutrients. If you don't feel that you're eating enough, try using food tracker apps, which can give you a clear idea of how many calories you're burning. This can help you make more accurate estimates of your calories, thereby guiding your diet.

Exercise

When you reach a plateau in your weight loss program, it is important to take a break from your routine to refresh yourself and reassess your exercise regimen. Keeping your workout routine too rigid can hinder your weight loss efforts. If you are able to lose weight, consider adding strength training to your exercise routine. Muscle burns more calories than fat, so if you are losing weight but have plateaus, strength training can be a great solution.

In addition to the right diet, regular exercise can help you break through your plateau. By following a healthy diet, exercise is an essential component of losing weight. Many people make the mistake of "keeping score" after their workout by plopping down on the couch. Instead of continuing to exercise, they may binge-watch their favorite Netflix show. This behavior may be counterproductive and slow down your weight loss efforts.

Diet adherence

Despite their desire to lose weight, many dieters fail to maintain their diet. After several months, their initial methods fail to produce the desired results. They revert back to old habits, or the initial diet is abandoned. The cause of a weight loss plateau is usually not the diet itself, but a lack of adherence. It's all about the person's willpower, which becomes drained when a diet doesn't meet their goals.

Researchers have found that intermittent lack of diet adherence is one of the major contributors to early weight loss plateau. To address this issue, weight-loss prediction software incorporates the theory of metabolic adaptation and intermittent lack of adherence. The model can then be used to inform and guide patients on realistic levels of diet adherence. In fact, it can even determine if a diet is too restrictive. And if the diet is too restrictive, a weight loss plateau can reoccur.