How to break the weight loss plateau

Stuck in a rut?

After a month of exerting and dieting, you rushed to your scale only to realize that your weight has not decreased! If this is true for you then you have hit a weight loss plateau.

You may be wondering as to what happened to the initial weight loss your scales were happily displaying. When you begin workouts, you will lose water which accounts for the shedding a few kilos. But now, in spite of your best efforts and stringent dieting, your weighing scale seems to be halted.

As we all know by now that the cornerstones of shedding the pounds are a great diet plan, strong workout program and an indomitable will to stick to it. Out of these, your diet will always play a key role in bringing your weight down and keeping it there.

Let us see what has happened here:

To begin with, you should know that our body is a self-serving, adaptable device. The more you work out, the stronger your body gets and it needs calories to boost its energies. So, if you are ingesting fewer calories than before, it will go on a reverse track. It will begin to save the calories which will be used in times of an emergency.

How do you fight weight loss plateau? Here are some tips:

Check your diet:

Did you say stringent diet? Go on a well-balanced diet instead. Include potatoes, sweet potato, whole wheat pasta, milk, bananas and many such healthy carbs in your meals. This will sound counter to what you are trying to do. But remember, not eating enough of calories will not have the same effect you are hoping to accomplish for that washboard belly. This is because you slow down your metabolic rate (the rate at which your body burns calories) thus stalling weight loss.

So we say: It is time to eat wisely and not measly.

Eat at regular intervals: For that very reason eat small meals after 2-3 hours.  It may sound contrary to what you are doing but eating regularly will help in shedding the pounds. Don’t skip a meal, definitely not your breakfast as it slows down your BMR, lowers blood sugar leaving you hungry leading to over-eating.

So we say: For a consistent calorie burn, eat every four hours. This will also keep hunger pangs at bay.

Consume good fat:  Do you blast your cook every day screaming “Watch that oil”…? Of course, it is everybody’s concern these days to cook with less oil that our bawarchis do not understand.  Yet, getting the right amount of oil is necessary.

So we say: Include a nominal amount of unsaturated oil/fat in your diet. Munch on nuts, peanuts, walnuts, especially almonds as they are rich in an amino acid known as L-arginine, which aid in chiselling away the fat during exercising. Drizzle olive oil on your salads have salmon, avocado in your diet…in short have fun.

Coconut oil: This oil is the flavour of the season and on the top of the leaderboard of all healthy fats. Why? Coconut oil is packed with MCT, which is saturated fat.  But MCT is ‘medium chain’, it is metabolized differently, thus it not just helps to keep your weight down but will pump in a whole lot of goodness in you.

So we say: Go coco go…

Fibre:  One of the best ways to combat fat is with fibre.  Studies show that paying attention to high-fibre foods can actually help you shed pounds because they are so nutritious and filling.

So we say: Add to your dietary list a couple of potatoes (both white and sweet), chikoo, mangoes (in season) rice, dals and pulses, wheat biscuits and the complete array of fibre.

More carbs: When you hit a plateau, it would be wise to switch on a carb-rich meal.  Why?  When you lose weight, you have less fat on your body and therefore less leptin (the hormone that gives a feeling of satiety and contentment) in your system.  This state sends a message to our brain to use up the calories as your body will not starve.

So we say: Studies have pointed out that the best way is to increase your leptin production which is by eating more carbohydrates. This will tell the brain to burn calories at the regular rate. This is a trick that will increase your weight loss. Now, remember to opt for wholesome sources of carbs and eat them at the right time.

Go green: Combine your fitness routine with a few cups of green tea. As you may have guessed, green tea is figure friendly as they contain ‘catechins’ fat-fighting compounds.

So we say: Get on the right track by drinking body- sculpting green tea!

H2O: Drink enough water. It will flush out toxins, excess salt and prevents you from getting dehydrated when you are exercising. Also, a glass of water before meals is a good idea.  It will fill you up and will thwart you from over eating.

Following these tips will help you stall the weight loss plateau. So good luck, happy reading.