How to Overcome Weight Loss Plateau

In addition to being a pharmacist with several sub-specialties in diabetes and cholesterol management, smoking cessation a personal trainer and certified nutrition guide, I was obese the first 17 years of my life and for the following 3 decades I struggled with keeping the weight and often hit plateaux, peeks and troughs that seem to last indefinitely no matter what I do. I just was not able to find balance, peace of mind and I lived with guilt through out that entire period. Even the professional advice I sought did not seem convincing and did not produce results.

So I went on a quest for answers, and that's the main reason I specialized in those fields, until I found the answers for permanent weight loss, permanent weight control and breaking beyond all plateaux without dieting and while enjoying a great emotional, physical and balanced lifestyle. I have included the results of my long quest in my book titled " Lifestyle Makeover for Diabetics" in Action Step 4 which takes up half of my book. From Action Step 4 till the end of the book the information provided applies to all people and not just diabetics. But I have specifically addressed the issue of overcoming plateaux on Pages 232, 233 and 234 In Action Step 4 of my book.

There are several factors that contribute to this problem:

1) With this first scenario I address those who are uninformed or misinformed.

When people go on a "diet", skip meals or take OTC or RX Diet pills they lose weight due water loss, some fat but a good chunk of precious muscle mass. They feel good for losing that weight the first month or so but what they are doing is setting themselves up for a vicious trap. When they lose this precious muscle, which weighs more than fat, they cause a drop in the Basic Metabolic Rate (BMR). The body burns lots of energy to keep muscle cells alive. When a good chunk of muscle is lost for good than the body burns less energy and stores the balance as fat. So that's a main reason why people stop losing.

Moreover, most "dieters" want to lose weight by food restrictions without increasing their level of activity (I don't use the word exercise). We CAN NEVER maintain any weight lost without activity. More Often than not people overestimate their level of daily activity. One more reason people feel that they stopped losing.

One has also to look at the quality and quantity of food consumed. People way underestimate the density of food consumed because they are mis or uninformed. People don't have a clue about making balanced food choices, about the importance of incorporating 30 to 35 grams of fiber daily which includes a wealth of benefits on weight loss and health in general, don't read food labels and expect to lose weight. " Oh I just had a small piece of lemon cake"! Well have they read the nutrition label of "that small piece of Cake" they would have realized that it included a total of 400 calories, some 50 grams of sugar and 25 grams of fat. I challenge all readers of this article to read the Nutrition Labels of some of these cookies, muffins, cakes, chips and see how heart and artery blowing they can be. If people are not reading Nutrition Labels of the food they eat (which is the overwhelming majority of our population) then they will not only gain weight but their lives are in real and imminent danger.

The second scenario is when people are informed and have been trying to lose weight by making favorable food and activity choices. After 2 or 3 months into their quest and periodically thereafter they might hit a plateau.

A great plateau buster is to include a variety to the activity they are doing. After a while our brains track our patterns and in order to find balance, technically known as "Homeostasis", the brain adapts the energy burnt just enough to accommodate the energy demand from the activity performed. Consequently, we can enter into a plateau. So increasing the intensity or duration of the activity is not always the answer because we to take into consideration our limited time.

The answer is "variety" of activity. Through out the day we need to aim at walking about 12 to 15 thousand steps gauged by a pedometer (cheaply bought at discount stores, pharmacies and fitness institutions for $7 to 10). Three times a week people need to schedule a sustained bout of a "Variety" of activity for 30 to 45 minutes. One day do walking, the next do cycling on bicycle or a stationary one, the following time walking including hilly terrain, next swimming, the following time walk on a treadmill. Use brisk pace which is faster than normal pace. Do not forget wearing rubber walking padded shoes to avoid overuse injury.

During those bouts a crucial and simple factor can be added for beginners and advanced alike which is to use "Interval Cycle Training" which is Bouts of varying bouts of fast and slower movement. All these variety factors keep the brain confused and not adapt to a specific routine. Hence continued results. More details are found in the Activity section in Action Step 4 of "Lifestyle Makeover for Diabetics"

Here is also a quick plateau buster checklist:

-" Am I eating enough fiber?"

-"Have I been skipping meals or snacks?"

- "What have I been eating for snacks?"

-" Have my portion sizes gradually become bigger?"

- "Have I gone back to drinking soft drinks?"

- "Have I been accounting for all sugary or salty snacks and beverages consumed daily?"

A more extensive checklist and all these issues are covered much more extensively in simple format in my book mentioned below.

My Credentials:

George F Tohme, Pharmacist, graduated from The University of Pittsburgh, Pa in 1987 and currently practicing in Texas. I am certified in Diabetes (Univ. of Texas at Austin) and Cholesterol Management (American Pharmacists Association), Smoking Cessation ( Univ. Of Pittsburgh), Nutrition Guidance (Cooper institute) and a Personal Trainer (ACE).

Author of: "Lifestyle Makeover for Diabetics".

Read Excerpts: http://www.lifestyle-makeover.com

Future Release: "Lifestyle Makeover for Smokers"
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George Tohme R.Ph.
Lifestyle Makeover
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