Please explain "platues" to me?
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| Fri, 04-08-2005 - 8:19am |
I am not sure I even spelled it right. I think that DH and I are both experiencing platues. Actually, I'm really not sure what is going on. Both of us had started working out more..(me a *little* more)...and started eating a few more hundred calories a day more often than we were when we started out (used to be under our limit..now meet it more often). Both feel really bloated. I thought mine was my cycle, but maybe it isn't? My "baby" nurses less...I'm thinking about weaning him totally...and that makes my calories burned less. We have indulged in hamburgers and fatty stuff more, although always within our calorie limit. Both of us stepped on the scale this morning and both of us were UP about 2 pounds from our last weigh in! I checked the scale, it seems to be working right. I measured my waist...it's the same as it was about two weeks ago... I plugged in my current weight and info into FITDAY to see if my calories changed since I first started (25 pounds ago) and it has. It puts me at needing to eat 1082 a day to lose 1.5 a week. I know that number seems shocking to some, but I'm only 5' tall. My husband's did the same thing...lowering his to 2055 a day (he is 5'11). So is this a platue? Should we lower our calories to that and will we then start to lose some more. Most importantly, we do not want to gain any more back! That's scary! Can anyone help me udnerstand this?
Kim


I would think about how much water you're drinking and where the calories are coming from.
Kim, a plateau is just a period when your body thinks "everything is going well, and I can operate just fine on what I'm getting put into me, I'll just maintain the status quo thanks!"
So it isn't always a calorie-intake adjustment that is needed, sometime increasing your calories by 5-10% for a week and then going back down to your normal intake will mix things up enough that you will once again see a weight loss.
I agree with Steff. Up your water a bit each day until you reach 128oz, especially in the Spring and Fall when it's hotter and we're more active. All that water will flush out the toxic fat and excess salt from your body which will almost immediately cause you to loose inches. It did me. I started Sunday night doing these things with moderate exercise and when I weighed Wednesday at 8am, I'd lost 2 pounds and 1 inch off my waist. I was amazed and thrilled! Also, remember how smart our bodies are. They adjust very easily for more efficiency. It will learn what you do, adapt to it and find a way to do it easier which causes you to have lower results. Sooo, what you must do is change things up a bit. Trick your body. Make it learn something new and keep changing the routine every 2 weeks. Plus, this helps with the mundane. This is one way of explaining a plateau.
Another thing to remember. I've hear Dr. Phil with his weight loss program and other professionals say that when you have a decent amount of weight to loose, the bulk comes off faster at first and then as you start getting closer to your goal weight, you'll start leveling out and the weight comes off more slowly. At first, most of the weight is just toxicity leaving in the form of fat, water and salt. Up your cardio to 45 minutes a day. This will make a big difference. No bread, sodas and sugar. No carbs after 5pm or else they just sit in you gaining fat. After you reach your goal or less, you can add a bit of the carb or treat while watching how it affects you. Like, do you wake up the next morning after having pasta and white bread and you can't get your rings on you fingers?
These are just suggestions that are working for me, but you need to find what works for you. But, as I always say, it never hurts to just try it and see how it works for you. If you don't like it, no big deal, just switch to what does work.
Hope this helps,
Ginger
Kim, I just found a short article about plateau-ing. I hope I don't get in trouble for retyping it. LOL
Q: My trainer keeps talking about periodization. What is it?
A: Periodization is a technique that can help you avoid hitting a workout plateau. By changing one aspect of your routine-the distance of a run, the amount of weight lifted or the length of rest between sets-at regular intervals, you'll challenge your body. If your program never changes, your body will adapt and you're less likely to see relults. The length of the intervals can vary from one week to three months, depending on your level of fitness.
Hope this helps,
Ginger
This is a great Q&A, thanks for finding it Ginger!
Plateau's can be really frustrating-- work on couple of things the others suggested Kim, I'm sure you'll be a 'loser' again soon!
*** Moderation Is Key ***
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That's hilarious! How do you respond to being called a looser?! LOL
Of course in this case, and I do mean JUST this case, I'd allow anyone to call me a looser!!!
Ginger
Thank you to everyone who helped me to understand this stall in weight loss. I guess I will follow the tips you guys gave and try to shake things up a bit. I've spent a good bit of time today figuring out a good daily schedule, considering my DH's new working hours. So I'll try to keep the sodium and fats down, and I'm going to do 30 minutes of exercise six days a week. I don't want my calories to be too low, or too high, so I thought I would keep my 1400 limit...with the exercising...and see what happens. I may have to lower it if I don't see any progress. I'm so achey and crampy, I can't believe my period is still a week away! Ugg.
Kim
I don't know if this works for menstration, but my trainer said that after a hard workout, you can draw a hot bath and add half of a bottle of asprin (non coated so they dissolve) and two bottles of rubbing alcohol. Soak in it and it takes the soreness out. I did that the first night when we worked on abs and I wasn't sore at all. The next day, however, I didn't soak after working my upper body and I'm very sore today. Just a suggestion.
Ginger