HYDERABAD: The pounds are coming off, you are losing the inches and feeling good. You really have the momentum going, eating well and making conscious food choices. Exercise is a part of your lifestyle and you are taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking to lunch, sweating on the treadmill four times a week. You are doing all the right things and the flow is amazing. It’s now just a matter of keeping focus and staying on track.
Then you hit a plateau. The last 10 kgs just doesn’t want to come off and you are a little frustrated. Is there something missing? Could you be doing more? One important thing to remember is that you stay committed to an active way of life that includes exercise, eating right and taking responsibility for your good health. Temporary efforts yield temporary results. However , if you’ve established exercise and healthy food choices as an integral part of your life then all realistic goals can and will be achieved.
Strength Training Must
If your weight has come to an abrupt halt, you must be wondering : “Am I doing something wrong?” This happens to runners and endurance athletes, and it happens to dieters, too. This roadblock often occurs just after your initial weight loss, and again when you can’t seem to lose those last few pounds. It is discouraging to keep working hard when you can’t see the fruits of your labour. To make things worse, these weight loss plateaus can last from several days to several months. As your weight goes down, you not only lose fat but also a small amount of muscle. Approximately about 25% of the body tissue lost during weight loss comes from muscle.
Since muscle is required to keep the metabolic rate up, losing it can reduce our metabolism. The missing component in your fitness regimen is strength training. Lifting weights and doing resistance work are the key factors in promoting fat loss as well as weight loss. A comprehensive full body weight training programme will increase your metabolism , burning more fat as an energy source. As a result , you will burn more calories and more fat at all times, even at rest.
Barter Works
My experience has been that the body naturally tries to maintain a certain weight where it is most comfortable. If you find yourself stuck at the same weight time and again, you may have reached the comfort zone. This needs to be broken. My personal experience of weight loss is that I manage to lose a fair bit and when I have reached the plateau, I am almost so comfortable with what I eat and how much I exercise, that I am not willing to make a change.
This is what happens to most people. It is at such times that I barter with myself and ask myself what is it that I want to change. If it is exercise , I change or add on to the workout, whereas if it is my diet, I get strong and let go of my comfort foods. Often, if my diet is good, it’s the portion size that needs to be changed. Making a mental calculation of my calories has helped me to break through my plateaus. Stop looking for solutions outside. Just learn to balance your input and output. The answers lie within you and you know your body best.