Weight-Loss Plateaus
Weight-loss plateaus are common weight-loss problems. A stop in weight loss causes extreme frustration for the dieter and reduces the motivation to continue dieting. Without results, many dieters give up and fall back into poor eating habits. However, weight-loss plateaus often are easy to fix. A current diet assessment and some calorie computations are all that's needed for a dieter to get back on track and continue weight-loss success.
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Significance
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Hitting a weight-loss plateau signifies that the current diet and exercise routine are not covering the amount of calories consumed in food or that the body's metabolism is otherwise slowing down. Because the current setup is not working, weight loss plateaus are evidence that change has to occur.
Types
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There are two types of weight-loss plateaus. The first type of plateau occurs when calorie intake equals calories burned. As people loses weight, they often forget to adjust their caloric needs for their new weights. Remember that lower weights burn a lower number of calories. If the calorie number remains the same, eventually weight loss slows, then stops. The second type of weight-loss plateau is due to a deficient caloric intake. Dieters who lower their daily calories below 1,000 slow their metabolism, an effect due to the body's response to perceived starvation.
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Prevention/Solution
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For people who plateau because they haven't updated their caloric needs, the solution involves recalculating what the caloric intake for the current weight needs to be. With the new number, weight loss can continue. The people who plateau from inadequate calories also benefit from calculating their caloric needs. When their bodies readjust to the adequate number of calories, weight loss resumes.
Considerations
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Another way to deal with a weight-loss plateau that is due to caloric-adjustment issues is to add additional exercise. Exercise burns off calories, so it's possible to simply exercise enough to compensate for the additional calories in the diet. The dieter still has to recalculate new needs in order to determine the calories needed to burn, but doesn't have to reduce food intake.
Warning
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Without a problem with the diet and an adequate calorie intake is correct for the person's current weight, it is possible that a medical issue is to blame. Make an appointment with a doctor and discuss the sudden stop in weight loss. The most common culprit of a slowing metabolism is hypothyroidism, which only requires a blood test for diagnosis. Treatment of hypothyroidism is medication. Once treated with the metabolism returning to normal, weight loss will resume.
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