weight loss plateau help?
my wife has been dieting for a few months now and recently she has reached a plateau. the has been on the south beach diet phase 2, hasn’t had any sugar and hasn’t broken her diet at all. she exercises daily, and drinks 8 glasses of water a day. she calorie counts and is usually between 1,100 and 1,400 calories per day. she just checked her inches and hasn’t lost any in a month. she is 5′5” and 140 pounds. should she be having more to eat, less to eat. different foods, longer workout routines. please help she is getting really stressed out.
Don’t diet because it tricks your body into thinking its starving (that’s why you loose weight at first), but then your body will store as much fat as it can because it thinks your still starving, What you need is a lifestyle change, follow this and you will lose weight. good luck.
eat healthy, cut out most processed foods (if it comes in a packet don’t eat it unless it is health) excess salt, sugar. Snack on fruit (fresh and dried), veggies (carrot celery etc.) nuts (unsalted and raw are the Healthiest) and cheese, salad, yogurt during the day. Cut down on red meat (about 1-2 times a week) eat more white meat (fish, pork,chicken), Fresh veggies not that packaged frozen stuff it has no nutrients (the more variety of color the better). Instead of having 3 big meals a day (DONT SKIP BREAKFAST) try to have 4-5 smaller healthy meals a day (helps your metabolism) and try to avoid having a big dinner and try not to eat after 7pm (this prevents all your food from just sitting in your stomach when you sleep (you body doesn’t digest food when you sleep or so im told)). Eat more foods that are high in protein, fiber and a low glycemic index (google it if your not sure) as they will help you feel fuller for longer (thus cuts out any unnecessary snacking). Drink water not soft drink (soda) as it is has about 35gms of sugar per can (sometimes more), don’t be food by ‘diet’ soda it may not have any sugar but the artificial sweetener they put in it is just as bad for your body. If you drink coffee try to replace it with tea (don’t put sugar in your tea as your trying to cut out excess sugar, instead squeeze some fresh lemon into it (i woldnt put lemon in it if your putting milk in it may taste funny). Doing so will help your body absorbing 4 time more antioxidants). Cut out takeaway and fast food, excess alcohol. Fat in foods is not the enemy as most people think it is, altho excess fat is. excess carbohydrates are the enemy, your body coverts carbohydrates to energy (thus if you eat excess carbohydrates and dont use this energy in your body will store it as fat tissue). Im not saying dont eat that ice cream or Chocy biscuit, just and a small bowl or 2 bikkys instead of 5. The key to success is moderation.
Try to get in at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. If you walk do so at a fast pace this increase your heart rate (thus burning more fat), if you can run or jog do so but dont run everyday, your body needs time to recover. Some people prefer to cycle because its a lot easier on your knees, feet and ankles (whilst running it can put up to 3 times your body weight of pressure on your knees, feet and ankles (if you weigh 60kgs that would be 180kgs of pressure) that why people choose to cycle).
If your serious about loosing weight i would suggest buying a heart rate Monitor ($50-$100 for a basic one), you want your heart rate to sit at 120-135 Beats Per Minute whilst exercising. It will also tell you how many calories you have burned in that session. A more effective and faster way to loose weight is to do H.I.I.T. (high intensity interval training) this is where you get your heart rate up to about 130BPM and keep it at that for about 4 Min’s then sprint for 50-70 meters (this will raise your heart rate up to about 160 -180BPM maybe more) then slow down and let your heart rate BPM fall back to 135 hold it there for a few min’s then sprint again and so on (if you dont want to get a heart rate monitor wear a watch and jog for 4 Min’s run for 30sec run for 4 Min’s jog for 30 min and so on). The key to weight loss is you want to burn more energy than you take in (eat).
Remember these things take time so be PATIENT and KEEP MOTIVATED.
I know its a lot to take in at first, but following this will cut out excess calories and you will live healthier, have more energy and loose weight, It will be hard at first because your body will go into shock (you will feel like crap for a few days) as all the toxins leave your body. resist the sugar cravings they usually come mid afternoon or night, but if you cant have a pack of lollies in the cupboard and just eat one or two. this will get rid of the cravings without having to many calories
March 3rd, 2010 at 5:13 pm
Don’t diet because it tricks your body into thinking its starving (that’s why you loose weight at first), but then your body will store as much fat as it can because it thinks your still starving, What you need is a lifestyle change, follow this and you will lose weight. good luck.
eat healthy, cut out most processed foods (if it comes in a packet don’t eat it unless it is health) excess salt, sugar. Snack on fruit (fresh and dried), veggies (carrot celery etc.) nuts (unsalted and raw are the Healthiest) and cheese, salad, yogurt during the day. Cut down on red meat (about 1-2 times a week) eat more white meat (fish, pork,chicken), Fresh veggies not that packaged frozen stuff it has no nutrients (the more variety of color the better). Instead of having 3 big meals a day (DONT SKIP BREAKFAST) try to have 4-5 smaller healthy meals a day (helps your metabolism) and try to avoid having a big dinner and try not to eat after 7pm (this prevents all your food from just sitting in your stomach when you sleep (you body doesn’t digest food when you sleep or so im told)). Eat more foods that are high in protein, fiber and a low glycemic index (google it if your not sure) as they will help you feel fuller for longer (thus cuts out any unnecessary snacking). Drink water not soft drink (soda) as it is has about 35gms of sugar per can (sometimes more), don’t be food by ‘diet’ soda it may not have any sugar but the artificial sweetener they put in it is just as bad for your body. If you drink coffee try to replace it with tea (don’t put sugar in your tea as your trying to cut out excess sugar, instead squeeze some fresh lemon into it (i woldnt put lemon in it if your putting milk in it may taste funny). Doing so will help your body absorbing 4 time more antioxidants). Cut out takeaway and fast food, excess alcohol. Fat in foods is not the enemy as most people think it is, altho excess fat is. excess carbohydrates are the enemy, your body coverts carbohydrates to energy (thus if you eat excess carbohydrates and dont use this energy in your body will store it as fat tissue). Im not saying dont eat that ice cream or Chocy biscuit, just and a small bowl or 2 bikkys instead of 5. The key to success is moderation.
Try to get in at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. If you walk do so at a fast pace this increase your heart rate (thus burning more fat), if you can run or jog do so but dont run everyday, your body needs time to recover. Some people prefer to cycle because its a lot easier on your knees, feet and ankles (whilst running it can put up to 3 times your body weight of pressure on your knees, feet and ankles (if you weigh 60kgs that would be 180kgs of pressure) that why people choose to cycle).
If your serious about loosing weight i would suggest buying a heart rate Monitor ($50-$100 for a basic one), you want your heart rate to sit at 120-135 Beats Per Minute whilst exercising. It will also tell you how many calories you have burned in that session. A more effective and faster way to loose weight is to do H.I.I.T. (high intensity interval training) this is where you get your heart rate up to about 130BPM and keep it at that for about 4 Min’s then sprint for 50-70 meters (this will raise your heart rate up to about 160 -180BPM maybe more) then slow down and let your heart rate BPM fall back to 135 hold it there for a few min’s then sprint again and so on (if you dont want to get a heart rate monitor wear a watch and jog for 4 Min’s run for 30sec run for 4 Min’s jog for 30 min and so on). The key to weight loss is you want to burn more energy than you take in (eat).
Remember these things take time so be PATIENT and KEEP MOTIVATED.
I know its a lot to take in at first, but following this will cut out excess calories and you will live healthier, have more energy and loose weight, It will be hard at first because your body will go into shock (you will feel like crap for a few days) as all the toxins leave your body. resist the sugar cravings they usually come mid afternoon or night, but if you cant have a pack of lollies in the cupboard and just eat one or two. this will get rid of the cravings without having to many calories
References :
March 3rd, 2010 at 5:49 pm
South Beach isn’t a bad "diet" but overall the best way for anyone to go is just make a permanent lifestyle change and stick with it…healthy eating and plenty of exercise.
You said she "exercises daily" but said nothing about what that consists of. How long, what kind of exercise, how intense, etc? A 20 walk is far different from 45 mins of aerobics or an hour of running or an hour of strength training with weights.
If she’s eating the same things over and over and doing the same workouts over and over, a plateau is not surprising. Cals need to stay above 1200 all the time…she needs to make sure she’s eating enough for the exercise she’s doing…and exercise needs to vary (different types of exercise, different ways of doing it). A couple of at home workout programs I’ve used and like are P90X and Chalene Extreme (both Beachbody products but you can find deals on ebay). I like them because they mix cardio, strength training, and flexibility so there is variety and you switch the order you do things and the workouts you do, every few wks. The change keeps your body guessing but also helps prevent boredom.
Tell her to hang in there and not get discouraged…even a plateau is better than regaining what’s been lost. The loss will start again…she just needs a "kick start".
References :
March 3rd, 2010 at 6:39 pm
Then, you can try some weight loss products.
References :
http://www.pandabuy.com/