{"id":47946,"date":"2016-02-29T07:15:47","date_gmt":"2016-02-29T12:15:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=47946"},"modified":"2021-11-18T11:20:32","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T16:20:32","slug":"weight-loss-plateau","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/weight-loss-plateau\/","title":{"rendered":"Help! Why Did I Suddenly Stop Losing Weight?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Help!
Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Things were going well. You\u2019d get on the scale and do a little happy dance of victory every time you shed a pound or two. But now you\u2019re stuck. The number isn\u2019t going anywhere \u2014\u00a0even though you feel like you\u2019re still eating right and hitting your sweat sessions hard. Yup, you\u2019ve hit the dreaded weight loss plateau.<\/p>\n

The good news: This is a normal part of weight loss. \u201cThere\u2019s the honeymoon phase where dieters experience almost instant weight loss,\u201d says exercise physiologist and spokesman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Jim White.<\/a> \u201cDietary changes, water weight, and initial motivation to exercise help you slim down at first.\u201d But after that, things might not be quite so easy. (Sorry!) Here are five reasons that number on the scale might not be going anywhere \u2014 for now.<\/p>\n

5 Reasons You\u2019ve Hit a Weight Loss Plateau<\/strong><\/h3>\n

1. The same thing isn\u2019t working anymore.
\n<\/strong>You\u2019ve gotten into a workout groove \u2014 but that might be the problem. It\u2019s time to mix it up from your usual dumbbell exercises<\/a> or barre class<\/a>. Doing a variety of exercises decreases boredom, keeping you engaged and excited to sweat. Not to mention that it\u2019s good to challenge your muscles in new ways, working your body from different angles, White says. Plus, it\u2019ll help if you step your go-to workouts up a notch, too. \u201cGoing higher intensity<\/a> is the key to busting a plateau,\u201d says White. After all, if you\u2019re going to work out for 30 minutes, why not work out hard<\/em>? That means playing singles versus doubles tennis; doing a fast-paced weight circuit versus single machines; or running faster<\/a> than your usual pace.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> Exhausted? Here\u2019s How It Can Sabotage Your Workouts<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cNuts are better than a doughnut, but you could be thinking you\u2019re eating well but consuming too many calories.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

2. Your diet is in a rut.
\n<\/strong>When you make chicken your go-to dinner night after night, you\u2019re bound to get bored. And that can backfire into mega cravings<\/a>. When you eat a varied diet \u2014 chicken and broccoli one night, a loaded, baked sweet potato the next, and yummy beef stew after that \u2014 you\u2019ll get a variety of nutrients and flavor profiles. That means you might actually you\u2019ll look forward to those healthy meals. (Rather than wanting to supplement dinner with a bowl of ice cream.)<\/p>\n

Another factor: The diet changes that helped you lose weight in the beginning may be unrealistic and too strict. \u201cSure you\u2019ll lose weight when you don\u2019t eat a lot of bread, rice and pasta, but a lot of times that\u2019s not sustainable,\u201d says White. \u201cYou\u2019ll lose weight but also lose your motivation and [you won\u2019t] get enough nutrients for energy.\u201d So when you decide to make a big change to your diet (like going sugar or wheat-free<\/a>), ask yourself: Can I do this forever? If the answer is no, rethink your plan.<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>20 Meal Prep Tips from the Best Preppers We Know<\/a><\/p>\n

3. The little things are bringing you down.
\n<\/strong>Sometimes it\u2019s what you don\u2019t<\/em> pay attention to that really makes a difference in your diet, says White. The two creamers in your coffee, plus the crackers with dip you sampled at the grocery store, combined with that half of a cookie you ate at work could really add up. \u201cSeparately, these don\u2019t seem like that big of a deal, but together they\u2019re 300 to 400 calories, and that can stall your weight or cause weight gain,\u201d he says. White calls these \u201ccalorie creeps.\u201d Fight \u2018em off by pay attention to the little bites that add up big \u2014 tracking your eats with an app like MyFitnessPal<\/a> can help you pay heed.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 12 Things Nobody Told Me About Losing Weight<\/a><\/p>\n

4. You\u2019re getting too much of a good thing.
\n<\/strong>Peanut butter, avocado, walnuts. These are all are great sources of healthy fats<\/a>, which you\u2019ve been told time and time again to add to your diet. But they\u2019re not free calories. \u201cToo much of a good thing is just that,\u201d says White. \u201cNuts are better than a doughnut, but you could be thinking you\u2019re eating well but consuming too many calories,\u201d he says. So practice good portion control \u2014\u00a0whether you\u2019re eating brownies or pistachios. (Here\u2019s what 200 calories of nuts looks like<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> Eat Fat, Lose Weight: The Anti-Hunger Diet<\/a><\/p>\n

5. You\u2019re eating what you\u2019re burning.
\n<\/strong>\u201cI\u2019ve seen people walking on the treadmill for 45 minutes drinking Gatorade,\u201d says White. \u201cYou\u2019re like a hamster on a wheel, consuming the same calories you\u2019re burning.\u201d The whole reason you\u2019re busting your butt at the gym, on the road or in spin class<\/a> is to create a calorie deficit. Eating or drinking too many calories during a workout, or rewarding yourself with too many treats after (I deserve this large smoothie!), can cause a plateau.<\/p>\n

Rather than going to the other extreme and starving yourself during or after a workout, you want to eat for your sport, White says. Light exercise? You\u2019re good with H20 to power you through. Going on an intense and sweaty run? Afterwards, reach for complex carbs<\/a> to replenish lost glycogen in muscles. Got a big weightlifting workout on tap? Fill up on high-quality protein<\/a> post-workout. Before you know it, you\u2019ll be back<\/a> on the fast track to weight loss.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just when you started to feel like you had this whole diet thing down, the scale stopped moving. Here\u2019s what might be behind your weight loss plateau. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,7,18],"tags":[41,341,343,285],"class_list":["post-47946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diet-nutrition","category-health","category-weight-loss","tag-diets","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2exercise","tag-weight-loss"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/71"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47946\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}