The dreaded plateau!
 

Ok, it is inevitable we are human beings …one’s weight is never stagnant. She did not loose 1 ounce this week…

It is impossible to maintain one weight number.   For example, if your weight is 156 lbs., your weight may fluctuate throughout the day 156 in the am, then 158 in the evening. This week my client hit a plateau, no weight loss. What I tried to explain is that although the scale is not registering your efforts, that does not mean the work and the loss of fat is not continuing on the inside.
             

I would like to compare it to a building. White Plains New York is about 5 minutes from my house. They most recently changed the landscape by adding a new high-rise apartment complex. What is so interesting is that the construction team worked on this project for 23 months, clearing the existing foundation, setting a new one, setting the  beams etc. for over 1 1/2 years. Then, what seamed like magic they put up one floor a month. What is my point?   Well, clearing the old, paper work, getting permits, designing, and I’m sure other major obstacles all take place.   They reached a “plateau” and it made it feel like nothing was happening on the outside. But, in actuality, teams of workers were strategizing  and moving mountains behind close doors.
             

Another very positive way to  approach a plateau during a weight loss phase is to understand  how our bodies are designed.   For example, homeostasis will educate and reassure you when the weigh in is a disappointment. Whether one is morbidly obese or under weight, the body is designed to maintain balance for your current weight.   Try to understand that it may be in your body’s best interest to slow the process so that all functions of the body have adjusted to the new lower body weight.   If one week you hit a plateau, then the next week you lose 1/2 a pound, then the next week you hit a plateau again, by the 4th week the scale registers a 4 pound loss, it does not mean necessarily that the weight was lost the 4th week.

Try to look at it from another perspective. Perhaps during a plateau phase, one is “under construction” and when the scale actually shows the new registered lower weight number, that is the equivalent to the floor being up, solid and ready to admire. Point is that all phases are important. The body is a work of art in progress. Even maintaining a weight range of 1-3 pounds is a victory.   So, the next time you hit the dreaded plateau, embrace it and celebrate the “under construction” phase. Do not use it as an excuse to overeat and start the diet Monday script syndrome.
         

Pledge to honor yourself, continue to make better food choices, exercise daily and always remember, “Patience is a virtue.   The reason this became a saying is because it is true!!! Until the next update!! Happy eating, exercising, planning, construction, or___________(you fill in the blank)!!

By Lisa Avellino

Focus 28 Fitness Expert

www.focus28wellness.com