The Dreaded Plateau

THE DREADED PLATEAU

Unfortunately, a plateau is a part of any weight loss attempt. Sometimes plateaus are good, sometimes they are bad, but they are always frustrating.

It is really difficult to change your mindset about a plateau, I know this because I have had them and I've been on one for several weeks now.

Usually a plateau means that your body has adapted to your current eating and exercising programs and you need to make some changes to reset it.

A Few Things to Remember About A Weight Loss Plateau:

It has a beginning and and end (study the picture above)
There is a reason for it (good or bad)
You need to study your plateau
Do not quit while you are on a plateau
Everyone has them
The only way off one is to work through it
Plateaus happen even when you are doing everything "right"

The Beginning......

Plateaus can start for many reasons: you are "off" plan with either diet or exercise eating things you shouldn't be or not exercising; your body has adapted to your current diet and exercise patterns and is no longer burning calories but storing them in anticipation, women may have hormonal imbalances each month that may carry over; not drinking enough water so the body starts storing.....and on and on and on.

Walking the Plateau.....

I am always frustrated by a plateau, even though I know it will end it feels defeating....especially your first one because usually it comes after many weeks of great losses. The more weight that needs to be lost, the more plateaus seem to occur.

We talk about this all the time in Weight Watcher meetings and last year I decided that I needed to look at a picture of a plateau and I even did a word study on it! That's the OCD in me needing to know everything about everything! Ha!

So as I started looking at pictures of geographical plateaus I had some interesting observations.......

Let's look at that picture again.....

 Notice that it begins on the left with a very gradual slope upwards and then it flattens off. This is the plateau. Notice how it is flat and even and seems to go on that way for a very long time? THEN WHAT HAPPENS?? It gradually slopes down.

I also noticed that many pictures of plateaus are taken from many miles away so the photographer can capture the ENTIRE structure. This is true of our weight loss plateaus......take a look back at 3 weeks before you hit the plateau, what was happening then and what changed?

Sometimes it is all about perspective. Imagine standing on the middle of that! What would you see differently? Would your perspective change? When we are on a plateau it is hard to see things around us, all we see is the never ending flatness!

The End...

You can't get to the end of your plateau if you don't walk across it to the other side. Notice that there are no detours, no secret passages down, nothing......YOU HAVE TO CONQUER IT.

If you quit you will stay there, there is no other way off it. You can either go back or go forward.

Your Plateau....

Your plateau is all your own. It probably won't look, last or change like anyone elses. Heed there suggestions, though, on how to get off of it. Look at what you have been doing. What are you eating? What are you not eating? What does your body need? Are you exercising? How much and how often? Do you need to increase or decrease or change it up? Are you doing all cardio with no strength training or the reverse?

EXPLORE your plateau!!!

BLESSINGS ON YOUR JOURNEY!!!

3.1RUNMOM