“My weight has been stalled for the last week or two!”
“My plan isn’t working anymore!”
“I need new workouts and a new diet plan STAT!”
At one point or another, 99% of people will hit a plateau during their weight loss journey and a minor panic will ensue.
It’s a totally normal wave in long-term progress.
You are in this for the long-term right?
There are a number of reasons why it’s best to wait and just chill the hell out for a second.
Focus on Other Metrics
First, many times it just takes longer than you think for changes to happen to a degree that we can see or measure.
Your bodies don’t care about messing up some personal fat loss goal and timetable you have mapped out. Or keeping up with the results of your friend who has a completely different body and life.
There are many other metrics to gauge your progress beyond just what the scale shows you, like:
How your clothes fit
Functional strength increases
Better fitness endurance
Workout consistency
More mobility and less pain
Increased energy
Better mood
Healthier blood markers
Better sleep
Improvement in stress management
And healthier eating habits
Just to name a few.
Stop Stressing
Second, and this one’s related to the first reason, sometimes things don’t happen until you finally stop obsessing and get your mind on other things.
Because as the saying goes… “A watched pot never boils”
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve told impatient clients to only focus on what they do for a while and not on what they see and can measure.
Then in a few weeks, they finally slip into those jeans or step on the scale and have lost another 5 pounds.
Give a stressed-out mind the chance to take a deep breath and the body… exhales.
That’s also why just repeating a “stalled plan” just a little longer or leaving alone a “broken metabolism” that really isn’t broken, can lead to big progress!
Track Everything
The third is simply you didn’t get it right, YET.
Your calories were probably too inconsistent or inaccurate.
FYI - You need weeks of accuracy and consistency in your diet for change, not days. And you’re probably still not moving enough to make up for your lack of dietary control.
It is what is.
I don’t make up the law of thermodynamics.
Lastly, with fat loss, you always want to squeeze as much juice out of the lemon before just lowering calories. Especially if you are small in stature and height and your total calorie limit per day has to be lower than most to lose weight.
Lowering calories too fast or trying to outrun your fork is a race to the bottom and if pushed too far can greatly affect energy, recovery, hormones, and even overall quality of life.
Staying In The Game
So the key is, that we FIRST nail habits (honestly!)
Then look at your consistency with those habits.
Then analyze your data objectively and sustainably, not emotionally.
Thereby ensuring you get to the root of the real problem and you have more aces up your sleeve to play if and when you do have to drop calories or ramp up activity a little more so you can stay in the game.
That’s the KEY to long-term progress with weight loss and better health.
Staying in the game long enough to get better and choosing patience over panic.
If you struggle with building better habits and want a personalized plan developed for you and your specific situation that will allow you to finally want to take back control, you can book a call here
Good Vibes Only
Nick