Weight Loss Plateau: 5 Reasons Why This Could Happen

I Wish I Could Lose Weight!!

Weight wise it has been a very frustrating week.  I seem to have hit my first weight loss plateau!  I have been struggling with the same pound up and down for the last 11 days!!  My weight loss for this week was only 1/2 a pound.  That puts me at a total of 29 pounds since I started this way of eating on August 3rd.

It has been a very busy and unusual week for me (more on that tomorrow).  I have not been paying as much attention to my eating as I normally do BUT I haven’t been cheating or eating carbs.  I just haven’t been eating quite as healthy as I do in other weeks.

Sometimes life gets in the way.  You need to grab meals on the run, or just eat when you can instead of being scheduled and on track.  So this wee I am more back on schedule again and am going to work really hard to kick this weight loss plateau in the butt!

I have really been thinking about it.  I know plateaus and weight stalls are a totally normal part of the weight loss process, but is there anything that can be done about them?  I really want to continue on my downward trend especially before the end of October and my first really trip.

5 Things That May Cause a Weight Loss Plateau

1. Stress.  Being constantly under stress cause a raise in Cortisol levels and that it not good for your body.  Basically if you are under constant stress, your body goes into “fight” mode. You are hungrier, crave more energy from food, and your body keep more of that energy as fat stores.  I am under a fair amount of stress at the moment, so that will definitely not help and could be contributing to this stall.
2. Lack of Sleep.  Getting adequate sleep is essential to health, and to healthy weight loss.  Getting 7-9 hours a night is important.  Lately the most sleep I seem to get is about 5 hours a night.  Because of this my body is not getting into a deep enough sleep to reset and rejuvenate.  WebMD also explains that when you don’t get enough sleep you tend to eat more of the wrong kinds of foods (comfort foods).
3. Lack of Exercise.  Of course this will contribute to a weight loss plateau.  When you get moving a few times a week it will increase your metabolism helping to burn more fat, as well as giving you an increase in energy.  I have not added any kind of movement so far to my healthy lifestyle changes, and that is one thing I really need to get moving on (haha pun intended!)
4. Alcohol. You can find many no carb or low carb alcoholic beverages, however it’s a bigger problem than that.  There is such a thing as the Alcohol Stall.  Your body has to burn the alcohol first before it will burn anything else.  This could slow down or stall weight loss for several days.  I read about this in the beginning and so up until this point I have not had any kind of alcohol.   Although, I am looking forward to a nice cold one this weekend. :p
5. Eating Processed Foods. It is best to stick with whole natural foods.  Processed foods can stall you weight loss.  Many people to the Atkins bars and things of that nature.  Although I haven’t had any of that, I have had more processed meats (quick and easy) like smokies.   I am not sure but that may be stalling my weight loss.
6. Too Much Sweetener.  I have had very little sweetener in my coffee, but this also has been known to stall weight loss for some.  I am also very proud to say that I haven’t had even one diet soda this entire time.  I wasn’t a huge Pop (yep I’m Canadian) drinker before and it was always diet, but I have cut that down to nothing.

Okay so for me, what I am looking at are the first  three items on my list that could be very much contributing to my weight loss stall.  I will really have to work on getting those under control.

Stress is an ongoing factor for me right now and although I wish that weren’t the case, it is for now.  What I will try to do is to take even a few minutes twice a day to unplug from all the people that need me, and all of the work that needs to be done, and all the other distractions.  I will do some deep breathing and visualization of how my life is going to look a few months down the road.

Sleeping, well I guess I just have to be more diligent in going to bed earlier at night.  That is very difficult for me.  My normal schedule is that I am up at 5:00 AM and I am working or going until 10:00 PM at night when I force myself to quit and go get some rest.  Even then it takes me some time to relax and unwind so sleep usually comes somewhere between 11 and 12 PM.

As for the exercise piece, my mother (my weight loss buddy) and I were actually talking about this and plan to get together at least 3 mornings a week to do an at home workout.  It is going to  take a lot for me to get moving.  I have been very sedentary for a very long time.

A side goal for that is being able to walk better and move more easily when I go on my trip at the end of the month, so it’s a “must”, not a “should” at this point.

We use to have great success following the exercise regimen of Susan Powter.  Now although I am not following her way of eating anymore, I still like the way she did exercise (for larger women).  It’s really hard to get find a DVD of what I use to do (that’s how old it is , LOL).

So that’s where I am at.  Sorry this post is so late today, as I say I’ve had a big shake up in my world and it’s caused me to be very far behind schedule (more on that tomorrow).

Talk soon,

 
 
 
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