Weight loss: Why weight stops losing despite strict adherence to the diet. Why is the plateau effect when losing weight good: and what to do if the weight has stopped? If your weight stops falling, what to do?

Although there are more advanced approaches to getting rid of excess fluid, sometimes the best approach is to simply be patient

Many people who are losing weight know that after eating something unusual for the diet, their weight can increase by a couple of kilograms overnight. And sometimes it stops decreasing altogether for several weeks, despite strict adherence to the diet. Why is this happening? Almost without exception, all short-term changes in body weight are non-fat. A kilogram of human fat contains about 7,000 kcal, and it is impossible to eat so many calories in excess of your weight maintenance norm at one time, not to mention 14,000 calories (which corresponds to two kilograms of fat).

Weight loss and water balance: What is important to know

Increasing carbohydrates in food

Over the course of several days, weight fluctuations are influenced by changes in water levels, glycogen, and the amount of food in the gastrointestinal tract. All this can lead to loss or gain of up to a couple of kilograms almost overnight. At the same time, swelling not only looks different from fat, but also feels different to the touch. Where do they come from?

The amount of carbohydrates in your diet greatly affects your body weight. When we reduce carbohydrates, the body loses water, since one gram of glycogen stores 3 grams of water. This is why losing a couple of kilograms at the very beginning of a low-carb diet is not uncommon, which is what different diets and nutrition systems use as an advantage.

On the one hand, this rapid weight loss (although not “fat”) motivates you to continue the diet. On the other hand, people are upset because rapid weight loss does not last forever: if in the first week they lose two kilograms, then in the next week they lose “only” 500 grams. This also works in the opposite direction: if a person on a low-carb diet eats a lot of carbohydrates, the weight comes back.

Changing salt in food

Very often, on a diet, women refuse salt so that the body does not retain water. But in reality, water retention depends more on acute changes in sodium levels than on the absolute level of sodium intake. If a person on a salt-free diet eats a large amount of salt, the body will react with swelling. If a salt lover stops salting his food, he will greatly reduce his sodium intake and temporarily lose some decent amount of water. But these effects are short-term, as the body will regulate hormone levels and adjust within about three days. That is, if a woman on a salt-free diet eats a lot of salt, then the swelling will last for about three days, and after that the body will restore balance and the swelling will go away.

Various sodium manipulations may be beneficial for athletes and weight lifters in the last week before a competition, but these are purely short-term changes to achieve specific athletic performance. In other cases You should not allow sudden fluctuations in salt and deliberately refuse it on a diet. Rather, it makes sense to get enough potassium because sodium and potassium work together.

The only exception when it is worth limiting salt (sodium) is the last week of a woman's cycle, when water retention can be very severe. Limiting salt and increasing potassium can greatly help with swelling. Taking 1200 mg of calcium per day adds to the effect.

PMS

Most women know how much their weight can fluctuate over the course of a month. In this regard, hormone fluctuations at the end of the cycle have the strongest effect, and an increase of 2.5-5 kg ​​is quite real, which drives many people crazy.

The cause of edema is a sharp decrease in progesterone levels towards the end of the cycle. Among its many other properties, progesterone acts on receptors for the body's water-retaining hormone aldosterone, making women less likely to retain water during the first half of their cycle. As progesterone drops towards the end of the cycle, a "rebound" effect occurs which can cause water retention. In addition, at this time the body absorbs sodium less well, and large amounts of salty food during PMS can lead to even greater swelling.

Chronic stress and increased cortisol levels

A hormone is any compound that has a biological effect somewhere else in the body by acting on special receptors. A simple analogy: the hormone is the key, and the receptor is the lock, and only the right key can open it. But some hormones can bind to “foreign” receptors, which is called cross-reactivity.

For example, the stress hormone cortisol may bind in part to the mineralocorticoid receptor, which is normally acted upon by the hormone aldosterone, which retains water in the body. Although cortisol sends less of a signal to the receptor than aldosterone, if there is too much of it, it can cause water retention similar to the effects of aldosterone, albeit weaker. In cases of severe cortisol elevation (for example, Cushing's disease), swelling can be very severe.

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A combination of large calorie deficits and excessive amounts of exercise often leads to elevated cortisol levels in healthy people. If it starts without building up, the effect increases even further, although this combination can still cause problems if the load is slowly increased. When this is added to a certain psychological makeup that is common in those losing weight (along with the fact that dieting itself is an additional psychological stress) the effect becomes even greater. In addition, the adaptive decrease in thyroid hormone and leptin levels during dieting also leads to an increase in cortisol.

Power training

This explains why women often feel “bulky” when they first start lifting. Muscles use carbohydrates as fuel, so in response to training they begin to store more of it. And since carbohydrates are stored with water, the muscles begin to store more water and swell a little. Usually the effect goes away within a week.

What to do?

Wait!

Although there are more advanced approaches to getting rid of excess fluid, sometimes the best approach is to just be patient(provided that the person continues to adhere to the diet). Even when people are under chronic stress due to diet and exercise, due to psychological stress, it is unlikely that fluid retention will last longer than two to three weeks. Most likely, the problem will resolve on its own, since the water balance in the body is quite well controlled, and eventually the system will come into balance.

During this time, specific stress reduction techniques may be helpful, especially for those who are particularly stressed about weight, body shape, and performance. Stretching, meditation, fitness or even a casual glass of wine(natural relaxant and diuretic) may be useful. The worst thing a weight loss dieter can do when they hit a plateau (when the weight doesn't come off for more than a couple of weeks) is to start eating even less and exercising even more. This will simply make any cortisol-related problems worse.

Avoid a combination of starvation diet and large amounts of training

One or the other can exist separately, but not simultaneously. If someone who is losing weight wants to dramatically cut calories, they should reduce the amount of training they do. If he wants to exercise more, the calorie deficit doesn't have to be that big.

At the same time, there are often situations when slim people without excess fat from a health point of view want to become even drier. To create the desired calorie deficit, they will have to somehow combine both a strict diet and more frequent exercise. But the intensity of both should be increasing and gradually increase. Adding 10 minutes of cardio to each workout per week for several months is very different from immediately starting to exercise for two hours a day.

Take breaks from your diet

Periodic breaks in the diet with an increase in the amount of carbohydrates reduce cortisol levels and often cause a “rebound” of excess fluid. How often and for how long to take breaks depends on your body fat and calorie deficit.

Slim people (less than 25% body fat):

• With a large calorie deficit - every 2-4 weeks
• With a moderate calorie deficit - every 6-8 weeks
• With a small calorie deficit - every 8-10 weeks

Overweight people (25-35% body fat):

• Large calorie deficit: every 6-8 weeks
• Moderate calorie deficit: every 8-12 weeks
• Small calorie deficit: every 12-14 weeks

Obesity (more than 35% body fat):

• Large calorie deficit: every 10-12 weeks
• Moderate calorie deficit: every 12-16 weeks
• Small calorie deficit: every 16-20 weeks

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A break in the diet is a weakening of control, but not a return to old eating habits and not allowing yourself to eat everything in a row and in large quantities. There are several rules:

1. Determine the caloric intake to maintain your current weight for your current activity.
2. Continue to eat enough protein, although you don't have to strictly control the amount.
3. Boost your calories with carbs: Eat at least 150 grams of net carbs per day, preferably more. Sources: cereals, bread, legumes, pasta and spaghetti, fruits. Many of the hormones that control metabolism - leptin, thyroid hormones - react acutely to the amount of carbohydrates in food.

"Dry" refeeds

While diet breaks (i.e., temporarily increasing calories to a maintenance goal) work well for preventing cortisol swelling and are the place to start, there are more advanced strategies for advanced athletes. Among them is the so-called “dry” refeed, when carbohydrates increase and the amount of water consumed decreases. Competing bodybuilders use similar strategies the night before competition to make their muscles look fuller and more defined.

What's the point?

Diet and exercise deplete liver and muscle glycogen. When carbohydrates in food increase sharply, they go to replenish glycogen and “pull” water into the muscles and liver. Each gram of carbohydrate (glycogen) stores 3 grams of water with it, so an additional 150 grams of carbohydrate in a meal will result in 450 grams of water being stored. But if carbohydrates are consumed with insufficient water throughout the day, they will still be stored in the muscles and will still try to draw in water with them, but only the water that is already in the body.

If the refeed lasts 1-2 days, then you should limit liquid for no more than one day. At the same time, even during this day it is enough to limit fluid for only ~5 hours in the evening, with normal, but not excessive fluid consumption in the first half of the day. For example, if your last carbohydrate meal is planned for 9 pm, it makes sense to start fluid restriction at 4 pm. During these 5 hours, water is consumed only in small sips. If you are very thirsty, chewing gum or sucking on ice cubes may help.

As a result, the muscles become more defined, especially after the workout following the refeed.

• firstly, this effect will be noticeable in a slender person;
• secondly, you should not count on a huge effect;
• thirdly, this is a temporary measure that does not in any way affect the amount of fat in the body, and this strategy should not be used more than once every 2-3 weeks. published .

Irina Brecht

P.S. And remember, just by changing your consciousness, we are changing the world together! © econet

Why did I stop losing weight? Top 15 reasons.

Almost every person who loses weight has encountered the problem of stopping the weight loss process. Let's look at the reasons for this behavior of the body.

One of the first reasons isyou are a newbiein this case. You may have gotten back on track by eating right and exercising, but your body is in shock. Due to physical activity, muscles learn to retain glycogen. Don't worry, this phenomenon will pass in a couple of weeks. Believe that you are on the right path and continue in the same spirit.

The second reason could belack of patience. After a month, you have lost only 2 kilograms? This may seem unimportant to you, but it is not. Patience and a little effort. Once you see better results in another two months, you definitely won’t be able to stop.

The next probable reason isyou don't eat much! A lack of calories is just as dangerous as too many. There is a high chance that you have stopped losing weight because of this. The body needs nutrients and a certain amount of calories. Without getting enough calories, your body experiences stress and is reluctant to give up its reserves. Due to the imbalance of hormones that are responsible for weight loss and appetite control, the desire to eat something does not leave you. As soon as this happens, the body will definitely store even more than it had.

Reason four -You're obsessed with kilograms!Are you doing everything right, eating well and exercising, but the scale doesn’t change or shows more? Pay attention to the quality of your body, most likely you have become fitter and more athletic. The body fat percentage measurement option is not for you. Start measuring your body size. As you know, muscle is much heavier than fat. By losing a kilogram of fat, but gaining a kilogram of muscle, your waist will become several centimeters smaller.

Reason five - you don't do strength training.It is a mistake to think that only cardio training helps you lose weight. In fact, you can burn fat through strength training. That is why you only need to do complex exercises, and you should devote more time to strength training.

Another reason could bepassive lifestyle.Do you have a monotonous job, do you sit at the computer all day? Short breaks to warm up and go for a walk after work will definitely not hurt you. Use a pedometer, your minimum should be 5000 steps!

Seventh reason -lack of sleep.Think about it, do you sleep 7-9 hours? Do you go to bed on time? Do you have a routine? We are accustomed to thinking that proper nutrition and exercise are enough to lose weight. But the key factor for the proper functioning of the body is sleep. Lack of sleep increases your appetite. To somehow compensate for this, you choose high-calorie foods. You need to plan your time correctly, because lack of sleep affects not only extra pounds, but also your health.

Eighth reason -you are constantly nervous.During times of stress, the risk of overeating is very high. This is especially true for women. Stress increases the synthesis of cortisol, which retains fluid in the body and triggers the process of fat accumulation.

Reason nine -you don't have a routine.Chaotic workouts won't help you lose weight. We didn’t have time to eat and had a snack on the go - plus extra pounds. The regime is your opportunity to lose weight.

Reason ten -plateau effect.The body has become accustomed to your diet and exercise routine. You should change the exercises and review the menu. Perhaps you need to increase your daily calorie intake for a while, so to speak, to pump up your body.

The eleventh and not unimportant reason -you don't need to lose weight anymore!Look in the mirror, perhaps you have already lost excess weight and it’s time to stop. Now you just need to maintain your weight and don’t forget about physical activity.

Reason twelve -ineffective training.Do your workouts always take place in “light” mode? You must always give 100%, otherwise the meaning of training is lost. You'll just be wasting your time. Don't expect easy workouts to be effective. To lose weight, you need to create a small calorie deficit by using them in training. Give your body a reason to use your fat reserves.

Thirteenth reason -health problems. Excess weight and the thyroid gland are continuously linked. If you think you have problems with your endocrine system, consult your doctor. Most often, health problems are a consequence of your lifestyle. It is worth noting that some hormonal medications can cause weight gain.

Reason fourteen -metabolism has adapted. A long-term calorie deficit can disrupt your metabolism. The body adjusts by reducing the production of most thyroid hormones. To avoid such a process, you need to change the caloric content of your diet (do a “zigzag”), get full sleep and change your workouts.

Fifteenth reason -you don't change anything in your life.If you constantly change diets, torture yourself with hunger, you will certainly break down, and so on in a circle. It happens that you manage to lose weight, but later you gain even more weight. This is not an option! Proper nutrition is not a diet, but a lifestyle. Change your life for the better!

At every stage of the fight against extra pounds, it is especially important to feel that you are on the right path. Imagine the disappointment of some when they notice that the weight does not go away on a diet, but grows or simply stays at the same number. All efforts are in vain - it is impossible to move from the dead point. Why does our body refuse to part with accumulated calories, and how to avoid the “plateau” effect?

There is no need to panic - it is important to understand the origins of the problem and find the factors affecting our body. Weight fluctuations or weight loss can be caused by various reasons, including:

sudden weight loss (for example, as a result of fasting or mono-eating), insufficient and irregular nutrition;

It must be remembered that the body initially gets rid of accumulated fluid and only after that it is treated as fat deposits. In addition, when we part with the first kilograms, the desire to relax is great - as a result, the risk of a breakdown increases, and the desire for self-control weakens.

The “plateau” effect in action: why weight stays the same when losing weight

The first reason why strange weight loss occurs after numerous attempts to get rid of extra pounds is hormonal changes that occur in the second phase of the cycle. It is at this time that progesterone levels increase, accompanied by fluid retention in the body. We often “accumulate” up to 3 liters of water in ourselves.

Should you panic in this case? No, because after completing the cycle, the weight will begin to decrease - provided that you adhere to the correct method, which involves following the advice of a nutritionist, regular meals, a balanced and healthy diet. Otherwise, the extra pounds will not be slow to return - however, already in double the volume.

Why doesn't weight loss occur during fasting and dieting?

For those who deny themselves breakfast and dinner and eat selectively, crossing out healthy foods along with unprofitable ones, the news is disappointing - losing weight cannot be effective when restrictions and prohibitions are used. And that's why.

Imagine that you will eat several apples a day and wash them down with kefir, cut down on morning portions, and most importantly, completely refuse to eat after six. How will the body respond to this? He will perceive such a “hunger strike” as stress and a challenge, and will begin to produce much less energy - therefore, he will burn calories more slowly. And this is fraught with metabolic disorders.

When does our body begin to process incoming food into energy? That's right - in the early hours. Alas, most of us say “no” to him and forget about breakfast. As a result, he gets everything he needs and even more at lunch, and it is at this time that excess calories are not burned, but are deposited straight into the “fat depot.”

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Lack of proper and healthy nutrition and reduction in diet are detrimental to us - a sharp restriction causes the accumulation of unspent energy in reserve. This is how our body tries to protect itself from the experiments to which it is subjected, to find a source of strength to work around the clock. Unfortunately, we often forget about this and believe that harsh methods are the most correct. But they can only lead to the opposite effect - increased body weight and digestive disorders.

Why does dieting cause weight gain?

There are several reasons why extra pounds are in no hurry to leave us despite strict prohibitions and a meager diet:

Activation of austerity mode - the less you give to the body, the less it spends and stores more. You feel dizzy, lose strength, your stomach is empty, but the weight is not decreasing - which means it’s time to change tactics and stop torturing yourself.

Breakdowns under strict restrictions - if you forbid yourself something without finding a worthy replacement, later this forbidden fruit will be picked by you at the first opportunity - you will simply get tired of systematically depriving yourself of what brought joy and pleasure.

With a lack of protein foods and sources of unsaturated fats, your appetite increases - the feeling of hunger will drive you crazy until you drown it out with something sweet. However, the way out of this situation is fundamentally different - a transition to a balanced diet, expanding the diet and including in it what is vital for the proper functioning of the body and normalization of metabolism.

The less we feed ourselves, the slower our metabolism. It turns out to be a dead end: if I eat, I gain weight; if I don’t eat, I also quickly gain extra pounds. Why, while on a diet, do we watch with despair as the weight does not go away, but increases? The point is the wrong strategy - you won't get far on fasting. And less than 600 kcal per day for women and 800 for men, monotonous, meager and irregular nutrition (for example, once a day) is a deliberate harm to one’s health, threatening hospitalization. Draw conclusions and switch to a balanced diet and safe methods - for your own good.

Why does weight stay the same when dieting and doesn’t go down: workout until you break a sweat

For some, the situation is a little different - they add a visit to a fitness club or other intense physical activity to their mononutrition. The mistake of those who hope to lose excess weight through training and long sessions in the gym is the inadequacy of the efforts made. Think about it: sweatshops only allow you to get rid of water, but not the weight of extra pounds. Even with grueling exercises performed daily, calorie consumption per day does not exceed 900 per hour. And this is only 100 g of fat.

And the state after a workout does not contribute to weight loss - you are tired, physical activity slows down sharply, but your appetite increases. So it’s not far from a breakdown.

Everything is good in moderation. Do you want to keep yourself in good shape? Then choose options that are safe for your health and gentle - swimming or yoga. If you decide to go all the way and every day, barely breathing, you return from training in the gym, do not be surprised that the weight does not go away - it stands still or inexorably grows.

Weight gain with stops or “plateau” on the contrary

So, we have already dealt with the problem that poisons the lives of many who are losing weight - when the number on the scale does not change and does not even think about decreasing. However, there is also a completely opposite phenomenon - such stops can occur not only while getting rid of extra pounds, but also when gaining them.

How does this happen? The fact is that fat deposits are formed gradually. And the increase scheme is as follows: weight gain (even if insignificant) – pause – increase again.

What happens during stops? The person slowly gets used to his “new” body, considers it absolutely normal and natural for himself. In this way, you can unnoticed gain excess weight and only then feel that your figure is far from ideal and your health has deteriorated.

How to avoid such an epiphany? There are several simple but effective tips:

Be sure to weigh yourself - you need to do this at least once a month. It is especially important to follow this rule if you know that you are prone to obesity. It is good to set a limit for yourself - a certain number, overcoming which (in the direction of increasing body weight) will be considered critical. It’s even better if you get help from a nutritionist who can find a way to change your diet and help you stay on track to avoid disappointing consequences.

Pay attention to those alarm bells that indicate you are gaining extra pounds - listen to your body more often. The simplest thing is that if your clothes become too small, you need to do something. You can buy a T-shirt and trousers of the size that you consider ideal for yourself (without fanaticism, be sure to discuss what is considered normal with a professional), and check monthly whether such new clothes fit you well.

We have given you 2 rules that everyone can follow. Is it really dangerous to stop in the process of getting rid of extra pounds? Let’s find out further.

Should you be afraid of a plateau?

Experts advise not to panic: it turns out that this phenomenon is not as scary as it is described. It also has its positive sides. For example, recording the achieved result that occurs during a sudden break in weight loss. There may be several such pauses, but you should be wary of them only if they were caused by an incorrect diet, insufficient water consumption, or excessively active physical activity.

Some nutritionists seriously say that you can and even need to stay in such a “frozen” state for a week or two. As an argument, they cite the following statement: the longer you keep the weight at one level, the more difficult it will be to cross this line and return to your previous body weight. Even if you recover, it will be easier to get rid of extra pounds - for those who lead a healthy lifestyle, do not overeat, follow a healthy diet and do not exhaust themselves with strength training.

Therefore, if you are confident that you are acting in accordance with the advice of a nutrition specialist, you should not be upset at such a stop. We'll tell you what to do with the rest.

How to overcome the “plateau” effect?

If the extra pounds don't leave you, don't panic and don't test your body with fasting or intense physical activity. Listen to our advice:

Be sure to find the reason why the weight is not falling off before you think about what to do. If these are critical days, just wait - the process of intensive calorie burning will start as soon as the hormonal levels return to normal.

Don’t relax and don’t allow yourself too much - stick to the daily norm prescribed to you by a specialist, and not calculated by a friend.

Test your scale and learn how to weigh yourself correctly - this should be done in the morning on an empty stomach, taking off your clothes and placing the device on a flat, hard surface (a tiled floor is ideal).

Do not use weight loss drugs, various dietary supplements and other “miracle” remedies, the manufacturers of which promise a quick effect - health is more expensive than dangerous experiments on yourself.

We often wonder: why doesn’t the weight come off with proper nutrition? Now ask yourself again: Am I really eating right? A healthy and balanced diet should not contain:

• fast food;
• fatty meats;
• sources of fast carbohydrates (sweets, pastries, muffins, cakes);
• semi-finished products;
• instant food products;
• strong alcohol;
• soda;
• smoked meats;
• oversalted or overly spicy dishes;
• ketchup, mayonnaise and other high-calorie sauces that whet our appetite.

The diet of most of us can hardly be called correct - it is irregular, hasty, meager, monotonous and even harmful. What to do if the weight does not come off? There is a universal answer to this question: start a new life with a balanced diet, a positive attitude and attention to your health.

Learn to eat regularly, get enough sleep, replenish the lack of fluid in your body every day, adhere to the prescribed caloric intake and do not overload yourself with intense physical activity that is useless in losing weight - it is better to walk in the park or learn to dance. Change your lifestyle and your figure will achieve the desired slimness.

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Come to us, and we will tell you the secrets of proper nutrition, help you by creating a weight loss program, and prove to you not in words, but in deeds that effective weight loss can be pleasant, and most importantly, useful. With our proprietary method aimed at consolidating the results, you will remain slim for many years!

Source: slavklin.ru

Svetlana Markova

Beauty is like a precious stone: the simpler it is, the more precious it is!

Content

During long-term weight loss, almost everyone faces the problem of frozen weight. What are the reasons that the weight has risen - how to make the body lose weight again, what to do with the diet and training program? In dietetics, this phenomenon during weight loss is considered completely normal. How long can this period last, how can you not lose a positive attitude, and when will the weight start to come off again?

What is a weight loss plateau?

When, during an intensive diet, the scale needle froze in one place for several days, this is the plateau effect when losing weight. This is a completely normal result and you should be prepared for it in advance. Stopping weight loss is due to the fact that your body is accustomed to a new diet, so it reduces the rate of metabolic processes and consumes the corresponding amount of energy.

Why does weight stay the same when losing weight?

In desperate attempts to force your body to lose weight, you again and again ask yourself the question of why the weight has risen and does not go away? Nutritionists believe that the main reason that weight has stopped during the period of weight loss is a slowdown in metabolic processes. Due to the depletion of the daily menu and a decrease in the number of calories consumed, the body subconsciously “hibernates” and switches to a modified calorie consumption regime.

Other reasons why the weight has risen, experts include:

• hormonal imbalances (typical for women with very large body weight);
• fluid retention in the body, water balance disorders;
• lipid metabolism failures due to poor nutrition before the diet;
• lack or complete absence of physical activity.

Why doesn't weight come off when exercising?

It happens that you continue intense physical training and even increase the load, but the weight has risen tightly. There may be several reasons why weight does not come off when playing sports:

• you lose fat mass, but gain muscle mass;
• classes are structured incorrectly: the load is either excessive or not enough;
• exercises are performed with errors;
• you don't pay attention to your heart rate and because of this, your workouts are ineffective in terms of fat burning.

Before starting any type of training, be sure to calculate your fat-burning heart rate zone and carefully monitor your heart rate during exercise. Excruciating overload does not produce any results in terms of weight loss, because when the pulse exceeds 160 beats per minute, the body stops supplying oxygen to the tissues, and fat burning processes stop. Be sure to monitor your heart rate and ensure that it does not leave the fat-burning zone.

Why does weight stay the same when you diet?

You chose a diet, planned your diet, and everything seemed to be going well, the kilograms were falling off every day, and suddenly there was a plateau on the diet. Why did I gain weight while losing weight? The reasons may be as follows:

• too slow removal of water from the body;
• too strict diet;
• functional restructuring of the body;
• slowing down metabolic processes.

If the reasons for your weight gain are related to fluid retention, then stop consuming salt to force your body to lose weight again. Remember that if you drink little, this does not lead to the removal of fluids, but to their accumulation. If the amount of calories coming from food is too small and does not cover their daily consumption, you need to reconsider the caloric content of the diet in order to speed up metabolic processes.

Why weight doesn't come off with proper nutrition

You have switched to the principles of proper nutrition, but you cannot force your body to lose weight again. Why doesn’t the weight go off on PP? If you are actively involved in sports, and previously such activities were not regular, then the reason for the plateau effect on proper nutrition may be that you began to gain muscle mass while simultaneously losing fat. The process of building muscle mass can be accompanied by water retention, which also does not contribute to weight loss.

Why volumes go away, but weight stays

Don't focus on quickly losing extra pounds. If the weight remains stable, the volume decreases - the weight loss process continues and there is no reason to panic. A plateau can be due to a huge number of reasons, up to the phase of a woman’s menstrual cycle. The body is a very complex system, and a slim body is not the only result that you will achieve with the help of a diet. Make an effort and force yourself to have a positive attitude if you want the weight to start falling again.

Sometimes a huge role in the fact that the weight has risen is simply a psychological infusion. Do not torture yourself with fasting and other grueling methods, just switch to a split diet with a sufficient level of protein and slow carbohydrates. Add more tasty and healthy products to your menu. To keep yourself in shape and have excellent skin condition, you just need to walk for an hour or an hour and a half a day in the fresh air.

How long does the plateau effect last?

When the weight has stopped due to the plateau effect, it can be very difficult to maintain the mood to continue working on yourself. This stage of weight loss, depending on the reasons for its onset, can last from three weeks to three months. The most important thing during this period is to continue to adhere to the correct diet (or switch to it from a strict diet if it caused a plateau), continue to train and ultimately ensure that the extra pounds begin to disappear again.

How to get your weight off the ground

You continue your diet and training, but are stuck in the plateau effect. How to make your body lose weight again? First of all, review your diet. If the menu is too meager and you get fewer calories than you burn, then your metabolism needs to be artificially accelerated. This can be done in several ways, which will be described in more detail in the next section of the article.

Change your training program. Add jogging or daily walks outdoors to your gym routine. Do morning exercises - long-term heavy exercise is not necessary; 6-10 simple exercises or yoga poses immediately after waking up help greatly speed up metabolic processes. Add unusual physical activity: in the warm season, you can ride a bicycle to work, for example. Also, visiting a bathhouse, sauna or spa is great for accelerating your metabolism.

Changing your diet

If you can’t force your body to lose weight again, then you need to reconsider your diet. When the cause of weight frozen at one point is an overly strict diet, zigzag calories for weight loss can help speed up metabolic processes. There are several options here:

• “gluttonous” or fasting day - sharply change the number of calories consumed up or down to start accelerating metabolism;
• “food swing” - calculate your daily caloric intake and deviate from it by 200-300 kcal, either up or down;
• switch to split meals - frequent meals, snacks every three hours;
• please your body with something forbidden - once a week, scheduled, allow yourself to eat any of your favorite unhealthy foods - a piece of cake, a portion of fried potatoes, whatever you want.

Carefully monitor not only the number of calories, but also the percentage of protein, fat, carbohydrates and the amount of sugar. Drinking alcohol and sugary drinks is strictly prohibited. The number of calories you consume should always be re-evaluated in accordance with the stage of the diet and daily exercise, because as you lose weight and body size, you begin to need fewer calories to maintain vitality.

Restoring the body's water balance

Maintaining water balance in the body is equally important. Do not forget that limiting water consumption leads to stagnation and not elimination of fluid in the body. Therefore, the daily norm of at least two liters must be observed by you, and we are talking only about water, excluding tea, coffee and other liquids. Severely limit or completely eliminate salt from your diet, because it retains water in the body.

Changing the training program

To continue losing weight, change your usual exercise program. Alternate aerobic and strength exercises, or completely change the type of exercise. Alternate the treadmill with swimming, walking with cycling, aerobics with yoga. The main thing is to continue active training, because otherwise you will not be able to get out of the period of stopping the loss of kilograms and force your body to start losing weight again.

Many have set themselves the goal of losing weight by summer and are working towards their goal. They go in for sports and follow a healthy diet. The indicators on the scales are encouraging - the number of kilograms is becoming less and less. But then something upsetting happens - for some reason the weight stops coming off...

One of the Internet users shared a similar problem. The girl lost 17 kg in 8 months, but she still has 2 kg that won’t go away. Nutritionist Yulia Gurbanova calls it the plateau effect and explains: This is a studied condition where weight loss slows down or stops for a while.

The plateau is associated with:

• a mandatory stage of stabilization, when the body forms a new point of stable weight;
• the fact that calorie consumption is equal to energy expenditure (a person eats the same amount as he spends in a day).

To understand which reason is suitable in a particular case, the specialist advises testing several hypotheses one by one.

Let's look at the first two.

Option 1.

The weight dropped for 4-6 weeks, “got up”, and this lasts a week or two. The process of weight loss is not a linear decline without stopping. At some point, the weight loss schedule slows down and stops. This definitely happens to everyone, and it is a necessary stage of weight stabilization. This is how the body gets used to the new state, rebuilding biochemical processes.

What to do:

• continue to eat the same way as when losing weight, then the weight will begin to decrease again.
• do not return to old habits, then the weight will not return

Option 2.

Weight costs 4 weeks or more. There are more progress points to note here than just kg:

• how the clothes fit;
• sleep quality;
• mood swings (this is important because nutrition-dependent hormones are involved).

You need to track at least 3 different indicators weekly to adequately assess progress.

What to do:

Check progress rate. Norm: 0.2-0.5 kg or 0.5-1 cm per week. Standard options:

• kg do not change, but cm - yes;
• volumes do not change, but kg - yes;
• kg and cm do not change, and clothes fit better;
• kg, cm and clothes do not change, but there is more energy, mood and sleep are better.

If at least one indicator changes, this is not a plateau. Progress is being made. If none of the indicators change, you need to look further.

The specialist explains that losing weight by 0.2-0.5 kg per week is considered a normal rate.

Are you familiar with the situation when the weight stopped while losing weight? Tell us about your experience.