“Help!!! My Fitness Results Have Hit a Plateau!”
“I exercise very hard and I eat right but I am no longer getting results…what’s going on?” I get this question a lot! Although frustrating, reaching a plateau with your fitness and weight loss efforts does not have to be inevitability.
There are two main reason people plateau with their fitness and weight loss efforts. 1.) They do the same exercise routine over and over and over again. 2.) They cut calories too low in an effort to lose more weight. I’ll address number one first.
Our bodies are naturally good at adapting. We can adapt to new climates, new living situations, new work schedules, new sleep schedules, etc. The same holds true for exercise. When you begin an exercise routine you are introducing something that the body has not felt before. If the intensity of the exercise program is sufficient, the body (specifically the muscles) will break down in an effort to rebuild bigger, better, and stronger. Your body wants to be able to perform the activities that you subject it to. This muscle break down/rebuilding is how the body does it. The rebuilding of lean muscle tissue and the maintenance of this new lean muscle results in added calorie and fat burning all day long.
Over time, the muscles will break down and rebuild themselves to the point where they can now execute the activity (in this case, the exercise routine) that you are performing. Once this happens the results stop! The muscles no longer need to adapt. This process typically takes 3-5 weeks on average. To avoid this, your fitness routine must be changed every 4-5 weeks to stay ahead of the plateau curve.
There are three reasons people tend to stick with one routine way too long. One, they really like the routine they are doing. They find it “fun”. Two, they got results from the routine at first so they believe in it. They are unaware of the plateau phenomenon that caused the results to cease. Three, they don’t have the knowledge to design a new routine every 4-5 weeks.
If you fall into the first two categories it’s no big deal! Now you know and you can change your routine immediately. If you fall into the third category then the answer is a little more complicated.
There are many different ways to change your workout routine. You can change the exercises you are doing. You can change the number of reps you perform, or the amount of weight you use. You can alter the intensity of the workout by shortening or lengthening your rest times, etc. The truth is, you must change all of these things and change them often. When you do this the body is constantly being challenged in a new way so it can never adapt. As a result, the muscles continue to break down and rebuild causing the body to burn more calories on a daily basis!
You should also change your cardio routines frequently. Maybe throw in some sprints, or move from the elliptical to the treadmill or the bike. You can take up swimming or a new sport. There are many options.
If you need more help, consider seeking the advice of fitness professional. A fitness professional should be able to design a program that is constantly changing and challenging the body in new ways. That’s what I love about my boot camps. I don’t wait to change the routine every 5 weeks; I change it every day!! Talk about breaking through a plateau!!
On to the second reason people plateau. A long time ago it was thought that to lose weight you must cut your calories and the fat will fall off. Well, that theory has been completely debunked. The truth is, cutting calories will cause weight loss but the weight that is lost is primarily lean muscle and water. The body becomes very reluctant to burn fat when your caloric intake is too low. The body goes into starvation mode and wants to hoard fat so it can survive the perceived famine! This is a natural and uncontrollable response.
Back in the days when folks hunted and gathered, there were no 7-Elevens. Because of this, people sometimes had to go for days with little or no food. People who survived these times of famine were the people who were proficient at storing body fat. And in order to do this, their bodies adapted by slowing down their metabolisms and holding onto emergency fuel supplies (aka “fat”) during lean times. This is starvation mode.
Cutting calories is one of the first things people do when their results plateau. Instead of cutting calories, however, I encourage you to increase your calories. I know I know, it freaks you out just to think about it. And, you are probably skeptical. But remember, cutting calories to lose weight is old science. We used to think the earth was flat too, but I bet when you sail the blue seas you aren’t worried about falling off the edge!
Be sure you are increasing your caloric intake with “clean” calories (lean proteins, complex carbs, and vegetables) and you are not increasing your calories too much…there is a limit. Adding calories to your diet can be done by simply adding another snack or two to your daily eating routine giving you 5-6 small meals a day.
If you increase your caloric intake while following the above rules, you will be supplying the body with ample nutrients throughout the day and getting your body out of starvation mode. Over time your body will realize it no longer needs to store fat and it can begin releasing previously stored fat!! It usually takes 4-6 weeks to really break the starvation/fat storage cycle and begin seeing real, visual results. But after that, it’s results city baby and you will be the Mayor!!! (that was corny)
So, if you find yourself stuck in a plateau, you now know how to break through it and begin seeing real results again. All it takes is a change in the routine and perhaps a small bump in the calories. Then just watch the burn away!!
