I wanted to respond to too many blogs today about this so I figured I would just write a blog about it. The dreaded plateau is the bain of all dieting existance and can be avoided if you try a few simple things. I never ever plateaued using NS. I lost 137 pounds. Here are the reasons why and how you might avoid it. Choose among them, you don't have to do all of them and I hope they may help you break your slow downs and at least get you back to a pound a week. Remember a healthy weight loss is O- 2 pounds a week. If you are coming off a month where you lost sixteen pounds say, you might expect a few weeks of zero as your body readjusts. That is not a plateau. A plateau is five weeks at the same weight. Are you screaming now? I know I would be. Here are some thoughts.
Sameness creates plateaus.. the same amount of calories per day, the same type of exercise per day, the same patterns of eating per day...
The key to breaking a plateau is TO DARE TO BE DIFFERENT everyday!!!
Ok Cheri what the heck does that mean? I am going to give you examples and as you think of more write them down here for everyone else.
If you are running everyday as your exercise at 3mph, MWF, at the same pace it is time to change that routine. This Monday I will walk at 2 mph for one hour instead of a half an hour that I usually run, on Wens.. for 45 minutes I will alternate running and walking... at differnt speeds.. on Friday I will run for 35 minutes at 3mph...
An even better plan would be to change up what you are doing: elipitical on Monday, aerobics on Wensday, Running on Friday. Keep your muscles confused so they never get use to what is coming next. This will maximize your calorie burn and help keep your from plauteauing.
Next.. calories per day.. NS comes out to the same amount of calories almost everyday. Once your body gets use to that, you can plateau. I suggest you look at the amounts daily and vary it.. for example.. monday= 1,200 tuesday - 1,400 wednesday- 1250... Keep no two days the same. This is easy to track as it is done for you on your tracker. I know that what I said for tuesday might be above your plan. But it will keep you from plateauing and it won't make you gain. Some people take one day off a week.
Finally vary your breakfast for lunch, dinner for breakfast, example.. turn it around. Use higher protein at the recommendation of a NS counselor. You can call for help.
On a final note, make sure you are journaling your foods. Sometimes if we don't journal everything, we can add excess calories and we don't lose. To this day, I journal everything I eat. I can eat 2,000 calories a day now and not gain, but if I go over that consistently I will.
So some advice.
Cheri