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Phase 2 - Causes of weight loss plateaus: Page 1

Weight loss cycles:
A big factor to take into account is that with the exception of a very few lucky individuals, weight loss will not be the same week after week; even if your diet and exercise are exactly the same. Unless you have plateaued in your weight loss for at least two-three weeks, there is no need to move on to phase 2 techniques. Just be patient.

Fat percentage:
The body REQUIRES a certain amount of fat to keep you healthy. You need fat around your heart and organs for cushioning and it is even used for some hormone and immune system regulation. Whatever fat is not required by the body for operation is used for fuel when a calorie deficit is present.
Now you can argue all you want, but typically, people who have gained a significant amount of weight have the hardest time at losing the last few pounds. Why? No one knows for sure, but the fact that your percentage of fat is getting so low compared to what it used to be, seems to signal the body to slow down on the fat loss.

But be comforted by the thought that even skinny people who want to lose weight can have a terrible time are losing the last few pounds. It depends on their body’s metabolism. Body builders and athletes who need to lower their body fat for competition can have a terrible time at losing the last few pounds. When all the factors in phase 2 are taken into account, realize some people simply have a harder time at losing weight. This does not mean you cannot, it means you will need to spend much more time an effort than another person.

Stress:
If you are under mental stress and are feeling anxiety, your body will often slow down. If this is the case, you need to set down and focus on what is causing the stress. For many people, stress is caused by a feeling of not being in control. Sorting out what you can control and what you can do about it can relieve stress. In some cases where you can’t control the circumstances (e.g. death of a loved one), it helps to acknowledge that you have no power over the situation. In these types of situations, it is best to simply focus on maintaining your weight instead of losing. Then when life calms down, you can go back to weight loss.

Lack of Rest:
Lack of rest often goes hand in hand with stress. You feel stressed out, you sleep less. Other times in our modern society we simply don’t allow ourselves enough time of 7 to 9 hours sleep. Consequently this adds stress to our lives.

Medical:
In extremely rare cases, you could have a medical problem such as an issue with your thyroid or drugs that cause fluid retention. Your doctor can help in these instances. Many people like to hope for a medical reason as to why they are not losing weight. We like the victim mentality rather than having to accept the responsibility of our own actions. But again, medical problems are extremely rare and only your doctor can help with these.

Muscle gain:
It is not uncommon for individuals to lose a pants size and stay the same body weight or lose weight extremely slowly due to muscle gain. This can be especially true if you are doing full body weight lifting and the pounds on the scale are coming off extremely slow. If this is what is happening, rejoice! This is the best possible situation to be in (muscle gain and fat loss simultaneously). This is the value of knowing your measurements.

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