Plateaus in Weight Loss

It is very common to hit a plateau when trying to lose weight. Plateaus can occur as a result of your diet, cardiovascular routine or your strength training routine. To avoid plateaus, or to break out of one, you must change up your exercise or diet plan. Keeping the body guessing will keep the calories burning. The minute you get comfortable, so will your body, and a plateau may occur. Learn to recognize a plateau so you can avoid it or get out of one.

Your Diet Can Cause a Plateau

Reducing your caloric intake can result in weight loss. However, as you lose weight, you must continue to create a caloric deficit. For example, reducing a diet from 2,500 to 2,000 calories will create a caloric deficit and result in weight loss--so long as you burn more than 2,000 calories per day. If you are consuming 2,000 calories per day and burning 2,000 calories per day, your weight loss will plateau because you are now maintaining your current weight. To continue shedding pounds, your diet should be changed, and the caloric intake should be reduced again--this time to maybe 1,900 calories. The American College of Sports Medicine does not recommend consuming less than 1,800 calories per day for men and 1,200 calories for women.

Cardiovascular Plateaus

Performing the same exercise routine every day for the same amount of time at the same time of day will ultimately lead to a plateau. Your body will adapt to your routine and burn fewer calories during the exercises. The trick is to keep your body guessing. If you run on a treadmill, try running outside around a track. Maybe swim for three days a week and ride a bike for two days. You never want your body to adjust to what you are doing. Performing different exercises will engage different muscle groups. For example, swimming primarily uses the arm and shoulder muscles, whereas biking primarily uses the quadriceps and calf muscles. Changing up your cardio routine will also help avoid boredom--you are more likely to exercise if you enjoy what you are doing.

Weight Lifting Plateaus

"Fitness: Theory and Practice," by the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America, says the body must be overloaded beyond its normal capacity to achieve training improvements. In other words, change the weight, number of sets or repetitions or the order in which you strength-train to keep seeing results regarding your body. Keeping your routine the same will maintain your level of fitness, but not improve it.

Recognizing a Plateau

When trying to lose weight, it is important to record as many details as possible. Measure your body in different places, write down what you eat during what time of day, and write down your exercise plan. Weighing yourself is necessary to see how many pounds you have lost. Weighing yourself every day can give you a false signal of a plateau. Because of water weight, the number of pounds you weigh can drastically fluctuate from day to day. Weigh yourself a minimum of one time per week, first thing in the morning wearing the same outfit or nothing at all. If it has been more than two weeks and your weight has not changed--even 1/4 of a pound is considered change--you may have hit a plateau. Look at your records and see what you can change up--there is always something changeable.

Mind Over Matter

Try not to consider a plateau as a "negative" aspect of your training. Instead, think of a plateau as a warning signal--it's time for change. When losing weight, you should challenge yourself every day until you reach the desired goal. Add a healthy food to your diet, run an extra mile, walk a little faster or dance a little longer. The minute you start to feel comfortable in your routine, you open the door for a plateau. If you hit a plateau, it's okay. Think positive and make a change to move forward in your weight loss.