It might be surprising to know, but weight loss plateaus sometimes have nothing to do with your activities and eating habits. The delay on your weight loss journey might even be necessary to lasting, healthy weight loss success.

Why do we plateau during weight loss?

A weight-loss plateau is a period of stalling or even weight gain after you begin your weight loss journey. Sometimes, weight loss patients will plateau because they give up on healthy habits. It’s is very important to keep up with your new routine. You’ll only continue to lose weight if you stick to your plan.

Our body’s natural response

As your body adapts to dramatic weight loss, it may feel the need to defend itself against losing any more weight. After you undergo gastric weight loss surgery, the body’s natural defense system will work to maintain steady health when it is put under stress. The dramatic weight loss that’s involved in Laparoscopic weight loss surgery may result in the body working to maintain fat and energy stores.

The set point theory

No weight loss journey is completely linear. Some scientists believe that a temporary plateau is necessary for lasting, healthy weight loss. This might be best understood with a process called “set point”. Our bodies naturally want to remain around what it determines is a healthy weight. We may fluctuate by a few pounds more or less, but our bodies naturally seek to return to what it determines is our ideal weight. This set point, however, can change over time. If you gradually gain weight over time, your body goes from thinking your set point is much higher than it should be.

It’s estimated that the average person has a set point of 5-10% of our body weight can be gained or lost without much resistance. Beyond that. Our body naturally seeks to return to its perceived natural state. This is why after significant weight loss your body seems to hit a wall. It’s also why it’s important to make lasting, lifestyle changes like the Lap-Band Program instead of short-term weight loss fads that don’t provide lasting results.

How to get past the plateau

Each weight loss journey is different. On average, a plateau might last a couple of weeks to up to a few months, but it does not always mean that your new lifestyle changes stopped working. It’s important to give your body time to rest, relax, and get used to its new normal without stopping any of your new habits. Stay patient, keep up your new healthy diet, and talk to your doctor.

Your weight loss journey might not always be a straight path. For more tips on staying motivated and keeping on track, visit our Living Banded blog page.

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Be Realistic

Don’t make a resolution that you cannot achieve in one year. It’s better to think small than to go overboard. Maybe you want to lose 200 pounds. That goal is not attainable within one year, so instead, why not make it a goal to lose 50 pounds this year and make losing 200 pounds a long-term goal? Taking small steps to reach your goal is far less intimidating than trying to reach a huge goal in a small amount of time. If you’ve never run a day in your life, it might be unrealistic to resolve to start running five days per week. Start slow, and work your way up.

Don’t Deprive Yourself

Far too often, people deprive themselves when they are making resolutions. If you completely restrict or deprive yourself of something you enjoy, you may find it incredibly difficult to stay on track. There is a reason diets don’t work and that lifestyle changes do. Instead of resolving to swear off junk food for the entire year, allow yourself to have one cheat meal or day per week.

Be Consistent

Studies show that people are committed to their resolutions at the start of January, but by the end of the month, only a quarter of people are still committed to their resolutions. In order to reach your goals, you have to give yourself the time and space to achieve them. Be consistent and prioritize resolutions. Don’t get in your own way! Create an environment conducive to your goals.

Find Things You Enjoy

When you’re making a resolution to lose weight or exercise more, be sure that you find an activity you enjoy. It will be difficult to stick to a strict running regimen if you hate running. Take some time to figure out what you enjoy. If you love Zumba and swimming, do that! Don’t make yourself do something that you hate. The same thing goes for eating. If you want to eat healthier in the new year, that’s awesome, but if you hate kale, don’t force yourself to eat it. There are plenty of healthy alternatives to enjoy! When you make yourself eat or do something you don’t like, it is much harder to stick with it.

Be Specific

It’s easy to make ambiguous resolutions, like “exercise more” or “lose weight,” but what does that really mean for you and your body? If you’ve never worked out, working out just once in 2021 means you will have accomplished your goal! Instead, choose specific, measurable goals. This will help you keep track of your progress. Consider making resolutions such as:

• Exercise three times per week
• Meal prep one week of lunches each week
• Incorporate vegetables into two meals per day
• Try one new exercise class per month
• Limit fast food to once per month

If you are committed to weight loss in the new year, contact us for information.

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Emotional

You may feel down and discouraged on your weight loss journey. It’s a difficult process and you may experience many emotional highs and lows. You may tell yourself you aren’t good enough or that you don’t deserve to lose weight. It’s important to have an emotional support system during these times. They will help you see more clearly and stop being so hard on yourself.

Inspiring

Do you have weight loss role models? If you have friends or family members that you admire because of the way they fearlessly conquer their fitness and health goals, they can serve as great inspirational support. They can help motivate you to continue on your journey even when it gets tough. They might provide support by heading to the gym with you or talking about your goals with you.

Practical

Practical support is important, because it will allow you to carry out your weight loss goals. They will help you eat healthy and complete regular workouts. Perhaps they will give you recipes for healthy meals, watch your children so you can exercise, or drive you to the gym.

Building a Support Team

Be upfront with your friends and family about the kind of support you need. They should be aware of your goals and they should back you 100%. Someone that encourages unhealthy behaviors, whether it is asking you to skip workouts repeatedly or encouraging poor eating habits, is not a person you should have on your team. Understand that support is about give and take. If you can’t also support someone with their health goals, they may struggle to provide you the support you also desire. Rely on one another to balance out strengths and weaknesses.

Remember, your support system can’t be there for you if you don’t let them know you need help. Don’t be afraid to reach out to your support team and your community when you find yourself struggling on your weight loss journey.

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Many people use food as a tool to feel in control of a situation or soothe negative feelings. Chronic stress can cause physical changes in the body, leading to more compulsive behavior such as overeating. By being aware of feelings when we are eating, we can use tools such as substituting lower calorie food options or relieving stress at the source to reduce the impact of stress eating on your health. Here are some helpful solutions for you to use on a daily basis to cope with stress eating.

Identify your triggers.
When you think you might be stress eating, take five minutes and think about weather you are truly experiencing physical hunger or if you are eating due to stress, emotions, or boredom. Keep a log or journal your emotions to help yourself identify patterns in behavior.

Find a non-food way to manage your stress.

• Pick one thing to do or tell yourself when you notice you want to eat but aren’t hungry.
  • For example, a motivation or goal, positive self talk; you could think about the weight you’ve lost, the success you’ve had when not stress eating, or the hard work you’ve put into eating healthy.
• Have a distracting task to keep your hands and mind busy.
• Being physically active is a great way to improve mood and decrease stress.
• If you are exhausted from a long day, pick up a good book to read and take it to your bedroom where temptation is out of reach.

Be mindful of your food.

• If you are hungry, take a serving of food and put it into a bowl or plate instead of eating out of the whole bog so you know how much you’ve eaten.
• Plan your meals or snacks in advance so it’s easier to stay on course.
• Keep recipes for healthy comfort foods on hand. Modified recipes that cut down on fat, sugar, and carbohydrates are sometimes even tastier than “original” recipes!

Article courtesy of Nathan Pratt, University of Illinois Dietetic Intern

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Do you find yourself eating the same foods every day? Do you stick to certain foods because you know they won’t give you trouble and they fit in your balanced diet? Are you getting tired of the same flavors and textures day after day? If you answered yes to these questions then you may be stuck in a food rut. Food ruts can be a common problem for anyone but it is especially easy to get into a food rut when you are trying to lose weight and stick to a healthy diet.

Having go to meals can save time and make daily life a bit easier but they can also lead to food burn out and even drive you to binge or eat foods that you have been working hard to avoid. Having a diet rich in a variety of foods is important for meeting your vitamin and mineral needs. Trying new foods can help keep you motivated to stick with your weight loss journey. Incorporating different foods can make eating a very enjoyable experience that you can look forward to. Here are some tips to help you break a food rut and make eating fun again:

Make a meal plan.
Finding time to cook can be challenging, plan what meals you want for the week in advance. Complile your recipes and make a shopping list to put your plan into action.

Prep in advance.
Prepping meals on one or two days a week can make the task of cooking much less daunting. Trying new dishes will be easier and will add variety and fun to your routine.

Shop the sales.
Check the sale ads for sales for fruits, veggies, and meats that you don’t typically buy. It can be fun to try new products, recipes and cooking techniques with food items that are not typically part of your diet.

Remix the basics.
Talk to friends and neighbors or search the internet for new recipes that put a spin on your favorite foods. Try culturally inspired dishes such as Asian shrimp, Greek chicken, or Brazilian smoked beef.

Be ready for an adventure!
Make an effort to step out of your food comfort zone, while staying balanced. Accept that you may not like everything you try. Eating should be fun! Food may be necessary for life but trying new foods can brighten up even the most boring of diets!

Article courtesy of Courtney Marques, University of Illinois Dietetic Intern

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