“Why Am I At A Plateau?” Factors & Solutions To Overcoming Stalled Progress

“Why Am I At A Plateau?” Factors & Solutions To Overcoming Stalled Progress

April 17, 2016 // Fitness, Nutrition, Wellness

In the quest to change your physique and appearance, your progress is likely to reach a plateau. Plateaus can be extremely confusing, frustrating, and demoralizing. However, with some strategic planning and simple adjustments, plateaus can be avoided. Learn the science of why they occur and implement these solutions to overcome stalled progress.

The human body is brilliant and complex.

It’s so complex that it is likely to never be fully understood [this is also why the scientific advice given to the general public often changes].

Thinking in simple terms of evolutionary biology, which provides most insights into your why questions, the human body is designed to:

 

  1. Adapt To Its Environment

  2. Protect Against Stressors

  3. Operate As Efficient As Possible

 

Your body is a vessel that wants you to win.

You, on the other hand, may have a different agenda.

Let’s take a moment here to remember that it is 2016. Your current environment, stressors, and operations are far, far different from say 500+ years ago.

You live in a civilized world, not in the wild. You have an endless supply of food available at any given moment. You have the best medical treatment available ever to humanity. You can sit for pretty much the entire day without fear of being attacked or freezing to death. You’re doing alright, to say the least.

As civilization as evolved immensely, the human body is slowly adapting to the times.

So, first and foremost, you must understand and respect that this brilliant physical vessel of a body always has your back to keep you in the best position to live to tomorrow. At the same time, your body does not give two shits about your stomach’s appearance or how you fit into your favorite pants. That may be your agenda, which is understandable given the current times and the social pressures around you, but it is not your body’s priority.

You want to be thin[er], lean[er], strong[er].

Great.

All is possible if you understand, respect, and cater to the body’s innate duties, outlined above.

How Plateaus Happen

 

Let’s say you started dieting 3 months ago in hopes to lose weight, burn fat, drop some inches, etc.

You implement a protein source into each meal, and you forgo soda for water.

After 3 months, you end up losing 10 pounds. Awesome.

But, oddly enough, you stopped losing weight after the second month.

You didn’t deviate from the plan, but for some reason you plateaued.

Why?

In simple terms, your body became efficient.

It adapted to its new environment, by adjusting your weight to match the new routine of eating. [There are 1,000’s of processes that adjust during any sustained routine changes, all which influence metamorphosis].

The body also became very efficient given the new routine, learning to use less and less energy with the new environment. High five for being a fast-learner!

This is a great thing for your health, and a bad thing for your progress.

It’s important to understand that its likely you did nothing wrong. Your body made the adjustments necessary to adapt, and voilà!

You and I both know that you’re not satisfied, so your next step is to implement some changes that again force your body to adapt further and yield continued progress in terms of weight loss and fat reduction.

How To Overcome A Plateau

 

Simply put: Do Something Different.

Give your body a reason to ramp up, adjust, and adapt. As your body adapts to your new routine, change it again.

This is the simplest way to understand what’s required to overcome a plateau.

Remember, your body is thinking in terms of maintenance and long-term continuation.

If you want to continually see changes, you’ll have to continually make adjustments.

Here are your options:

Workouts

[Macro to Micro]

  • Increase your frequency. If you’re exercising twice a week, increase to three or four.
  • Increase your intensity. Do the same workouts in less time. Every week, do your workout faster.
  • Increase the body challenge. If you workout with total-body routines, consider isolating certain areas.
  • Increase the metabolic effort. If you focus on machines, try focusing on free weight movements.
  • Increase the volume. If you’re doing 1-2 sets per muscle group, increase to three or four.
  • Increase the Time Under Tension. If you typically do 10-15 reps per exercise, increase to 20-30 reps.
  • Increase the load. If you use the same weights, try going up 5-10 pounds on upper body and 15-30 pounds on lower body.
  • Change your style. If you typically do steady-state cardio (where you move at the same pace for a long duration), try switching to intervals (moving at very high speeds using maximum effort, followed by short rest, and repeated).

Nutrition

[Macro to Micro]

  • Decrease the total intake. If you normally eat a set portion size everyday, try having a few bites less.
  • Increase the eating frequency. The more often you eat throughout the day, its inefficient for your body to store food since there is a regular intake.
  • Increase the fiber. Hunger sucks. Fiber will keep your stomach plenty busy with less calories.
  • Increase the protein. Protein boosts the metabolism.
  • Increase the probiotics. Fermented foods help build the GI tract stronger.
  • Change your macros. If you’re following a high protein, high fat routine, consider lowering the fat and increasing the carbohydrates. Adjust the macros to change the efficiency.
  • Change your food choices. Meat to fish. Cereal to oatmeal. Processed to fresh. You get the picture.
  • Change your macros timing. More carbohydrates in the morning. Less carbohydrates in the evening.
  • Remove any food intolerances. Bloating and GI issues can interfere with progress.

Wellness

[Macro to Micro]

  • Increase the rest. Hormones flourish with adequate rest.
  • Increase the gratitude. Be appreciative of something. Gratitude affects your response to internal stress.
  • Increase the breathing exercises. Deep, diaphragmatic breathing decreases internal stress.
  • Increase the human interaction. Social connections decreases internal stress.

Recap

 

Ultimately, a plateau is a sign that your body has adjusted to your current routine.

Assess your routine and see what areas are negotiable, and then apply some sort of change. It can be a small change, or a complete overhaul; it’s totally up to you.

Success is not a linear process; it’s a matter of trial and error. Keep adjusting the variables and your body will comply.

If you need personalized coaching for this process, contact me right away – I’d be happy to help.

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