Why Weight Loss Plateaus Happen and How Clinics Help
When people start a weight-loss program, many of them see significant drops on the scale, improved fit of clothing, and increased levels of energy due to the effectiveness of caloric reduction and exercise. However, as the weeks or months pass by, weight loss tends to slow down or even stop altogether. This phase of the weight-loss process is typically referred to as a “weight-loss plateau.” These plateaus are incredibly frustrating and demoralizing.
One of the most effective ways to lessen the stress associated with reaching a weight-loss plateau is to understand how these plateaus occur and how clinics can provide assistance during this period.
What Is a Weight Loss Plateau?
What is considered “plateauing” in terms of weight loss?
When you have been on a diet and you’re maintaining the same amount of weight for an extended period, that is called a weight loss plateau. This can happen even if you continue to eat healthy and exercise regularly. Your number on the scale may not change, regardless of your efforts.
A weight loss plateau means that your body has become accustomed to the changes that you’ve made in your lifestyle. It is important to know that your body is trying to protect itself from losing too much weight too quickly. Why Weight Loss Is Fast in the Beginning
The main reason people lose weight quickly in the beginning is because of the rapid loss of body fluids (water) and stored energy (carbohydrates). After several weeks, your body starts to burn stored fat instead of water and carbohydrates, which takes longer for your body to burn. Therefore, the rate of fat loss is much slower than the rate of water and carbohydrate loss, which is why many people feel that they have “failed” when they do not see the same amount of weight loss as they experienced in the beginning of their weight loss program.
Adapting to Reduced Daily Caloric Intake
One way that weight loss can result in plateauing is due to metabolic adaptation. As you lose weight, the number of calories your body burns decreases; hence, what used to work for you before may no longer provide a caloric deficit.
Your body’s efficiency increases; therefore, you are using less energy at rest and during activity. As a result, it is now more difficult for you to continue losing weight, even if you maintain the same diet or exercise plan.
Your current strategy may result in no further weight loss without modifications.
The Role of Hormones in Weight Loss
Hormones control hunger, fat storage, energy, and how we react to stress. Therefore, if they are not balanced correctly, it can be hard to lose weight.
Insulin is what helps our body process and store fats; cortisol (known as “the stress hormone”) contributes to the development of belly fat; thyroid hormones determine how quickly we metabolize; and we produce sex hormones that tend to slow our rate of fat burning as we get older.
Weight loss plateaus often occur due to a hidden hormone situation that cannot be corrected through diet alone.
Cortisol is released from the body when stress levels are elevated. Prolonged elevated cortisol will cause the body to retain fat as a protective response.
Your sleep patterns also can lead to an impact on hunger hormones by increasing your appetite and decreasing your energy. So, even if your nutritional intake is excellent, without proper rest, your ability to lose weight will slow down.
Do Not Follow the Same Exercise and Nutrition Routine for So Long
The same workout and nutrition plans for months will cause a person’s body, eventually, to adapt. Once the body is adapted to the current routine, the body will fail to continue to respond.
When calories are too restrictive over an extended period, a person’s body enters a “survival mode” and becomes less efficient at burning fat.
Therefore, changing exercise intensity/volume, food ratios, and meal timing will help get a person moving forward after a plateau.
Why Diet and Exercise Are Not Always Enough
Dieting and exercising are the main components for people to be able to lose weight, but when deeper underlying issues exist, such as hormones, metabolism, or stress, these will stop progress on losing weight.
Many people who experience a stall in their weight-loss effort mistakenly think they are at fault, but instead, these individuals require medical analysis and counseling regarding their bodies.
This is where weight loss clinics can provide assistance.
How Weight Loss Clinics Understand Your Body
While most clinics focus solely on calories, weight loss clinics take a complete view of their patients and begin with a full assessment of the patient’s past health history, daily habits, and goals.
In addition, many clinics offer comprehensive lab testing to evaluate a patient’s hormonal balance, metabolic rate, and various markers. By performing these tests, a clinic may identify hidden conditions that may be causing the delay in a patient’s weight loss efforts.
Weight Loss Plans Should Be Based on Personalization
Every person is unique. Therefore, what works for one person does not necessarily mean that it will work for another person. Each weight loss clinic develops personalized plans based on their patient’s specific needs.
These personalized plans may include nutrition recommendations, exercise recommendations, hormonal support, and other medical options for weight loss as required.
The intention of developing personalized care is to help patients overcome weight-loss plateaus safely and effectively.
Continual Monitoring & Adjustments
Regular follow-ups, an ongoing feature at many clinics, allow for the continuous adjustment of a person’s weight loss program based on their individual progress and results. Without these continuous adjustments, a person’s weight loss program may stall for extended periods of time and would therefore not provide continued motivation and support to succeed in their efforts to maintain a healthy weight.
Long-term Weight Loss Lifestyle Coaching
Most clinics not only focus on the nutrition aspects of weight loss but also can provide coaching on sleep, stress, and related lifestyle habits that contribute to a healthy weight loss process. People frequently underestimate the impact of stress, sleep, and everyday habits on their weight. Coaches help clients understand how to manage both stress and sleeping patterns in order to create and maintain healthy habits, thereby providing long-term weight loss success. Most clinics emphasize living a healthy lifestyle instead of just losing weight.
Why Professional Help Improves Results
Professional assistance maximizes the impact of people’s efforts to overcome plateaus through proper guidance. Without this help, individuals often resort to extreme dieting or excessive exercise, both of which can have negative effects on their overall health and cause further slippage in their efforts.
With proper assistance, individuals are able to manage their diets and weight loss more effectively and over the long term.
Staying Patient During a Weight-Loss Plateau
Patience is a virtue. However, plateaus can cause individuals to become frustrated with their progress. Continually pushing through a plateau is not the solution; rather, changing an individual’s approach to their weight-loss journey can lead to renewed motivation and increased success.
Individuals can resume their progress after plateaus and regain their motivation and success by following the proper plans and working with experts who give them the support they need. Small changes made through the support of experts can create large changes in an individual’s overall health and well-being.
Conclusion
Getting stuck during weight loss can mess with your head. You start wondering if anything is even working anymore. Most of the time, a plateau isn’t about effort. It’s about your body needing a reset and the right kind of guidance. At Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center, we look at what’s really going on and adjust things in a way that makes sense for you, not a template plan.
If the scale hasn’t moved and you feel unsure about what to do next, come talk to us. We’ll help you figure it out and get you moving again.