07 Sep WHY WEIGHT LOSS STOPS ?
The secret of adaptation made simple
From my experience working with hundreds of clients this is a common thing.
Their weight loss starts well then it stops ( stagnant ) and this leads them in the end to give up or worse – gain all their weight back.
Have you ever heard the stories about secret ‘ Shakes’ that by drinking them you can lose weight and live happily ever after ?
I am sure you have …
The stories about weight loss and gain
How many stories have you heard of people that have used those magic ‘ Shakes ‘ and at some point their gain everything back or even worse : BOUNCED pass their initial weight.
How come ?
Are the magic ‘ shakes ‘ to blame ?
The answer is NO .
Here is why
There are many brands and companies in the market that produce meal replacements or supplementation shakes that contain high nutrition value with LOW CALORIC content .
From a weight loss perspective – that’s a home run : exactly what you are looking for .
( By the way – that’s how those companies continue selling their secret ‘shakes’ – your caloric intake drop and you obviously lose weight , so you are happy to continue using it ).
The reality of weight loss
Now let’s get back to reality .
Step one in the process of weight loss is of course creating this caloric deficit : Intake less than you expend kind of a deal .
However you have to remember : your body is very good in preservation of life.
This means that if you start changing the status quo – it adapts.
It is true for how much calories your body burns as well..
Lets take a look on simple number example to make it clear :
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WHY WEIGHT LOSS STOPS ?
From my experience working with hundreds of clients this is a common thing.
Their weight loss starts well then it stops ( stagnant ) and this leads them in the end to give up or worse – gain all their weight back.
Have you ever heard the stories about secret ‘ Shakes’ that by drinking them you can lose weight and live happily ever after ?
I am sure you have …
The stories about weight loss and gain
How many stories have you heard of people that have used those magic ‘ Shakes ‘ and at some point their gain everything back or even worse : BOUNCED pass their initial weight.
How come ?
Are the magic ‘ shakes ‘ to blame ?
The answer is NO .
Here is why
There are many brands and companies in the market that produce meal replacements or supplementation shakes that contain high nutrition value with LOW CALORIC content .
From a weight loss perspective – that’s a home run : exactly what you are looking for .
( By the way – that’s how those companies continue selling their secret ‘shakes’ – your caloric intake drop and you obviously lose weight , so you are happy to continue using it ).
The reality of weight loss
Now let’s get back to reality .
Step one in the process of weight loss is of course creating this caloric deficit : Intake less than you expend kind of a deal .
However you have to remember : your body is very good in preservation of life.
This means that if you start changing the status quo – it adapts.
It is true for how much calories your body burns as well..
Lets take a look on simple number example to make it clear :
Lets say for example you intake 2000 calories / day.
and also assume that you burn 1800-2000 / day .
In that situation – your weight kind of going to be the same …
now you make a decision to take control of your diet and intake only 1200 Kcal / day …
Boom : Intake = 1200 , Expenditures : 1800 : 1200-1800 = -600 Kcal deficit.
Congratulations : You are on the path to lose weight .
Now for a while you will lose weight fast : theoretically 1 kg in 12 days .
At some point the body will wake up and say:
‘Hey hey hey, you are not giving me enough fuel , I will show you ! ‘
BAM – it becomes more efficient and burning less calories / day .
So now instead of 600 deficit you will be at 500.
The longer the process goes – the better your body adjusts to your intake.
It will always try to bring the caloric expenditure to equalise with the intake.
That is the reason why initial weight loss is easily achieved!
But then the real struggle begins and many people when getting to the plateau either give up OR stop whatever they did to get their and get back to their normal eating habits.
This spikes their caloric intake and the weight is easily gained back again.
Strategies for successful weight loss
Don’t get so gloomy though …
Here are some strategies you can use in order to not get stuck or if you get stuck – keep the progress going:
1. Keep the body guessing to optimise weight loss
When the body adjusts – you adjust .
If your caloric deficit works and weight is going down thats good – but when you see it has slowed down or stopped then start looking at other aspects that affect your metabolism : for example – exercise intensity , sleep , stress , daily movement , etc…
2. Starvation stops weight loss in long term
Common mistake that people do is that they want to get to caloric deficit so much – that they cut too much in calories .
What happens then is the body goes to a super protection mode – and instead of using fat as fuel it STORES it – again due to the protective nature of it . So you end up gaining fat instead of losing it
3. Eat more , move more to lose weight consistently
Its much better to eat a little bit more BUT outbalance it with more movement as well – not only exercise but being more active thpouhgt the day .
4. Never give up on your weight loss journey
The worst thing you can do is to say ‘ I didn’t get what I wanted so I will just stop ‘ – because I can GUARANTEE it will not bring you the results either.
Make sure to stay consistent and win the battle of weight loss ,
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