The decision to start losing weight isn’t always an easy one to
make - but most of us find that, once we’ve made it, dropping those pounds is
easy at first. Whether you’re counting calories, fitting in extra visits to the
gym, or both, when you first start losing weight, it’s wonderful - the pounds
slide off, the numbers on the scale rocket downwards, and the sense of
achievement is fantastic. Yet the confounding fact is, the more weight you
lose, the harder it becomes to lose more... and this can result in the dreaded
fat loss plateau.
The
fat loss plateau may seem confusing, but it’s simple, really. The larger you
are, the more calories you need to maintain your weight, and as you lose fat,
you need less and less calories to stay
the same size. This is compounded by the fact that your body has a different
opinion of your excess fat than you do - while you may see it as an
unattractive embarrassment, your body sees it as an important natural
resource... and the less you have of it, the more your body will work to cling
to the fat you do have. This can result in your body going into ‘starvation
mode’, and burning muscle, rather than fat, for
energy, which is the complete opposite of what most of us are trying to
achieve!
The
fat loss plateau is common, and something almost all of us have to face when
we’re trying to get back into shape. Fortunately, that means there’s a lot of
tried and tested advice out there for kicking your metabolism back into action
once it starts dragging its feet!
Overcoming the plateau through nutrition and exercise
When
you reach a plateau, the first thing you should try is recalculating your
calorie deficit, based on your current weight. Creating a calorie deficit
simply means making sure you are burning more calories than you’re consuming,
whether by restricting your calorie intake or by upping your exercise, and as
you lose weight, you burn fewer calories. So you may actually need to make your
calorie deficit smaller, to ensure you aren’t going into starvation mode, and
hanging on to your fat.
Secondly,
you may want to consider upping
the amount of exercise you are
doing, to see if you can reach those stubborn final pounds. But bear in mind
that doing too much cardio places your body under stress, so it isn’t always
the best option if you’re already doing the recommended maximum amount per week.
What to do when you’ve reached the right weight, but can’t shift
stubborn fat
Plateaus
are tough, but they can be worked through. Far worse, is when you’ve actually
reached your target weight and level of fitness, but still don’t have the
physique you desire. Areas such as the belly, thighs, hips, upper arms and bra
area can hang on to stubborn fat cells, even when you’ve worked your very
hardest. As we get older, our
metabolism changes - fat levels
increase in both genders, hormonal changes cause women to retain more weight
around their hips and bellies, and lowered testosterone makes it harder for men
to shift stubborn fat cells. Excess weight from childbirth, hormonal or health
changes can all have the same effect.
The
thought of this can be enough to make you give up, sit back and reach for the
biscuits - but it absolutely shouldn’t! Exercising is vital for our health, and
gets even more important as we get older, and there are other ways of shifting
those stubborn extra pounds without going under the knife. CoolSculpting is a
revolutionary new technique for fat loss - a celebrity favourite which was
featured onscreen by Kim K in Keeping Up with the Kardashians, it
involves the freezing of targeted areas of fat cells, causing them to break
down and be processed and eliminated by the body, naturally and painlessly. Results can
be seen as early as a month after treatment, but are generally visible from
around 2-3 months and as long as you don’t gain excess weight again, the
results will stay with you.
Fat
freezing has become so popular that you can even buy kits which promise to
allow you to perform it at home - but I cannot stress enough how utterly
ill-advised this is. CoolSculpting is a registered trademarked treatment which
is also FDA-approved, and benefits from the associated stringent safety
standards - frostbite, skin damage, bruising, ulceration and scarring are all
associated with improper imitations of the procedure, so don’t be fooled by
copycats. The authentic cryolipolysis technology includes a patented ‘freeze
detect’ safety feature which monitors the temperature variations in the skin to
prevent damage.
Fat
loss plateau is something most people have experienced at some point in their
weight-loss cycle, but it can be managed through a combination of calorie
deficit management, exercise and, for bothersome fat which cannot be shifted
naturally, non-surgical aesthetic treatments. Don’t be disheartened when fat
refuses to budge - losing weight is an amazing achievement, and once you’ve
beaten the uphill battle of the bulge, the results will speak for themselves.
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