Plateau busters

[CathyS]

I've seen a few people lately mention that their weight loss has hit a plateau. I thought it would be helpful if folks could post their plateau-busting strategies to help out. Here are a few things that usually work for me.

1) Change the intensity of my cardio exercise - throw in some high-speed/high-intensity intervals instead of just plodding along like I often do.

2) Drink more water.

3) Switch up my strength-training routine and do fewer reps at higher weights instead of more reps at lower weights.

4) Eliminate any excessively salty foods from my diet. I generally do this as a routine thing, but sometimes I let convenience foods sneak back in when I get busy and they're usually loaded with salt.

Anyone else have some tips?

 

[Debraw]

Well I went on vacation last week in the Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri ( USA). Before I went on vacation I had not lost a pound in 3 weeks. I was still working out diligently, watching what I eat, but no luck. While on vacation I was not able to do my regular routine and I had to do my own thing. The Ozarks is very hilly and I had a hill outside the lake house that was about a 45 degree angle. I walked it 4 out of the 7 days I was there from 6-10 times. Heart rate would start out at about 100 BPM and go up to 168 BPM by the time I reached the top of the hill. It was very difficult but I hung in there. I also mixed in some weight training by bringing (2) 10 pound dumb bells. In addition there were 70 stairs down to the dock ( and back up!) at least 3 to 4 times a day for the boat. I also ate very little on days I did not work out, drank lots of water and have mixed in some amino acids as supplements until I can get the nutritional part of all this figured out. I lost 5 pounds in a week, my cardio improved dramatically within 2 days of walking the hill. I definitely shook up my routine and I benefitted A LOT!!!!

 

[Wayward Son]

pretty much anything that changes your routine can work. less cardio, more lifting. Eat a bit more, or a bit less. change your lifting from heavy/low reps to light/high reps. If you're a jogger, change your pace. Turn it into interval training with faster sections mixed in.

The body adapts, after a few weeks of doing anything it becomes more efficient at doing that so it doesn't benefit you as much. Changing things up shocks your system & makes it work more.

 

[coach_izzy]

Good advice Cathy! I would switch the order or 1 and 3, but overall, good advice.

Depending on the level of physical activity, some people should actually INCREASE their caloric intake to meet the demands of their systems.

One of our clients started his conditioning program in November 2007. By April, he had dropped a total of 70 lbs. He was stuck in that marker and getting frustrated. He THOUGHT (hence the emphasis) he was eating well until a through analysis showed that he was in fact, sending his body into protection mode. His calories were upped from 2000 to 3200 (good calories) and broke trough the plateau almost immediately. As of last week, his total loss exceeded 90 lbs, he's stronger, healthier, and a lot more energetic.

Getting your nutritional intake and lifestyle parameters analyzed is something that can definitely give you new perspective on why you may have reached a plateau or even reversed the trend.

Here are a few more things you may want to consider:

• Lay off the sugar
• Be very moderate with the alcohol or lay it off altogether
• Get PLENTY of quality sleep
• A good nutritional meal is NEVER bland, boring, or flavor lacking. If your palate is used to excessive salt, sugar, and processed foods, it will take you a while to wake it up. Make sure to transition slowly.
• DO NOT neglect your good fats. The low fat diets have NOT been shown to produce any significant long term health results.
• Learn to eat SLOWLY
• Avoid gargantuan meals. When you eat slowly, you'll reach your satiety point in about 20 minutes. You'll be surprised it does not take much (portion size) to get you satisfied.
• And when you eat small portions, you should be eating often, at least 5-6 meals per day.
• Be realistic in your goals!
• Have your body fat measured. No better marker than that.
• Persevere. Setbacks are normal. What's important is to learn what and how you got there and work a solution.

Good health involves a lot more than certain markers dictated by the scale. While that may be an indicator in a good number of cases, there may be a lot more to the story. Remember that the impact of daily life in your body could make your hormones fluctuate severely on occasion, which could translate into a temporary setback.

Good thread! Have fun and good luck.

 

[fairybasslet]

Another thing I read is to intersperse reps with cardio. Like to one set of curls and a minute of high intensity cardio. It's probably best to try this when the gym isn't too crowded otherwise you might start pissing people off.

I haven't tried it yet. I didn't work out much the last 2 weeks at all. I had tendinitis in my elbow so thought I would rest it. I finally got a cortisone shot last week. Almost all better.

Of course I still could have done my cardio, but I got lazy.:11:

 

[Wayward Son]

do a google search on High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). It's a great way to ramp up the effectiveness of your cardio

 

[CathyS]

I lost 5 pounds in a week, my cardio improved dramatically within 2 days of walking the hill. I definitely shook up my routine and I benefitted A LOT!!!!

That's awesome, Debra! Now I just need to plan a trip somewhere hilly so I can do the same. ;-)

 

[Orlando Eric]

Welcome to CrossFit: Forging Elite Fitness

I have not been diving lately I have a hard time keeping up with all my hobbies to a high level of proficiency.

I am working toward 9 min miles which I have heard many people say is not that fast. It seems pretty fast to me!-- My goal is 3 miles in 27 minutes.

The crossfit site has outstanding stuff on it.