FitSugar

How to Know If You've Hit a Workout Plateau and What to Do About It

Heather Dale — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 03:33:31 PST

Trips to the gym have finally become apart of your weekday routine. You've been feeling great and looking even better up until this point, but for some reason, you're not feeling the burn anymore. Welcome to the workout plateau club! It happens to all of us, usually around the one or two-month mark, when the scale stays at the same number, and your body becomes immune to the stresses of exercise. Fortunately, all it takes is a few simple changes to get past this minor hiccup in your fitness routine. Here are some tips for overcoming a workout plateau.

Moving Off the Weight Loss Plateau

Susi May — Mon, 16 May 2011 08:34:22 PDT

Homeostasis. That's a fancy way to say equilibrium, and it's what your body craves, even more than salt and vinegar potato chips. We humans are highly adaptive creatures, and our bodies work to maintain homeostasis. This is really no big deal, unless you're trying to lose weight, and then it really just translates into the word the dieter dreads - plateau.

If you're stalling, meaning the weight, fat, and inches are no longer coming off, don't throw in the towel. We have a few tips and tricks for you that will help you revitalize your weight loss efforts.

Source: Thinkstock

Advice From Jackie Warner on Weight-Loss Plateau

FitSugar — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:00:48 PDT

The countdown to Jackie Warner's new show has begun! Thintervention premieres on Bravo Monday, Sept. 6 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. When I interviewed Jackie, she told me this project is "her dream show." Rather than delving into her personal life a la Workout, the new show details Jackie leading seven participants on an emotional weight-loss journey. According to Jackie, "Thintervention is a very powerful show and I think it’s going to be eye-opening for America."

To get you primed for the show, I wanted to share a bit of no-nonsense advice Jackie is known for. A FitSugar reader asked Jackie what to do about being stuck on a weight-loss plateau. "Here’s the thing, the body plateaus every month so you have to change your program and I mean your cardio program as well. Once a month - that’s the magic number and people don’t know that. So you have to increase your weights or increase your reps or change your exercises . . . one of those two things has to happen. Or change your cardio program."

If there is one thing we can depend on, it is change. Jackie definitely knows that. Will you be tuning into her new show to see if she has changed?

Photo courtesy of Bravo

Simple Tip: Work In One More Workout

FitSugar — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 03:47:15 PDT

I have a friend of a friend who is a personal trainer, and people are always hitting her up for free advice. No matter what the question - how do I get rid of my love handles? build my biceps? - she asks, "how many times a week do you work out?" If the person says "three," she says, "increase it to four." If he answers "four," she says, "do five." And so on.

Of course, it's not that simple - but it almost is. Her answer is a good reminder that if you are working hard to get in shape and not seeing the results you want, adding in one more workout per week makes a world of difference. Working out more gives you a chance to mix up your routine and combine cardio and strength training, which helps you move off the weight-loss plateau. Have you noticed a dramatic difference by increasing your workout routine?

You Asked: Muscle vs. Fat?

FitSugar — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 05:30:00 PST

Dear Fit Sugar,
I'm on a mission to lose that last 10 pounds, which has been so difficult, and I'm training for a half-marathon as well. I eat well and exercise a lot - cardio almost every day and strength training five days a week. I've always heard that muscle weighs more than fat, but after I reached a plateau, I've found that I've been gaining weight. Not much, just a pound or two, but still gaining weight. How do we know when weight gained is added muscle mass, and when it means we need to reevaluate the calories we consume? I'm frustrated that all the hard work only turned into a weight gain.
-Confused and Frustrated

This is a common source of frustration and confusion, but I think I can help clear up a few questions. To see what I have to say about muscles and fat, just

Losing weight is not a simple task, and it is important to remember that it is not really pounds you want to lose, but fat. You want to lose fat and gain lean muscle tissue. People often say that muscle weighs more than fat, but that is a misstatement. Muscle is actually more dense than fat, so a pound of muscle takes up less space than fat. Another way to look at fat versus muscles is that a cubic inch of muscle will weigh more than a cubic inch of fat. Muscle is about 18 percent more dense than fat.

Using weight to determine the health of our bodies or our fitness level is not really accurate. What you want to measure is your body fat percentage, and you can do so with a scale designed for that purpose, or have it measured in a more expensive, but more accurate way. While you say you are gaining weight, I am wondering if your clothes are getting tight, which would be an indicator that you're gaining muscle and fat instead of just muscle. Sometimes something as simple as your jeans feeling tight can be the signal you need to fine-tune your weight-loss efforts.

When you hit a plateau, it is a good idea to look at both what you are eating and how you're exercising. Although it sounds like you're exercising a lot, you should make sure to add interval training and speed work to your running routine to add an extra calorie burn. Your muscles might also have hit a plateau with your strength training program. You want to mix up your strength training routine every six weeks to two months, and if you're not working your muscles to exhaustion you need to increase the amount of your weights. Make sure you're eating a well-balanced diet to support your running. Here is more advice for pushing past your weight loss plateau.

Also, it is common to have fluctuations in your weight from day to day, and even week to week.

Good luck on your half marathon!

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Shape Up and Move Beyond Your Plateau

FitSugar — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 05:30:00 PDT

To put a positive spin on hitting a weight-loss plateau, you have to remind yourself that at least you're not gaining weight. Once you can see that the glass is half full, you can rev up for adding some serious exercise to your plan. When you are trying to lose weight, you need to do cardio, and lots of it. The American College of Sports Medicine exercise guidelines suggest five 60-minute cardio workouts a week for weight loss. That adds up to 300 minutes total. With creative time management and enough desire to lose 10 pounds, you can do it.

Cardio alone is not enough to lose 10 pounds in a month. You need to add strength training into your exercise plan - two to three days a week. Now that you know what is expected of you, are you at a loss for what exercises to do? I would be, and when it comes to having an exercise schedule, I like to have someone tell me what to do. It takes the work - well some of it, anyway - out of working out. Lucky for us, Shape has created the month-long 10 Pound Meltdown exercise plan for us, and it is all online.

I just did one of the workouts, so to see what I think of the plan, just

The three cardio routines are all for the treadmill, but I bet you could take some of your runs outside if you wanted to. I like that one of the workouts is an hour-long vigorous walk. This morning, I tried the 35-minute "Speed Work" interval plan. It was fun, and while for a beginner this workout might be challenging, for someone used to sprint intervals this is more like fast running intervals, but definitely not an all-out sprint. I felt energized after this run and ready to do some strength training.

Couple these cardio routines with challenging strength training moves, and I think you will definitely move beyond any weight-loss plateau, as long as you're eating responsibly. For the strength training, you will need a few familiar props like an exercise ball, hand weights, a medicine ball, and a paper plate (love the use of household items). But the program also makes use of an exercise step and a resistance band. My gym has all these fitness accessories, but if I were doing the sculpting moves at home I might have to get a little creative. I was able to complete the seven strength training moves in 20 minutes, which gave me five minutes to stretch before I needed to leave the gym (and I stretched a little extra in the shower at home). All in all, it was a great hour-long workout.

I like that with this plan you can mix and match the sculpt moves and cardio plans should you choose, but I appreciate the structure Shape has laid out. If you feel like you're on a fitness plateau, rather than a weight-loss one, this program will get you out of your workout rut, too. For my next treadmill run, I am going to try the Power Hour workout, a mix of jogging and walking followed by hill work.

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Move Past the Plateau

FitSugar — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 05:30:00 PDT

Weight loss plateaus are inevitable and seem to happen around the 6 month mark. Here are some ideas to help you push on through to the other side.

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Part Two: Moving Past the Weight Loss Plateau - Food

FitSugar — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 03:30:00 PDT

When you're trying to lose weight and you hit a plateau, all is not lost. First off, you are not gaining weight and there are a few things you can do to get back into action. For fitness ideas to help you continue on your weight loss journey read: Part One: Moving Past the Weight Loss Plateau – Fitness. For ideas having to do with your diet read on!

I think a two-pronged approach is the best way to get the scale to budge again. Here are a few food things that might help you out.

Increase the amount of vegetables and fruits in your eating plan. Many dieters decrease daily calories but manage to not eat a healthy diet. Focusing on eating healthy might make a difference.
If you eat a lot of low fat food and carbs, try to eat healthy fats and lean proteins. You need to vary your diet the way you vary your exercise routine. Also, eating protein at every meal can help you stay fuller for longer.
Cycle your calories. Maintain the same caloric intake over the week, but eat 100 calories more one day, followed by 100 calories less the next day. Some folks call this the "zig zag" method.
Alter your eating habits. Replace three meals a day with six small meals, keeping the daily caloric intake virtually the same.

If it sounds like you are trying to confuse your body, well . . . you are. By changing up your routine you might break your boredom with your workouts and your meal plans.

Remember: 3500 less calories a week equals 1 pound of weight lost (and you want that to be fat not lean muscle). Vary your caloric intake and/or vary your exercise plan, just make sure you are sticking to your ultimate caloric intake versus energy spent goal. You should never, ever eat less than 1200 calories a day!

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Part One: Moving Past the Weight Loss Plateau – Fitness

FitSugar — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 05:30:00 PDT

Homeostasis. That is a fancy way to say equilibrium and that is what your body craves (more than salt and vinegar potato chips, really). We humans are very adaptive creatures, and our bodies work to maintain homeostasis. This is really no big deal, unless you are trying to lose weight and then it really just translates into the word the dieter dreads – plateau.

When you hit a plateau, meaning the weight, fat, and inches are no longer coming off, you need to mix it up a bit. Change your exercise plan and pay attention, really close attention to what you are eating since your body has acclimated to your current program – it knows your number, so confuse it.

Here are a few ways to change your exercise plan:

Try a new form of cardio exercise. If you walk, try biking. If you bike try running. If you run, try swimming. Not sure what to do? Check out these cardio workouts.
Try interval training. Instead of climbing on the elliptical and keeping the resistance and strides per minute the same, do the hill routine, or add sprints every 2 to 10 minutes and sprint (anaerobic exercise) for 1 to 3 minutes.
If strength training is not part of your exercise plan, adding it now could be the boost you need. It builds lean muscle mass, helps to strengthen bone tissue, and can help raise your metabolic rate.
Conversely, if you are spending 3 days a week on strength training and only 2 days doing cardio workouts, try upping the days of your cardio regimen.

If it sounds like you are trying to confuse your body, well . . . you are. By changing up your routine you might break your boredom with your workouts and your meal plans.

Stay tuned for Part Two: Moving Past the Weight Loss Plateau – Food.

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Why Running Isn't Helping You Lose Weight

Jenny Sugar — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:30:56 PDT

You started running months ago, yet every time you hop on the scale, you're let down by the results. What gives? While running does burn mega calories, here are some reasons you may not be seeing the weight-loss results you're after.

Postrun Pig-Outs
Burning tons of calories can cause a famished feeling afterward, but it's important to fuel wisely. Choose junk food as your recovery food and not only are you overdoing it on the calorie front, you'll be hungry again in the next hour. Although a postrun snack is essential, make sure it's packed with protein and filling carbs, and do not exceed 150 calories. If you exercised before a meal, enjoy a sensibly portioned plate, and don't go overboard as a way to reward your efforts. If you still find you're utterly famished after a workout, it probably means you need to fuel up before you exercise, so enjoy one of these pre-workout snacks before heading out for a run.

You Don't Run Enough
If you're running and not seeing results, take a look at your calendar. Doing one 45-minute run once a week, or a couple 20-minute runs won't burn enough calories to lose weight. In order to lose a pound a week, you'll need to ditch 500 calories each day, through a combination of diet and exercise. If losing weight is your goal, run three to four times per week and incorporate other forms of calorie-burning cardio on the other days.

Keep reading to find out why running isn't helping you lose weight.