The Good News About Weight Loss Plateaus

 Tips on how to manage your diet when the scale won’t budge

Reshaping your body, losing pounds and inches  takes some determination to stay the course. If you have tried several different diets, done crash-dieting or even tried weight-loss wonder pills, your body’s metabolism needs time to heal. Anytime you restrict calories, your body assumes that you may not eat again, and it slows down your metabolism.  A significant portion of the weight loss comes from muscle and comes back as fat.  If you have been extreme in your dieting, you may have severely damaged the glands that regulate your metabolism.

It can happen to anyone. One man who lost over 100 pounds on the Shaklee 180™  plan actually had a plateau that lasted for six months, before the pounds and inches started coming off again! Most people won’t experience a plateau that stubborn. Here are some tips to help you through plateau time.

Key point: muscle weighs more than fat! Especially if you are using Shaklee 180™, you are building muscle. So you may see a weight gain, or slower loss, but your clothes fit better, and your metabolism is now much more efficient!

Look for other ways to measure your progress:

•     Inches/Body measurements – dress size, waist, hips, neck, arms, fitting into favorite clothes
•     Performance –more endurance during exercise, doing them at a higher level, jumping higher, walking longer, running faster, playing a sport better
•     Mood and Attitude – rate energy level,  attitude and outlook.  Track how often you feel very sleepy during the day, rate your confidence level
•     Health – blood pressure, cholesterol level, blood sugar level, food cravings, appetite for healthy foods, quality of sleep
•    Intangibles – how you look, compliments you receive, self-confidence, how others respond to you.

No matter what – stay on track!  Plateaus are not fun, but they are a good sign that your body is changing, healing and rebuilding itself.  A plateau means that your body is adjusting to becoming the new you! You are forming life habits that will keep you at a healthy weight.Hang around friends who will encourage you. Avoid trigger foods.  Be patient.  The plateau will come to an end, and the weight will start falling off.  You will always be glad you “fought back” by outlasting the plateau.

Copyright 2008 Karen Hurd Enterprises, Inc.