Mini-Plateau… and what to do about it

Ok, second full week into the competition and things are going great (or so I think). I’m working out (five times this week) and eating pretty close to exactly on menu (minor variations here and there, but nothing drastic), so imagine my surprise when I check my weight and see that my weight loss is slowing down. Hmmm…ok, cue analysis mode.

Well, 1 of 3 possible things is happening:
1) I screwed my nutrition up enough to slow my fat loss. Not likely. With the amount of body fat I currently have, minor deviations are not enough to slow things up to this degree (when your body fat gets low enough, your body REALLY wants to hang on to fat because you need some of it, so you have to be super exact in your nutrition, think pre-competition body builders trying to lose a pound or 2, it’s really hard).
2) I am putting on about as much muscle as I am taking off fat. I doubt it. I know how to avoid this and the type of training that I’m doing right now does not send big “grow” signals to muscles. Ok, so that leaves…
3) My body has adjusted to my new menu and reset my metabolism appropriately. BINGO! Let me explain what that means and why it happens.

When you decrease your caloric intake (eat less food), you begin to lose weight. But the rate of weight loss doesn’t stay the same forever. Your metabolism gradually lowers until it matches your new, lower level of calories consumed. So now, you’re back to being balanced: calories consumed = calories burned = weight maintenance (i.e. no change). At this point, you have a choice. You can eat even less and lower your metabolism even further (I’ll get into why this is REALLY bad in a minute). Or you can raise your metabolism by increasing your caloric intake. I know, you’re thinking, “But I’m trying to LOSE weight. Why would I want to eat MORE food?!?!?” Because by eating more for a short period of time, you kick your metabolism back up to where it was when you started. Then, when you go back to eating less, there is a big gap between calories consumed and calories burned. And you’ll go back to losing weight again. If you keep eating less and less food in an effort to keep losing weight, your body will start to cannibalize muscle tissue to meet your energy requirements, which will slow your metabolism even more. That’s the bad news. The REALLY bad news is when you go back to eating “normally” there will be a huge gap between your calories burned (metabolism) and your calories consumed (the food you’re eating) and you will put on lots of fat. By following 5 or 6 days of eating less with 1 or 2 days of eating more, you will keep your metabolism healthy and in good shape to continue losing weight. Now “eating up” does NOT mean free for all, eat a bunch of junk food, or camp out at the all you can eat Chinese buffet (“You been here 4 hour! Why you here 4 hour?!? Go home! No come back!!!”). It means that you eat the same way you do when you are eating less: eat in your pre-determined ratio, eat high-quality, nutrient dense food, and eat on a schedule. Also, all of this needs to done while exercising. Specifically resistance training, otherwise you will lose muscle, and compromise your metabolism. A healthy metabolism means a properly functioning immune system, the ability to maintain comfortable body temperature, as well as the ability to burn fat and KEEP IT OFF. We all acknowledge that losing weight is important, but for those of us who have seen the vicious cycle, we know that keeping fat off is critical to long-term health.

So, I spent the weekend eating “up.” And man, did it work! I was eating about 800 calories more per day, eating every 2½ hours, and I was STARVING!!! Like an hour after eating, I’d be hungry again. Which I know means my metabolism is firing back up. This is good and means that this week should be back to normal. I’m excited, two full weeks to go. Let’s do this! Have a great week, everyone!