I’m Stuck and I Can’t Get Out! 
Question: I have been on a diet for a month and have done very well but now I seem to be stuck at the same weight and can’t get past this sticking point. Do you have any advice?
Answer: Everyone hits a plateau at some point on a diet. Just expect it and know how to deal with it without giving up. You didn’t mention what type of diet that you are on but here are some general rules for a good, healthy diet plan.
A plateau is that long stretch when the quick drop in pounds you saw at the beginning tapers off and every additional ounce feels hard-won. Frustration can turn to overeating, which leads to weight gain, which will move you off the plateau - but in the wrong direction. Don’t give up - just stay the course.
- Expect the inevitable: If you are on a plateau, that means that you have already lost some weight. Enjoy it! Celebrate you new body. If you keep eating well and exercising, all plateaus do end. It may be that you have reached your body’s ideal weight and striving for any new weight loss will be fighting against nature. If that is the case, acknowledge your
accomplishment, enjoy and accept your new body.
If you are sure that you need to lose some more weight there are a few things that you can do to get past the plateau:
- Exercise a little more: As the weight comes off the metabolism slows down. The only way to rev it back up is by increasing the duration of intensity of your exercise. Just by adding an extra 20 or 30 minutes of aerobic exercise to your daily routine will help you burn addition calories per day, which will add up to extra weight gone.
- Change your routine: Maybe you and your body are becoming bored with the same program. Vary your food choices, try new recipes, modify your exercise routine. Sometimes little changes are just enough to get you out of your rut.
- Look for those sneaky foods: Some foods that sound healthy and even some foods that are healthy can sabotage your efforts. Nutrition bars can be full of calories, fat and sugar. Dried fruit, yogurt-covered nuts or raisins, banana chips, trail mix, natural potato chips, etc. will be diet busters. Eliminate the sneaky foods and see if that doesn’t make a difference. Sometimes we eat mindlessly - a bite here, a sip there, a taste here and there. This is where the food journal will be of great help in identifying the culprit sneaky foods. You may be amazed when you look back at the end of a day or a week at how many extra calories, fat or sugar that you have consumed. Be sure to read the labels on foods. You may become aware of how much you are really consuming when you realize you are actually eating three servings instead of one.
- Eliminate starchy carbohydrates: Starchy carbohydrates are delicious. However, they are high in calories and easy to eat in large quantities because they are addictive. There are actual carbohydrate addicts and it is like a drug to them. Of all healthy foods, some people crave starches the most. When you want to break a plateau, avoid all pasta, rice, bread, potatoes, corn, beans and peas for a week or two. Instead, choose meals that consist of lean protein and non-starchy vegetables such as broccoli, carrots, peppers, spinach, cauliflower, zucchini and lettuce.
- Close the kitchen after dinner: Eliminate nighttime snacking and alcohol for a few weeks (in fact, you will lose weight faster if you eliminate alcohol altogether). Clean the kitchen, put the dishes away, turn out the lights and do not go near the pantry. If you eat in a restaurant, do not take home the leftovers. Train your body to understand that eating time is over. Find a project or have some quality family time. Drink a cup of herbal tea, brush and floss your teeth and perhaps apply a tooth whitener...anything that keeps your mouth feeling clean and occupied. I know for myself, once I have brushed, flossed and used my mouthwash, I do not want to repeat the process, so I do not eat again.
All plateaus will....not can...be overcome with a little effort. You have come this far.....don’t give up now!
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